Mental Health, Depression, ADD Discussion Thread

[Supa]

Mental health?

Yes.

An awareness thread?

Mhm.

But... why?

I know. We‘re here to talk and discuss about entrepreneurship. The Fastlane. The Unscripted life.
Beneath all that, underlying like a red thread binding everything together, in my opinion, is one thing: value.

It‘s value, that we are trying to create. To build our entrepreneurial efforts upon.

So, what‘s valuable about an awareness thread on mental health?

Probably everyone suffering from a mental health disorder wants to just live a happy life. A happy life without the disorder(s).

What would be more valuable for this person, to lessen his or her symptoms? To alleviate the pain he or she is feeling within.

So, all right. What is this thread about?

It can‘t take away that inner pain. But maybe it can give people a little bit more insight into specific mental disorders.
To be able to get on a journey to alleviate that pain, to better understand the illness and/or to seek help, one needs to know about it first.

That‘s my goal with this thread.

Giving you insights, that may help you to better understand a mental disorder. If it‘s one that you may suffer from yourself, a loved one suffers from or if you‘re just interested in that topic.

So, yes. What I‘d like to do in this thread is to depict specific mental disorders. Not from a pure scientific perspective, but rather one that looks at it from the inside. Aswell as looking into resources to help someone who suffers from it.

Some of the disorders and illnesses I want to look at are depression, OCD and other anxiety disorders, PTSD, bipolar disorder, shizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

This is going to take some time and work, mostly in research and putting everything together.

Therefore I‘d like to make sure, such a thread is ok from an admin‘s perspective. @Vigilante

If it is, I plan to start on monday with the first post on OCD.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

The rash of suicides from successful people who definitely lived "Unscripted " (Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain) definitely indicates that mental health is a huge part of the "F" in the health/fitness realm of happiness. Again, when the fitness portion (fitness: physical and mental) of the 3Fs is bad, the rest doesn't really matter.

Money and fame did not give these folks the respite they needed.

 

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[jon.a]

Yes
If we can discuss physical heath we can discuss mental heath.

Mental health?

Yes.

An awareness thread?

Mhm.

But... why?

I know. We‘re here to talk and discuss about entrepreneurship. The Fastlane. The Unscripted life.
Beneath all that, underlying like a red thread binding everything together, in my opinion, is one thing: value.

It‘s value, that we are trying to create. To build our entrepreneurial efforts upon.

So, what‘s valuable about an awareness thread on mental health?

Probably everyone suffering from a mental health disorder wants to just live a happy life. A happy life without the disorder(s).

What would be more valuable for this person, to lessen his or her symptoms? To alleviate the pain he or she is feeling within.

So, all right. What is this thread about?

It can‘t take away that inner pain. But maybe it can give people a little bit more insight into specific mental disorders.
To be able to get on a journey to alleviate that pain, to better understand the illness and/or to seek help, one needs to know about it first.

That‘s my goal with this thread.

Giving you insights, that may help you to better understand a mental disorder. If it‘s one that you may suffer from yourself, a loved one suffers from or if you‘re just interested in that topic.

So, yes. What I‘d like to do in this thread is to depict specific mental disorders. Not from a pure scientific perspective, but rather one that looks at it from the inside. Aswell as looking into resources to help someone who suffers from it.

Some of the disorders and illnesses I want to look at are depression, OCD and other anxiety disorders, PTSD, bipolar disorder, shizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

This is going to take some time and work, mostly in research and putting everything together.

Therefore I‘d like to make sure, such a thread is ok from an admin‘s perspective. @Vigilante

If it is, I plan to start on monday with the first post on OCD.

 

[Supa]

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)​

How are we going to approach this post? As I said in the first post, we will look at the specific disorders from an inside-out perspective.

Therefore, we'll look at the following questions.
First what the specific disorder actually is. A definition in other words. A quick outside view of it.
Then we'll look at how that disorder actually feels like. What it is like, living with it. This will probably be the biggest part of every post, since it's what my goal with this thread is. To help you better understand it.
Then we'll go through the differen treatment options and to end the post, list further resources on that topic.

Let's jump right into it.


What is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder. It has two main parts: obsessions and compulsions.

• Obsessions are unwelcome thoughts, images, urges, worries or doubts that repeatedly appear in your mind. They can make you feel very anxious (although some people describe it as 'mental discomfort' rather than anxiety).

• Compulsions are repetitive activities that you do to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession. It could be something like repeatedly checking a door is locked, repeating a specific phrase in your head or checking how your body feels. (source)

Maybe you have heard someone say the phrase "I'm so OCD" or "that's so OCD" reffering to them being a little bit too tidy (like sorting their wardrobe by colors).

OCD, though, is not determined by things you like to do, or things that make you slightly uncomfortable (like turning the car radio to an even number or one that contains a 5).

The D in OCD is for disorder, meaning it causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning (source).


What does it feel like, living with OCD?

Imagine yourself being, let's say, 12 years old.
You're driving with your mother to an electronic shop. You're nervous. And for a good reason. You're about to get your first mobile phone.

Excited you stand by your mom during the whole process. Looking for the phone you've picked beforehand. Waiting in line.

You're 12, so of course the contract has to be in your mom's name.
She signs and everything and then, finally, handles you the box that contains your new and very first phone.

You look up to your mom, smiling, thankful, excited.
When suddenly a thought strucks you.

"Whew, everything worked, I got the phone. Now you can die, mom."

