JK Rowling

D.O.B: 31 July 1965
Birthplace: Yate, Gloucestire, England
Nationality: British
Occupation: Author
Condition: Major depression

Harry Potter: one of the most recognisable names in the modern world. The boy wizard was largely developed during an episode of severe depression for author J.K. Rowling, who fought her own dementors by creating the magical world of Hogwarts in her tiny Scottish apartment.

After a short and catastrophic marriage with Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes, J.K. Rowling experienced major clinical depression. After the marriage breakdown she returned to Scotland in the years 1993-1994. Rowling was in her late twenties with a young child to provide for whilst on unemployment benefits.

“I was very frightened of my father for a very long time and also tried desperately to get his approval and make him happy. We were as skint as you can be without being homeless and at that point I was definitely clinically depressed. *

Alone, suicidal and plagued with fearful thoughts about harm coming to her daughter. Stuck in fearful cycles of rumination and doubt she began writing the novel Harry Potter with the attitude, I’ve got nothing to lose, what’s the worse that could happen to me? If I get rejected from every major publisher in the UK, big deal.

For Rowling rock bottom wasn’t the end; it opened up new possibilities and eventually led to her success. Her own personal failures gave her energy to work on her passions. Look at what she said in a Harvard commencement address:

Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy to finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one area where I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter, and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. –  Harvard commencement address, 2008.

And on TED:

Rowling steadily and methodically poured her life into creating the world of Harry Potter. Rowling had already developed a great writing discipline over many years, starting in fantasy stories when around the age of five. Finally the right story came along for her. She first conceived the idea for Harry Potter in 1990 on a train:

At age 25, Jo was riding on a delayed train from Manchester to London when one single idea flashed into her mind: Boy doesn’t know he’s a wizard, goes to wizard school. After that, Jo says her mind was flooded with ideas for Harry Potter.*

Writing Harry Potter wasn’t the only help for her depression. Rowling sought medical assistance, but she was dismissed carelessly by a stand in GP in spite of needing urgent attention. Unfortunately this anecdote strongly resembles Graeme Cowan’s story of his first interaction with a GP. In both instances they presented with suicidal ideation and both times were turned away quickly. This highlights the urgent need for all GPs to have basic mental health training.

Fortunately her regular doctor saw the warning signs and understood the seriousness of the issue. The doctor sent Rowling to counselling, a relationship which was very beneficial. Like Rowling, if you are having suicidal feelings please contact a doctor immediately.

Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced. . . . It is that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad. Sad hurts but it’s a healthy feeling. It is a necessary thing to feel. Depression is very different.” *

Rowling later managed to channel her experience of severe depression into the hooded monsters, the Dementors. Her descriptions of Dementors mimick her own comments about clinical depression:

“Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them… Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself…soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.“

Writing and seeing her vision become reality was the turning point in her depression. Like Emma Thompson and Carrier Fisher, Rowling discovered the power of writing to beat depression. Not just writing a little bit, but building it as a daily discipline and seeing it through. Writing generates more structure in one’s life, countering the unstructured and chaotic lifestyle that mental health problems can produce. Secondly, writing also helps people get out of their head. Concentrating on the page and letting it all come out is healing, meditative and therapeutic. Writing interlinks the two brain hemispheres and encourages healthier brain function.

She’s open to discussing her depression in an effort to distigmatise the disease that affects millions worldwide. Rowling married Neil Murray and together they raise three children in Scotland. While she’s found fame difficult at times she has managed it admirably, is an active philanthropist and has carried herself with grace and thoughtfulness.

Harry Potter has enriched the world in a magical way, and J.K. Rowling’s victory over depression also lifts our hopes and hearts.

How JK Rowling Beat Depression

Writing

Rowling wrote to combat her depression and conjured up one of the most loved fantasy landscapes of the past century. Other people who beat depression through writing are Carrie Fisher, Emma Thompson and Winston Churchill.

Counselling

She got a referral from a GP for counselling to manage the acute phase of severe clinical depression whilst a single mother and unemployed.

Destigmatisation

She discusses her experiences with depression freely and openly and is proud of beating depression.

References and further reading

J.K. Rowling website
J.K. Rowling on Wikipedia
Article on Oprah.com
Showbizspy article on Rowling’s depression
Fox News
Quotes from Rowling

Joyce Meyer

Gender: Female
D.O.B: 04 June 1943
Birthplace: St Louis
Nationality: American
Occupation: Christian evangelist
Condition: Major depression, trauma

Joyce Meyer is a famous Christian evangelist who has personally beaten depression. A fiery, wise woman with an  understanding of psychological and biblical principles, Meyer knows how to use the Bible to assist those with depression in a straightforward and practical way. She blends biblical truths with a self-help approach and is about strengthening self-esteem.

Joyce Meyer went through bitter depression, loneliness and anger after she suffered sexual abuse from her father. She  leads a large ministry helping other vulnerable people understand that the past doesn’t need to dictate the present or the future. She is a personal light for millions, holds the courage of her convictions, walks the walk and talks the talk. She often used candid self-reflection and humour in  her presentations.

Joyce’s essential message to beating depression is:

Personal responsibility

You need the will to get well to get well. You need to want to get well. It’s that simple. Don’t just blame external circumstances and events, sometimes you need to make the most of the change.

Hope

Joyce Meyer is all about hope, a better future and brighter distance. She knows and believes that the best for everyone actually lies in the future as long as they are growing along healthy lines. Really believing that the best is in front of you and not behind you is the essence of real hope, a quality essential to any real recovery.

Jesus Christ

Joyce Meyer is a Christian and advocates the personal saving power of Jesus Christ. The message of the Bible is to have a heart for the poor and lift up the weary, downtrodden and brow beaten giving them strength, hope and a future in Christ.

Let’s unpack this even further by focusing on a six-part series with Joyce and Dr Linda Mintle on beating depression and anxiety. This is a fantastic resource, so let’s go through these videos step-by-step.

Part One

So many people are unhappy these days, but some people have serious emotional problems and disturbances. A lot of people with depression don’t know what’s wrong with them; part of this is the stigma of mental health. People want to be in control of their lives. Even with growing awareness of depression there are still large swathes of the depressed community not getting sufficient treatment.

Depression is more than sadness, it’s when that sadness persists and becomes a long term problem. There is also a biological basis for bipolar.  Depression can be a reaction to events, like adjustment disorder for example.

All of them are joined together by persistent low mood and sadness. You can read about the different forms of depression in our specific section on depression types.

The classic signs of depression include limited concentration span, problematic sleeping and irritability, especially when these symptoms last more than two weeks and start to impinge on normal activities of daily life.

Another symptom of depression is anhedonia which is the inability to feel things and not enjoy anything. This can lead to a deeply suicidal state believing that nothing can get better.

Generally the first thing to do is to see if there could be a physical basis for the depression. There are cases of medically induced depression especially after cancer, major hormonal changes like menopause or an extreme reaction to a medication which can sometimes lead to psychotic suicidal ideation.

So the first step in treatment according to Linda is to look at the situation medically. Sometimes the basis can be medical rather than emotional or spiritual.

Part Two

Serotonin depletion is tied to depression. Adrenal glands not functioning properly because of long-term stress is a major cause for depression. Modern antidepressants are largely effective at addressing the chemical imbalances. Talk therapies can also be effective.

They discuss learned helplessness, which involves cognitive restructuring to get better. You need to teach yourself out of being helpless, do this and the feelings of hopelessness will lift. CBT is an example of a technique to use to get out of learned helpless condition.

Joyce Meyer notes that the Christian message is about being lifted from a sunken state. She advocates for the healing power of the Bible and the word of God to lift people up and change their lives.

It’s all about how we think about the world. If we think life is going to always be harsh and negative, these thoughts perpetuate depression. They are often inherited from the parents who didn’t address unhealthy, fearful and negative mindsets.

Negative thinking is a deep part of depression. The gravitational pull toward negativity is incredibly strong and to beat depression you need to fight against the inherent negative pull of the human condition.

Jean Claude Van Damme

Gender: Male
D.O.B: 18^th October 1960
Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
Nationality: Belgian
Occupation: Actor
Condition: Rapid cycling bipolar disorder
Other conditions: Cocaine addiction (remission)

The muscles from Brussels has battled many enemies, on and off screen.  A martial arts superstar with a penchant for self-destruction, cocaine and the high lifestyle, Jean Claude Van Damme also has rapid cycling bipolar.

JCVD came from humble origins; his father was an accountant and flower salesman.  He opened a gym in Brussels on the back of successful performances in karate tournaments, although his actual success in these tournaments is still a little questionable. He moved to Hollywood in the early eighties with not much money to his name, eyes fixed on  stardom. He had to endure mediocre jobs and fairly lowing paying roles until he established a name for himself.

His breakthrough was the 1986 hit No Retreat No Surrender. He muscled his way into international stardom without the invincibility of Arnie or brute force of Stallone, but flexibility and poise, probably assisted by the ballet he learned in his youth. He starred in blockbusters such as Universal Solider and Timecop.  He’s devoted to fitness and admits  being a fitness fanatic. He can allegedly bench press 166 kg!

During he nineties he began to crash and burn. Excessive partying, a string of failed marriages and a cocaine addiction formed after the 1995 bomb Sudden Death. Van Damme admitted to doing about 10 grams a day at his worst.  His marriage to Darcy La Pier, this third wife resulted in spousal abuse and an ugly public battle over child support.

He checked himself into a clinic in 1996 for substance addiction treatment, although prematurely exited seven days later, and relapsed only a few years later. Like many who face undiagnosed bipolar for years, substance abuse is often used to self-medicate the symptoms. Web MD points out all too clearly the link between bipolar and increased substance abuse:

People with bipolar disorder are also at higher risk for substance abuse. Nearly 60% of people with bipolar disorder abuse drugs or alcohol. Substance abuse is associated with more severe or poorly controlled bipolar disorder.*

It’s easy to judge people as drug addicts, but they are suffering a lot of psychological pain often tied to troubling and disturbing emotions that simply do not go away.

Things improved in 1998 when he was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder. Rapid cycling bipolar is where mood swings between high and low are much more frequent. Diagnostically a person needs to experience four or more episodes of mania or depression in a year.  He was prescribed sodium valproate, a mood stablising drug that is also used to treat epilepsy, and by his account responded very well:

You just have to take a little salt, and since I’m doing that it’s, like, BOOM! In one week, I felt it kick in. All the commotion around me, all the water around me, moving left and right around me, became like a lake.*

It’s noted that treatment with mood stabilizers continues even if the patient is not experiencing rapid cycling.

While getting his life back under control JCVD also reunited with a previous wife, Gladys Portugues, and has remained happily married since. Van Damme still struggles, but he’s open about those struggles and seems less and less to be fighting the world.

Another blog devoted to discussing the experience of bipolar mentions that it is important to be self-aware when you have bipolar, as going to the extremes is such a natural thing.

I’ll either be really close friends with someone or not talk to them at all.  How I feel about someone can also change very quickly depending on my mood and if I feel a person has done something to hurt me.  Going to extremes has positive and negative effects.  It can lead to success if you are driven to achieve, care about your body, and avoid drugs.  However, it can also lead to negative outcomes such as substance abuse, weight gain, loss of friends, career setbacks, and even death, and these things happen way too often. *

This emotional volatility and its associated repercussion rings true in JCVD’s case. Van Damme is very self-aware; he gives extremely candid interviews. In the recent film JCVD he shows himself as a defeated man with stunning clarity. Van Damme knows how to bare his soul openly. This is not dissimilar to other celebrities with bipolar including Carrie Fisher and Emma Thompson.

