Mental illness and physical health

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  • CharisSunny
    CharisSunny Posts: 276 Member
    Major bump for later.
  • NakeshiaB
    NakeshiaB Posts: 250 Member
    I have ADHD and do not treat it with drugs and I can tell you some days are a real struggle especially at this time when I have someone in the home that is being diagnosed with depression and I my daughter is having learning issues and under stress and I believe that because I am stressed out that it is causing her issues to. I feel that I have been put into the care taker position in the house where everybody else is getting professional help but me because for them it is free through their job and school but I would need to pay, I have been fighting off taking meds all my life but I think I am losing the battle and may need to go to the doc at some point before I have a breakdown. When I can focus on a workout it is great but I get distracted easily and when I lose focus it is hard to get back. I have also been trying to find people to work out with ( hiking and walking) but most of the women in my community are obese and have no interest in exercise

    My dear, is there any way the people in your household can put together some money and get you to a professional? Perhaps there is a clinic somewhere that gives free counselling? Even try online counselling just to vent to someone. It sounds like you are really struggling.

    I know it sounds silly but when I work myself up into a stress frenzy (I've had a lifetime of practice at this so I'm an expert) now, I just stop, close my eyes and take a in a deep lung bursting breath, and let it out slowly. Repeat as often as you need. It pulls my mind into the moment and gives me a few seconds to myself.
  • NeverGoinBack2012
    NeverGoinBack2012 Posts: 49
    I would investigate the impact of eating processed foods on your mental health. I was on an antidepressant for 11 years. I couldn't figure out why I would get depressed when there was nothing in my life that would indicate I should be. I began to read about nutrition. Alot of the food being sold out there has very little in the way of nutrition in it. Also, many foods contain additives and ingredients (most that are difficult to pronounce) that have nothing to do with nutrition but are neurotoxins that affect the brain. The fact that I was on an antidepressent masked the affect this food was having on my overall health. After much preparation, I went off of the drugs, began eliminating all processed foods, increasing my consumption of whole foods (preferably organic), started taking 5,000 units of Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2 a day. A year later I have never felt better in my whole 52 years on this earth. I have also lost 47 lbs, 40 of them while using MFP. This is my story...it may not be another's. Some people cannot be without drugs. I would give it some thought and I wish you the best on your journey to being healthy and losing weight.
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    hey guys, i'd like to jump in on this and share my two cents.
    i've suffered from an eating disorder over the years, went through recovery and relapses multiple times. i am also diagnosed with mood disorder nos, and am a counselor at a residential facility for adults with mental health and substance abuse.
    this is an interesting topic, but i believe there is a trend when it comes to mental health and physical health.
    a lot of our residents, and client's at previous jobs, do struggle with health issues, many i believe due to their weight. we have a handful of residents with type 2 diabetes, and out of the 13 that currently live here, i would guess around 10 or 11 to be overweight. there are many reasons to that though, some being side effects to medication with weight gain, others just being symptomatic, depressed whatever the case and not feeling motivated to move physically. others are just uneducated about health, like many people with or without mental health are, and make poor lifestyle choices.
    but i have been there before, where i was so depressed or anxious, and didn't care. i went from extremes to being underweight, and then while in my recovery, that turning into not really caring anymore about if i got up and took a walk or not, because nothing mattered at the time, i didn't matter and i didn't feel like i was good enough to be happy or good enough to deserve to be healthy.
    i can't speak for everyone, but just myself. i do believe there is a correlation, and i think it will help a lot for those with mental illness to become educated about there being a higher risk for health issues.
  • NakeshiaB
    NakeshiaB Posts: 250 Member
    My husband has PTSD. He was in the military, and was both in Iraq and Afghanistan. He doesn't go much of anywhere, he sleeps anytime he wants (just went to sleep an hour and a half ago), and if I'm not cooking, he eats the easiest thing he can get his hands on, like hot dogs. He's gained 40 lbs since he was in the military, and it makes me sad to see him so depressed. He's resistant to treatment, too. Sigh.

    The military life is never an easy one. A close relative of mine was in the army and still has issues (which according to doctors is due to head trauma). Does the military not offer any sort of psychological help and/or counselling? If not they should and it should be FREE for life to any man/woman who has served, and their partners.

    Much of my struggle came from guilt. Guilt that my partner had to see me go from the woman he fell in love with to a shell of who I was. I know that mental illness is often just as hard on those who love us as it is to ourselves. Never feel guilty, you have nothing to be ashamed of, you are worn down and need to heal.

    It will be hard but stay by your man. It's hard to know what to do when someone you love is suffering. Perhaps call your doctor for advice? It sounds like you would both benefit from seeing someone together.
  • fresh_start59
    fresh_start59 Posts: 590 Member
    I've dealt with panic attacks since my early to mid 20s. I thought that I could just deal with it, mind over matter. But I was wrong. Sometime in my mid-30s, I finally broke down and talked to my physicians about them. He gave me medication, which helped. Then, when the stresses reduced in my life, I went off the medication and stayed off for several years. Then, slowly but surely they creeped back up on me. I'm back on meds and, as far as panic goes, I'm doing much better.

    Unfortunately, depression is a whole other ball game.

    I have suffered from depression all my life. I have no idea what caused it. I was raised in a healthy, loving household by two parents that love me and each other. For some reason, I just could not bring myself to discuss my depression with my doctor, at least not until this past January. It took falling to an all-time low for me to realize how bad my depression had become. And it took me three months of trying to "fix" myself before I mustered up the nerve to mention it to my physician.

    I still don't talk about my problems with people in my real life. Admitting to myself that I have issues is hard enough. But I could never talk about it with people outside my immediate family.
  • CrazyWhiskers
    CrazyWhiskers Posts: 63 Member
    This whole topic is interesting - bump
  • fitfreakymom
    fitfreakymom Posts: 1,400 Member
    I have ADHD and do not treat it with drugs and I can tell you some days are a real struggle especially at this time when I have someone in the home that is being diagnosed with depression and I my daughter is having learning issues and under stress and I believe that because I am stressed out that it is causing her issues to. I feel that I have been put into the care taker position in the house where everybody else is getting professional help but me because for them it is free through their job and school but I would need to pay, I have been fighting off taking meds all my life but I think I am losing the battle and may need to go to the doc at some point before I have a breakdown. When I can focus on a workout it is great but I get distracted easily and when I lose focus it is hard to get back. I have also been trying to find people to work out with ( hiking and walking) but most of the women in my community are obese and have no interest in exercise

    My dear, is there any way the people in your household can put together some money and get you to a professional? Perhaps there is a clinic somewhere that gives free counselling? Even try online counselling just to vent to someone. It sounds like you are really struggling.

    I know it sounds silly but when I work myself up into a stress frenzy (I've had a lifetime of practice at this so I'm an expert) now, I just stop, close my eyes and take a in a deep lung bursting breath, and let it out slowly. Repeat as often as you need. It pulls my mind into the moment and gives me a few seconds to myself.

    There is only one income coming into the house, but I am going to go talk to someone with my daughter at some point soon and will see if I can get a referral from them so hopefully sometime by the end of the summer.
  • FearAndTrembling
    FearAndTrembling Posts: 54
    Stress is one of the worst things for your health, and mental health issues cause a lot of stress. It is very hard to be physically healthy while mentally unhealthy. Even if your body looks great.
  • getfitcharles
    getfitcharles Posts: 78
    I've suffered serious depression over the past year, which has contributed to me gaining around 20 lbs and a lot of the time the last thing I'd ever feel like doing was exercise or eating anything healthy. The upside though, is when you get on top of your issues, the health side seems easier to deal with too and put right.

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