Your smile evaporates. You're horrified. Was that... was that your thought? Did you just... did you think that?

The whole drive back home the phone lays in your lap, while you stare out the window. You think. You analyze. You try to neutralize the thought.

You'd never think such a horrific thing. You love your mom! You'd never want to see her suffer, not to mention die.

You feel like this guilt will never go away.

But soon you'll realize, that you are having more thoughts like that. Not just those, that make you feel guilty. You also start to feel responsible.

What if you don't turn that light switch on and off until it... just feels right? Mom and dad are away at friends. They could have a car accident. Better turn it on and off one more time, and one more time, and one more... until it feels right.

Why are you having those thoughts? Those feelings?

You have no idea.

All you know is, that they are not normal. So, you can't be normal, right?

You know that they make no sense. No amount of turning that F*cking switch on and off will cause or prevent an accident.
But that rest of a doubt, that what if, holds you in its tight anxiety soaked grasp.
If you'd just turn that switch again. If you'd just explain to yourself one more time, why you'd never wish harm on your mother. All the pain inside, the anxiety, the uncertainty will go away.

So you turn it again. You explain in your mind how much you love your mom. And the anxiety, the worry, the uncertainty eases its grasp and you feel relieved.

Until it starts all over again.

That's quite a long, but still a little insight into two of the first intrusive thoughts I experienced as a child/teenager.

OCD varies widely from person to person. Usually attacking what's most important to one. The parents. The partner. Ones self-worth. Ones child. Ones morals. And so on.

To explore even a little bit of a wider range of experiences, let's have a look at how others, suffering from OCD, describe the disorder in their words.

OCD is not quirky or goofy. Being a germaphobe is just a small aspect of having the disorder; it affects things you wouldn't even think of. Shit like "Monk" portrays the disorder disingenuously.

What most don't realize is there is also an internal aspect of OCD that you can't see. It's terrifying sometimes.

Ever have a horrible intrusive thought enter your mind randomly? It's pretty normal, and most people brush it off. When you have OCD you can't do that. The intrusive thought goes on a loop in your head because your mind perceives it as a real threat. These thoughts can lead you to believe you are a horrible person, when you know you are not. (source)​

This...

Pure-O OCD (officially Primarily cognitive obsessive-compulsive disorder). A lot of people don't even really know it exists. Very few observable compulsions, most of it just takes place in your head.


I constantly have intrusive thoughts of severe self-harming. Doing dishes near a garbage disposal? Thoughts of jamming my hand into it and turning it on. Cutting vegetables? Slamming the knife down on my fingers. Mowing the lawn? Running the lawn mower purposefully over my feet.


It's exhausting. And people don't believe I have OCD, because I'm not constantly flipping light switches on and off, checking my door over and over, etc. (source)​

And this...

Mine was so hidden as a child that my parents never knew about it. Routines can look like quirks or fear when they’re contained to specific things. My intrusive thoughts will sometimes play the same one line of a song or a phrase over and over and over till I feel like screaming. But no one can truly understand that feeling unless they’ve had it. (source)​

If you type "what does OCD feel like?" or "OCD experiences" into Google, Reddit, Quora, you'll get hundreds, probably thousands of personal experiences and descriptions of how it feels for the specific person writing about it.

Here is one, although fictional, quote from a Stephen King short story on OCD:

“I have seen many cases like N. during the five years I've been in practice. I sometimes picture these unfortunates as men and women being pecked to death by predatory birds. The birds are invisible - at least until a psychiatrist who is good, or lucky, or both, sprays them with his version of Luminol and shines the right light on them - but they are nevertheless very real. The wonder is that so many OCDs manage to live productive lives, just the same. They work, they eat (often not enough or too much, it's true), they go to movies, they make love to their girlfriends and boyfriends, their wives and husbands . . . and all the time those birds are there, clinging to them and pecking away little bits of flesh.” - Stephen King, N. a story from Just After Sunset (source)​

Okay, we looked at a basic understanding of what OCD actually is aswell as some personal perspectives on what it feels like to live with it.

I think this will give you quiete a good, even if still simple, understanding of this disorder.

Let's summarize it, before we move on:
An OCD cycle usually starts with an intrusive thought. It may be one of harming oneself or others. One of doubt (about your feelings for your partner, your sexual orientation, your morals, etc.) One of uncertainty ("did I really put the stove off?"). Or pretty much anything.
This thought, image, urge or feeling will cause anxiety, discomfort and/or a feeling of dread within the sufferer.
Though he or she knows, that it's illogicial, the sufferer will feel the need to do a compulsion (phsysical like touching something with your left hand if you touched it with your right before, or mental like counting, analzying a thought, trying to neutralize it) to alleviate the pain the anxiety creates within this person.
The complusion will indeed relieve him or her for a while. But only until the next intrusive thought comes. Basically making it worse and worse with every compulsion.

Alright. With all this in mind, let's move on to the next question.


What help is available for OCD?

We now know, that doing the compulsions will not relieve the sufferer from his or her anxiety and pain inside for long. Actually, the more one engages in compulsions, in other words, the more importance one gives his or her thoughts, the more confirmation this will be for the brain, that it's working the right way, when clearly it does not.

Somewhere I read the metaphor, that when you suffer from OCD it's like your brain's danger detectors are not working correctly.

Pretty much everybody gets those intrusive thoughts.
People without OCD will just shrug them off as thoughts. Basically, what they are.

