Postcards from the Loony Bin
How do issues like paternalism vs. autonomy affect the experience of being hospitalized on the psych ward?
Depression – When Taking a Shower Is Like Climbing a Mountain
Sometimes mental illness means you have to reframe the goals you set for yourself
Psych Meds 101: Antidepressants
It can be really useful to understand how medications work, as it can make both the therapeutic effects and side effects make more sense. As a mental health nurse, former pharmacist, and psych med-taker, this is a major area of interest for me. This is the first of a series of psych meds 101 posts …
Let’s Talk About Sex (& Mental Illness)
What do mental illness and sex have to do with each other? Quite a bit, actually, both in terms of the illness itself and the medications to treat it.
Do I Look Fat in this Seroquel? Psych Meds & Weight Gain
Society is obsessed with how we look, and in particular what size we are. Even people who are generally quite polite feel entitled to comment on our weight and body shape, without having any idea what the backstory might be. In the case of mental illness, there is often a great deal of backstory.
Mashed Potato Brains in Depression
I have always found the cognitive symptoms of depression to be among the most disruptive to my overall functioning. When I’m really unwell it feels like I can’t think my way out of a paper bag. I tend to describe the effect on my thinking as “mashed potato brains”.
“It’s All In Your Head”: Physical Symptoms and Mental Illness
Let’s think about the phrases “it’s just anxiety” and “it’s all in your head”. Let’s unpack them and consider them in terms of what we know about the brain and the body.
My Hermitification: Depression & Social Isolation
Depression is a profoundly isolating illness, as many mental illnesses can be, and as my illness progresses in many ways I find myself evolving into a hermit of sorts.