By:
On:
In: Anxiety, Living with Mental Illness, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Personal Stories, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a pattern of unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions), which interfere with daily activities and can cause severe stress. You may feel the need to try and stop or ignore the OCD but that will just increase your anxiety.  Eventually you will feel the need to stop the acts the OCD causes which will alleviate the stress.  You will find, eventually, the acts will keep coming back; this is the vicious cycle of OCD.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Abuse, Addiction, Bipolar, Living with Mental Illness, Personal Stories, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

My life, like everyone else’s, had its ups and downs. My brother and I would take turns spending weekends with both grandmothers’; go to church, to the library, do some baking and play games. We had the best time with them. While at home, everyone would be quiet, doing their own thing. Usually during birthdays or holidays is where you’d find us happy, joking and enjoying our time together. It wasn’t until years later, I discovered why we spent so much time away from our parents. My father had been diagnosed with manic depression during his teenage years and we didn’t know this until IRead More →

By:
On:
In: Addiction, General, Living with Mental Illness, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Personal Stories, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

Joanie Malarchuk is wife of former NHL hockey player Clint Malarchuk. 28 years ago the then 27-year-old ice hockey goaltender, of the Buffalo Sabres, suffered one of the most gruesome injuries ever seen in professional sport. His throat cut by a stray skate, he survived thanks to his team’s trainer reaching into his neck to pinch shut the severed artery that would later need 300 stitches.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Depression, Living with Mental Illness, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

How well do you know your friends, co-workers or even family? It would be surprising to know it doesn’t matter how well you know them, they may be hiding something from you. What you may see is a happy marriage, a great job, lots of friends. What you won’t see is the unhappiness, lack of energy, constant self-doubt and changes in appetite; a few symptoms of high-functioning depression.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Addiction, Living with Mental Illness, Suicide, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

On September 12, 2016, I went to listen to former NHLer Clint Malarchuk speak for the World Suicide Prevention Day. He touched on his medication and drinking, how he mixed the two and how it affected his mental illness, himself, his family and his suicidal thoughts. I do know, from personal experience from loved ones, how important it is NOT to mix alcohol and or drugs and certain medications when you live with a mental illness.Read More →

By:
On:
In: General, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

Written by Anita Levesque The mental health community was in shock yesterday, March 29, 2016.  Patty Duke passed away at 69.  She was a very well known actress but she was best known for her mental health advocacy work since her bipolar diagnoses in 1982. It was in the late 1980’s and I remember my grandmother talking about my father going to psychiatrists and counselors when he was a teenager, because she knew there was something not right, she called it a chemical imbalance. When I was younger, I knew there was something wrong with my father and tried to be patient with him. ThereRead More →

By:
On:
In: Anxiety, Coping Tips, Living with Mental Illness, Personal Stories, Supporting a Loved One
With: 1 Comment

allinyourhead.co.uk First of all, apologies as I haven’t written a blog for a while. It’s down to a few reasons, work family also, I have been reading a few blogs and social media (tweets, Facebook posts) . Everybody has their own unique way of writing and telling their stories which is amazing, it’s really helpful and takes some bottle to really open up and tell all, I have total respect to you all and thank you. While reading them, I can see myself in most but also get why there is this stigma (which is bollocks). I tried to read from a neutral point ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: General, Personal Stories, Schizophrenia, Supporting a Loved One
With: 2 Comments

Us caregiver’s take on the role of care-giving because we have to, because we want to, but most of all because we love someone who needs us to fulfill this role. I’m going to dive right in and state that sometimes I want to bang my head on the keyboard when I see or hear another reference to ‘tough love’ like it is something to be shunned and ashamed of. The idea that by practicing ‘tough love’, one is not practicing ‘unconditional love’. Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Anxiety, Coping Tips, Living with Mental Illness, Personal Stories, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

During the years, I must admit…. Even though the panic/anxiety has been crippling and I would not wish it upon my worst enemy, there have been some stories to tell. I cringed at the time, but when we (I mean close friends and family) talk about it them, laughter comes of it. Which can only be good? When I was about 25, the attacks were in full flow, I could not be left alone , never!! As you know , I was desperate , dependant on everyone and anyone. Selfishly struggling through that part of my life.Read More →

By:
On:
In: General, Personal Stories, Schizophrenia, Supporting a Loved One
With: 0 Comments

Sometimes when writing or blogging I will use the term roller coaster… As a parent or caregiver of someone with a mental illness it is a term a lot of us use. A very fitting term if you ask me. There are lots of different roller coasters throughout the world. One of the top ten being the Bizarro (formerly known as Superman: Ride of Steel) in Agawam, Massachusetts USA. My favorite, possible because I have ridden it, is the Ghoster Coaster. It’s a small wooden one in Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario, Canada.Read More →