Mental Illness

[Andrew, Jr.]

Thank you for explaining. I am not very good with concepts, and comprehension is not my strong suit.

Peace,
Andrew

[NotAnAverageGuy]

I have learned the best coping skill is writing, writing in journals, writing poetry and prose, etc helps.

[Andrew, Jr.]

Same for me. Writing is my best suit at times. Even then, what I am saying is misconstrued by "some" people.

I also have ocd very badly. I used to be a hoarder. My father has ocd, but his was with routines. Mine is with routines, counting, washing my hands, checking and rechecking things, opening and closing doors and locks, and so on and on. It gets to be very tiring. I worked with a therapist on this for years. And out of the blue one day I just stopped. I have no idea of why. It just happened. I had no reason to wash my hands, or put on lotion. Now, I still count, and check and recheck things. But it is no where near to what it used to be. Rosie has it very badly too. She is working on her's now. It is a struggle, but I know it too well.

[Inuus]

Thanks for everyone sharing their experiences

Last night I watched for the first time that show Hoarders on A&E. Very enlightening to me. I personally have had some interaction with a hoarder as a child. The family next door had a beautiful 1600's house that was in shambles because the father was a hoader. He just couldnt help himself. He would go to the local dump and take things home, things he never used or needed. Was hard for a child to understand. As an adult I have witnessed animal hoarding. Such a terrible disorder and painful to witness.

If anyone cares to share...if you are a hoarder how to do cope? If you get help and stop the hoarding how does one stay away from the compulsion again? Im genuinely asking for enlightenment not judgement

[Andrew, Jr.]

Personally speaking, mine started out when I was a young child. I too couldn't help it. I would save papers. I had papers upon papers upon papers. Now, mind you, I was super clean, but never neat. I was disorganized. The disorganization gave me comfort.

Washing my hands...omg. I would wash my hands repeatedly. I was terrified of germs. I hated sand but loved dirt. Go figure that one out because now I just love the beach.

To me, hoarding is the same as counting, checking, washing my hands, touching and the list just goes on and on.

I worked with a therapist on this. What triggers mine is stress, or if someone threatens me, it is like an alarm going off in my mind. I really couldn't get a handle on it until I was really settled on my own. Hoarding is a coping mechanism for someone who is dealing with dysfunction in some form or fashion imho. Until you deal with it, you will live it.

[Darth Denkay]

I've tried writing but it's not really helpful for me. What works best in my world is talking to one of my 6 therapists - my one "real" therapist, my 4 cats and 1 dog. Sometimes all it takes for me is to sit and pet one of them, say what needs to be said - they can definitely be the best medicine!

Originally Posted by NotAnAverageGuy

I have learned the best coping skill is writing, writing in journals, writing poetry and prose, etc helps.

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Writing doesn't do it for everyone, some do art therapy, some do exercise, etc. Yes talking to a real therapist or an animal one is therapy too!

[Apocalipstic]

When I am out of my comfort zone I check things over and over. Like do I have my ticket, my room key, my passport.

I have in the past hoarded a bit, and been afraid to leave the house but I take medication for that now. I do still count and if I am stressed everything electric around me malfunctions.

I have to pace myself and not over-do.

Writing almost makes me worse. I do better talking things out.

[NotAnAverageGuy]

I clean and ALOT sometimes when my OCD flares up or my bi polar goes mania

my other means are writing, listening to music and talking to others about similiar things.

[Andrew, Jr.]

A very good friend of mine told me that when he thinks of me, he thinks of Howie Mandel. He is the celebrity who is writing a book about his ocd, and his issues with shaking hands, washing hands over and over, and what it was like growing up with ocd.

In the Dec. 7th issue of People Magazine there is a small article on Howie. I hope this gives some insight to what it is like to have ocd. For me, I think you could change out Howie's name and insert my name and it would read the same.

