It’s not another Manic Monday
This week’s #MondayMotivation
When I “rebooted” my blog a few weeks ago, the idea behind the Monday posts was supposed to be finding or sharing something motivational to help me and anyone reading this start off their week on a positive note.
One problem with this, though, is that I’m now nearly certain that I’m going through a depressive phase of my bipolar (and not a Manic Monday like the Bangles sang about). The signs are all there:
excessive fatigue
difficulty concentrating
feeling like I’m thinking and speaking more slowly (which my wife has confirmed it seems like to her, too recently)
sleep inertia—it’s hard to get myself to wake up and get up, and I’m often not fully awake for 30-60 mins
and one of many other possible symptoms I didn’t even know about — having trouble falling and staying asleep. You usually think of sleeping too much with depression, but often it’s the opposite when the depression is starting to take hold.
The constant barrage of bad news, as well as some stressful situations at home, probably contributed to the onset, although by themselves I’ve been told and read that these types of stressors don’t actually cause depression by themselves.
I’m going to see my psychiatrist, who I usually only see every six months now. In general, I’m fortunate that through therapy and meds, as well as having a supportive network of people online and in person, I’ve been managing really well the past few years. For other people I know, it can be a constant struggle trying to find the right balance of medications and a psychiatrist who does more than just write a prescription and send them off.
I’ve dealt with depression before, including suicidal thoughts at times, but now I have the tools and support system to see me through. Not everyone does though.
And here is the positive part of the post — the 9-8-8 mental crisis and suicide number just went live last week, which will eventually replace the 1-800-something one that was hard for many people to remember or dial. It’s not funded as much as it should be in many states or nationally — so some people will have to wait on hold, which is usually the last thing you want to do if you’re in an urgent mental health crisis — BUT it’s worth hanging in there because they can and will help. This will help save thousands of lives and they’re predicting up to 12 million people will call in the next year for help.
So my Monday motivation for today is that I know that things can and DO get better, not just personally but also as a country. As clichéd as it sounds, if you’re feeling hopeless, hang in there because there IS hope things will get better. 9-8-8 may seem like a small step, but it’s something our Congress actually accomplished that will save lives. We can and WILL get our government to do its job by providing more basic services for the people who, after all, public servants supposed to be serving.
How to reach the mental crisis and suicide hotline:
Phone: Dial or text 988 from any phone in the US.
Online: samhsa.gov/find-help/988 is the website in case you don’t want to call or text but want more information online that can help you or someone else you know.
More info: Here’s a factsheet with more info about the 988 program.