With OCD, though, the brain detects those thoughts as a thread. Like a submarine sonar detecting fish swimming by as enemy submarines.

So, how can we treat this disorder? Or, is there treatment available at all?

While there is no cure to this day, OCD can be treated. And that pretty good.

It would blow up this post to go into the details of the available treatment forms, so let's just list them with the proper links for more information on them.

There is medication available for treating OCD, they treat only symptoms though, not the disorder itself.

While there's no cure for OCD, one can learn to live with it and alleviate his or her anxiety and pain.

Two approaches that are proven to be of tremendous help for sufferers are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in connection with Exposure and Response Therapy (ERP).

One comment on ERP...

To anyone with OCD reading this, there is a way out. Look up OCD exposure therapy. ... I was super sceptical because I've had OCD since I was a child and tried to get rid of it myself many times, but by God did it work. I haven't done any mental or physical rituals since January and I couldn't be happier.


In principal it sounds really simple. You know that feeling when the discomfort sets in and you have to complete a certain set of rituals? That's the alarm center in your brain telling you that something is off and the only way to get rid of the discomfort is to perform your ritual. The point of the therapy is to let the discomfort come to you and not perform your rituals until the alarm center calibrates and says to you, huh, nothing bad happened even though I didn't perform my ritual. ... (source)​

Further links on CBT and on ERP.

So, alright. I feel like this post is pretty long already, so we should probably wrap things up, even though it feels like there's a lot of things to say about OCD still.

Therefore, I'd like to point you into the direction of further resources, if you are interested in understanding this disorder.

More posts on what it feels like to suffer from OCD on Quora and on Reddit.

An AskReddit thread called: "I often sit by my window and think "I could get shot in the head right now by a sniper". Reddit, what odd thoughts do you have on a daily basis?"
Sounds kinda silly? Not for an OCD sufferer. It can be quiete eye opening to see what random and weird thoughts people not suffering from OCD are having, to get a better understanding of intrusive thoughts.

A forum dedicated to OCD and dealing with it: OCD Action.

This book here: The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD: A Guide to Overcoming Obsessions and Compulsions Using Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (New Harbinger Self-help Workbooks)


Alright. I think that's it for this post.

I hope it is helpful for you. Either in dealing with this disorder yourself, knowing someone who does and wanting to better understand it. Or just out of curiosity on the subject.

The next post will be on PTSD.

 

[Maxboost]

The rash of suicides from successful people who definitely lived "Unscripted " (Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain) definitely indicates that mental health is a huge part of the "F" in the health/fitness realm of happiness. Again, when the fitness portion (fitness: physical and mental) of the 3Fs is bad, the rest doesn't really matter.

Money and fame did not give these folks the respite they needed.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-tK_rIwoSQ


Scott Adams has a very well, thought out response for the suicide epidemic plaguing western society.

TL, DW: Lack of human interaction due to technology, lack of community, and a lack of spirituality due to an increase of secularism are all factors that are not talked about. Too much change has happened in the past 100 years and we, as humans have not been able to adapt.

Worth the watch

 

[socaldude]

It's sad that in our society we treat mental illness different than say physical illness.

If your leg is broken people can clearly see and understand and give you break but if you are mentally ill somehow your are lazy, dumb or crazy.

If your mind is broken and you feel and behave dysfunctionally then obviously something is wrong.

And not to mention that our health system thinks a pill is the solution. If you stop taking prozac and you are depressed all over then was that really the solution?

I have found that non-judgmental awareness and writing about my self has helped me tremendously in keeping a healthy mind.

I have found that our minds operate very similarly to our body. A mental illness is basically a psychological infection that has grown out of control much how like a bacterial infection can overwhelm your body and potentially kill you. The same way our bodies immune system attacks the infection is the same way I think non-judgmental awareness is our mind's own immune system.

Cause think about it, this has to be true, what is our mind's equivalent of an immune system? How can we strengthen it?

Nobody is born wanting to kill themselves. Something changed in you. The same way nobody is born wanting to go to college and be an employee, school and your socialization changed you.

 

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[heavy_industry]

Latest and most comprehensive mental health theory is that all mental disorders are all metabolic diseases.

If the brain is starved of nutrients or gets inflamed, you start having mental health symptoms.

If the theory is correct, and I strongly believe that it is, it means that Depression, Anxiety, OCD, Schizophrenia etc. are all different symptoms of the same underlying issue.

The first step to fixing your mental health is not F*cking therapy.
It's fixing your sleep, diet and exercise regime, in order to fix your brain metabolism.

And on the psychological front, the best thing you can do is start making progress in life and start being proud of your hard work. Slow but consistent progress.

Every day will be brighter and you will slowly start to understand that the life you are living is nothing less than a miracle.
You were just blind and could not see it.

 

[Vigilante]

Hello everyone, I wanted to talk about a tragic event occurred in France Yesterday, A doctor (orthopedist) committed suicide because of a lot of pressure. Burn Out.

The reason I am posting this is that a lot of parents especially third country parents are pushing their children to become doctors without knowing that they generally are not happy with their job and are subject to very long work hours and the lack of free time... Indentured time is a pin in the a$$.

Less than two weeks ago a young lady doctor of 34 years old did the same thing.

What do you guys think about that tragedy? and what do you have to say to people who want to become doctors?

France has an extremely high suicide rate similar to the United States. Doctor or not, France has almost one death per hour, every hour, every day of every year from suicide. The issue in France is in no way limited to doctors.