While it’s a little hard to say how he is really going, it’s clear that since the diagnosis, quitting cocaine and being honest in his life, he’s on the right track. Recent films such as The Expendables 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2 indicate this star continues to fight another day, and fight well. Best of luck to him and we hope he continues to stablilise his health, stay off the coke and enjoy a life that is not so governed by the turbulent emotions of bipolar.

How Jean Claude Van Damme Beats Bipolar

Diagnosis

Van Damme’s diagnosis assisted him in recognising the destructive behaviours in his life and allowed him to get the correct medications.

Cultivated healthier relationships

Van Damme remarried and settled into a healthier existence with one of his ex-wives, and the spousal abuse and dramas have settled.

Quitting substances

JCVD went cold turkey on cocaine, knowing he had too. This has really helped his mental health.

References and further reading

Bipolar.About.Com
Mental Health Realities A nice little piece from a bipolar sufferer.
IMDB Bio
DBS Alliance on Rapid Cycling  Excellent article about rapid cycling
Excellent article about the trials of JCVD, written in the late 90s 

Video

JCVD on his Bipolar, candid as ever:

Thanks for reading this article, all information is covered by an important disclaimer. Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Or, if you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you do beat your depression.

Linda Hamilton

D.O.B: September 26, 1956
Gender: Female
Birthplace: Maryland, United States of America
Nationality: American
Occupation: Actress
Condition: Bipolar
Other conditions: Alcohol and drugs (in remission)

Linda Hamilton, in her most famous role, fought her way out of a psychiatric ward. She’s known to play uncompromising characters who are tough and rugged. On the other side of the screen, she’s a fighter and always will be a fighter. The biggest battle she’s ever faced has been her mood disorder, bipolar.

Linda was diagnosed in her 40s and calls the years between 20 and 40 as the “lost years”. From the age of 23 to 30 she desperately tried to understand the nature of her mood swings.

Like Carrie Fisher, Linda Hamilton never really knew her father, although in this instance he was killed in a car accident when Linda was young. Linda’s father also had a suspected mood disorder. Her behavioral problems began at a young age. Her parents remember her beating a dog with a stick when she was five years old. She was an identical twin, and didn’t like resembling someone else, resulting in rebellion and attention-seeking behaviour. It was during this time she experienced excruciating aloneness.

As Linda began her career in Hollywood, she tried to combat her depression through alcohol and drugs. She describes her experience of manic phases:

It’s an amazingly brilliant time. You don’t need sleep. I think I existed on four hours sleep a night for four years. Sleep doesn’t seem necessary. You wake up feeling great. But it’s not all great feelings. A lot of the raging that I did I think was the manic part of my disorder. The capacity for fighting, war, taking everything on, taking too much on, overachieving and then raging because my system was so depleted.*

She emotionally abused her husband Bruce Abbott. Her marriage to director James Cameron ended in an expensive divorce. Her depression was so severe that sometimes she could not get disturbing images out of her head, like her children suffering harm. This powerful feeling was associated with the post-partum depression she was experiencing after the birth of her second child. Cyclical thought patterns and emotional volatility followed her around wherever she went.

“It was always all about me, when I would get that unwell,” she says. “I would go into argumentative rages. But I suffered horribly.” *

Exercise is an incredible key to feeling well. But for people with mental illness, taking care of the body is not an automatic thing. The mind is in such chaos it’s hard to come up with a plan. So to people like us, it’s more important than ever to follow a regimen. *

Linda did seek therapy and help during this time, however a proper clinical diagnosis and appropriate medication was not given to her. She succeeded as an actress despite battling a mental health condition. Linda has great insight into her struggle and this interview with Larry King serves to underscore the painful truth of mental health sufferers, that no one can see into your brain to acknowledge the pain, strife, psychic tension and ache that goes on there. A psychiatrist once told me that when you break your leg people can easily gather around and offer sympathy, not so for the mental health sufferer, sometimes this further exacerbates painful feelings of isolation and loneliness.

I just find it strange that in this world everyone is so easy to talk about the superficial, you know, and how people look and what they do to their faces but like no one is really having the dialogue about what’s going on inside of them. And I think that I hid my symptoms pretty well for most of my life but it was still a raging war going on.*

After she was diagnosed with bipolar she realised that medication was essential for managing her emotions and getting her life firmly back on track. The need to be a good parent and role model for her children inspired her to continue treatment.

She stuck to her medication regime and gave up alcohol. She now adopts a holistic approach to healthcare for the mentally unwell. She knows that a structured sensible and balanced approach is critical for proper recovery from mental health; it’s worth noting that when she started taking anti-depressants she didn’t initially stick with them. Like many people who have bipolar, once they feel better they stop taking medication. In the interview with Larry King she mentions needing to pay attention to certain side effects with medications as they can result in weight increase.

Because people are not able to care for themselves. They don’t make regular checkups with their doctor. They medicate with alcohol and too much food and because of those lifestyle choices, you know, they’re dying sooner. So, I really wanted to get out and address that and offer some common sense approaches*

It’s also important to point out how people can help if their family or friends are suffering depression. We know that a lot of people who research answers are often loved ones looking for an answer. A person who is very sick sometimes lacks all capacity to look for answers. Linda’s friends affirmed their love for her and didn’t condemn her bad behaviour.

We’ll leave this article with an excellent quote, here’s Linda’s parting advice to those who are struggling to get better:

Her best advice? “Never give up on yourself. Reach out for help. Find like-minded (people) who can offer wisdom.”*

We totally commend Linda’s forthrightness, honesty and perseverance. She is an inspiration for so many others and we wish her the best for the future which just keeps getting brighter and brighter for her.

How Linda Hamilton Beats Bipolar

Exercise  – As you can see by Terminator 2 exercise is important to Linda, she recognised that she used to be an exercise junkie which was not serving her. She now still exercises regularly but  has part of a holistic health plan
Medication – Linda finally accepted the bi-polar disorder, her compliance with medication ensures she is on the right track and her moods are much more manageable
Destigmatisation  Even though is was slightly inadvertent, Linda has become a spokesman about confronting disorder. Her interviews with Larry King and Oprah Winfrey are recommended for further reading. She open, candid honest and raw about her journey, struggled and how she’s gotten her life well back on track
Structure – Linda focuses on having a balanced and structured life. Driven by needing to be the best mother she can be to her kids.

References and further reading
Excellent transcript with Larry King
MSNBC
The Star

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Or, if you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you do beat your depression.

Fear is part of the shadow side of man, which encompasses loneliness, guilt, boredom and envy. All people of all cultures experience fear, and it is equally destructive in creating negative behaviour and equally helpful in inspiring positive action.

Like anger, fear is not necessarily something bad. The problem is when people develop irrational fears and these neurotic fears are allowed to build, often causing less and less legitimately fearful situations which can become overwhelming

Pathological fear leads to pathological conditions that greatly restrict the range of healthy emotions and enjoyment from life, such as  anxiety disorder, PTSD (a form of trauma) and depression.

Fear also underpins addictions such as alcohol and gambling where the substance or activity may offer perceived temporary alleviation of a fearful mindset plaguing the person. The effect of alcohol or drugs is only temporary and the fear only gets worse as long as the addiction continues to be practised.

Severe fear can lead to paralysis, keeping people from social interactions and enjoying the world. Severe fear causes panic attacks, sometimes daily. People crawl into foetal position to recoil from the world and its pressures.

How Stuff Works on Fear also offers a succinct and excellent description of fear:

Fear is a chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause a racing heart, fast breathing and energized muscles, among other things, also known as the fight-or-flight response. The stimulus could be a spider, a knife at your throat, an auditorium full of people waiting for you to speak or the sudden thud of your front door against the door frame.*

Let’s look at what causes fear and go straight to the top: the fear of death.

Fear of death

All fears are a subset of the fear of death, where the ego resists impending annihilation. The ego’s attempts to fight against death can often go in two ways – the first is the expression of rage and anger against the world and others and trying to leave a mark on the earth through aggressive self-will and domination.

The second is to protect the fearful self from the world in passive ways such as avoidance, sinking into the imagination and avoiding and absconding responsibilities of daily living and maturity.

Both dispositions are equally damaging, although the aggressive type is more damaging to others. Even though the aggressive ones are just as fearful, they make a better effort at fulfilling obligations such as work and life’s duties than the passive fearful types. Being busy often prevents mental health from worsening.

The existential side of fear

While a fear of death is genuine, it doesn’t need to ruin lives. Death will always be present in the world. You have a choice: live in fear or take advantage of every breath you have.

The existential dread surrounding the meaning of life and life’s tangential course toward physical death takes up so much of human contemplation. One way to examine this fear in your life is to take an existential stance and ask what meaning and value to you have.

Fearful people need to ask “Is there any other way to derive value in my life? Is there a higher or greater purpose in my life I am yet to realise?” This existential wondering often leads people into a greater life of faith and spiritual importance. Cultivating the path of faith often takes away fear because the pressures of life to succeed becomes much less significant. Friendship, love, companionship, meaningful interactions with others and true beauty become apparent and noticeable.

Don’t be afraid, don’t be scared. Make it a habit to consciously be less fearful, every day, day by day, hour by hour. Disregard your life stage when it comes to existential enquiries, as these questions as just as valid for an eighty year old as they are for someone who is just entering their 20s, 30s or 40s. Unfortunately these types of questions are asked late in life, when people think it’s too late to teach themselves new ways of being and acting.

Psychology Today has an excellent article on fear which takes a reductionist approach and simplified basic fears into five categories, paraphrased here:

Extinction - The fear of ceasing to exist, which often gives rise to panic. People who suffer panic attacks will fear this greatly as they think they are having a heart attack which will lead to death.

Mutilation – Fear of losing parts of our body or our body being invaded. Fear of other animals like spiders and snakes is part of this fear.

Loss of Autonomy - fear of being immobilized, paralysed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped, imprisoned, smothered, or controlled by circumstances. In a physical form, it’s sometimes known as claustrophobia, but it also extends to social interactions and relationships.

Separation - fear of abandonment, rejection, and loss of connectedness, of becoming a non-person - not wanted, respected, or valued by anyone else. The “silent treatment,” when imposed by a group, can have a devastating psychological effect on the targeted person.

Ego-death - fear of humiliation, shame, or any other mechanism of profound self-disapproval that threatens the loss of integrity of the self. Fear of the shattering or disintegration of one’s constructed sense of lovability, capability, and worthiness

More signs and repercussions of fear

Anxiety

Anxiety is mostly based on what could possibly happen in the future. Severe anxiety is crippling and produces panic attacks, impairing the ability to do daily activities.

Unemployment

One of the chief concerns of many people is how unemployment affects their lives and their ability to care and provide for the people they love. There is also much fear around potential and actual unemployment.

Fear of going crazy

Suffering a mental health condition is so hard that it often involves being afraid of going insane and being labelled mentally sick. The fear of losing control over one’s mind is indeed frightening. It is a common experience for people suffering conditions to be petrified of going out of their mind. They may fear being hospitalised or put into a mental facility.

A lot of fear comes from the unknown and low confidence and wondering how much longer the mental health problems will last.

Social scrutiny and social rejection

This fear is most common amongst the marginalised and lonely. Fearful people are generally sensitive people. Having to defend yourself against others puts people into a world where they can’t trust anyone. When you live in fear you become drawn into yourself and obsessed with what others may or may not be thinking about you. Ruminating on previous hurts of failures becomes so compelling it can be hard not to play the mental tapes over and over again.

