When I first saw this prompt for blogs, I rushed to take the spot. When I first started working at Alaska Behavioral Health, I was very ignorant of psychotic disorders in the beginning. My image of people who suffered from psychotic disorders was things that I saw in movies, and I had a super unhealthy outlook on their lives. Working there changed that for me because I was exposed to people with many different disorders, and I was able to learn from the people working there that it is possible to live a normal everyday life with any mental disorder.
Anxiety disorders
In my own experience, anxiety shows a lot for me when I am in a new setting with new people. I get very anxious about what other people think of me. After I hang out with a new friend for the first time, I will overthink the whole interaction and get scared that I might have done or said something wrong. Lately, I have been having trouble sleeping because my husband has been gone, and we have had no phone contact, so my mind assumes the worst, and my heart starts pounding. I have to do breathing exercises, or I also read to help myself relax.
There are different types of anxiety disorders.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a “feeling of worry about the numerous everyday activities that a person could engage in”
- Panic Disorder is “debilitating fear or anxiety that occurs without any reasonable explanation.”
- Social Anxiety “is an extreme fear of being judged by others in social situations. The fear is so intense that it will disrupt or impair the person’s ability to function in everyday life.”
- A phobia is “an irrational fear of something.”
Another form of anxiety I would like to bring awareness of is postpartum anxiety, also known as PPA. PPA is when a person experiences severe anxiety after having a baby or becoming a parent during the postpartum period. These anxious feelings are often out of control and take over your thoughts. I didn’t experience much PPA. However, I was overcome with alot of rage and very intense feelings that I did have trouble managing.
One day, when these feelings were getting way too out of control, I called the Maternal Mental Health Hot Line. It is not a Crisis Line but an excellent place to express your feelings and seek advice. I called it because, on my birthday, I had a 5-week-old baby, my husband was sick with a 102-degree fever, and my husband’s grandma also committed suicide all on that same day. Yes, my mouth dropped open, too. I was furious; I was so mad at the world, and I started panicking. I had to take a step back and call one of the operators because I started to panic, and I wasn’t okay.
Treatments for Anxiety include therapy, medications, and lifestyle changes.
Psychotic Disorders
Psychotic disorders are a group of severe mental illnesses that significantly impact a person’s perception, thinking, and behavior. I don’t have as much experience with these types of disorders as I do with Anxiety. However, seeing and learning about these disorders has fascinated me. I do believe, however, that because this disorder can impact people’s lives very significantly, I am going to refrain from talking about any interactions I have had with people who are suffering from these types of disorders. I will say that it is incredible to me what modern medicine and therapy can do to help people who live with these disorders.
There are many different types of Psychotic disorders, but our textbook talks about 3
- Schizophrenia is “ a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves.”
- Delusional Disorder is “ the presence of one or more delusions.”
- Schizoaffective Disorder is characterized by schizophrenic symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, but with an added component of a mood disorder like mania and depression.
Side note: I once had to do a project to diagnose someone using things we learned and the DSM-5, and I used characters from the superhero show The Boys. It was fun and cool how each character portrayed a different mental disorder. Now, that show has some exaggerations or extremes on the disorders, but for fun, try to pick out all the different disorders you can.
Treatments for Psychotic disorders Include Medication, Therapy, and Self-care.
Cited works
Bogucki, Keith. “Mental Health and Substance Abuse.” Introduction to Human Services through the Eyes of Practice Settings, 2018, 1
Neveah Reese
I currently work at a criminal defense law office in Fairbanks, and we have many clients who suffer from mental health conditions. More specifically, I have engaged with, built relationships with, and offered moral support to numerous clients who suffer from psychotic disorders. Before my employment, I was nervous around these individuals. I wasn’t sure if they were violent, sporadic, or even in control of their actions at all. Today, I have a completely new perspective. I now understand that many of them just want to feel understood or heard. getting on their level, hearing their concerns, and making them feel supported through it can alter their moods so much. My co-workers and I take pride in being able to assist our clients in more than just their legal matters. I also have learned the power of treating people with kindness and not being taking back by assumptions.
Michelle Dunham
I once read a series of young adult books where the main character was Phobic. She had a journal of every single phobia of which there are infinite types. If you can imagine being phobic of everything, i.e. dust, being left handed, getting up on the wrong side of the bed, and an infinite world to be afraid of, how would you live?
We have phobias that have been fortified by our most recent Covid epidemic. The amount of hand sanitizer and face masks are still heavily in use. I personally am not someone who lets my fears keep me down. I had to learn how to look at them and see what was really there. There is Truth, and almost truth. There is no lie.
P.S. Side note/question? Has anyone read Plato’s, “Allegory of the Cave?” If not, I cannot recommend it more for a fresh view on Perspective. (wink wink)
Sharla Huckabey
Bell,
I enjoyed reading your blog. I like how you pointed out different types of anxiety, especially the PPA. I had never heard of it. As well as sharing about Psychotic disorders.