 

[ApparentHorizon]

The thing about loneliness is you can be in the company of others and still feel lonely but it's definitely a big factor.

I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone. - Robin Williams

 

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[MetalGear]

I have a hard time turning my brain off.

There is usually one more task, one more thing to do, and once that is done there is always one more improvement I can make to x,y,z.

There is so much that I want to do.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

TL, DW: Lack of human interaction due to technology, lack of community, and a lack of spirituality due to an increase of secularism are all factors that are not talked about. Too much change has happened in the past 100 years and we, as humans have not been able to adapt.

Agreed, thanks for the share.

Another celebrity that looks terribly pained is Angelina Jolie. She rarely smiles and the eyes show gloom.

In every public appearance I've seen of hers in the last 5 years, she looks terribly sad and fighting some kind of internal battle. I hope not. She's a very talented lady.

 

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[TonyStark]

This has always been an obstacle for me.

I think so many people can lead fulfilling lives if they were of sound mind more often.

A good book that I recommend is Russell Brand’s Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions.

 

[Late Bloomer]

I'm really glad to see this topic. I've wanted to share an essay along these lines for a while, but didn't see a good way to open the door to the conversation. Thank you, Supa.

To put it bluntly, the whole area of psychology is something MJ is strong on, but too many forum members are weak on — yet, ignorantly and angrily, are full of criticism about it anyway. So much so, that it almost drove me away when I first started here.

There are some times that someone knows what would be good to do. They have all the resources to safely give it a try. It will bring out the best in them. There is nothing more to learn or figure out. And yet they don't do it, for only one reason: they're being stubborn jerks. Scolding them for their stubbornness might break through that self-imposed pointless wall. It might be all it takes to get them moving, onward to their succcess.

Drill seargents do this. So do institutions like MIT. But you're not a drill seargent. Even if you are one in your day job, your fellow forum members are not recruits under your command. And just after one of MIT's top leaders took over at South Korea's most prestigious university, under his hard-nosed leadership there were multiple suicides of academic community members who cracked under that pressure.

The very same attitudes have led to the extreme gender bias and exclusive hostility we see throughout the software industry, especially from technically talented interpersonal jerks like Linus Torvalds. Hoping to coordinate a big, successful technical project as brilliantly as Linus does, too many young geeks mistake his appallingly bad social skills as a crucial ingredient to his success. When Linus tells people they should commit suicide rather than submit more buggy code, they see that cruelty as something that created his success. They don't see the truth that his technical strengths led to his success despite his callously cruel "pep talks." He's just one of many examples of these destructive attitudes in business these days, and in American software business in particular.

Most forum members here don't need a drill seargant, but could benefit from a respectful, sympathetic friend who can sometimes give a challenge...WITH humanity, courtesy, friendliness, sincerity. Not with unwarranted assumptions against the character of those they attack.

There are some times that someone has fear, worry, dread, anxiety. Sometimes those feelings come only from inner fantasies that have nothing to do with real life. Entrepreneurship can be different enough from past experiences and conditioned responses. Sometimes, needless fears block a harmless, obvious next step. A simple pep talk can get a person past those baseless worries.

Sometimes those feelings come from personal experiences that really did happen (as they did in my life, for example) of physical brutality, deprivation, destitution, phyiscal pain, grief, loss, destruction, death of loved ones, death's door for oneself. Cautiously wanting to not physically experience that again, is not from vague fantasies that will go away if someone shouts at me at enough.

Some people have been through genuinely traumatic incidents leading to PTSD or other major psychological challenges. Experience, feelings and mental states for which trained, empathetic active listening and wise, informed counsel are appropriate. Sometimes, psychological states are involved for which medical intervention is appropriate, wise, helpful.

And instead of honoring that this might be the truth, all too often too many forum members take it upon themselves to play the self-assumed role of Righteously Indignant Dad Telling Off The Brat.

Most of us are not lacking in success, just because we haven't had someone tell us off enough. So cool it, Fake Upset Dads Of The Internet. (Especialy if you're literally half my age, and have NEVER tried to study the psychology lessons I've already worked through, very deeply, with very well qualified professionals... a personal journey I started as an adult, before some self-appointed Fake Dads were out of high school.)

MJ wrote the books of guidance he wished he would've had when he was younger. Once he saw that his life wasn't going as the script predicted, it took some years to turn himself around and find success. While people of any age and gender are welcome to learn from him, he'd especially like to save other young guys those years of trial, by passing along what he leanned. Hooray!

MJ sometimes delivers the a$$-kicking that would have woken himself up earlier. BUT he does it based on an adult perspective on psychology. He does it based on some very profound introspection and thought that went into writing those books.

MJ's books feel breezy and flow easily. It actually takes a hell of a lot of work to package challenging, interlocking, life-changing, conditioning-busting ideas into something that reads so well. That's why he hasn't cranked out a book a month for 99 cents on Kindle. This type of quality thinking and writing takes time, reflection, revision, maturity.

Misunderstanding what MJ did with his writing and how he did it, too many forum members take it upon themselves to be the self-righteously self-appointed a$$-kickers of each other, in an ignorant, naive and hostile manner.

Being given unsolicited, bad psychology advice that comes a hostile mindset, is NOT a necessary part of an entrepreneurial self-help community. It is, by far, the single worst part of this forum, for myself and I've seen that also for some other members.