Tiredness

Fear is very tiring. Fear often interrupts sleep which causes tiredness, reinforcing mental health conditions. Fear depletes energy reserves by the over activation of the parasympathetic nervous symptom. Long-term fear will cause lasting fatigue which often sinks into depression and exhaustion.

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/fear/feed/ 2 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-kay-redfield-jamison-beat-bipolar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-kay-redfield-jamison-beat-bipolar http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-kay-redfield-jamison-beat-bipolar/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:23:37 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1523

Kay Redfield Jamison

DOB: 14 October 1946
Gender: Female
Birthplace: United States
Nationality: American
Condition: Bipolar

She is a world authority on mood disorders, a clinical psychologist, one of the most respected academics in mental health and called a “hero of medicine” by TIME magazine. But while Kay Redfield Jamison has hundreds of accolades, she has also battled bipolar all her life. Her intellect, career and experience with the condition gives her penetrating insight into bipolar, mental health and suicide and what needs to be done to improve awareness and treatment of these conditions.

She grew up in a warm large family, in a military environment. When she was in senior high school her first attack of manic depression hit. Staying up late making great and fantastic plans, immersing in activities, enchanted with the laws of the natural world, she tired her friends out with incessant activity and ideas. Jamison’s manic phases tended to be the euphoric type with psychotic features. When she got into university she started to get really sick with severe mania and depression.

The management of her condition continued to deteriorate alongside her gaining serious academic posts. Trying to manage her burgeoning career and keeping her condition under control was beginning to take its toll. She was prescribed medicine but didn’t take it regularly.

When she was 28 she attempted suicide. She had stopped taking medication and was profoundly depressed. She was able to rebound when she was younger but in her late twenties her illness declined for about 18 months and it become intolerable. The problems culminated in taking an overdose of medication. Fortunately her brother called from Paris to check in on her.

Since her near death, Jamison has remained compliant with medication, although this didn’t come easily as she resisted taking medication for so long. She often created long webs of twisted reasoning to go off lithium. She was petrified about going on lithium and not working as it should. But it does for her, and she has responded well to lithium.

The experience also intensified her interest in looking at the powerful nexus between mental health and suicide. As a result of coming so close to suicide, Jamison has a vested interest in the study of suicide and how mental health plays such a crucial part in causing people to suicide.

“There is a huge relationship between suicide and being under the age of 30, but that’s exactly the age group that is least likely to be compliant in taking medication,” Jamison points out *

She then realised that getting and staying on mood stabilising medications, such as lithium, was profoundly essential to her own wellbeing and the management of her condition. This is not uncommon at all, when documenting howibeat stories we continuously see how important mood stabilising medications are to the management of bipolar. Linda Hamilton, Jean Claude van Damme and Carrie Fisher are more famous people who made this discovery when they made efforts to better manage their condition. She believes bipolar is genetic, and notes bipolar going strongly up a family line.

She’s also committed to the continuing destigmatisation of mental illness. She makes an excellent point about destigmatisation being inextricably linked to treatment and research. The better the treatment and research, the less stigmatisation:

“Ultimately, destigmatisation comes about through treatment and research,” she states. “If you look at the destigmatisation of epilepsy and cancer, it was tied to treatment. AIDS became much less stigmatized when it was no longer believed it was always related to death. Cancer began to be treatable … epilepsy the same way when treatments began to be available. Now we have treatments for depression and, increasingly, they exist for bipolar.” *

Jamison analyses her own mental health to give a unique perspective on the inner workings of a condition. She doesn’t think it makes you a better doctor or practitioner, after all a good doctor is a good doctor. She is exceptional at grounding scientific research with empathy and is a powerful bridge between the mental health community and scientific research.

She’s also incredibly candid and philosophical when speaking of her own experiences:

I long ago abandoned the notion of a life without storms, or a world without dry and killing seasons. Life is too complicated, too constantly changing, to be anything but what it is. And I am, by nature, too mercurial to be anything but deeply wary of the grave unnaturalness involved in any attempt to exert too much control over essentially uncontrollable forces. There will always be propelling, disturbing elements, and they will be there until, as Lowell put it, the watch is taken from the wrist. It is, at the end of the day, the individual moments of restlessness, of bleakness, of strong persuasions and maddened enthusiasms, that inform one’s life, change the nature and direction of one’s work, and give final meaning and color to one’s loves and friendships. *

Kay really is a credit to the mental health field and to the millions of people who truly admire her as person and the causes she champions. All people who are interested in destigmatising mental health are in her debt.  She has a deeper compassion as a result of her condition. We finish on this great quote from an Unquiet Mind:

I have often asked myself whether, given the choice, I would choose to have manic-depressive illness. If lithium were not available to me, or didn’t work for me, the answer would be a simple no and it would be an answer laced with terror. But lithium does work for me, and therefore I can afford to pose the question. Strangely enough I think I would choose to have it. It’s complicated. Depression is awful beyond words or sounds or images… So why would I want anything to do with this illness? Because I honestly believe that as a result of it I have felt more things, more deeply; had more experiences, more intensely; loved more, and been more loved; laughed more often for having cried more often; appreciated more the springs, for all the winters… and slowly learned the values of caring, loyalty and seeing things through. …Depressed, I have crawled on my hands and knees in order to get across a room and have done it for month after month. But, normal or manic, I have run faster, thought faster and loved faster than most I know. Kay Redfield Jamison, An Unquiet Mind

How Kay Redfield Jamison Beat Bipolar

Medication

Lithium and mood stablising medications evened out her mood and made her condition manageable thus freeing her continue to excel professionally.

Destigmatising mental health 

Kay is passionate about spreading information about mental illness and breaking down misconceptions about mental illness. Her efforts at highlighting the lethality of conditions like major depression and bipolar puts the seriousness of the condition in the spotlight.

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-kay-redfield-jamison-beat-bipolar/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/how-to-beat-depression/unemployment-and-depression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=unemployment-and-depression http://www.howibeatdepression.com/how-to-beat-depression/unemployment-and-depression/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:34:27 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1499 Mental and physical health problems can jeopardise or cause long term unemployment. Long term unemployment is defined as 27 weeks or longer, and can cause severe social exclusion as a result. In some cases being forced out of the work due to external factors beyond one’s control – involuntary unemployment – may not have been a result of mental health, but the experience and trauma of being out of work as causes mental health conditions to surface and increases susceptibility to chronic illness.

Over 200 million people worldwide are unemployed. The prevalence of depression and chronic pain in this population is staggering, especially when focussing on the long term unemployed. Overly-conscientious people, a personality type lending itself to depression, are likely to experience greater suffering at the prospect of being unemployed and consequently experience a harsher depression.

The experience of underachieving and being out of the workforce due to mental health, especially when unemployment is protracted, is absolutely crushing for the self-esteem and soul. It increases feelings of shame and defeat and compounds all negative health conditions.

Unemployment also increases the frequency and potency of isolation, and may lead someone into drug and alcohol use to cope with the pain and loneliness. For some it may lead to suicidal ideation and tragically suicide, particularly when a successful career is abruptly halted by mental health conditions.

The good news is that people can beat this condition by getting back into work of some variety. It doesn’t necessarily mean back into the workforce. There are numerous ways of beating unemployment that often need to be pursued in recovery.

Why people with mental health problems struggle at work

People who have conditions in the workplace without acknowledging or addressing them are likely to suffer performance wise. Often they will be thinking more about preserving the job rather than being free to perform to best of their ability.

Mental and physical health conditions cause a lot of self-consciousness; when people are sick their ego turns inwards and rumination begins to take them away from present experiences and the present moment. The repercussion in the workforce is that more concentration is needed to just do basic things and get the job done. Often thoughtlessness and clumsy errors will creep into the work and compound one’s anxiety about being able to manage a position and one’s own competency.

Not only can that produce underachievement and incompetence in one’s own duties, it can result in promotions being missed and a general feeling of being left behind and trampled over, neglected and forgotten, which further depresses the mood and causes anger and disillusionment. Unless conditions are successfully treated, this will result in either a reduction of hours, change of position, termination of employment or voluntary resignation.

Understanding from a personal perspective

I was out of the workforce for nearly two years when I was depressed. I tried to slog through full time work, but my ability was mediocre and substandard for many years, especially when not addressing my depression and anxiety. I systematically hid the unhealthy nature of my behaviour and inner life to myself, workmates, family and friends.

Being out of work for so long was very hard.  I felt like a loser, a no one, embarrassed about my situation, especially in a society and culture that puts such high premiums on social status and employment position. The all-too-familiar perfunctory social interactions which ask one’s employment position as a way to establish a greeting is painful for the unemployed.  This only makes the unemployed more inclined to avoid social situations. It drove me to isolate more and avoid situations where any form of social scrutiny is present.

So don’t feel alone if you are unemployed, I along with many others know how hard it is, but we also know that if the right actions and decisions are made the isolation and pain does not need to last forever.

Does work, well… work?

Work is paramount for instilling a sense of worth, self-esteem, and the ability to feel that you input has value. Sometimes these truths ring most loudly when you are out of work! You can take it for granted when employed, especially if you find a job mundane, repetitive or dull. Please realise that even if your job is too easy, mundane or dull it is likely performing a great benefit for your own health.

There can be damaging work environments and places for people to be in which can negatively impact health. Sometimes people need to withdraw from very toxic and harmful situations and environments in order to improve their mental health. We are not looking at this aspect in this article but needed to acknowledge it.

Remember to be sensitive and care for those who are unemployed

Human history is negative toward the unemployed. Please realise that being unemployed is not something people enjoy or revel in, even people with a tough exterior are often damaged and hurting inside. Be mindful in how you treat and perceive the unemployed, they are often not dole bludgers or lazy malingerers, and while a small minority of this population may fit into that category don’t let their conscious inaction skew perception for the many legitimately hard cases out there.

How to beat unemployment and get back into the workforce

Don’t push your way back into full time work if you have been out of it for a while

Be gentle on yourself and accept that part time or casual work may be the best stepping stone before embracing full time work. Full time work is stressful, even people without mental health conditions experience significant anxiety and stress. Instead try getting back to work one day at a time. Pick a job that is not in a high stress environment, even if your professional training says you should! (That means you, lawyers and doctors.)

Pace yourself, it takes time to recover!

One of the key mistakes people make when they try and recover from conditions is that they put too much focus on themselves.  This is understandable considering we live in a self-help, DIY, self-made generation that promotes tonnes of false, unrealistic and downright unethical personal recovery approaches. There is no easy way when you are trying to change deep-seated problems, no 5 step plans, ten hour working weeks, magic formula or bullets.

The bottom line is that for most it takes a lot of hard work, discipline, patience and commitment to beat longstanding conditions and live a healthy and fulfilled life in spite of mental and physical conditions.

At How I Beat we do not peddle false hope or promises, we do know what works because we document lots of success stories and in nearly every instance genuine recovery takes time – this is a reality that needs acceptance. You can accept it and cultivate patience through it or you can reject it and go through the endless cycles of self- help seminars, flash-in-the-pan improvement techniques promising instant breakthrough yet paying paltry and short-lived dividends. Real growth is often slow, sometimes painful, always rewarding.

Recovery is about turning the tide, slowly and steadily. And part of that turning is doing work, maybe only a little at first. It might be simply just cleaning one’s room or getting one’s own affairs slightly more in order. What seems small  is a huge and commendable start for many. It builds from there, until hard work is actually embraced and becomes enjoyable, instinctual and almost unconscious.

 Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/how-to-beat-depression/unemployment-and-depression/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/types-of-depression/postnatal-depression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=postnatal-depression http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/types-of-depression/postnatal-depression/#comments Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:55:25 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1461 Postnatal depression (PND), also called postpartum depression, is experienced by approximately 15%-25% of women after childbirth. Men can also experience this depression although much less frequently.

PND is not the ‘baby blues’. About half of all woman go through the baby blues,  a milder depression that is normally resolved within ten days after the birth. There is also a more serious condition called postpartum psychosis (also known as puerperal psychosis) which affects approximately 0.2% and includes symptoms such as hallucinations, loss of contact with reality, thought disturbances and out of character behaviour.

If you get puerperal psychosis, you will need to go to hospital and see a psychiatrist. Ideally this would be in a specialised mother and baby unit where you can have your baby with you

Diagnostically, the DSM-IV does not recognize postnatal depression as a separate diagnosis; rather, patients with a diagnosis of postpartum depression must meet the criteria for both major depressive episode and the criteria for the postpartum onset specifier. The diagnosis must be made within four weeks of delivery.

The obvious signs are anxiety, inability to look forward to events, low mood and extreme tiredness. Often there is a lot of guilt and shame about not meeting a perception of being a good mother. Other symptoms of PND include:

• anxiety
• panic attacks
• sleeplessness
• extreme tiredness
• aches and pains
• feeling generally unwell
• memory loss or being unable to concentrate
• feelings of not being able to cope
• not being able to stop crying
• loss of appetite
• feelings of hopelessness
• not being able to enjoy anything
• loss of interest in the baby
• Afraid to be alone with the baby
• excessive anxiety about the baby *

Moreover, women with PMD frequently think they are “going crazy” and worry that if they share these thoughts with a health care professional, they will be “locked up” or someone will take their baby away from them*. These fears are about keeping themselves and their baby secure and come from a deep emotional bond. The mother will do anything to protect and be with her offspring and will internally fight to try and ensure nothing interferes with this relationship. The stress of PND often negatively affects the relationship with the spouse and other members of family and friendship networks.

Post natal depression develops in different ways, for some it is really sudden and for others it is very gradual. With the  gradual kind the person is less likely to seek help, with sudden and severe onset professional help is likely sought. If left untreated PND can extend into a second year post delivery. It’s important that detection and treatment is timely as PND affects both the health of the mother and the offspring’s own mental health and development.

In terms of basic PND screening, the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale is used in primary care in Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe. You can complete the screening test on this site: The screening test for post natal depression. Do it now if you are concerned that you may have post natal depression. Remember to seek professional assistance if you think you have post natal depression. Getting immediate assistance and help is vital for a timely recovery.

It’s not about the relationship with the husband or the baby that is driving this depression; post natal depression is about chemical imbalance, and is more clearly documented than other types of depression such as major depression and seasonal affective disorder.

At least one third of the women who have had PND have a recurrence of symptoms after a subsequent delivery, and as many as 60% of women with bipolar disorder have a relapse after childbirth*. A history of depression or other mental health issues greatly increases your chances of developing PND.

Socioeconomic causes are also a factor in PND. The lower the socio-economic bracket the higher the chance of developing post-natal depression. The anxiety around providing for yourself and your offspring is likely to continue to fuel anxiety, tension and stress if money and other stable pillars are not there.

Let’s look at some stories about how two women beat post natal depression. The first story is Aimee’s.

With Aimee’s PND irritability was really infecting her life and her relationships. She went to the GP and got counselling.

It’s also noted how helpful the partner was in going through post natal depression. Aimee admitted suffering depression whilst pregnant, a predictive factor for the likelihood of PND forming. She then had the baby blues after the birth which developed into full blown post natal depression after the first year. In this video the problem of feeling guilty about your feelings when suffering PND is explored in that you should be feeling so good to have a baby and raise a newborn into the world but you feel so bad when going through PND. This incongruity is often deeply unsettling for the sufferer. She felt guilty about her feelings, which is very common for people with PND. This guilt becomes a driving force in the length and severity of depression unless treated and addressed. Aimee also experienced exhaustion, but it is encouraging that these resources can and do get replenished with the right care and support.

Jessica Rowe, an Australian TV journalist, also suffered from PND.

In her case the PND fuelled severe anxiety, panic and obsessive thoughts about the safety of her baby. In spite of being a mental health advocate for so long she still struggled with the crucial step of asking for help. Like Aimee’s case Jessica’s partner didn’t dismiss her concerns; he affirmed his love of her and assisted her in getting help. Jessica went on medication and sought professional help, making a strong recovery from PND.

How people beat post natal depression

Counselling or psychotherapy

Talking therapies are proven to be very effective against PND. Even discussing it with a GP is an excellent first step. Often CBT techniques will be taught during this process.

Exercise

Exercise is crucial, especially if medication and talking therapies are not used when trying to beat PND. Listen to our podcast on why exercise is just so vital for depression.

Support and advice

Mutual support groups can share collective wisdom about implementing strategies to combat and beat PND. Keep reaching out to friends and family and ensure you have enough social contact to combat the impulses toward loneliness and isolation.

Keep a journal

My good friend Graeme Cowan created a support group a few years ago in which he suggested a great term, creating a mood-o-meter to track your mood every day. Keep a mood-o-meter along with a daily journal and document your mood and behaviour, start to map out relationships between thoughts, feelings and actions. Rate your mood for the day between 1-10. If the mood is four or below there are serious problems that need to be addressed.  Remember when it comes to recovery most of the work remains with the person. Journalling helps cut through the fog of depression.

Medication

Sometimes antidepressants are necessary to treat more severe PND,  but as they can pass through breast milk this needs to be carefully considered with relevant health professionals and family.

Don’t compare yourself with others

This is much easier said than done. It’s human nature to dwell and measure sense of worth and value against others.  Comparing yourself against other mothers’ or worrying that you are not attaining super-mum status is only going to harm and worsen your mental health. In our articles on anger we looked at how certain types of personalities are more prone to depression, especially perfectionists and people pleasing personalities. This rings true for PND too, with the need to be seen as a good mother and the anxiety around doing everything perfectly to accomplish this aim.

All information on this site is covered by an important disclaimer. Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  If you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you do beat your depression.

References and further reading

Post Natal Depression Site
NHS information on Post Natal Depression
AAFP on Post Natal Depression

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/types-of-depression/postnatal-depression/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/seasonal-affective-disorder/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=seasonal-affective-disorder http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/seasonal-affective-disorder/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:25:08 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1447 Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is an episode of depression that occurs and tends to reoccur during a certain time of year, usually in winter. SAD entails serious mood changes and possible heightened anxiety. It is not a separate disorder to depression and is added as a description to the pattern of major depression or bipolar, otherwise known as a subtype.

Dr Norman E. Rosenthal reported and named the condition in the early 1980s when he noticed a definite depressive mood in winter months. People who get SAD normally do not have other serious mental health issues during the rest of the year. The onset of SAD is normally around the early twenties and it affects women more than men.

If SAD occurs in summer it is known as reverse seasonal affective disorder. People with SAD can go on to develop bipolar and hypomania in the summer months.

Climate is the main cause of SAD, particularly in places with long and cold winters. There could be a possible evolutionary genetic influence that sends people into a state of hibernation during the winter months in preparation for a lower caloric intake. Symptoms normally appear in late fall or early winter. Light levels are one of the central reasons behind SAD. It is highly prevalent in arctic regions such as Finland; the further away from the equator you live the greater the chance of developing SAD.

A decrease in serotonin and increase in melatonin is thought to underlie this phenomenon. The body clock circadian rhythms are also affected because of the lower amount of light, which can also lead to depression.

The symptoms of SAD include overeating, difficulty getting out of bed, a lack of energy and difficulty concentrating or completing tasks. People who get SAD in non-winter months show symptoms of classic depression: social withdrawal, weight loss, insomnia and suicide. SAD is simply not feeling a little more tired or lower energy levels in certain seasons.

Fall and winter seasonal affective disorder (winter depression)

Winter-onset seasonal affective disorder symptoms include:

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy
• Heavy, “leaden” feeling in the arms or legs
• Social withdrawal
• Oversleeping
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating *

It’s important to not just dismiss SAD as some clockwork winter blues that just needs to be worked though and endured. With the right attitude, interventions and planning, your mood and motivation can remain steadfast throughout the year.

What beats seasonal affective disorder?

Light Therapy

Light therapy, called phototherapy, has treated SAD for over 20 years. Often treatment is done via a light box although cumbersome delivery makes it difficult for some and this therapy doesn’t work for all. MIND UK lists the main types of light therapy:

• The light boxes range in size from a small TV-sized tabletop box to a wall-mounted window-type fixture. They contain a number of bright light tubes covered by a screen. You sit about half a metre to a metre away from it, and can carry on with normal activities, such as reading, working, eating or even watching TV.
• A portable light visor fits on your head, shining light directly into your eyes and giving you complete freedom of movement.
• A dawn simulator is a bedside light, connected to an alarm clock, which mimics a sunrise and wakes you gradually. *

Examples of light therapy products are found on this website: MM Lights

Medication

Antidepressant medications are effective against all forms of depression, including SAD. Discuss this with your health professional for further information.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

CBT is all about changing cognitive processes that in turn change feelings and behaviours. CBT can be used to pre-empt the shift into SAD before the onset of the season. Unlike other depressions in which episodes cannot be predicted, SAD normally occurs during regular seasons thus allowing the person to mentally prepare and adjust before the onset.

Exercise

Despite strong feelings of isolation and lethargy, the effort must be made to get outdoors in spite of these feelings. You don’t need to turn into a fitness fanatic, long walks every day can be very beneficial. Treat yourself gently and be easy on yourself. Maximise the time you spend in natural light, as the sun is the best source of Vitamin D you can get.

Support networks

Connect to a robust and varied support network and keep socialising even when you don’t feel like it.

Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or, if you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you do beat your depression.

References and further reading
NCBI
Mayo Clinc
MedicineNet
NAMI
MIND UK
BBC on SAD

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/seasonal-affective-disorder/feed/ 2 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-catherine-zeta-jones-beat-bipolar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-catherine-zeta-jones-beat-bipolar http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-catherine-zeta-jones-beat-bipolar/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:03:08 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1422

Catherine Zeta-Jones

D.O.B 25 September 1969
Gender: Female
Birthplace: Swansea, Wales
Nationality: Welsh
Occupation: Actress
Condition: Bipolar (Type II)

Catherine Zeta-Jones is a Welsh actress, known for her vibrant attitude and beauty. The Oscar winning actress has starred in blockbusters like Chicago, The Mask of Zorro and The Terminal. She also recently bagged a Tony for A Little Night Music. While one of the few celebrities able to keep her private life away from the public stare, Zeta-Jones was recently diagnosed with Bipolar (Type II).

In April 2011 she sought treatment at a Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut. The resulting media frenzy over her brief admission, roughly five days, brought the disease to an international audience. The media spent time dissecting the distinction between Type I and Type II Bipolar disorder. The width and depth of coverage this story engendered is staggering, and from an educational perspective this was extremely beneficial in opening up discussions about mental health.

Because the nature, history and details of her actual condition, notwithstanding the admission, are personal and private, we want to shift our focus in this story to echoing what parts of the media did, focusing on the distinction between bipolar type I and type II.

Let’s go over some distinctions about type I and type II. Bipolar is a lifelong condition, usually starting in childhood with recurrent episodes throughout a lifetime. People with bipolar type I have extreme manic phases where the elevated mood is obvious and the abnormal behaviour manifests clearly – shopping binges, sexual promiscuity often people believe they have special superpowers or heightened perception.

