Posts by Michelle Evans

nimblenomad8 said:I tried calling yesterday and the day before—during the day, at night, even in the middle of the night—but nobody picks up. It’s just ringing out there with zero response. I’m living in France, and honestly, I’m a bit lost regarding those sanctions, but from what I gather about how they operate, they move incredibly fast when it comes to "the child's best interest." Now I'm just stuck not knowing what my next move should be. I really wish I had someone to talk to, someone to actually vent to, but unfortunately, everyone is just way too far away...

From what I've seen with people close to me, there is a very strong awareness regarding psychological support after a trauma in France.
It is completely normal to feel terrible, confused, or anxious... and to seek out professional help because of it. Honestly, it would be strange if you felt perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.

Take a look at this thread on the Health PDF. It’s designed for members to support one another, and reading through might help you realize you aren't alone in feeling this way. And please, don't hesitate to reach out to a professional; having someone help you sort through the mental fog will make things much easier...

EDIT: Regarding the phone calls, try going through the main switchboard and ask to be transferred...

nimblenomad8 said:Thanks so much! I’ll give it a shot later. Things are actually way more intense up here than I expected. I managed to snag an appointment with a therapist for Monday, but honestly? I'm pretty terrified of being totally real with her about what's going on in my head right now. I’m worried about the fallout. People around here are really strict about this stuff, and since they know I'm flying solo with two kids, I'm scared they might try to penalize me somehow. But then again, if I go there and just sugarcoat everything, what's even the point? :/

Who are they and where is here?

Andrew Doyle said:Just go check the official info🤷

edit: okay, I actually managed to dig this up online, so give it a shot

CRISIS CENTER AND SUICIDE PREVENTION UNIT
Mayo Clinic
123 Medical Plaza
Patients can walk in personally between 8 AM and 8 PM, or they are available 24/7 via phone at 555-0199

That number is outdated; it belongs to private lines now...

nimblenomad8 said:Back again! My number isn't working and my brain is about to explode.

I don't understand how it wouldn't work, since it's listed in the local directory...
It was working just a few weeks ago... 😕

Maybe try calling the Mayo Clinic main line at 555-0100 and ask to be transferred...

nimblenomad8 said:If anyone has a number I could call, I’d really appreciate it! Honestly, I have no clue where to even start looking.

Crisis Management Center (Mayo Clinic):

01 2376-335 (available 24/7)

I highly recommend them...

Athena, would you perhaps like to hop on a call with a specialist to talk through how you're feeling? There are numbers available you can reach out to, free of charge and completely anonymous...

@Jeremy Sullivan59,

If someone is currently hospitalized, they're likely under intensive treatment, and if visits are causing irritation, you shouldn't force them... Patients in a clinical setting often start seeing improvement fairly quickly due to the medication, which helps them gain insight into their condition and makes visitors less bothersome. It seems like right now she might be feeling defensive, perhaps even blaming those close to her for her hospitalization...
Regardless of whether she’s accepting visitors at this moment, it would be wise to speak with her attending physician. They can provide updates on her recovery and offer guidance on how to support her and manage her symptoms once she's discharged. Having a supportive family environment is vital, especially when it comes to medication adherence...
If a patient is uncooperative or struggles to stay consistent with their daily meds, there are long-acting injectable options available. Depending on the psychiatrist's recommendation, these can sometimes be administered through community health services... It might be worth asking the doctor about such options.

When someone is in an acute state, such as during psychosis, it isn't helpful to argue or insist that their perception of reality is wrong. To them, it feels just as real as yours does, and pushing back can cause them to withdraw and lose trust... On the other hand, you shouldn't validate the delusions either. The best course of action is getting them to psychiatric emergency services. Once the symptoms begin to subside, you can gently challenge those perceptions. It’s highly individual, though, so please consult with her medical team...

Dennis Turner6 said:I wake up way too easily. Anxiety just washes over me and boom—I’m wide awake, reaching for my APAP immediately. 🤣

Sometimes I'll take some Norvasc to help me sleep, but otherwise, I don't take anything during the day. 🤷

And it helps.

Oh, right—I recently tried Zoloft (or whatever that sleep one is called)... man, it calms me down a bit, but my brain stays wired. It's the same deal with Seroquel; those antipsychotics 🤔 just don't do anything for me. ☕

God, I miss those days when I could actually get a good night's rest. 🙂

Ambien. 😁

William Evans10 said:It might seem funny now... but reading through the rest of it, and there is certainly a lot to read... I believe that in the exact moment it is happening, it is terrifying and frightening, truly terrifying..