People with astigmatism do not need to be yelled at so they'll squint harder. People with heart attacks don't need to be yelled at until they just choose by sheer willpower to have clear arteries. People with broken legs don't need to be yelled at that the stairs should be easy for everyone. Yet this is what is way too often done to people with an invisible challenge in their psychology. "Challenge" here is not a code word for "something that goes away if you get upset enough about it."

There are some wise, considerate, caring, genuinely helpful people here with good psychological advice. And there are most of the users who are neutral on the topic, neither helpful nor hurtful. But there is that destructive tendency among a minority of members, to mistake their own ignorant hostility for valid mental health guidance.

That's an extremely toxic weed in this garden of ideas. I hope that this thread helps people stop watering that weed. I hope this thread helps bring some understanding and compassion that will lead to more kindness, more thoughtfully and gently given good advice. And less of the "bad cop, upset Dad, toxic psychologist, yellin' to you fix yerself Bro" kind of attitude. An attitude that doesn't really help anyone, no matter how much of a thrill it is to tell someone off, for what you imagine is the cause of anything that's gone wrong in their life.

Thanks Supa and all in this thread so far. I hope this thread will be a turning point. I'd love if if this forum can become known as an online haven not just for business ideas and social contrarianism. But also, for truly compassionate, cooperative learning about the thoughts and feelings that can help us reach towards peace and wisdom inside ourselves, along with that external success.

 

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[ChrisV]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention it's the 10th leading cause of death in America, and every 12 minutes if this is accurate information. This is sad. This is my "Why" and of course, studied all my life because back in 1993, two people close to me months apart passed away. And I just happen to have had relatives involved with the Mental Health Systems, and Substance Abuse/Addictions, and of course even though it's not spoken about, Generation X lost a portion of our generation to suicide from 1970-1995.

And I'm sure there was some of the Baby Boomers in this mix, because at the time it was the ending of the Vietnam War, Divorce, Separation, the "Revolution" of free drugs, alcohol, sex, the hippie cults, and we were the first generation to experience this on magnified level than previous generations. While some were lucky to have families that stayed together, this wasn't always healthy either. We're just seeing it being repeated at the present time, and of course, the addictive culture is expanded and magnified compared to our generation in different ways.

When it comes to Mental Disorders, this makes it 10 times more difficult to navigate depending on what the impairment may be. If you already have navigation issues, it's kind of like trying to fly a plane with a broken wing. I watched this movie back in one of my courses in college, but does talk about in great detail the issues of what happens with those withe severe depression, manic and bi-polar. The Bridge.

Warning: The movie gets kind of deep into things, so if you're triggered easily probably not a good idea to watch it. The objective of sharing the video is to bring awareness and education.

I think loneliness is one of the biggest factors.



I posted on Medium about this while back.

People are social creatures. Bonds are essential to what it means to be human. Imo, without them we become like a leaf cut off from the roots.

Even Depression doesn’t correlate as closely as that:


(Source: CDC)

 

[Supa]

It's sad that in our society we treat mental illness different than say physical illness.

If your leg is broken people can clearly see and understand and give you break but if you are mentally ill somehow your are lazy, dumb or crazy.

If your mind is broken and you feel and behave dysfunctionally then obviously something is wrong.

Can't tell you how many times my fiancée and I had this conversation about how others regard "invisible" illnesses, if mental or physical.

I mean, both of us don't like being too much in the spotlight, but still, it's quiete obvious how people react to visible vs. invisible illnesses.

My fiancée suffers from chrone's disease. Pretty much invisible for an outsider, yes, but pretty much everyone in our families knows of it. Still, you get those looks if we tell them that she can't eat too fatty because it worsens her illness. People still act kinda annoyed if she can't participate in some activity, because there are also side effects from her medication, causing back pains and a decreased immunity to sun rays.

So, tell your family why you don't want to go hiking with them, lol.

Some months ago she slipped in the shower and had to wear a leg splint and go on crutches.

Oh boy, the difference in other's attitude, once she had an visible illness for a while.

Same goes for a lot of mental illnesses.

Depression?
"Just smile and you'll feel better!"
"How about getting out of bed and just do something? Won't hurt you."
"You just don't want to work, don't you?"

OCD?
"Ha? Didn't know something was wrong. You're always so happy."

Borderline?
"Don't take it so seriously!"

PTSD?
"Come on. It's been 20 years now since that happened."
"Just try it. You'll see it's not that bad being in large crowds/loud places."

And on and on and on...

 

[Supa]

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)​

Alright. On to the next post.

We'll follow the same structure as in the last post. So basically we'll look at what PTSD is (an outside look at it), what it feels like living with it (an inside look) and treatment options aswell as further resources.

Let's start.


What is PTSD?

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, or other threats on a person's life.
Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in how a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response.
These symptoms last for more than a month after the event.
Young children are less likely to show distress but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk for suicide and intentional self-harm.

Most people who have experienced a traumatic event will not develop PTSD. People who experience interpersonal trauma (for example rape or child abuse) are more likely to develop PTSD, as compared to people who experience non-assault based trauma such as accidents and natural disasters. (source)

Please note, that PTSD is a very personal disorder, meaning, that how it affects survivors of trauma differs from person to person.

There can also be differences in how it affects survivors, based on the type of trauma he or she had to endure.

Just for you to keep in mind, before we move on to the symptoms of PTSD.