People with bipolar type II have less intense phases when mood is elated, called hypomania, which are mild manic symptoms. Bipolar exists in a spectrum, some forms of the illness are worse than others. The low mood of despair and depression is likely to last longer for type II.

From Web MD:

In bipolar II disorder, the “up” moods never reach full-on mania; The less-intense elevated moods in bipolar II disorder are called hypomanic episodes, or hypomania. A person affected by bipolar II disorder has had at least one hypomanic episode in life.*

Bipolar can also be triggered by stress. In Zeta-Jones’ case her husband, Michael Douglas’ battle with throat cancer was the precipitation reason. From all accounts her marriage to Michael Douglas is rock solid and she is devoted to her family.

Her admission to the clinic was relatively brief and most likely in order to better manage stress. Considering the battles her husband was facing, coupled with the prospect of two upcoming films, the admission itself appears to be a smart move. Caring for others while sick is a full time job, coupled with kids and a high profile career.

It is a little unclear as to whether or not she knew of the diagnosis before the admission; the video we’ve included at the bottom from ABC news leads us to believe it could have been a revelation for her whilst in the facility. If this is so it’s not too surprising, as bipolar type II can be confused with general depression. The highs are not too high and the sufferer is likely to spend more time in depressive lows. The depressive lows are very similar to clinical depression: loss of pleasure, low energy and activity, feelings of guilt and worthlessness.

Type II hypomania is a little harder to detect that type I mania, which is overt with a significantly elevated mood. The hypomania in type II can be interpreted as relentless optimism, rather than a clinical problematic mood cycle. Often people during these phases may complete large amounts of work or be seen as charismatic, unique and a little eccentric.

We really hope you realise that bipolar is not a character flaw or defect. It’s a treatable illness as Catherine Zeta-Jones’ case clearly shows. You can have a family and a successful career and still have this condition. In this way you are beating the condition, you are not allowing it to take away the joys of family, the pleasures and reward of career and hard work, and the enriching and valuable presence of friends.

Bipolar affects around 3% of the American population and countless millions around the world. There’s no doubt that psychoeduation plays a key role in helping people with bipolar. Understanding and learning about what could potentially trigger an episode and planning accordingly in terms of sleep, medication and other ways to manage is often done between the person with bipolar and a treating professional, like a psychiatrist or psychologist. Like bipolar I, medication to stabilize mood is often very beneficial for bipolar II. Zeta-Jones has shown that sometimes you do need extra help in recover, and there is definitely no shame in that.

Catherine Zeta-Jones told People magazine:

This is a disorder that affects millions of people and I am one of them… If my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it. There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help.

We commend her for coming forward. It really helps people going through the condition feel less alone, we also hope her story inspires others to do the same.

All information on this site is covered by an important disclaimer. Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  If you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you do beat your depression.

How Catherina Zeta-Jones beat depression

Humility

She knew she needed help and sought sound medical treatment.

Professional treatment

She checked herself into a rehabilitation facility to get help to better manage stress and cope with her condition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgkZ9MCr2zU

References and further reading

ABC News  Excellent video which discusses the distinction between bipolar I and II
WEB MD Helpful visual guide to help better grasp and understand bipolar disorder
Health.com Ten subtler signs of bipolar disorder
Healthland Spends time analyzing the difference between Bipolar I and II, worth reading

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-catherine-zeta-jones-beat-bipolar/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/how-to-beat-depression/how-to-help-teenagers-beat-depression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-help-teenagers-beat-depression http://www.howibeatdepression.com/how-to-beat-depression/how-to-help-teenagers-beat-depression/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:14:41 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1411 Teenagers go through many highs and lows in life, including depression. Parents can easily confuse moodiness with legitimate depression, which left untreated can have tragic consequences. For a teenager the pressure to conform at school, as well as trying to ground their identity, manage studies and social life is incredibly hard. On top of this teenagers are generally more selfish than mature adults and easily get drawn into their feelings and mood.

The modern landscape of social media hasn’t helped, with teenagers spending inordinate amounts of time online, often thinking about how to frame their lives in online profiles. This can often interrupt sleep patterns and cause them to detach further from reality in unhealthy and maladaptive ways.

Teenagers act out when depressed. There are warning signs that need to be addressed.

Call a doctor if you notice…

• New or more thoughts of suicide
• Trying to commit suicide
• New or worse depression
• New or worse anxiety
• Feeling very agitated or restless
• Panic attacks
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• New or worse irritability
• Acting aggressive, being angry, or violent
• Acting on dangerous impulses
• Being extremely hyperactive in actions and talking (hypomania or mania)
• Other unusual changes in behavior*

We like this little article in the Huffington Post about dealing with a depressed teenager. Key points in article and other articles about this issue include:

• Don’t mistake depression for moodiness. Pay attention to your child and watch for signs of legitimate depression.
• Reassure your child that you love them. Don’t dismiss or downplay problems.
• Pay attention to signs of more serious problems like suicidal ideation, increasing or decreasing sleep and alcohol and drug use.
• Don’t immediately try and reassure them. They need to feel the pain that comes alongside disconnection. Let them know that you are going to be there and help them deal with depression.
• Be gently persistent, a magical one-off conversation is extremely rare. Defensiveness is the norm, these layers need to be subtly eroded with care and time.
• Listen without lecturing and validate their experience and their feelings

Remember that caring for someone with depression involves a lot of self-care and management. It is so easy for the mental health issue to spread when family members are over-caring and over-investing in each other. After all they are your flesh and blood and you love and care for them deeply.

Try not to compare yourself to other families, just do what you need to do. Do your best and accept your limitations. For many, depression in the teenage years goes unnoticed and unattended, which often leads to a life with recurring episodic major depression or other mental health issues such as schizophrenia and alcohol and drug abuse.

Take this issue seriously and help your child through depression if they have it. Beating depression should start at the first time it surfaces in one’s life.

Thank you for reading this article and please be aware that all information on this site is covered by an important disclaimer. Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  If you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you or someone you care about beats depression.

References and further reading

Huffington Post
Help Guide Brilliant article about this issue

Photography by Nathan Csonka Photography via flickr

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/how-to-beat-depression/how-to-help-teenagers-beat-depression/feed/ 1 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/anger/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=anger http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/anger/#comments Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:40:19 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1393 Anger is not an emotion usually associated with depression, but absolutely essential in the causation and psychogenesis of depression. Therefore beating depression requires a healthy and balanced understanding of what anger is and how one best manages and expresses it without allowing it to fester and cause depression.

Underneath the emotional pain and troubled moods in depression lies deep-seated rage and anger, against the self and often against others. Anger doesn’t surface in the DSM IV diagnostic criteria because it’s an underlying reality not a manifested symptom. Anger is actually one of the central driving forces in depression. However it remains critically neglected during the recovery process.

There are personality traits that predispose people to depression, particularly perfectionists, the overly conscientious and people-pleasers. These personalities are likely to perceive anger as altogether negative and to be cleansed out of the system. They often are afraid of angry people and view anger purely as a tool used for social manipulation that always causes harm.

This is actually a flawed and unhelpful perception of anger. In fact it reflects ways of thinking that normally need correction through cognitive behavioural therapy and working out a more balanced and helpful worldview.

So let us unpack unhelpful ways of looking at anger by acknowledging how it is part of the experience of depression and how it used by psychologically healthy individuals:

Depressive thinking, acting and behaving is strongly connected to passive anger

Very often, depressed people are already angry people. They think, act and behave with what is known as passive anger. Expressions of this include dispassion; evasiveness and avoiding conflict; becoming phobic; ineffectualness; setting oneself up for failure; expressing frustration at insignificant things but ignoring serious ones; silent treatment; emotional blackmail; avoiding eye contact; self blame; self sacrifice, stockpiling resentments behind peoples’ backs.

These traits very much correlate with depressive thinking and behaving. Going through my own depression I could tick nearly every single box in passive anger. If you or a loved one is going through or has gone through depression, they probably displayed some connections between the signs of passive anger and depression. This acknowledgement takes humility and rigorous self-examination.

Anger is not aggression; it doesn’t necessarily cause immediate harm

Anger and rage are very different things. Anger can be a constructive emotion that when used rightly is beneficial for the individual and society. It spurs great social justice movements, it defends people honestly against unjust and cruel acts, it can defend healthy boundaries and ensures types of behaviour that need correction are addressed.

Yet if anger doesn’t get properly processed and released, rage and aggression will likely develop in time. Rage is destructive and leads to aggression against the self and others.

Anger in itself it is not bad, evil or a sin. It can be channeled in healthy ways. It is essential to develop constructive ways to deal with anger, before it becomes aggressive rage.

Anger has social benefits and promotes healthy psychology

Anger properly used has enormous benefit to the individual and society at large. There are strong correlations to social positions and use of anger. This doesn’t mean socially successfully people manipulate and wield anger as a weapon to crush weaker people to attain success and status.

People generally negotiate more, support and listen to people who can express anger more than fearful or withdrawn persons. By using their anger in a healthy way, they can express dissatisfaction against legitimate ills and when needed defend themselves with integrity and courage.

People who allow themselves to feel anger and use it constructively can maintain healthy boundaries. The human narrative of cooperation actually relies on these traits to ensure consistent activity is strategised, planned and executed in a predictable and reliable way.

Negative self-talk is an instance of buried anger turning into rage. If a depressed person thinks they are not angry and condemns themselves through inner voices they are hypocritical. In depression the tendency is to ruminate over situations and events in which the person felt wrong done by or hurt in some way, by going over and over the event. Often this analysis is repressed anger over a real or perceived hurt.

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/anger/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/news/depression-an-infection-fighting-byproduct/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=depression-an-infection-fighting-byproduct http://www.howibeatdepression.com/news/depression-an-infection-fighting-byproduct/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:19:29 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1371 At How I Beat Depression we believe the causes of depression are many: genetic, biological, psychological, existential and social. Mood disorders are complex conditions caused by a constellation of complex functions working together.

But there is a genetic component, and biology and psychology informs us of how depression may be a useful function from previous times and consequently how to better understand and treat it now.

It’s often hard to understand why depression is so widespread, why hasn’t human evolution done something to systematically reduce the predispositions and numbers of people who battle debilitating depression. The prevalence of depression makes it seem hardwired into our brains.

An interesting new study into the evolution of depression in a proposal to the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry has shed light into the susceptibility to depression that remains stubbornly embedded into the human genome.

The crux of the argument is that depression is linked to the function of the immune system and that depression may have been an effective way of warding off and surviving infection. It can also explain the disruption of sleep patterns too which occurs both in mood disorders and when fighting and infection. Imaging studies reveal that depressed people have higher levels of inflammation even when not fighting off an infection.

Bioscience Technology observes:

Infection was the major cause of death in humans’ early history, so surviving infection was a key determinant in whether someone was able to pass on his or her genes. The authors propose that evolution and genetics have bound together depressive symptoms and physiological responses that were selected on the basis of reducing mortality from infection. Fever, fatigue/inactivity, social avoidance and anorexia can all be seen as adaptive behaviors in light of the need to contain infection, they write.*

This is a very interesting development. As with many mental health problems in previous ages they did serve a useful function and purpose, however in contemporary social setting they are disadvantageous. A classic example is anxiety disorder where people live with the flight/fight response in response to no immediate real or imagined threat.

This study may launch further enquiry into treating treatment resistant depression medication and further understanding the link between stress and depression. We believe it is the beginning of a much better understanding of the history and treatment of depression.

Read more about this findings at these following news sources:
Zee News
Biology News Net
Bioscience Technology

Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or, if you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you do beat your depression.

