Higher Power

Episode 44: Higher Power, by host, Laura Milkins. Our guest, Tina, tells the story of her depression and her decision to ween off medications. She explains how 12 step groups are crucial in this process. Sunday, November 27, 2016

Psychology Today

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-sobriety/201305/turning-it-over

Turning It Over – Ingrid Mathieu PhD (excerpts)

In the absence of instantaneous fixes and direction, I was faced with my humanity in a way that was almost excruciating. If I wasn’t aligning myself with something that I thought was “good,” and I was open to eventualities that I couldn’t see coming, that meant I was OPEN. Open to possibilities (and feelings of uncertainty and anxiety). Open to my vulnerability (and feelings of shame, grief and doubt). This meant that I really was powerless over people, places, things, my addiction, my personality, my LIFE―and this was frightening!

But there is good news. Being that open means experiencing the fullness of the present moment, of the great reality, and all of who I am and who I am becoming. I become less fragmented, which gives me greater compassion and the ability to make healthier choices. I’m less likely to swirl down in a shame spiral and more available to be honest with my friends and family. When control is underlying our attempt at surrender, the incongruence becomes more painful then the reality we are attempting to avoid. When we have to disavow aspects of ourselves in order to connect, that’s not real connection. When we have to jump through hoops in order to please, we aren’t in healthy relationship, we are being co-dependent (even with God). Surrender means bringing our whole selves to the table, and being open to whatever comes next, in whatever timing it arrives. That brings us to the third stop on this road to spiritual development.

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In Bed

Episode 43: In Bed, by host, Laura Milkins. Our guest, Carol Hodson, tells the story of her depression and bipolar. And how her mother’s experience of bipolar and depression has helped her understand her own diagnosis. Sunday, November 20, 2016

5 Signs of Common Mental Health Conditions

Everyday Health
http://www.everydayhealth.com/mental-health/mental-health-issues.aspx

• Appetite. “In clinical depression you lose your appetite completely, and you stop eating, or you eat very little,” says Dr. RachBeisel.
• Sleep. When clinical depression sets in, you may have consistent, severe insomnia and be unable to sleep well almost every night.
• Concentration. “Someone might find themselves unable to maintain focus on simple activities like watching a TV program or reading a newspaper article,” says RachBeisel. You may not be able to focus on a recipe for dinner or tasks at work.
• Energy level. “With severe clinical depression your energy is so low you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning or carrying through your basic activities of daily living. People find themselves lying in bed and staying in pajamas all day long,” RachBeisel explains.
• Interest in activities that one would normally enjoy. This may mean that you no longer care about shaving or styling your hair, for example, or about bigger issues, like caring for your children.

Blame

Episode 42: Blame, by host, Laura Milkins. Our guest, Nico, tells the story of their suicidal depression and how Nico realized that you can still be happy even with major depression. Sunday, November 6, 2016

Blame definition:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/blame

1. Feel or declare that (someone or something) is responsible for a fault or wrong.

‘the inquiry blamed the train driver for the accident’

More example sentencesSynonyms

2. Assign the responsibility for a bad or unfortunate situation or phenomenon to (someone or something)

‘they blame youth crime on unemployment’

Spontaneous

Episode 41: Spontaneous, by host, Laura Milkins. Our guest, Zach Funk, tells the story of his suicidal depression and how his early experiences with depression allowed him to help others with suicidal depression. Sunday, October 30, 2016

Quotes used on this episode:

The true opposite of depression is not gaiety or absence of pain, but vitality: the freedom to experience spontaneous feelings.

– Alice Miller

It was not the beautiful or pleasant feelings that gave me new insight, but the ones against which I fought most strongly: feelings that made me experience myself as shabby, petty, mean, helpless, humiliated, demanding, resentful or confused, and above all, sad and lonely. It was precisely through these experiences, which I had shunned for so long, that I became certain that I now understood something about my life, stemming from the core of my being, something that I could not have learned from any book.

-Alice Miller