The symptoms may include: (source)

Intrusive memories

• Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event
• Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)
• Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event
• Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event

Avoidance

• Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
• Avoiding places, activities or people that remind you of the traumatic event

Negative changes in thinking and mood

• Negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world
• Hopelessness about the future
• Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event
• Difficulty maintaining close relationships
• Feeling detached from family and friends
• Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
• Feeling emotionally numb

Changes in physical and emotional reactions (also called arousal symptoms)

• Being easily startled or frightened
• Always being on guard for danger
• Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much or driving too fast
• Trouble sleeping
• Trouble concentrating
• Irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior
• Overwhelming guilt or shame

For children 6 years old and younger, signs and symptoms may also include:

• Re-enacting the traumatic event or aspects of the traumatic event through play
• Frightening dreams that may or may not include aspects of the traumatic event

The list of symptoms already gives a quiet good understanding of the struggles, survivors of a trauma have to live with on a daily basis. It's still a pretty general and outside look at it, though.

So let's read what survivors of trauma, struggling with PTSD, say about it.


What does it feel like, living with PTSD?

It is probably impossible to understand what it feels like to live with PTSD and the trauma those suffering from it had to endure.

To try to get at least a bit of an understanding for the struggles those living with it have to live with on a daily basis, we can read their stories and how they describe PTSD in their own words.

“You know that feeling you get when someone jumps out and scares you and you are on high alert for a few minutes? That alertness never goes away for me.” — Holly M. (source)​

“It’s difficult to explain. Sometimes it’s the feeling that something bad is right behind you. Every car door that shuts at night is something bad. It’s being afraid to go to sleep because you know the nightmares are waiting. No one can be trusted. I constantly feel like someone is behind me. It’s being so hyper-vigilant every minute, it’s exhausting. Certain places or a flash of something brings it all crashing back down on you. It’s feeling like every day you’re going to die, and sometimes wishing for death just to get away from the memories.” — Jennifer T. (source)​

"Imagine you got onto a roller coaster and you cannot get off. It takes you where it wants you to go and you cannot stop the ride.

Now imagine a force that knows your absolute worst F*cking trauma in your life reenacts it for you with shocking accuracy and even more shocking visiceral impact. You relive your worst experience of your life. Not remember. Relive. You are no longer in your body, you mind floats away like a balloon and returns to the scene of the horroric event. You cannot simply return. You have to be coaxed back. You don't know how long you were gone when it's over. Maybe it was just 5 seconds? You don't know.

That's what PTSD is like. Thats what memory triggers do." — Rav99 (source)​

""Flashbacks" (or whatever you want to call them) aren't like a movie being replayed in front of your face. You're there again." — captainjayhab (source)​

"C-PTSD here (rough childhood). Literally anything could be a trigger for me because I was stuck in hell for so long. Including, as I learned after having a child, nursery rhymes. Imagine tears streaming down your face while singing "Old MacDonald" to your kid and you're not sure why it makes you so sad and scared, but it does anyway. It sounds ridiculous on the outside to have this reaction to children's songs, but it is a very real reaction and feeling to me." — lnamorata (source), note: C-PTSD meaning complex-PTSD (more info)​

"It feels like someone is always leaning on your back, you have this heavy weight you cannot shake off, it reminds you of what happened, how you were involved and fills your mind with doubts, you start to blame yourself and sometimes this weight swallows you, you feel hopeless, guilty, shameful and it's an emotionally breaking disorder. I have developed a lack of sympathy, I do not trust anyone, I can't trust anyone, my guard is always up and I feel so weak all of the time." — Katie Daley (source)​

"... There’s a large part of me that’s behind strong steel walls that no one is allowed through. Always being in defense mode, I can’t focus on letting my walls down. ..." — Jay C. (source)​

Now that we looked at some personal descriptions of what PTSD feels like to at least get some understanding of what it actually is like, living with it, let's have a look at possible treatments that can help trauma survivors.


What can be done to treat PTSD?

PTSD can be treated. The following treatments focus on helping the sufferer to process the traumatic experiences.

Trauma-focused Psychotherapies (source)

• Prolonged Exposure (PE)
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
• Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

What Further Resources are there?

A forum for trauma survivors aswell as supporters (partners, parents, etc.): My PTSD Forum

On Treatments: PE, CPT, EMDR

The PTSD Cup Theory


Alright. That's it for this post.

I hope it shed some light on what life with this debilitating disorder is like for those suffering from it.

Of course, this post can only dive into the topic of PTSD a little. So, if you want to know more about it, using the further resources should bring you on a good start to learning about this disorder, may it be for yourself as a survivor of trauma, as a supporter of someone fighting with PTSD or just to inform you on it.

 

[TheFitVegan]

I have been in depression for a year (about a year and half back). I didn't realize until my physical health started deteriorating. So many tests on physical health front but had no results. It took a while for me and people around me to understand it was depression. Later we consulted an expert, took sessions, medicines and a number of things to relax and come back to the normal life.

This episode thought me 2 things:
1. Having a goal in your life is good but impulsively moving in only that direction can take away everything from you. We need to understand the path and then move towards it
2. Even once you are out of all this, the brain takes longer to accustom and come out of the zone, so you must give it sometime.

Quite a difficult phase I won't ever forget all my life. I haven't talked about it to anyway after the incident. But this thread made me feel that I was and am strong enough to deal and everyone can and must do it. Thanks for the thread!

 

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[oneac]

Sometimes the thing you have to focus isn’t your business but yourself.