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/news/depression-an-infection-fighting-byproduct/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/bipolar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bipolar http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/bipolar/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:48:06 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1350 What is Bipolar?

Bipolar is an extremely serious mental health condition, previously called manic depression, and sometimes referred to as bipolar affective disorder. There are serious repercussions for sufferer and their friends and family, especially if it is not diagnosed and treated. Four percent of people will suffer a form of bipolar in their life; it is equally prevalent between men and women.

Bipolar is a condition in which people go back and forth between moods (poles) and experience periods of a very good or irritable mood and the opposite pole, depression. These changes are called mood swings, and can happen very quickly. It is a cyclical disorder with episodes of depression and mania coming and going. It is a lifelong condition with exact causes and cures unknown, although effective treatment and management enables people with bipolar to live healthy and complete lives.

The first episodes of bipolar are normally experienced in late adolescence. The elevated moods are called mania, or if milder, hypomania. The elevated (high) and depressive (low) moods can occur simultaneously. This is called a mixed state.

People who experience mania often experience depressive episodes. They can also occur concurrently in what is called a ‘mixed state’ or rapidly cycle between each other.

The three types of bipolar are bipolar type I (mania and depression), type II (hypomania and depression) and Cyclothymia (hypomania and mild depression).  They are distinguished by the nature and severity of mood episodes. Like major depression bipolar exists on a spectrum and like major depression it is important to get a proper diagnosis as treatment pathways can differ according to the type.

Bipolar is a lethal illness. Statistics point to the fact that 20% (likely much more) who suffer bipolar will attempt suicide at one point in their life.

Many people who are diagnosed with bipolar abuse alcohol and drugs to cope with their condition. Often the results are dire, sometimes fatal when this happens. The good news is that with proper treatment and management people can live fulfilling and rich lives.

People can beat bipolar, by this we mean people with bipolar can still live rich, fulfilling and meaningful lives – we are not suggesting the condition can be eliminated or abolished as there remains no definite evidence that a cure exists.

Let’s look at mania:

“There’s a whole spectrum of symptoms and mood changes that have been found in bipolar disorder,” says Michael Aronson, MD, a clinical psychiatrist and consultant for WebMD. “It’s not always dramatic mood swings. In fact, some people seem to get along just fine. The manic periods can be very, very productive. They think things are going great.”

The danger comes, he says, when the mania grows much worse. “The change can be very dramatic, with catastrophic results. People can get involved in reckless behavior, spend a lot of money, there may be sexual promiscuity, sexual risks.”

Mania is an elevated (high) mood, for some it can lead to a euphoric experience. These are the classic signs of a manic or hypomanic episode. Pubmed Health has an excellent list of bipolar symptoms. They are repeated and elaborated on here:

Easily distracted

This is when manic concentration is severely impaired and easily noticeable by others. People in an episode are so caught up in their grandiose and rapid thoughts they struggle to absorb information in a methodical and systematic way. They want to press their opinions and ideas on others and struggle to comprehend and process information. This often results in lost objects, forgetfulness and if the person is in positions of responsibilities, evident failures and breakdown of these responsibilities.

Little need for sleep

Mania is often enjoyable for the sufferer they often are addicted to how brilliant and life changing they feel. They feel like they have unlimited energy, therefore sleep is not often wanted even if the sleep cycles are very much disturbed. Insomnia and short shallow sleeping is common.

Poor judgement

As mentioned previously, actions and thoughts are frenzied and occupied with trying to divulge what are perceived as life changing truths, which skews proper judgement. During a manic episode self-centered thoughts and behaviour occur quite strongly.

Poor temper control

Emotional regulation is difficult, if not impossible when going through an episode unmedicated. Impulsivity, recklessness, stubbornness and pushiness are common when manic, as well as low tolerance for others’ opinions. This can result in leaving jobs, schools and relationships when problems and tensions arise.

Reckless behaviour and lack of self-control

This can be very difficult for families to come to grips with, as it often appears to be stubborn, bad and reckless behaviour. I used to work in a psychiatric hospital and spent much time speaking with families of patients with bipolar. Often they would bemoan and speak at length about their agitation with the manic phases. Patients would sometimes spend up to $60, 000 in a week and engage in very challenging behaviour, for example messing up and defacing their property. We don’t want to sugarcoat or gloss over these conditions. Bipolar is a very challenging experience for the person and the family.

Binge eating, drinking and or drug use

Sometimes the elevated feeling will instill a false sense of invincibility, so using drugs and alcohol to further the experience can be common.

Sex with many partners (promiscuity)

Having sex with many partners and experiencing an increased libido can occur. The risk for STDs, unwanted pregnancies, HIV and regretful behaviour increases with promiscuity.

Spending sprees

Spending sprees and recklessness with money is common during a manic episode. You don’t need to have much money to do this either. People who are poor can blow welfare or low income easily on gambling and get lured into quick impulse and comfort buying. So, like gambling, bipolar can quickly deplete people of assets and income and consequently of relationships and families.

Increased energy

People in mania have an enormous amount of energy and normally function on only a couple of hours of sleep a night. Sometimes they can actually go days, even a week with no sleep and still have energy to spare. Often sweating and other nervous and agitated bodily symptoms can be detected. This increased energy will result in a hyperactive state in which the person is capable of a huge amount of work.

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/bipolar/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/signs-of-depression/tiredness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tiredness http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/signs-of-depression/tiredness/#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:15:32 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1316 There are many reasons for the perpetual tiredness people with depression suffer.  One major factor is that people who suffer depression usually have an overactive mind in an under-active body. Depression is quite rightly described as a deadly cocktail of hopelessness and helplessness.

Though my own reading and my own recovery story I learnt I wasn’t as helpless as I thought. With appropriate guidance and the ability to frequently renew my will to change, I could arrest my inertia and paralysis. This was hard. One of the main reasons it is so hard, in my opinion, is that depression makes you tired – incredibly tired. Mental and physical fatigue converge and make you feel absolutely paralyzed and unable to perform basic routine functions that daily life requires. It’s an enhanced tiredness which never seems to go away, even short naps or marathon sleeping session seem to have no effect, and you never feel properly rested and refreshed. Little bouts of activity seem to knock you back for a long time which makes you question whether to do them again or not.

Getting up in the morning, which admittedly is hard for most people, is downright impossible. The foul and bleak mood which holds you captive and in which you wade through every day without fail makes it hard to relate to others without getting tense or without feeling you are ‘acting’ if you come across as pleasant or nice. Everything is a struggle and it’s exacerbated by the fact these tasks which seem impossible look very ordinary and basic

Action and consequence became very hard to gauge when I was depressed. The relationship between action and consequence got derailed and there was great uncertainty whether certain activities or actions would have any positive benefit. My mind was always guessing and second guessing about the course of action I was considering, it never shut up. When this deliberation occurred I normally erred on the side of caution, however the opposite of an error is usually the opposite error.

When really depressed I remember short conversations with people making me tired for the rest of the day. So I would often try and avoid conversations. The problem wasn’t in the conversation or in any of the activities. It actually was about how I expressed my tiredness. I realised I always complained about being tired. By doing this I was fueling the furnace of lethargy, reinforcing all my beliefs on a daily basis and keeping me stuck. There is a great nugget of wisdom in the GROW NSW Program, a mutual support group in Australia, which says:  ‘tiredness is only tiredness’. And wow, how those four simple words digested, remembered, absorbed and practiced on a daily basis have changed my life and my energy levels for the better. Although daily and consistent practice is needed, even when you are not feeling tired sometimes. One of the keys in mental health recover is going the right things when you are feeling well, this is where loads of people make the mistake of reverting back into bad habits, I really think the game is won and lost when you are feeling good.

How to be beat tiredness

CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy)

Being obssessed with always being tired and thinking there is something else that’s causing the problem often drives the tiredness in a vicious circle. CBT is useful to break out of negative and worried thinking around the tiredness itself. Listen to our first and popular podcast, how CBT beats beats depression, in which tiredness is focused on in a CBT context.

Exercise

Depression wreaks havoc with sleep cycles and depressed people often go through either insomnia or excessive sleep. Exercise boosts energy levels which combats tiredness at the same time, as it helps fatigue the person allowing a longer and deeper sleep at night. People like Graeme Cowan and Justin Bennett owe their recovery to incorporating a regular exercise routine into their lives. Listen to our second podcast about How Exercise Beats Depression below:

Perseverance

I know it’s hard, sometimes the tiredness just never seems to go away and every morning you just feel like a rock with no energy to get out of bed and face the day. Hang in there, stories on this site show that people who suffered severe tiredness, barely able to surface out of bed and even shower can and do get better in time, as long as the right supports and attitudes are in place. Don’t give up, believe that things can and will get better if the intention and supports are in place.

Professional supports

These can be helpful if chronic tiredness is ruining your life. Medication can help regulate sleep patterns and professional support can help you form structure and routine and help stick to it.

We really hope you beat tiredness and depression. Don’t give up. Don’t give in.

Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or, if you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you, or someone you care about, beats depression.

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/signs-of-depression/tiredness/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-jason-robinson-beat-depression-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-jason-robinson-beat-depression-2 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-jason-robinson-beat-depression-2/#comments Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:47:04 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1261

Jason Robinson

D.O.B 30 July 1974
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Nationality: English, Scottish, Jamaican
Occupation: Retired Footballer now businessman
Condition: Major depression
Other conditions: Recovering Alcoholic

Jason was an amazingly exciting and memorable footballer, a dual internationalist who excelled in rugby league and rugby union. He played in two world cup finals, 2003 England vs Australia and 2007 England vs South Africa. In 2005 he became the 118^th captain of the English rugby team, the first mixed-race player to achieve this accomplishment. He also toured with the British and Irish Lions twice to Australia and New Zealand.

His blinding acceleration was a sight to behold, especially when open green fields beckoned and desperate opponents huffed and puffed in vain attempts to mow him down. He was a classy player through and through who had great vision, speed and the crucial ‘ x-factor’. When he touched the ball, especially when injecting himself into a backline move or with lots of space in open play, something exciting was going to happen.

Jason battled depression for a long time. He kept troubling feelings pent up which wreaked havoc on his mental processes and ability. When troubling emotions aren’t released a depressed person can feel alone, confused and agitated. It really can feel like you’re heading toward insanity, ongoing rumination with no proper outlet, like a dam slowly building up waiting to burst.

Jason felt isolated and down during his low points. In the height of success, seemingly surrounded by loved ones friends and family, he felt an excruciating  sense of loneliness that just didn’t go away, like a constant hum that rose to deafening levels. Jason, via the BBC Website, said:

But back then when you feel like the walls are closing in and you’ve got no-one to talk to. Well, you’ve got millions of people you could talk to but you haven’t really got somebody you can just open up and share your heart with.

Like many ultra-successful and highly competitive people who live in the public spotlight and seem to have “everything made”, he struggled to communicate his fears and depressive condition underlying his successful public persona, and didn’t know how to effectively reach out to others or expose vulnerability.

Depression doesn’t discriminate. Other featured testimonies in How I Beat Depression include some very outwardly successful people such as corporate high flyer Graeme Cowan, and former President of the USA, Abraham Lincoln. As Jason struggled to communicate his interior world and contemplated doing “silly things” – a reference to self harm.

According to an article released not long after the Rugby World Cup Final in 2007, Jason also suffered a troubled upbringing and abuse from a stepfather which no doubt influenced his episodes with depression. Again, another example of an absent biological father influencing and charting a course of mental health issues, many other stories on this site echo a similar theme.

