Mental illness in the news

October 08, 2015 by Beebe Sharkey

I didn't feel much like writing this week...life has been busy, and the slowly darkening days have exhausted my brain quite a bit. But, instead of not posting anything, I wanted to share this video from John Oliver tangentially-related to the shooting at Umqua Community College. I'm sure many of you have already seen it but, for those who haven't, it's a concise and informative look at the mental health care system in our country. Of course, since it's from HBO, there is some adult content mentioned, so consider yourself warned and whatnot. It also contains humor.

People who need people

October 01, 2015 by Beebe Sharkey

People are the most important source of help when living with a mental illness. I do not say this lightly. Whether it's friends, family, or a therapist (hopefully all three), they are necessary for survival. However, there's something kind of paradoxical about this. When you're depressed or anxious, it's extremely hard to reach out to other people, and yet you need them so badly. There are so many days where I long for telepathic abilities, so that I don't have to pick up the phone and text someone that I'm having a bad day and need help

Snuggling with puppies (or what helps on the bad days)

September 24, 2015 by Beebe Sharkey

In my last three posts I shared what it's like (for me) to live with anxiety, depression, and trichotillomania. To summarize: living with mental illness involves some very bad days, where it's really hard to function. But, in this post I want to shift gears and talk about what I actually do on those bad days to make functioning a little easier—besides therapy and prescribed medications, which I fully support and recommend. I'm also hoping (selfishly) to get a little advice from you, dear readers, on what helps you get through those bad days, so that I can add more "tools" to my toolbox. The list below is categorized by illness but, obviously, there will be some things that are helpful across the board.

A breakthrough, part 3: trichotillomania

September 17, 2015 by Beebe Sharkey

Sometimes, I pull my hair out. I'll search my head for hairs that don't feel right, and I'll pull them out, throwing them away. I don't want to pull them out. I mean, sometimes I want to pull them out, but I don't know why. Sometimes it feels kind of relieving...like I've found something that isn't supposed to be there and I've tidied it up. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it. And sometimes it feels shameful.

A breakthrough, part 2: depression

September 10, 2015 by Beebe Sharkey

If you had asked me when I was a teenager—or my in early twenties, or a few years ago, for that matter—if I thought I would live to be 30, my answer would have been "no". I mean, I had plenty of aspirations and ideas of what it would be like to be 30, but I just didn't think it was possible. I honestly didn't believe there was a life beyond depression. I believed it was out there for other people, but not for me. I thought my brain was too broken. I thought that my depression would kill me.

A breakthrough, part 1: anxiety

September 03, 2015 by Beebe Sharkey

Flying through the air from 11,000 feet feels more wonderful than I ever thought it could. The wind holds me up, smashes against my body, and I feel safe. Safe through the 10 seconds of free fall. Safe with the swift jerk of the parachute deploying, and safe during the 5 minutes under canopy, gliding nearly at eye level with Mt. Hood, above the Oregon farmlands. So, why is it I feel safer up here than I do with my feet planted firmly on the ground?