Having previously lived with many years of suffering from an anxiety disorder (panic attacks), I can relate very well to the topic. I am blessed to say today that I have not had a panic attack in several years. The many different things that could happen to my body during an attack were unbelievable. For example, the very last attack I had was the worst one ever. Long story short, my upper body was like it was in a furnace, and my lower body was in a freezer. My husband has always been very helpful during my attacks to talk to me and remind me that I know how to talk myself out of one. This particular one scared him because he had never seen my body react in the way it did that day.
Today, I only experience mild anxiety, such as wondering what one might think of me, which might cause some.
I can also relate as you speak of when your husband is gone and how it bothers you some at night. I used to be like that, also. Since living in Alaska, I have been so comfortable with my surroundings and community that I haven’t experienced here.
Josh Fine
Bell,
Great work documenting your findings on these two groups of disorders. Anxiety disorders often effect people more than they even know, through the promotion of physical health problems caused by anxiety. Anxiety can also cause individuals to become non-verbal in extreme cases, which can lead to misdiagnosis. Schizophrenia has a similar effect and can lead to misdiagnosis as well. Working with individuals with schizophrenia can also have challenges in regards to medications. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia often receive internal stimuli in the form of voices or sounds. These can manifest as command hallucinations that can tell the individual that they should not take medication, or in other cases, to act out in various ways. I really appreciated the personal attestation that you included in this post, thank you.
Alex Beaudouin
Hi Bell,
Thank your informative blog about anxiety and psychotic disorders. I am currently enrolled for a communication major but my wife holds a BS in Psychology, and we often talk about mental illnesses. Anxiety and psychotic disorders continue to be prevalent in today’s world. They can be influenced by various factors in our modern society.
Despite being more connected than ever through technology, many people experience feelings of isolation and loneliness. I did feel those feelings for a short time when I moved to the U.S. and didn’t know the culture or anybody. Despite increasing awareness about mental health, there is still a stigma surrounding anxiety and psychotic disorders. This stigma can prevent individuals from seeking help or receiving appropriate support, leading to further distress and isolation. It is important to continue promoting mental health awareness, reducing stigma, and providing accessible and affordable mental health services.
Robi Naranjo
Thanks for being vulnerable in the beginning of your blog about your experience working at AK Behavioral health. I think its very honest. That’s cool that you have found your place and your perceptions have changed. I remember when I was living in Fairbanks and seeking services myself, someone was murdered at the front desk at AK behavioral Health, the truth is working in these environments we do need to be aware and understand kind of what people are experiencing and how to meet their needs, and I think most people if honest would have some fears and different perceptions of people with mental health disorders especially given the media we have grown up with and personal experience ,coming to know them through relationship and seeing them as a whole person and not an illness naturally removes that fear and discomfort. I remember a season I was dealing with mental illness at my worst actually i could barely communicate, and I had a counselor that acted scared and very weird, like I was too much for her because I wasn’t behaving in normal way, she ended up handing me over to someone else, i felt hurt but later in life I’m so glad she did that because I could have been harmed if she would have kept me as a client because it made it such an odd “vibe” LOL and I could sense her discomfort and judgements. Good breakdown of disorders you listed clear and understandable and thank you for sharing I plan to work in addiction and behavioral health so I am just soaking up everything you are sharing about your experience!
Mel Maendel
Hi, thank you for your honesty and knowledge. As someone with schizophrenia I have lived through all sorts of stigmas and misunderstandings. When you mentioned that you thought of people with psychotic disorders as something out of a movie, I have to say many people have these types of views while not doing any research. The first step is gaining knowledge and understanding in order to destigmatize this topic or any topic. This also goes for a mental illness, destigmatizing and educating people on mental health is important but also hard. Thank you for this blog.
Elizabeth Jackson
Hi, Bell. Thank you for sharing your personal experience with anxiety. I feel like sometimes we think that everyone else is so confident and relaxed in social situations (at least I do) when in reality, people struggle just like us. I appreciate that you talked about PPA. This can be overlooked because of the chaos after giving birth, but it is so important that mothers have mental health help after birth. I enjoyed reading your post!
Jackson Foster
Hey Bell, I enjoyed reading your blog, I also have anxiety as well but my anxiety isn’t like huge or anything, its just more annoying and if I were to get to a point where I am freaking out for absolutely no reason, I have this little breathing necklace that calms me down when I am anxious for no reason like it doesn’t get rid of your anxiety straight up but it does help a lot and the more you use it, the more you will become anxious free.
Maren Chaffee
Bell, I want to express my gratitude for sharing your personal experiences with anxiety. I found your blog very relatable. Currently, I work with clients who experience anxiety and psychotic disorders. Working with clients who have psychotic disorders is one of my favorite aspects of my work. I feel many people misunderstand, judge, or fear people who struggle with psychotic disorders. I hope to see more understanding in the future with psychotic disorder, as you see with anxiety. Thank you once again for your insightful blog. Keep up the great work!