His story powerfully reinforces the clear fact that when it comes to depression outward success has nothing to do with internal feelings of anger, despair and intense loneliness. There is no way to incubate yourself completely from depression. The Black Dog  can strike, sometimes heavily, on those who have attained all the status and accoutrements that society insist are most worthy of praise and admiration and therefore “should” be at peace with themselves and others.

There is a consensus that, in some cases, highly successful people develop a very elaborate strategy of defense against feelings of unworthiness and rejection. Sometimes they to try and curb away dark, depressing ideas about themselves and their identity, which can be an impetus to drive and achieve. Please note in many cases they achieve great things and should be commended for seeing their hard work through to completion.

In Jason’s case, one of the most important things he did was coming forward and acknowledging his problem. He was also positively influenced by a team mate, Samoan rugby player Va’aiga Tuigamala who played Rugby League with Jason. Va’aiga’s sunny disposition, calm nature and personal support led Jason to convert to Christianity. Having a spiritual anchor is really useful when trying to beat depression. Having a sense of purpose, meaning, direction and a belief can be vital in beating long standing problematic behavior and thought. Jason also battled alcoholism and through peer support was able to pull off alcohol and remain sober. The link between depression and alcohol use is obvious and compelling, the two rarely do not go hand in hand.

How I Beat Depression commends Jason on coming forward to reveal his personal hardships and wish him all the best for his future and in his life as he continues in his faith journey and personal business. Jason has retired from football now; he’s in a much better place and has started his own fashion label.

We recommend you listen to section of an excellent radio interview with Jason on the BBC Website *

During this audio interview Jason realized that life wasn’t just work hard, play hard and start at square one again next Monday morning. There’s something more to life than possession and success and the accompanying party lifestyle that often follows. Rather, true inward contentment is the real treasure in this life. This makes me think of the line from Johnny Cash’s song: “One rich man is ten is hard to find compared to the man with a satisfied mind”.

Remember you too like, Jason Robinson, can beat depression. Don’t give up. Be inspired, provoked and sent into action by these stories.

Please leave a comment if you’ve read this story for affirmation, feedback and discussion and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or, if you would like to submit a story which can change and influence other lives please send it via e-mail to howibeat@gmail.com We really hope you do beat your depression.

How Jason Robinson Beat Depression

• Coming forward and sharing his heart
• Destigmatising depression publicly
• Inspired by team mate, peer support
• Christian conversion

Connect with Jason

• Twitter
• Corporate
• Facebook

Links, references and further reading

• BBC News Article
• Daily Mail Article 

Recommended reading

• 2003: Finding my Feet: My autobiography
• 2005: The real Jason Robinson

Featured image by David Coldrey via Flickr

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/famous-stories/how-jason-robinson-beat-depression-2/feed/ 0 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/signs-of-depression/loneliness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=loneliness http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/signs-of-depression/loneliness/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:53:45 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1234 Loneliness underpins all mental health issues, and certainly all types of depression cause deep loneliness for many people.

Loneliness is an awful gnawing and plaguing sense of unease and separation from the world, and normally gives rise to ugly feelings of separation, disconnection and alienation which in turns breeds resentment, contempt for others, anger, isolation and dejection. An increased awareness of self-consciousness, depersonalization, rumination, mental distortion and inward focus often go alongside the experience of loneliness, especially if that experience is protracted.

Loneliness is a modern plague in all senses of the word. It’s much more pronounced in richer wealthier nations with less focus on extended family and traditional community models of health and restoration. Psychologists will tell you one of the most frequent experiences they discuss with patients is the fact that so many of them feel so utterly lonely and disconnected. They often want to forge some meaningful connections with people in their lives but don’t know how or seem unable to do in spite of their best efforts.

Social media promotes superficial validation and recognition from people who often don’t really know or understand them on a deeper level. Lonely people often wonder why so many of their relationships feel vague, superficial and not meaningful enough. These technological developments promise so much instant gratification, sensory titillation, but delivers so little when it comes to gratification based on sound relationships with others. Deep-seated loneliness is on the rise and unsurprisingly so is depression,  both beyond epidemic proportions.

The thirst to quench feelings of ill ease and loneliness is powerful and drives many to unhelpful behaviour, in order to secure some feeling of inner peace, contentment and connectedness. It’s so easy to judge alcoholics and drug addicts as people who choose to make bad choices and need to live with the consequences and repercussions. But get to know these people by name, build a decent, human-to-human relationship with them and you’ll find that they are desperately lonely people wanting companionship, love and some sort of validation of their being. They want their uniqueness appreciated.

The need for intimate and loving friendships and relationships is all too human, all too real. If you are human you have this craving, you can’t choose not to have it. You can intellectually choose to repress this need or feeling, however it will come back to bite whether you like it or not and effect you consciously or unconsciously if you like it or not.

Loneliness doesn’t mean having no friends or outlets either. On the contrary, you can be alone and not lonely. Loneliness is not about that at all. That’s a superficial examination that doesn’t correlate with subjective truths and actual facts. Loneliness is an inner subjective experience that’s sometimes hard to define. All people, at one stage of life or another, would have experienced loneliness; it’s deeply part of the human connection and drives people to reach out and make themselves understood in this world.

I believe a lot of human motivation and experience life hinges around being heard, understood and accepted. The experience of loving and being loved is deeply connected with validation and being understood, heard and accepted for who you really are. Mental health problems often entail protracted periods of painful, hurtful feelings, people struggling to be around people who have negative and downtrodden feelings all the time, as they tend to put a dampener on social settings. This unfortunately drives lonely marginalized people to feel more lonely and marginalised, which may continue to drive misguided attention seeking behaviour.

How to beat loneliness

It’s often first and foremost achieved by learning to be comfortable in your skin, to learn to properly love yourself and be content with your own company. And get this:  it can’t be completely cured and beaten, it’s part of the shadow side of man that must be accepted. But it doesn’t mean it needs to beat you down and defeat you, it’s just you can accept that feelings of loneliness will come and go, they do not have to engulf and torture you.

If people really believe and act out of the erroneous presupposition that this future event, thing or that person will quench that feeling of unease or loneliness then the game is already lost and the mental framework needs to be redrawn completely again.

This takes time, energy, devotion and patience, and often lots of trial and error will lead people to understand my preciously mentioned point, understanding this is really getting close to experiencing true liberation and peace and loneliness will dissolve into the night sky with a brilliant dawn onward marching.

Learning to truly love yourself and accept your fragility and limitations doesn’t come naturally, overnight or in many cases easily, it takes work, time, reflection, intelligence and most of all perseverance. But you can do it.

Like all conditions we discuss on these sites there are no easy way outs, lots of hard work is often needed which doesn’t mean you it’s always an uphill battle it just means that like anything health needs to be fought for, it’s never a given or an automatic right, life’s complexity prevents it from being so.

Don’t try and shield yourself completely from loneliness. People will have lonely days and that’s OK. As previously mentioned it is part of the human condition. Running away from it paradoxically strengthens it hold on you. Understanding and accepting this shadow side of the human being is also fundamental in personal growth and recovery.  This is where acceptance is key, not acceptance that you will be lonely forever, but accepting that it normal for these feelings to occur from time to time.

Beating loneliness starts with being alone, and getting totally cozy with that – get this!

It counterintuitive – like a lot of things in recovery really.

People, things, objects, idealized and imagined grandiose social situations and connections, which often rarely transpire, do not, I repeat DO NOT, cure loneliness. They may afford temporary alleviation of the experience of loneliness but that feeling will persist to a lesser or greater degree and it will eventually return with force.

Beating loneliness can start with mutual support groups (or peer-to-peer support communities)

How I Beat strongly advocates for a recovery and holistic model when it comes to rehabilitation from conditions, linking in with a support group. In How I Beat Alcoholism we focused on the AA program, its history and how a mentoring and peer-to-peer relationship is the backbone of recovery. In these setting you can often unload your heart to someone else who understands and has been there can be amazingly gratifying and uplifting. Online communities may be a necessary start but be aware of the dangers and limitations these communities present.

Friendship

True quality friendship is key here. The whole definition and notion of friendship can be so ill-defined thanks to plethora of social networks. An online social connection is not necessarily a friend or someone who knows about you.

When we speak of friendship we are referring to something a lot more deeper, long lasting and real. It’s not all about good times either; it’s about sharing your life together, the triumphs and pitfalls together. Ultimately it’s someone who you can share your heart and vulnerabilities with without fear of condemnation, judgement and rejection. It also someone who whom can trust to criticise and speak your mind and heart too. Friendship takes time to cultivate, and trials and straining points will happen. Quality of friendship plays a part in mental health, often to avoid feelings of despair and pain people can shield themselves around people but not connect with them on a deeper level. Shallow, perfunctory and empty relationships often surround the sufferer, they thirst for something more genuine, something more real. And remember, and this is crucial, to have a friend is to be a friend. It cuts both ways, and like any relationship requires work, effort, initiative on your part.

Mutual support groups and other similar hobby groups can be a good place to start as they are often replete with people who relate to your experience and so sufficient common ground is already established which provides adequate conversational launch pads and sounding boards. Remember real, true lasting friendship takes time, life in general sees many different people coming in and out of your life but it doesn’t mean friendship, lifelong friends can and do exist

Engaging in hobbies

We can realise skills, usefulness and function in hobbies. Loneliness is not just about social connections and popularity as we have previous gone over, it often comes down to social utility and worth and ones perspective on how much of their being, their person has in this respect.

Finding something you are good at – art, painting, exercise, music, writing blogs whatever can release creative talent – is a great way to eliminate loneliness and feel that, in spite of their being an audience or not, you are contributing to the world that you are part of the nature of things. What are you good at? What makes you feel like a victor? What gives you a taste of the divine? Hobbies in and of themselves can often release emotional blockages. I have heard numerous stories that affirm this. Singing can release rigidity. Writing can better connect the two brain hemispheres. Dancing can release. We can’t answer what is best for you, but we can loudly proclaim that getting involved in hobbies and ensure they are regular, is a vital way to beat loneliness.

Note the Risks

WikiHow’s article on loneliness raises legitimate concern about the risks lonely people can especially in regards to joining cults and other predatory organisations looking to exploit and manipulate the lonely person’s vulnerability. This is important to note; be careful if you are in a vulnerable and lonely position. Use caution with social networks and online communities as feelings of emptiness and exclusion can ironically be exacerbated when using these sites as well, as possible predatory forces are online too.

We want you to beat loneliness and we hope this information has pointed you in the right direction.

WikiHow on beating loneliness

]]> http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/signs-of-depression/loneliness/feed/ 1 http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/major-depression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=major-depression http://www.howibeatdepression.com/depression-facts/major-depression/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:17:27 +0000 Justin Bennett http://www.howibeatdepression.com/?p=1206 Major Depression: What is it? And what are its signs and causes?

Major depressive disorder or major depression, also called clinical depression or unipolar depression,  or major depressive disorder is characterised by a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat and enjoy once-pleasurable activities.

Major depression prevents a person from functioning normally. Some people may experience only a single episode within their lifetime, but more often a person may have multiple episodes. This is the most common type of diagnosed depression. The DSM IV classifies major depressive disorder as a depressed mood or loss of interest in daily activities lasting more than two weeks with negative and noticeable impact on daily functioning.

The University of Oxford has released an excellent Podcast series under creative commons which enables How I Beat Depression to freely share this podcast on depression. We highly encourage you to listen to this as it underscores so much of this article nicely:

University of Oxford Podcasts – What is depression.

Below is summary of how symptoms often manifest in daily life.

