THE REALITIES OF LIVING WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ISSUES; HOW IT CHANGES A PERSON'S LIFE.
WRITTEN & CREATED BY KAREN ANNE BACHAND
This Blog is dedicated to my late parents Clifford Bachand and the woman who stood beside him even before their marriage, Dorothy Rossick Bachand. My most excellent father was a WWII veteran who served in the Navy on a ship called the Coral Sea. Although he came into danger, he returned safely home to embrace the GI Bill and run front and center through both business school and law school at Clark University and the University of San Francisco, respectively. My mother graduated from Holy Names University with an English major (minor sociology) and, also, from the University of California, at Berkeley with a single subject teaching credential.
I would also like to dedicate this Blog to my cousin, Bud Bachand, who made it safely home from Vietnam after serving in the Army. He cited the dangers of holding the front line and losing all but one of his friends. Although I do not know if he had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), his life path altered. He went through a divorce and had a difficult time acclimating to civilian life. Many of our nation's mainstream citizens, with mental health challenges, are also forced to alter their lifestyle and thought processes as they go through the many phases of their mental health issues.
Many veterans come home with psychological issues, although when they enlisted, nothing was ailing them in that manner. Suicide rates have been exponentially high among those in active service and veterans. The phrase Operation Shift seems to be relevant here, as it brings to the fore what needs to do, a shift in attitude among practitioners to help people gain a healthier state of mind. All mental health clients are veterans of a sort, fighting enduring illnesses; this is a battle to find remission and resiliency, and tools to create the best wellness possible. So, this Blog is a dedication to all the people serving in the military. It is also a dedication to my fellow journeymen and women seeking a path to a wellness state.
So, welcome to my Blog entitled Operation Shift. As stated above, for us to change mental states, there needs to be an impetus to do so. Such as a beacon of hope - somewhere. Finding mine took some time.
I quietly began my journey happily situated at a job that I enjoyed to the maximum. Then, one day, I could not go to work. The day after, I couldn't go either. I was eventually tested positive for both the Epstein Barr virus and another devastating virus, which began as Bronchitis. Then I started suffering from a burning sore throat for three-and-a-half months. Unfortunately, it didn't end there. My health diminished further to the point where people were offering to drive me to the medical hospital. By this time, I had seen eight doctors, and my sister had escorted me to the ER twice. I was asked by a doctor if I was "willing myself to death," and I responded, "that is hardly helpful, doctor." My sister noted then that whatever was happening to me, I couldn't stop the train.
After six months of this, my mind took a turn for the worse, and I began psychological treatment. Down the line, I was told by a most excellent psychologist, that my life would change, that my very thinking would take a turn for the better if I used tools available to me. It took me two years to recover from the viruses, but I wasted no time and delved into recovery mode; I was used to challenges, as I was struck down later in life. I had a long and excellent work history. (If you have not done so, already, click "THIS IS A PRELUDE SITE TO OPERATION SHIFT" located above. It will also include the details of my treatment history.)
I agreed with the dialogue of a character who played a doctor in the film entitled "People Will Talk" (1956), who eventually opened his clinic for women clients. "The practice of medicine should become more involved with human beings. It treats instead of the way of becoming more and more the practice of prescribing pills, serums, and using knives (unnecessary medical procedures) until, eventually, we will evolve to the creation of an electronic doctor." I had been determined to utilize talk therapy and peer support to the maximum, which I did do in fighting my illnesses, both psychologically and medically.
The intention of helping the vulnerable, with extricable good care, also extends to the disenfranchised members of society, minorities, and children. Teen suicide has also increased, and there is a revolving door to psychiatric hospitals pouring on medication rather than helping people with their life's circumstances, namely housing and other pertinent services. Support with life issues and mental health problems need to address with fairness to the individuals in need.
You will quickly surmise that I have a lot of experience in not only the mental health field but also in education. I earned a Master of Arts in Instructional Computing from the University of San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts with a certificate in K-6 teaching from Saint Mary's College of California, located in Contra Costa County.
Click on the link entitled THE PRELUDE (SITE) TO OPERATION SHIFT (located above) to learn more about my background and experiences before and after my physical and mental health issues came along.
The approach of this Blog is to resource what makes and changes a person from who they are along their mental health journey to who they may become. Remission, even a partial one, is a process. An emotional reconstruction to resiliency does not seem to be decisive, but rather how regeneration takes place. The first matter at hand is to assist a person through correct diagnosis. I have seen, too many times, people even with medical issues, improperly diagnosed for years. Treating any medical condition can become a one-stop pill shop. It also may seem as if I am only supporting the "medical model"; that said, it is a fundamental individual right to have a correct diagnosis. An additional consideration is that what may appear to be a psychiatric illness maybe something else, entirely, such as a rare autoimmune disease ("Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness," by Susannah Cahalan). Robin Williams died of an early form of rare dementia called "diffuse Lewy body dementia" that presented itself with "a recent increase of paranoia," and other psychiatric symptoms. (Wikipedia) There are some strains of hypoglycemia that also present as a mental illness (Joanna Holland, a former wife of Johnny Carson), or there may be something going on in the neurological realm.
There is one other matter, as partly alluded to above. Because the suicide rate is so high for people in active servicemen and women, military veterans, and teenagers, I have decided to tackle that subject in two sections in this Blog - both in the April and June entries. Readers may find this topic depressing, but the flip-side of the coin is that there are ways to deal with at-risk populations. The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)* helps people, near the bottom of a mood base, discover ways of mitigating it through identifying stressful situations and finding a support base on which to rely. Other coping strategies are also briefly mentioned in this Blog, such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).
People can try everything, but not trust who they tell about their struggles and fall apart. Family is not enough; one cannot get through all the awful times with unconditional love, only. It does help, but peers need a substantial array of support pillars. They need hope, education, and knowledge of their illnesses. They need to know what makes them tick -- in bad times and in good times. They need to have a plan of action for when circumstances become very difficult. If non-prescription drugs and alcohol are involved, in the situation, it makes matters much more challenging to handle because there are emotional regression factors to consider. Then, there are circumstances where prescription medication does not work for thirty percent of the mental health population. It may bring up the notion that medication may be unnecessary; it comes down to a personal decision by those involved with their medical care. So, please read these sections with an open mind because, ultimately, it is about the brain.
*Notation: This is not an advertisement. I have no formal or informal agreement with the Copeland Center to earn money in bringing up this strategy.