The advice for someone who has $50k in credit card debt is to handle that first before starting up a venture.

The advice for a depressed person should be the same

The science of well being course was extremely influential in my mental health journey you can find it below. Taught by an Ivy League Professor and completely free

The Science of Well-Being by Yale University | Coursera The Science of Well-Being

 

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[EngineerThis]

Delayed gratification and ADD..
If you have ADD, you know that if a task is rewarding and engaging you can work on it literally all day and forget to even eat...
If the task doesn't give you instant feedback, it's insanely hard to do it...
Here's a great video on it:

View: https://youtu.be/_tpB-B8BXk0

Obviously delayed gratification is a great thing to practice, it's just extra hard being ADD..
I will NEVER go on medication again for ADD..
Any ADD-inflicted Fastlaners figure this out?

 

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[Supa]

Through a comment below a YT video a few weeks ago I came across a therapy form I didn't know before. What that person wrote about it sounded intriguing so I wanted to know more about it. And now... just a few weeks, several articles, videos, podcasts and being in the midst of reading a book by its founder, later, I can say that this already changed everything for me.

I'm talking about Internal Family Systems (IFS). This therapy form exists for more than 40 years now. It is evidence based. There is a lot of information out there about it. And its founder, Dr. Richard Schwartz is still doing a lot to help people with it, through books, podcasts, articles, videos and more.

Since I'm still quite early into my journey of IFS I won't try to explain it, but rather share the first video in a great video series about it for anyone interested:

View: https://youtu.be/tNA5qTTxFFA?si=FxSmUN8EBIZgKMXN

 

[CaptainAmerica]

A personal word about depression - it may be only a sign of something else, or it could be The Thing.

In my case (I just found this out 3 weeks ago), my depression was caused from a bad mix of genetic anomalies and allergies made worse by menopause. I can totally see how some women used to be locked up after 'the change'.

So, yeah - now I don't eat any grains, any grain-like things, any corn derivatives, or dairy. I stopped eating all that a year ago or more, but was still sick. Now, I ALSO take what is amounting to a magic pill that bypasses my broken process, so I can actually absorb nutrients. Which means I have to learn how to eat all over again, like an toddler.

BUT! I am not depressed. Not even close.

So my recommendation is - see a doctor. See a better doctor. Eliminate ALL other possibilities that could be causing depression.

 

[Mattie]

I'm sorry you had to go through that. I personally struggle with Bipolar disorder and I find it incredible how many people struggle with mental health these days.
So many people struggle in silence, and a lot don't get help until it's too late

Yes, I have helped a lot of people online the last ten years. I try my best to help others get out of the negative mindset. It takes a lot of discipline and it's quite a lot of inner work. Some people manage to lift themselves out of it, while others may never manage too. It depends on the person. Also the type of depression.

 

[Supa]

@Andreas Thiel the next post is going to be on Depression and after that I'd be glad to cover NPD, @UnrealCreative.

I'm glad you find this thread useful and wanted to thank everyone for their contributions on it so far.
I'm sorry for being so freaking slow with those upcoming posts, but my mind's not always making things easy.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Mental health?

Yes.

An awareness thread?

Mhm.

But... why?

I know. We‘re here to talk and discuss about entrepreneurship. The Fastlane. The Unscripted life.
Beneath all that, underlying like a red thread binding everything together, in my opinion, is one thing: value.

It‘s value, that we are trying to create. To build our entrepreneurial efforts upon.

So, what‘s valuable about an awareness thread on mental health?

Probably everyone suffering from a mental health disorder wants to just live a happy life. A happy life without the disorder(s).

What would be more valuable for this person, to lessen his or her symptoms? To alleviate the pain he or she is feeling within.

So, all right. What is this thread about?

It can‘t take away that inner pain. But maybe it can give people a little bit more insight into specific mental disorders.
To be able to get on a journey to alleviate that pain, to better understand the illness and/or to seek help, one needs to know about it first.

That‘s my goal with this thread.

Giving you insights, that may help you to better understand a mental disorder. If it‘s one that you may suffer from yourself, a loved one suffers from or if you‘re just interested in that topic.

So, yes. What I‘d like to do in this thread is to depict specific mental disorders. Not from a pure scientific perspective, but rather one that looks at it from the inside. Aswell as looking into resources to help someone who suffers from it.

Some of the disorders and illnesses I want to look at are depression, OCD and other anxiety disorders, PTSD, bipolar disorder, shizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

This is going to take some time and work, mostly in research and putting everything together.

Therefore I‘d like to make sure, such a thread is ok from an admin‘s perspective. @Vigilante

If it is, I plan to start on monday with the first post on OCD.

I don't know... mental health is a thing for sure, but who shall we trust on it? OCD, PTSD, bipolar, etc. these are just labels. There is no definitive way to judge if you have these conditions or not. They are man-made, invented designations, there is very little physical proof that these are actual disorders at all.

And from what I've noticed, thinking you have such a disorder is more unhelpful, than helpful.

I'm not sure if therapy has any value, beyond keeping some alive, or keeping them "stable".

Psychologists and psychiatrists have no interest to make you into big-hitters, industry-disruptive juggernauts. That's risky, who knows what may happen. Their goal is just to make you STABLE - meaning that you fit into society, and stay in your place, don't cause any trouble. In other words, their job is to make sure you swallow the SCRIPT, and live in accordance with it. They are the guards of the system...