At How I Beat Depression we do not diagnose people or offer medical advice. If you are concerned about yourself or loved one please seek medical assistance.The good news is that according to statistics 70-80%  of people with major depression disorder experience a significant reduction in symptoms when treated.

Symptoms of major depression

Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day

Feeling constantly exhausted, even when little exertion or work is done. See our article on tiredness, which remains one of our most popular posts to date.

Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day

Body and verbal language makes this obvious sometimes, although depressed people are often capable of masking troubled feelings quite well. Bodily postural withdrawal such as drooping shoulders, deflated head and neck carriage, looking down frequently and avoiding eye contact with others. Verbally, statements like “I don’t deserve my family/loved ones or they don’t deserve me”; “They may be better off without me”; “I am not adding or contributing anything to this person/team”. Believing that people can see right though you to an ugly self inside and don’t love and appreciate you and will ultimately reject you, or that no one really understands and appreciates you.

Feeling hopeless and helpless

I feel like nothing will ever change (hopeless) and even if I tried to do anything it would not make once difference (helpless). Really believing there’s no silver lining ever in sight and that misery, blackness, darkness and despair is a lifelong companion.

Impaired concentration, indecisiveness

Depressed people may feel stupid or thick. Basic and ordinary tasks become very difficult to compute, information doesn’t register properly, the lack of concentration makes connecting bits of information and forming clear perspective difficult. Making a decision, even a menial or trivial one, becomes hard to make. The mental fog produces an inability to process information

Thoughtless acts and forgetfulness would be part of this: losing wallets, leaving belongings, forgetting to do basic tasks around the house. This often causes irritation for loved ones and families around the sufferer. It also results in reduced performance at work or educational studies.

Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day

It’s very common for depressed people to have trouble getting to sleep and then waking up early in the morning and being unable to sleep again; early morning rising is one of the key signs of depression and is no way connected to getting up early because of motivation or intention. Sleep deprivation builds over time because of this and adds to the fatigue felt during the day. It’s also common for anxious states to be more pronounced when trying to fall asleep like a rapid heartbeat and ruminating thoughts. Nightmares often reoccur about previous traumatic and stressful events: school, workplace, finished relationships.

Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day (called anhedonia, this symptom can be indicated by reports from significant others)

A frightening symptom especially when something so dear like a hobby or enjoyment, such as classical music or car repair, becomes worthless and meaningless for someone who loved and enjoyed this previously. Loved ones can notice this change. Pulling away from regular hobbies and structures will accompany anhedonia fuelling the depressive fire of isolation, rumination and emotional introspection.

Restlessness or feeling slowed down

Feeling mentally slowed down is common; again this contributes to indecisiveness and fatigue. The brain struggles to process and the build up of troubling rumination and thoughts. Or the person may have trouble settling down with fidgeting and being restless, the agitated and ruminating mind feeds into this behaviour, not content and accepting the present, wanting to flee and be somewhere else, but not really knowing where.

Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

Sometimes the person will try and do everything to not think these thoughts and try everything to ameliorate them such as meditation, but sometimes these thoughts just can’t be blacked out, changed or dissolved. They may feel that life is not worth living. If you are thinking of suicide contact a professional or crisis hotline immediately. In Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Mental rumination

In spite of outward appearances of slowness and lethargy, the mind is racing furiously, constantly going between reflecting and fixating of past events, hurts, reactions and possibilities, fixating on current symptoms, worrying about increased strain in current relationships and why it seems that other circles of friends are growing distant and separate from them. The chorus of inner voices is unbearably incessant and often continues when the person is sleeping resulting in interrupted, shallow and poor sleep.

Reduced sex drive

Depression wreaks havoc on normal cycles of life such as eating, sleep and sex, disallowing the person from a sense of replenishment and reward and further exacerbating feelings of being different, disconnected and alone. Further to this the decreased sex drive may cause further strain with loved ones and increase feelings of guilt and worthlessness and a sense of failure.

Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month)

May be more noticeable by others and again cause for more concern and rumination for the sufferer. The anxious type will lose weight and have trouble putting down meals, all the cycle interruptions could reduce appetite and desire for food. The oversleeper is likely to comfort eat and not care about appearance or repercussions of overeating.

Can be expressed in anger or discouragement rather than sadness

Depression doesn’t necessarily mean feeling down or morose, it cam come out in anger or discouragement too. It’s important to note this as people may disqualify themselves if it their depression doesn’t manifest with obvious gloom and melancholy. It can be expressed in irritability and anger, especially in response to reasonable requests, lashing out at others making even slight demands at them is common.

In terms of functional impact major depression has been likened to diabetes. It’s a condition that significantly interferes with the normal running of daily life and significantly puts strains on all form of relationships.

Major depression has five subtypes, called specifiers by the DSM. These are melancholic depression, atypical depression, catatonic depression, postpartum depression and seasonal affective disorder. It is important to acknowledge the subtypes, as they are different experiences of depression often entailing different treatment needs. Remember depression is most definitely not a one-size-fits-all condition; it’s a complex condition existing on a wide spectrum. Patients who display reasonably distinct clusters of symptoms often fall within a subtype.

Melancholic depression is identified and diagnosed by people having one of the following:

•  Anhedonia – inability to find pleasure in positive things
•  Lack of mood reactivity

And at least three of the following:

• Severe weight loss
• The depression is subjectively different from grief or loss
• Psychomotor retardation (slowing down) or agitation (speeding up)
• Early morning awakening
• Excessive guilt
• Worse mood in the morning

Persons suffering melancholic depression are far more likely to be hospitalised for their depression. Melancholic depression is a significantly altered and noticeable mental state. In this case of depression psychotherapy is not likely to be successful, at least not until a course of antidepressants has begun.

Melancholic depression responds better to physical therapies, like taking anti-depressants. The causes for this type of depression are mostly biological, so a genetic influence can normally be traced, however major stressful life events often trigger episodes, such as a divorce or job loss.

The melancholic subtype often scores much higher on screens for depression than nonmelancholic depression types. It is relatively uncommon; around 10% of people diagnosed with a major depression disorder will experience the melancholic subtype, so about 2% of the population would experience it, certainly under 5%, and it is evenly distributed between the genders.

Because of its severe nature, spontaneous remission is unlikely, and it really needs careful and appropriate diagnosis and treatment. The three most common treatment interventions are psychotherapy, antidepressants and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). ECT remains a last-resort against severe treatment resistant depression.

As this type is likely to be found in the elderly there can be some confusion about melancholic depression or dementia.

Melancholic depressives may also ruminate over the same thoughts and experiences, and feel excessive guilt. Their depression takes on a life of its own: the more episodes they have, the more autonomous such episodes seem, less likely to be set off by stressful events.*

At How I Beat we always want to frame information around the context of personal recovery stories. Some of this information is easier to understand when put in the context of a real person going through a real ordeal.

We have successful stories of recovery from melancholic depression. We encourage you to look at Graeme Cowan’s story or Abraham Lincoln’s story, two men who had the melancholic subtype of major depression. In Lincoln’s case the diagnosis is based on recorded experience and he didn’t have the wide range of psychiatric medications now available.

Do people beat melancholic depression?

The answer is yes, even though this is a severe type of depression often resistant to different types of treatment. You often find sufferers cycling through many different types of medications and different treatment modalities. It is treatable and beatable, but we stress this is often done in conjunction with clinical settings in therapies, hospitalizations are often required as it is not uncommon for sufferers of melancholic depression to be suicidal. There is also evidence that attending mutual support groups alongside mainstream treatments can be also very beneficial.

Abraham Lincoln

D.O.B: 12/02/1865
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Kentucky, United States of America
Nationality: American
Occupation: Politician, President of USA
Condition:  Major depression (melancholic subtype)
Other possible conditions: Trauma

Abraham Lincoln: A genuine titan in world history, much admired for his noble, courageous leadership, memoralised in statue at Washington. Abe battled the black dog and battled it big time, living in an era before mental health was widely discussed and treated. Read how this amazing man leaned on faith and the Bibleto get him through some sore times with vision and optimism.

So who was Lincoln? Why did he suffer from severe melancholia for most of this life?

Lincoln was born into poverty and sickness encircled him for most of his childhood. Despite all this hardship he displayed qualities of perseverance, working hard to make a living by building a boat to ferry goods up and down the Mississippi. Perseverance is one of the key traits Lincoln used to beat depression. He never ever gave up, despite enormous setbacks. It was this trait he used in other areas of his life too; he failed in his first attempts to become a politician, but it did not stop him from trying again.

In his late twenties he went through severe bouts of melancholic depression, not being able to see a way out of the mental fog.

I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.

Lincoln’s wife also noticed his melancholia:

It is also clear that Mary Lincoln felt her husband to be too trusting, and that his melancholy tended to strike at times that he was betrayed or unsupported by those he put faith in.

Was Abe too trusting? Did the eternal optimism of his mind set up him up for a life of personal disappointment at people letting him down? Did it begin at home, losing his parents early, thinking that those responsible were going to leave him?

Depression and disappointment with how other people have treated you often go hand in hand. Regularly stories attest to the hurt caused by the actions of another person and how rumination about this occurs during a depressive episode. Not being able to process that hurt or rejection festers in the soul and dejects the mind and spirit, creating a heavy heart that seems to weigh people down like a boulder.

It’s important to note when retrospective diagnoses are given inevitably they are hypothetical. Historians and academics do their best to extrapolate from various historical sources to their best of their ability. We don’t know for sure, however there is room for strong speculation that Lincoln was endowed with a melancholic personality and likely went through multiple episodes of clinical depression.

His battle with depression was called melancholia then. It is now regarded as major clinical depression although the word melancholia lives on in melancholic subtype depression. It’s important to note the various subtypes of depression as treating different types often require different measures.

In his thirties Lincoln went hard for self-improvement and mastery. He was keenly aware that he suffered from a nervous disposition and saw how that fed his depression. A deep sensitivity to the world through increased anxiety perhaps leaves one to feel experiences and impression very heavily, sometimes too heavily allowing the feeling to sink into the soul. Lincoln showed a deep acuity of feeling and spent much time reflection on his own disposition and seeking various forms of medicinal treatment for his condition. Most of these medicines were not as effective as today’s treatments.

He was a man who would spend time reflecting on existential reality of man and man’s meaning in the world and consequently saw pain and suffering as having a higher operation purpose which was largely not known to him although could be explored to a limited, human degree. Understanding depression in an existential framework wherein it is perceived as an agent for change is often helpful when trying to beat depression.

Lincoln was definitely spiritual existentialist, puzzled by the notion of the brevity, superficial meaninglessness and harshness of life but curiously exploring a divine over and undercurrent pushing into a higher force that animates, under girds and sustains this complex and dreary lot he was inextricably shoved into.

His depression helped him cultivate and articulate compassionate understanding for and of the human condition to the masses. Lincoln carried forward his career and life with determination and realism, always showing, importantly, that we had the will to get well. He was a realist, and often it overwhelmed him with sadness, yet it was this trait that made him so authentic that he spoke for what he believed in. So when he did speak it came from a deeply authentic place and was received as genuine, heartfelt, authentic and real.

He never got rid of his depression per se; his depression was a black dog which followed him around all this life. But he integrated it, learned from it and harnessed the ability to see reality in all its glories, ugliness and potential. He spoke for the truth, stood up for the truth and for this he will be fondly remembered as one of the great men who beat depression

Books read by Lincoln that helped him beat depression

The Bible

References and further Reading

The Atlantic (superb article)

Wikipedia on Lincoln’s mental health

Biography’s profile of Lincoln

Videos

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbXhgr5HhiU]