Day four of my IOP is in the books. Today was just OK. Not through any fault of the program. It was my own fault. Well, not really my fault, it would be wrong to assign blame. I slept terribly last night. If I could control that, I would take the blame, but I can’t…
Day three of my IOP was today. I woke up early but really didn’t want to go. I knew I couldn’t miss a day, though. Not for such a flimsy excuse as not feeling like it. So, I went and I’m glad I went. I’m no longer the newest person in the group. I still…
Day two of my IOP was this morning. Just like yesterday, I checked in at the desk and went up to the room. Today I was the first person to arrive. It felt like a lot longer than it was before the rest of the group started trickling in. There were two people who hadn’t…
I started my intensive outpatient program (IOP) today. I walked in and checked in at the desk. They told me what room to go to and I headed up the stairs to the room. I was about ten minutes early, but there were already four or five people there when I arrived. They were all…
Recently I’ve been having suicidal ideations. It’s scared the crap out of me. I want it to stop. Since it’s not stopping, though, my therapist recommended an intensive outpatient program (IOP). I agreed. I want to document my experiences in the program. I think it will help me to make sense of what’s happening. Today…
Pennsylvania senator, John Fetterman, recently spent six weeks in the hospital battling depression. He is finally feeling better and now he’s talking about his experience. He did an interview with NPR about his depression and recovery, John Fetterman speaks about depression after returning to the Senate : NPR. I’m sorry that Fetterman had to go…
I’ve read a lot of articles lately (here’s one) that say that preventing mental illness would be better than treating mental illness. The way these authors want to do that is by promoting wellness. The theory is that we shouldn’t wait until people are sick to intervene. There should be more of a focus on…
Aeon ran an article by James Barnes called “The space between us“. Its subtitle is “In order to understand and heal mental distress, we must see our minds as existing in relationships, not inside our heads”. Barnes presents what he calls a relational-intersubjective paradigm as nothing less than a revolution in therapy. I disagree and…
Louie Lang wrote an article in Phlexible Philosophy entitled “An Education Based on Happiness” (Full disclosure, I also write for Phlexible Philosophy.). The premise is that we need a shift of emphasis in education away from career-oriented education and towards a happiness education. That will go a long way towards stopping the mental health crisis….
Yesterday, I wrote about how depression puts people at higher risk for severe covid. Today I want to talk about another problem with covid. Apparently, covid can cause depression. “[O]ver half of a U.S. COVID-19 survivor sample reported symptoms of depression months after recovery, those with more severe COVID symptoms being more likely to have depression.” They…
