This post is based on some of the conversation generated by a recent post, Is It Helpful to Sanitize Mental Illness? Those of us living with mental illness have a whole rainbow worth of experiences, and I wanted to find a way to represent that. Hence, the rainbow model. Mental illness symptoms There are no… Continue reading Rainbow Model of Mental Illness Functioning
Tag: level of functioning
Refreshing My Depression Organization System
Sometimes, depression can cause busy mind that's focused on the negative. I get slow mind. Slow mind gets confused and overwhelmed. I rely on my organization system to compensate for this, at least to some extent. As time goes by, though, the system gets overwhelmed, at which point it needs a refresh or a broader… Continue reading Refreshing My Depression Organization System
Depression and My Cooling Relationship with Social Media
I've never been a big social media person. Before I started blogging, I briefly had a Facebook account, but that didn't last long. Once I started blogging, I created accounts on Pinterest and Twitter. I started a new Facebook account, but deleted that pretty quickly because I just don't like Facebook. Last year, I created… Continue reading Depression and My Cooling Relationship with Social Media
Is High-Functioning Useful to Describe Mental Illness?
It's not uncommon to hear the term high-functioning getting tossed around to describe people's mental health conditions. But is it a term that's meaningful or useful? To clarify, I'm not referring to people describing their own level of functioning in a way that feels right for them. I'm all for people using whatever language they… Continue reading Is High-Functioning Useful to Describe Mental Illness?
Mental Illness Goes Grocery Shopping
Living alone, I have to do all my own grocery shopping. It's been that way for years, so no big deal, right? Well, what used to be a simple task has become a bit more of a production with mental illness tagging along. It turns out grocery shopping with mental illness isn't a great combination.… Continue reading Mental Illness Goes Grocery Shopping
Adjusting Expectations Because of Depression
Maximilian Weisbecker on Unsplash I have a volunteer gig with a local community services agency doing presentations to high school students on suicide awareness. There's a pretty standardized format for these workshops, and they are usually done for various grade 9 classes a few times a semester. I started doing this about a year ago… Continue reading Adjusting Expectations Because of Depression
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".