Bipolar and anxiety intensify

[houghchrst]

with the use of a Sativa.

I was using a very strong sativa as an adjunctive medical treatment for pain and anxiety and while it seemed to help with my pain I believe that it contributed to a minor breakdown by increasing feelings of anxiety and depression. I was also under an extreme amount of stress at the time.

I have read that the sativa is not the way to go for many with the above illnesses but know that I am not always the rule and chemically I seem to be highly med sensitive and get funky reactions, usually they make me sick. I went with the sativa mostly because I get tired of the side effects with the indica, lethargy, sleepiness. I quit the sativa and now I find that if I switch them up then I don't get any of the same problems with the sativa.

I like the ability to feel a bit of energy and pain lowered for when I need to clean. I don't need to take a pain pill as often and I hate the SEs from those. I am out of break through meds right now and will eventually need to get them filled for the in between pain but if I take it easy then things are not too bad.

[dArla]

My own father is struggling, and he has been for the 2 years since my stepmom died –with grief, executive function after a few strokes, and social anxiety, along with across-the-board severe depression. My brothers and I took over 2 years ago. We got him into a GP, access to a therapist, found several grief groups, and he has recently moved into a lovely independent-living retirement community that provides social interaction, meal access when he doesn’t feel like cooking, and additional resources.

We have been advised that we need to STOP taking over for Dad, that he needs to reach now. His doctors have advised that we are doing too much, and Dad doesn’t have the necessary incentives to make changes in his life, because we are removing all negative and painful stimuli in an effort to buffer him. Dad is 65, and his doctors said that unless we can sustain this indefinitely, this is the time for him to learn to take back over control of his life, his grief, and his depression.

So I support the idea that we may need to Step Up and even Take Over short-term for loved ones who are really struggling. But I also think there is a balance shift, and it is different for everyone, when the immediate crisis has subsided and “taking over” is no longer serving anyone. I’m betting LW1 and I probably are not in much disagreement over this point, but I just wanted to emphasize the differences between short- and long-term strategies for helping loved ones navigate prolonged mental health care needs.

However, mental health care differs from city to city. My cousin with her husband moved from a major city where doctor waits might be a week or two out but they always return calls or get you in with a wait list, to a small city where they don't return phone calls and when they do, are indeed a month or two out. Her husband has been trying to find a mental health professional for literal months. He found one, met with her twice, and she made several recommendations for MDs so the calls started all over again. It might just be as simple as not enough doctors to help, but it also might be a lack of urgency as a cultural difference. They're trying to overcome it too and it's been a huge struggle, and very disheartening.

But it's really good they're not trying self medicating. I personally believe traditional medicine and healthy lifestyle can relieve depression and anxiety (I've tried yoga and healthy teas like from shalajit to help me deal with my anxiety; still my depression wasn't severe -- just a temporary feeling of job burnout -- but before making this choice, I researched the subject (checked articles like Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register... and Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register... and read books like Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register..., talked it over with our family doctor and only then made a careful decision), but still not always. And one should be careful enough not to mess up with one's mental health, since if they do, here might not be coming back.