Absolutely. I get ECT treatments, where they use electricity to induce a seizure. When you’re seizing, usually the only thing that moves is your toes. So what do I do, when my trratment happens to fall on April Fools Day? Superglue googly eyes to my toes so they boggle around as I twitch 👀👁👀👁👀 On normal days I wear goofy socks, usually matching some kind of theme for the nearest holiday or season.
I also brought in a Pikachu sticker to try and put on the ECT machine. I couldn’t get away with that, but they did let me put it on the equipment bin that goes along with the machine and the cart it’s on. It lightens the mood a bit.
Modern ECT is nothing like the movies. You’re under general anesthesia so you’re unconscious for the whole thing, and they use a paralytic to make sure you don’t convulse and hurt yourself. For my treatments, I usually arrive at the hospital early in the morning and I’m home by lunch time
I’ve been dealing with mental illness for a lot longer than I’ve known I was queer. Not all mental illness is caused by discrimination or other external factors.
More context is needed when it comes to co-rumination. LGBTQ+ people are being specifically targeted by legislators, and it would be unreasonable for them not to regularly discuss it in their communities. There’s a difference between activism, sharing information, and rumination. I think the article should have taken some time to explain how to identify the differences and how to know when to take a step back and take care of yourself.
What works best for me when I’m in a panic is slow deep breaths in followed by a slow exhale. I always forgot about slowing down the exhale, but it’s really important. I started wearing a necklace that’s hollow like a straw to help when I’m too freaked out to force myself to do it.
Another tool I learned in counseling is going 5-4-3-2-1 through my senses. 5 things I can see, 4 things I can hear, 3 things I can touch, 2 things I can smell, 1 thing I can taste. You can mix up the senses if you want, and I don’t always get through the whole thing, but the act of looking for and naming things I can sense seems to help calm me down. It’s a pretty common grounding technique for disassociation.
So I’ve been diagnosed with dysthymia, and have been on various medications for about 13-15 years now. Long story short, it works for the most part, but doesn’t quite go all the way. In other words, I still deal with a great deal of depression every day. Some of it is stress related, and some of it is out of nowhere....
I’ve been getting maintenance ketamine treatments for around 2 years or so. I haven’t done therapy during one of the treatments, but I imagine that would be very nice.
For me, it feels kinda similar to being drunk. I’ve never done recreational drugs aside from alcohol in college, so I don’t have much to compare it to. Some people get nauseous. Some folks feel like they aren’t real or sort of weird. It depends on the person. Just make sure your vitals are being monitored because the blood pressure spike can be pretty intense if you already have hypertension.
I feel very lost and confused, all i do is dream but i just cant bring myself to do things or i “rage out”. Im a highschooler and i feel like nobody understand my like im a shadow i know there are other like me but i seem to never be able to find them. i have meds and i recently started consuling but i just feel like i need...
I tend to get really overwhelmed with tasks and I end up feeling frustrated, useless, and lost. If I’m able to get something done, sometimes it helps me feel better about myself and less freaked out. My partner sent me a tool that helps you break down tasks into smaller more manageable ones . You can adjust the “spiciness” for how much breaking down you need. It might help with the task-based part of what you’re struggling with.
As for the other stuff, I highly recommend trying to find a professional counselor. Your doctor who gives you the meds can likely help with a referral. Counselors are usually really helpful for stuff like this.
I get regular maintenance ECT treatments for my depression, and have been for quite some time. I tend to cope with my pre-treatment anxiety with humor, so one time I brought a Pikachu sticker to see if they’d let me out it somewhere on the ECT cart....
I had a choice between trying TMS first with ECT as a backup, or going straight to ECT. I chose to skip TMS and go straight for the ECT because how severe my situation was at the time, how long it had been going on, and the research I was able to find on how effective each was for my kind of depression.
My meds are a tool to help make it possible for me to cope with my emotions in a healthy way. For some people, all the friends, family, and social connections in the world can’t fix their mental health struggles. Some people really do NEED medication. A great support system and healthy coping strategies are absolutely vital as well, but it can’t fix everything. Meds cant fix everything either. It’s multifaceted
I got myself one of those metal straw necklaces to physically force myself to slow down my breathing. I usually do pretty good on the slow inhales, but for some reason it’s really hard for me to slow the exhales. It helps me most in those times when you’re too overwhelmed to count.
Coping with humor
Anyone else cope with their mental health by joking about it?...
7 Things LGBTQ+ People Should Know About Major Depressive Disorder (www.everydayhealth.com)
I Wear Goofy Socks to my ECT Treatments. This Round: Pac-Man (www.tumblr.com)
It’s off-brand Pac-Man, but still fun. They bring a little bit of humor to the PACU
Dealing with anxiety without meds
Hello,...
Ketamine for Drug-Resistant Depression
So I’ve been diagnosed with dysthymia, and have been on various medications for about 13-15 years now. Long story short, it works for the most part, but doesn’t quite go all the way. In other words, I still deal with a great deal of depression every day. Some of it is stress related, and some of it is out of nowhere....
Im just not sure...
I feel very lost and confused, all i do is dream but i just cant bring myself to do things or i “rage out”. Im a highschooler and i feel like nobody understand my like im a shadow i know there are other like me but i seem to never be able to find them. i have meds and i recently started consuling but i just feel like i need...
The nurse let me put a Pikachu sticker on the ECT equipment bin. I think it brings a little humor to the PACU (lemmy.world)
I get regular maintenance ECT treatments for my depression, and have been for quite some time. I tend to cope with my pre-treatment anxiety with humor, so one time I brought a Pikachu sticker to see if they’d let me out it somewhere on the ECT cart....
Bad to the Bone, Dog in a Denim Jacket (lemmy.world)
My dog was being a bad boy, so we decided to dress him up as a bad boy...
Thoughts on psychiatric medication?
What are your thoughts on psych drugs, such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers, etc?...
Types of self-care (i.postimg.cc)
Deep breathing for anxiety (the 4-4-6 method) (i.postimg.cc)