Thank God that is all behind you now... and seriously, kudos to you for making it through!🙂

But living like that... I imagine it is a total catastrophe. Constant fear, worries, theories, conspiracies... just awful. Omg, I would never want to go through that.

And when was the last time something like that happened?
Why is everyone an "enemy" or "evil"?
Isn't it a bit strange in situations like that (psychosis), that it feels like absolutely everyone is against you?
I'm not talking specifically about you right now, just in general...
Isn't it odd that it feels like everyone has conspired together to cause harm?

That's exactly what makes it a psychosis... 🙂

We’re just being foolish...

Best regards!

Brian Hayes43 said:However, there are claims that it isn't great for memory retention. And honestly, how could it be, when you're essentially sending an unregulated surge of electricity into an organ that relies on such an incredibly delicate dance of electron signaling? To me, it feels somewhat barbaric. :S

On another note, is there really no space here for people to gather and share their personal stories? It seems like a missed opportunity.

To each their own...
Supposedly, even living isn't healthy... 😉

So, does nobody ever get together to meet up and share their experiences... It’s a shame...

Check in with the Shine Association...I couldn't find the link you were referring to...)

Brandon Lopez6 said:I’m starting to feel like my Lexapro is doing more harm than good at this point. Honestly, the jitters I get from it are driving me up the wall—I feel like I’m on the verge of a total breakdown just dealing with the side effects. I’d love to just stop taking it altogether, but I’m terrified of messing around with my dosage on my own. My next appointment isn't until May, and if I have to white-knuckle it until then, I might actually lose it.

Do you think reaching out to LOM would help? Like, would it be enough to just ask him for advice on what to do? Because staying on this stuff feels completely pointless right now.

You can certainly ask, but an ER doctor shouldn't really interfere with a treatment plan set by another specialist. Even though some people tend to try anyway...

Your best bet is to call the hospital and ask to speak directly with the doctor who prescribed the medication. See if you can get some professional advice over the phone regarding your next steps...

Brian Hayes43 said:outoftheblue pointed it out on one of the very first pages of this thread; apparently, she used to get them back at a local diner.

It’s right there on the first page, in the fifth post.

As for that talk about lobotomies in that other thread, I can't seem to track it down right now, though it's possible people are just talking nonsense.

That’s why I asked about the lobotomy. 🙂 It isn't actually performed; it's illegal. If someone claims they had one, they probably just need a doctor to adjust their medication...

Electroconvulsive therapy—what people call "shock therapy"—is real. You can find it used at places like Mayo Clinic, for example. It's a legitimate medical treatment that is nothing like the old stereotypes. It's actually quite effective. Topic.

Eric Gray2 said:Yeah, I’ve honestly never come across the term "truthful" being used in these scales—and believe me, I have filled out a massive amount of questionnaires, even putting together 🤷 myself at one point. Even with the English versions, I haven't really run into the word "incorrect," though I'll admit I haven't looked at quite as many of those.
I feel like you could easily translate "false" as "inaccurate"—maybe even adding a little nuance like "inaccurate for me personally"—but then again, that starts to drift a bit from how they actually phrase things in English.

If I recall correctly, those bolded options alongside "true" were pretty common back when I was taking standardized tests. Not that I haven't taken a ton of them over the years...
It’s either "completely inapplicable to me"—mostly inapplicable—or "either applies or doesn't apply"—mostly applies—or "fully applicable." I remember it because trying to memorize which number matched which long, wordy answer was such a headache. I spent half my time flipping through pages just to stay sane... 😁

Brian Hayes43 said:Hello everyone.

It’s been a long road... after nearly thirteen years of fighting my own internal battles—feeling completely misunderstood by everyone around me, navigating this entirely alone while stuck within the four walls of my own mind—I finally feel like I am standing on the threshold of leaving this darkness behind. It has been a slow process of trying to find myself, and after years of denial, confusion, and sheer desperation, I am searching for a way to purge the last remnants of this mental fog so I can attempt to build a functional, stable life.

To be honest, I am at a loss for where to even begin. I find myself able to deeply relate to what dorina.maja and User123 were expressing on the previous page. In my case, however, it hasn't just been about losing a sense of normalcy; it has felt like losing my entire existence for over a decade.