It's funny, but the new Matrix movies portrays exactly this... the Analyst was the ultimate guard of the system... he was the protector of the script. And "mental health" was exactly the chain he used to do it.

Where are the patients who have OCD, and gone to therapy, and are now 100% FREE of OCD as a result of going to therapy, not reliant on pills, not reliant on anything? I don't see them anywhere. I don't see psychologists producing a superman. Nowhere... and I repeat, I haven't seen a single psychologist who can brag about doing something more than "reintegrating their patients into society".

If the bar is reintegrating people into society, that's awfully low.

Where are the psychologists that turn depressed, anxious, OCD, bipolar people and make them into peak performers? I'm asking honestly... I want to know where those guys are.

Even if you look at people like Jordan Peterson, you'll see that the guy's psychology was of little use to him. He ended up needing to resort to drugs to handle his wife's cancer. And yeah, that's tough, for sure, but people have been going through family tragedies for aeons... without any drugs. To me, it seems indicative of the failure of his mindset and psychological system that he had to rely on drugs to combat his anxiety. He couldn't control it otherwise.

Mental illness simply is, in most of the cases, a problem related to too much or too little activity in one or more parts in people brains. it's a physical injury.

This forum raised Michael Singer as the solution to all your emotional and mental problems. It's not like that. Yes, he definitely helps you to improve your life, but if you have a physical injury (in your brain) you still need something else.

There is no proof at all that differences in brain activity are CAUSATIVE as opposed to CORRELATES. Of course if I'm using my mind differently than others, then there will be some differences that you can notice if you scan my brain. Of course! But it's a HUGE leap to say that this is proof that the neural correlates of those conditions are causative of them.

Again, I have yet to see someone who takes the pills and does therapy, and is a peak performer... It just doesn't happen. So the whole system, drugs + therapy, is broken.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

A treasure trove of data... lots of it linking social media to depression.

After Babel | Jon Haidt | Substack

Using moral psychology to explain why so much is going wrong. Click to read After Babel, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

jonathanhaidt.substack.com

 

[Aidan04]

Uh...

How about taking their phones away?

Nope, can't do that...

View attachment 52316

Still technically being a "teen" myself, I can say personally that going long periods without my phone has helped greatly, but that's only because I understood the context and had an underlying framework as to why I did that.

Many of these kids lack overall purpose and believe that a social network, dating app, substances, a relationship, partying, or internet fame can make them happy.

I'm not a psychologist but I think the overall problem is the environment they were raised in, as well as the friends they have who also drink the Kool-aid, further enabling themselves and everyone around them.

Therapy can most definitely help, but before that, we must help ourselves first.

 

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[Vigilante]

Mental health?

Yes.

An awareness thread?

Mhm.

But... why?

I know. We‘re here to talk and discuss about entrepreneurship. The Fastlane. The Unscripted life.
Beneath all that, underlying like a red thread binding everything together, in my opinion, is one thing: value.

It‘s value, that we are trying to create. To build our entrepreneurial efforts upon.

So, what‘s valuable about an awareness thread on mental health?

Probably everyone suffering from a mental health disorder wants to just live a happy life. A happy life without the disorder(s).

What would be more valuable for this person, to lessen his or her symptoms? To alleviate the pain he or she is feeling within.

So, all right. What is this thread about?

It can‘t take away that inner pain. But maybe it can give people a little bit more insight into specific mental disorders.
To be able to get on a journey to alleviate that pain, to better understand the illness and/or to seek help, one needs to know about it first.

That‘s my goal with this thread.

Giving you insights, that may help you to better understand a mental disorder. If it‘s one that you may suffer from yourself, a loved one suffers from or if you‘re just interested in that topic.

So, yes. What I‘d like to do in this thread is to depict specific mental disorders. Not from a pure scientific perspective, but rather one that looks at it from the inside. Aswell as looking into resources to help someone who suffers from it.

Some of the disorders and illnesses I want to look at are depression, OCD and other anxiety disorders, PTSD, bipolar disorder, shizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

This is going to take some time and work, mostly in research and putting everything together.

Therefore I‘d like to make sure, such a thread is ok from an admin‘s perspective. @Vigilante

If it is, I plan to start on monday with the first post on OCD.

Sure. Carry on.

 

[Maxboost]

Agreed, thanks for the share.

Another celebrity that looks terribly pained is Angelina Jolie. She rarely smiles and the eyes show gloom.

In every public appearance I've seen of hers in the last 5 years, she looks terribly sad and fighting some kind of internal battle. I hope not. She's a very talented lady.

welp...you were spot on....

Instead of Committing Suicide, Angelina Jolie Reportedly Once Hired a Hitman to Kill Her

tl;dr she hired a hit man to kill her so not to hurt her family....

For those too lazy to watch the Scott Adams video, suicidal people do not smile with their eyes, it may be an indication of masking the internal pain.....

 

[Raoul Duke]

O/T: Health - Mental Health Awareness Thread

@Vigilante

merge this post into above thread?

 

[Ayanle Farah]

I think loneliness is one of the biggest factors.

View attachment 21578

I posted on Medium about this while back.

People are social creatures. Bonds are essential to what it means to be human. Imo, without them we become like a leaf cut off from the roots.

Even Depression doesn’t correlate as closely as that:

View attachment 21579
(Source: CDC)

The thing about loneliness is you can be in the company of others and still feel lonely but it's definitely a big factor.