Pride Month: The Mental Health Chat

Angela:  How have you been doing?

Brittany:  Better in general. You?

Angela:  Well, fighting off another migraine. The excedrin didn't work, so now I'm waiting for the sumatriptan to kick in. It's fun times.

Brittany:  Seems like a lot of people I know get migraines pretty often 😞

Angela:  Idk what it is. Seems to be more common these days, yeah. Especially in women. ... climate change maybe? I know that might sound like a weird stretch, but barometric pressure can affect it and allergens, so... *shrug* I just know it sucks.

Brittany:  Maybe climate change very indirectly, because of the pressure or increase in allergies.

Angela:  Right, that's what I mean. That and increases in stressors because gestures at everything.
I also know a lot more people having breakdowns and having to go on psych meds. Just like within the past year.

Brittany:  Yeah. This president is turning the whole world to shit.

Angela:  Fact. The world is too integrated now for us to keep it contained.

Brittany:  Yeah. I take breaks from the news sometimes, but still, it's not like I forget what's going on.

Angela:  I know. Not like you even could.

Brittany:  Maybe it was a factor in my latest breakdown. I wouldn't say it's a cause in my case since I haven't experienced any directly related trauma so far, but watching all this certainly doesn't help.

Angela:  I think watching and not being able to do anything about it, at least not immediately, can be it's own kind of trauma. That sense of helplessness. Idk. At least that's what gets to me a lot of times.

Brittany:  Same here. And I have a feeling dems are going to fuck this up again, and it's going to be another 4 years of this insanity.

Angela:  I just... I can't imagine we can be that stupid! All we have to effing to is 1. Vote, and 2. Not alienate independents. Like, it can't be that hard! This man is a monster!

Brittany:  I'm still all about Warren, but to be fair, I'd vote Biden over Trump because I'm generally a pragmatist, but a lot of people I know probably wouldn't. But I hope it doesn't come to that. I really want to interrupt the man show in general, but if it's going to be a man, I'd like it to be Sanders.

Angela:  I mean, I'm not gonna vote for Biden in the primaries. But that's what primaries are for. For picking a candidate to represent the party. And I don't understand why he would win that nomination at this point, but if he does, of course I'll vote for him over Trump. I'll vote for a turnip over Trump!

Brittany:  No shit. I see my dogs dump poops in the yard that would make better presidents than Trump.

Angela:  FACT. #DogDumpPoopsForPOTUS2020

Brittany:  I actually have a mental health post mostly written. Figure I might add to it after this, but it's close to done.

Angela:  Oh, great! I haven't gotten back to my rant yet, but I will. Just been all over the place lately. But your post is more in line with what we wanted to focus on this month, anyway, with everything that's been going on. So let's talk about that.

Close friends know you had (popular term) a breakdown a few weeks ago and admitted yourself into the hospital. Do you want to describe what happened? Where you were, mentally, at that time, and why you felt you needed to check yourself in?
(And I know that's a heavy jump-in, but I really feel talking about this stuff is necessary to normalize it, yanno?)

Brittany:  It was more depression than anxiety in that case. Like I would be depressed and seem to get better, but kept getting deeper and deeper into the depression. It got to the point where I was borderline suicidal. I didn't have that intention, but thoughts were enough to tell me I needed more help than what I could get from my personal life or therapist. Depression and anxiety are nothing new to me, but I was on the same meds for years until they weren't enough anymore.

Angela:  Did they do a med change in the hospital?

Brittany:  Yeah. Fortunately it seems to be the right change. Plus they have groups and therapists and such in those places, but mostly it's actually dreadfully boring.

Angela:  Lol. How long were you actually there?

Brittany:  Just under 4 days. It's generally a short term solution meant to get people out of crisis and back to their lives.

Angela:  Right. Did that affect you at all professionally? I know you've had some issues feeling like you should be able to "handle things better" being a therapist yourself. But were there any other issues with you missing work or anything?

Brittany:  Clients had the option of rescheduling or seeing someone else that week. No one at work seems to have an issue, but maybe that's obvious there would be less stigma. It was mostly me feeling like I must be a shitty therapist if I can't even keep myself out of crisis. I know that's bullshit, but still.

Angela:  That makes sense there would be less stigma. And a good thing, too.

Brittany:  Technically I'm diagnosed with Bipolar 2, generalized anxiety, and PTSD. My own issues are why I decided to do what I do (become a therapist), which isn't an unusual motivation.

Angela:  True. I know these kinds of mental health issues are also fairly common in the lgbtq+ community, largely due to social stigmas and discrimination issues people face a lot.

Brittany:  That's true. And we're more likely to to face sexual assault and other types of violence than the general cis het population, so there ends up being more trauma.

Angela:  That's terrifying. :(  And then, because of discrimination and not yet having any federal protections, so many people don't have decent jobs that provide good healthcare, which cuts people off from mental health care, so then these issues just go untreated for years...

Brittany:  Yeah. Places like where I work exist, but there is so much demand that it can take a good 2 weeks between the intake appointment and an appointment with someone like me or the psychiatrist.

Angela:  Right. And, like abortion clinics, they don't exist everywhere. (Though, they are thankfully more prevalent.)

Brittany:  Yeah. Rural areas have less. They're also shittier places in general to be any kind of queer or trans. And watching this administration fuck over our community so much... At least I have a pretty supportive group of people even among my cis het friends and what's left of my bio family, but if you're stuck in some dump of a town where literally everyone supports these politicians, that has to be hard.

Angela:  And, you know, for the record, I'm as pretty boring het cisgendered as you can get and I've got a therapist. Both of my BFFs are on psych meds, one of them (my bi sister) for the first time in her life. Everyone is having a hard time coping. We need to be talking about our mental health, I believe, as readily as we talk about the recent bout of bronchitis I had or your seasonal allergies, etc. I think more people will get help the more we lift the stigma.

Brittany:  Yeah. And fortunately social media is helping the conversation happen, but we still have a long way to go.

Angela:  So true. I also hope that, through spreading awareness, that also will somehow spread access... if that makes sense.

Brittany:  Yeah. It does.

Angela:  Random, but... are you hearing thunder at your place?

Brittany:  Yeah, and it's dark as fuck. I'm fucking tired of this weather. I was always somewhat anxious about severe weather, but it got 10 times worse after having a tornado 3 blocks away, and I still have to see the empty shell of Remington Tower any time I'm in the southern part of my back yard.

Angela:  Jeeezus.


Friends, if you are in crisis and you need help, do not hesitate. Reach out and call someone. Here are some numbers you can call.

Trans Lifeline
877-565-8860

Suicide Hotline
1-800-273-8255

Crisis Text Line
Text CONNECT to 741741

National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN)
800-656-4673

Domestic Violence (DVIS)
918-743-5763

Counseling & Recovery Services of Oklahoma
918-492-2254
https://crsok.org/