How to Keep Going When Mental Illness Treatment Doesn't Work | Breaking Bipolar - HealthyPlace

[Guest guest]

http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/breakingbipolar/2011/08/how-to-keep-going-when\

-mental-illness-treatment-doesnt-work/

How to Keep Going When Mental Illness Treatment Doesn’t Work

August 15th, 2011 / by Natasha

Everyone who has been bipolar, or mentally ill in general, for longer than about

a day-and-a-half has experienced failed treatments. We’ve all had medications

that didn’t work. Therapy that didn’t help. Lifestyle changes that did

nothing. And so on, and so forth. In fact, most of us experience months of

treatment failure before we find treatment that works for our mental illness.

But after years of failure and trying everything you can think of and still

being sick, how does one keep going? How do you keep going when mental illness

treatment doesn’t work?

Do You Regret Trying a Treatment?

People have asked me if I regret trying some of the treatments I have had, like

VNS or ECT as they were painful and didn’t work.

I can understand why people would think I’d regret it, but I don’t. Because

you can never tell if a treatment is going to work before you try it. Every

treatment is a question mark and the only way to know whether you’ll get

better or not is to try. I don’t regret trying. Because even failure is

information to use moving forward.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

- A. Edison

Treatment Doesn’t Work

I have experienced far more treatment failures than I have successes. I’m what

you call treatment-resistant, also known as a doctor’s nightmare. A doctor

gives me pills, I get every side effect. I do therapy and I know what the

therapist is going to say before they say it. I make other changes in my life to

little or no effect.

Nothing works.

And when I say nothing, I mean 40+ medications and practically an infinite

number of combinations. Intolerable side effects. Pain. Uselessness.

Seriously. Nothing.

Why Bother?

A friend of mine sometimes gets depressed. And he told me, he forces himself to

go outside and do things anyway. When I asked him why, he said he knew staying

inside wasn’t going to make him feel better, but outside there was at least a

tiny chance something would happen to make him less depressed.

Ah. Brilliant.

Continuing treatment is extremely simple: If I try something new, there is a

chance I will get better; if everything stays the same, there is no chance.

Treatment, Even That You’ve Already Tried, Can Work

Today is not yesterday and today sure isn’t three years ago. You’re not the

same. Your illness is not the same. You may not have seen a good response three

years ago, but you might today. Or tomorrow. Or a month from now.

And the truth is there are always more treatments. Therapy, medication, ECT,

VNS, rTMS, DBS and on, and on, and on. And any one of them can work. Really.

Because even a tiny chance of getting better is infinitely superior to no chance

at all.

You can find Natasha on Facebook or GooglePlus or @Natasha_ on

Twitter.

Tags: Bipolar Medication, Bipolar Treatment, Depression, psych meds, Treatment

Resistant Bipolar Disorder, Why?

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/breakingbipolar/2011/08/how-to-keep-going-when\

-mental-illness-treatment-doesnt-work/

How to Keep Going When Mental Illness Treatment Doesn’t Work

August 15th, 2011 / by Natasha

Everyone who has been bipolar, or mentally ill in general, for longer than about

a day-and-a-half has experienced failed treatments. We’ve all had medications

that didn’t work. Therapy that didn’t help. Lifestyle changes that did

nothing. And so on, and so forth. In fact, most of us experience months of

treatment failure before we find treatment that works for our mental illness.

But after years of failure and trying everything you can think of and still

being sick, how does one keep going? How do you keep going when mental illness

treatment doesn’t work?

Do You Regret Trying a Treatment?

People have asked me if I regret trying some of the treatments I have had, like

VNS or ECT as they were painful and didn’t work.

I can understand why people would think I’d regret it, but I don’t. Because

you can never tell if a treatment is going to work before you try it. Every

treatment is a question mark and the only way to know whether you’ll get

better or not is to try. I don’t regret trying. Because even failure is

information to use moving forward.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

- A. Edison

Treatment Doesn’t Work

I have experienced far more treatment failures than I have successes. I’m what

you call treatment-resistant, also known as a doctor’s nightmare. A doctor

gives me pills, I get every side effect. I do therapy and I know what the

therapist is going to say before they say it. I make other changes in my life to

little or no effect.

Nothing works.

And when I say nothing, I mean 40+ medications and practically an infinite

number of combinations. Intolerable side effects. Pain. Uselessness.

Seriously. Nothing.

Why Bother?

A friend of mine sometimes gets depressed. And he told me, he forces himself to

go outside and do things anyway. When I asked him why, he said he knew staying

inside wasn’t going to make him feel better, but outside there was at least a

tiny chance something would happen to make him less depressed.

Ah. Brilliant.

Continuing treatment is extremely simple: If I try something new, there is a

chance I will get better; if everything stays the same, there is no chance.

Treatment, Even That You’ve Already Tried, Can Work

Today is not yesterday and today sure isn’t three years ago. You’re not the

same. Your illness is not the same. You may not have seen a good response three

years ago, but you might today. Or tomorrow. Or a month from now.

And the truth is there are always more treatments. Therapy, medication, ECT,

VNS, rTMS, DBS and on, and on, and on. And any one of them can work. Really.

Because even a tiny chance of getting better is infinitely superior to no chance

at all.

You can find Natasha on Facebook or GooglePlus or @Natasha_ on

Twitter.

Tags: Bipolar Medication, Bipolar Treatment, Depression, psych meds, Treatment

Resistant Bipolar Disorder, Why?

