AfflictionAteHer

I spent some time on research over the weekend (and on finding a way to display that research in this blog). What little information I focused on was astounding and is still on my mind. The possible discovery of a gene that would point to an entire subtype of bipolar disorder that might be treated with anti-inflammatory treatment. A radically decreased estimated lifespan. Double and even triple risk of heart disease, kidney failure, asthma (all of which can also be impacted by faulty immune system responses, including inflammation). Even evidence that poor test results for blood lipids could be a hallmark of bipolar disorder.

Personally, I have both asthma and horrid cholesterol levels, and heart disease and immune disorders run in my family.

I’m no scientist, so I’m trying not to come to my own conclusions about what I’ve read but a few questions do keep spinning through my mind:

• What would it take for physicians of all kinds to collaborate and plan care for their patients? And I’m not just talking about prescriptions, here. I’m talking about agreeing on risk factors to monitor, and non-pharmacological therapies, and overall support and monitoring
• Why does the psychiatric community continue to focus on what appears to be outdated information: that is, that mental illness is all in our heads, and that medication designed specifically to sedate, to alter mood and perception, are our only options for treatment?
• Why do mental hospitals continue to focus on warehousing, group therapy, and “one size fits all” psychopharmacology for their patients?
• Why does bipolar disorder not immediately set off warning bells — why do our doctors not immediately test for those diseases and illnesses research so clearly shows are associated with it?

These questions, unfortunately, play in to my general distrust of the medical community – something I am working on overcoming. They also, however, lead to my next topic; one that Barb touched on when she commented on my last post: my own responsibility to commonsense self-care. Do I exercise? Not right now. Do I make an effort to eat a healthy diet? Rarely. Do I try do maintain a healthy sleep schedule? Never.

It would be easy to blame science for my health issues, and it would be easy to blame bipolar disorder for my poor self care. These are excuses I have to admit that I use every day. I don’t quite smoking because I’m afraid of a manic episode (something that’s happened in the past). I eat cinnamon rolls all day because I need the pleasure they give me to get through my work day. Ditto fountain Diet Cokes. I don’t cook healthy meals because I’m too tired. I don’t clean house because I have important creative business to attend to, like this blog.

Blame and excuses, like shame and guilt, have little place in a healthy life. When I was in therapy we focused a lot on these cornerstones of immobility, and I actually made some progress away from them. Now, having been off the therapy wagon for a number of years, I find that I’ve built on those cornerstones and now have a pretty solid foundation of unhealthy habits on which to live my life.

I hope we continue to make strides in the case for the inextricable links between physical and mental illness, and I hope our doctors catch up soon. It is important, though, not to get sidetracked by the questions they present.

Which is why, this week, I have the following goals:

1. Cut out the cinnamon rolls
2. Go to bed an hour earlier every night
3. Begin the search for a therapist
4. Continue my research, and blog every day
5. Read and comment on a different blog every day

Does anybody else struggle with a tangle of medical, mental, and self-care issues? I’d love to hear about it if you do.

Popularity: 1%