Now that I have finally gathered the strength and the will to actually talk to someone about this, I’ve spent some time searching for a local psychiatrist who could help me navigate this final stage of recovery, but my efforts have been unsuccessful. However, I stumbled upon this thread and the one regarding manic depression—there seems to be such a thin line between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Reading about things like electroshock therapy, heavy sedation, or even lobotomies makes me wonder if checking into a specialized psychiatric hospital might actually be the right move.

I was wondering if any of you all hang out somewhere in Real Life or perhaps on an IRC channel, somewhere where the conversation flows a bit more naturally in real-time than it does here on the forums?

Where are people saying this? 😕

feralorca2 said:"The American Psychiatric Association is getting ready to drop this update in the next edition of the DSM. Usually, when people think about OCD, they picture things like obsessive hand washing or pulling at their hair constantly—you know, those irrational thoughts and fears that drive someone to act out...

So, while most of us just see nail biting as some minor bad habit, American medical experts have been digging deeper and decided it actually belongs under the OCD umbrella

But look, if you're just biting your nails every once in a while, don't panic because experts say that doesn't mean you've got a disorder. 'Nail biting isn't considered a disorder unless it’s happening all the time, it's causing real distress, and it hits a specific clinical level of severity,' according to Carol Mathews from the University of California. Basically, it only counts as a serious issue when the habit becomes destructive, makes it hard to even use your hands, or starts causing constant infections ."

So, basically, the bottom line is that nail biting isn't automatically classified as a disorder, and just because you bite your nails doesn't mean you're mentally ill 🙂

If you ask me, I feel like most people who bite their nails are just doing it because they're freaking out or dealing with way too much stress 🤷

Exactly, of course it isn't.

It’s listed—the American Psychiatric Association classifies it under impulse control disorders, whereas here in the States we might see it categorized differently under childhood-onset behavioral issues—but to actually be diagnosed as a disorder, you have to meet specific criteria. It's not as simple as people think, despite what the common consensus is. The same goes for pretty much any other diagnosis...

Quincy...

Rebecca Sanders37 said:

Hey there! I just had to jump on here and share this because my mind is absolutely blown! So, I was catching up on some reading earlier—you know how I get, totally lost in a rabbit hole for hours—and I stumbled upon some stuff that honestly makes me want to go out and buy a lottery ticket right now. It’s all about those wild shifts in the market and how things are changing overnight. I was actually chatting with Rebecca Sanders37 about this the other day, and she was saying something super interesting about how we usually perceive stability, but let's be real, nothing stays the same for long, right?! It’s kind of like when you think you've finally mastered a new recipe only to realize you forgot the most important ingredient halfway through—total chaos, but also kind of hilarious if you stop to laugh at it! Anyway, I’m feeling so pumped about where things are headed. There's just so much energy in the air lately, and even though everything feels like it's moving at a million miles an hour, I am totally here for it! Who else is feeling this massive wave of excitement? Let's talk! kaže:
Look, don't even sweat it! Nail biting has been officially listed in the DSM way back when—it’s tucked right under that Chapter V section for mental and behavioral disorders, you know, those "F" diagnoses. So seriously, there's no need to act all surprised or weirded out by it! 🙂

So, from what I can gather, they’re planning to tuck that FBI stuff into the new IBM manual—well, if my brain hasn't completely short-circuited while trying to connect the dots here! Honestly, though, it doesn't feel like much of a shake-up since it’s already sitting right there in the current IBM version anyway; they're just shifting things around so it falls under a different category instead of being labeled as FBI. Tiny tweaks, really!

Look, it is seriously so important to realize that just because you feel off doesn't mean you have a clinical disorder. There are actual, strict criteria you have to meet before something officially gets labeled as a diagnosis. If it were any different, honestly, every single person out there would be walking around claiming they’re the proud owner of at least a dozen different mental health labels! Thankfully, thank God, it doesn't work like that.

Honestly, has anyone else ever noticed that if you actually sit down with a psychiatrist and just open up about your life for a few minutes, you could probably walk out with ten different diagnoses before the session is even over? It’s wild! Like, one minute you're just venting about your week, and the next, they've got you checked off on half the manual. It's crazy how easy it is to get labeled!

No offense intended, but honestly? I feel like psychiatry and psychology are basically sciences of nothingness. It’s all just a whole lot of blowing smoke and talking in circles!

This is getting a bit off-topic. If you want to dive into the scientific accuracy of psychiatry or psychology, it might be better to start a new thread... 🙂