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/breakingbipolar/2011/08/how-to-keep-going-when\

-mental-illness-treatment-doesnt-work/

How to Keep Going When Mental Illness Treatment Doesn’t Work

August 15th, 2011 / by Natasha

Everyone who has been bipolar, or mentally ill in general, for longer than about

a day-and-a-half has experienced failed treatments. We’ve all had medications

that didn’t work. Therapy that didn’t help. Lifestyle changes that did

nothing. And so on, and so forth. In fact, most of us experience months of

treatment failure before we find treatment that works for our mental illness.

But after years of failure and trying everything you can think of and still

being sick, how does one keep going? How do you keep going when mental illness

treatment doesn’t work?

Do You Regret Trying a Treatment?

People have asked me if I regret trying some of the treatments I have had, like

VNS or ECT as they were painful and didn’t work.

I can understand why people would think I’d regret it, but I don’t. Because

you can never tell if a treatment is going to work before you try it. Every

treatment is a question mark and the only way to know whether you’ll get

better or not is to try. I don’t regret trying. Because even failure is

information to use moving forward.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

- A. Edison

Treatment Doesn’t Work

I have experienced far more treatment failures than I have successes. I’m what

you call treatment-resistant, also known as a doctor’s nightmare. A doctor

gives me pills, I get every side effect. I do therapy and I know what the

therapist is going to say before they say it. I make other changes in my life to

little or no effect.

Nothing works.

And when I say nothing, I mean 40+ medications and practically an infinite

number of combinations. Intolerable side effects. Pain. Uselessness.

Seriously. Nothing.

Why Bother?

A friend of mine sometimes gets depressed. And he told me, he forces himself to

go outside and do things anyway. When I asked him why, he said he knew staying

inside wasn’t going to make him feel better, but outside there was at least a

tiny chance something would happen to make him less depressed.

Ah. Brilliant.

Continuing treatment is extremely simple: If I try something new, there is a

chance I will get better; if everything stays the same, there is no chance.

Treatment, Even That You’ve Already Tried, Can Work

Today is not yesterday and today sure isn’t three years ago. You’re not the

same. Your illness is not the same. You may not have seen a good response three

years ago, but you might today. Or tomorrow. Or a month from now.

And the truth is there are always more treatments. Therapy, medication, ECT,

VNS, rTMS, DBS and on, and on, and on. And any one of them can work. Really.

Because even a tiny chance of getting better is infinitely superior to no chance

at all.

You can find Natasha on Facebook or GooglePlus or @Natasha_ on

Twitter.

Tags: Bipolar Medication, Bipolar Treatment, Depression, psych meds, Treatment

Resistant Bipolar Disorder, Why?

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/breakingbipolar/2011/08/how-to-keep-going-when\

-mental-illness-treatment-doesnt-work/

How to Keep Going When Mental Illness Treatment Doesn’t Work

August 15th, 2011 / by Natasha

Everyone who has been bipolar, or mentally ill in general, for longer than about

a day-and-a-half has experienced failed treatments. We’ve all had medications

that didn’t work. Therapy that didn’t help. Lifestyle changes that did

nothing. And so on, and so forth. In fact, most of us experience months of

treatment failure before we find treatment that works for our mental illness.

But after years of failure and trying everything you can think of and still

being sick, how does one keep going? How do you keep going when mental illness

treatment doesn’t work?

Do You Regret Trying a Treatment?

People have asked me if I regret trying some of the treatments I have had, like

VNS or ECT as they were painful and didn’t work.

I can understand why people would think I’d regret it, but I don’t. Because

you can never tell if a treatment is going to work before you try it. Every

treatment is a question mark and the only way to know whether you’ll get

better or not is to try. I don’t regret trying. Because even failure is

information to use moving forward.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

- A. Edison

Treatment Doesn’t Work

I have experienced far more treatment failures than I have successes. I’m what

you call treatment-resistant, also known as a doctor’s nightmare. A doctor

gives me pills, I get every side effect. I do therapy and I know what the

therapist is going to say before they say it. I make other changes in my life to

little or no effect.

Nothing works.

And when I say nothing, I mean 40+ medications and practically an infinite

number of combinations. Intolerable side effects. Pain. Uselessness.

Seriously. Nothing.

Why Bother?

A friend of mine sometimes gets depressed. And he told me, he forces himself to

go outside and do things anyway. When I asked him why, he said he knew staying

inside wasn’t going to make him feel better, but outside there was at least a

tiny chance something would happen to make him less depressed.

Ah. Brilliant.

Continuing treatment is extremely simple: If I try something new, there is a

chance I will get better; if everything stays the same, there is no chance.

Treatment, Even That You’ve Already Tried, Can Work

Today is not yesterday and today sure isn’t three years ago. You’re not the

same. Your illness is not the same. You may not have seen a good response three

years ago, but you might today. Or tomorrow. Or a month from now.

And the truth is there are always more treatments. Therapy, medication, ECT,

VNS, rTMS, DBS and on, and on, and on. And any one of them can work. Really.

Because even a tiny chance of getting better is infinitely superior to no chance

at all.

You can find Natasha on Facebook or GooglePlus or @Natasha_ on

Twitter.

Tags: Bipolar Medication, Bipolar Treatment, Depression, psych meds, Treatment

Resistant Bipolar Disorder, Why?

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T