Namaste,
Andrew

[SelfMadeMan]

Add me to the OCD club It's gotten better over time for me, but it's definitely there. I have a shower ritual, I eat a certain way, I check things, have to fold my laundry a certain way and HAVE to have certain things in the house a specific way. I also have a thing with numbers. When fueling the car - I can't stop on anything but whole dollar amounts. When I adjust the volume on the TV I have to stop it on 15, 20, 25 etc... not 16, 19, 21, etc. LOL. But most people would never know if they didn't live with me. So anyway... hello everyone!

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Welcome Mike

Oh yes the sticking to the odd numbers, I do that sometimes too!

[JustLovelyJenn]

ok... So, I am going to do something a little unusual for me. In the past I have avoided these threads and discussion of such issues... That's not really working for me... So I am going to try something different, actually talking. People I am close to get this information, but the world at large has no idea...

To start with, I am too proud, and too stubborn to easily admit I need help with anything, and in my family there is such a terrible stigma around mental health that THIS is the worst to admit to...

As a youth , after the unexpected death of my younger sister, I did ask my parents for help, express concerns about how my head worked, and state that I didn't feel the same or right. The response was always the same. "There's nothing wrong with you", I was told, "Its all in your head, buck up and pull it together." Then there were the more extreme responses. "Your being ridiculous, a slacker, you just don't want to deal with things." " At this rate you will never get anywhere in life, when are you gonna learn to get a handle on things?" This attitude in my home lead me to the mistaken belief that these problems were things that happened to other people, not me. I have always had sympathy and tolerance for others, but none for myself... which, by the way, can make things so much worse.

I am still to this day trying to convince myself to trust a doctor enough to more formally address my concerns. But, I have a passion for learning and as I got older and truly had trouble doing the things I needed to do, I started to educate myself and handle my issues as best I could in the shadows... I have a likely (although not official) history of sever depression, post traumatic stress syndrome, OCD, self abuse, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety.

There are examples and reasons for each concern... but its not the easiest thing for me to talk about. I have no idea what, if anything, I will choose to post here... As a matter of fact, if I press the button to actually post THIS post... I will be shocked and amazed... But, I am here non the less, in yet another attempt to grow and survive.

[Andrew, Jr.]

Jenn,

First of all, welcome.

Second of all, you are not alone. I think that our parents are in the age group where mental illness was a negative stigma. That is why I started the thread with the Glen Close psa's she is doing now - to eliminate the negative ideas surrounding mental illness. There is nothing to be ashamed of.

There is so much being done now, to help those of us who struggle with it on a daily basis. I outted myself as a hoarder because someone took pictures of my home without my consent and posted them for all to see. My thinking is that they thought they would be one up on me. Well, I always tell the truth. It is something I do. I have nothing to hide. I want to live my life as I am. So folks cannot handle the truth, so that is on them. I live as a Roman Catholic, and again, someone went directly to my Parish Priest and outted me as a FTM. What can he say or do? What can I say or do? Really? I view that individual as being really vindictive, & nasty. Someone who wants to inflict pain. Sure they succeeded. They hurt me a great deal. But in the end, really what did they accomplish in the eyes of God? That is what it really boils down too. Then someone said that I am a liar. Someone who has never met me, shaken my hand, eaten a meal with me, or anything. But yet goes around stating I am a liar. God help them is all I can say. In the end, everything comes back to bit you in the ass if you are not telling the truth. It is a fact of life. So, my point is this, why lie? See what I mean.

So, with all of that said, I just go on with my life. I have a good life. I may not be the fastest person on the uptake. Or have the biggest house on the block. Or have 3 vacation homes all over the world. But I have my faith, and I have Rosie, my furkids, and my adopted family, and some friends here. They give me my strength. Life is not fair. But you have to make peace with it so it won't screw up the rest of your life or your family.

Peace and ,
Andrew

PS: If you ever want to chat, please feel free to pm me. I am all ears.

[Darth Denkay]

Hey, you're totally welcome. Communication online can be difficult for all of us. It's all good.

Originally Posted by Andrew, Jr.

Thank you for explaining. I am not very good with concepts, and comprehension is not my strong suit.

Peace,
Andrew