Mental Illness

Unndunn · 12-09-2009, 03:22 AM

Music therapy is an amazing thing and I've seen it help some people tremendously. It can be a treatment modality all by itself and a lot of patients will respond to having a choice of instruments, especially percussion and some gentle direction on how to express themselves. I'm not trained in music therapy, so I won't even try to go into the details of it.

In terms of using music as a tool to treat a mental illness or to lessen the symptoms, the most important thing to remember is that what we might think of as calming, someone else will be agitated by. I've had many patients that became agitated listening to classical music, regardless of the tempo of the songs. We changed our waiting room music at one clinic because of it. (I would advise against music in a waiting room, but we had paper thin walls and the noise machines weren't loud enough to block out raised voices). Choose what you like, and what has calmed you down in the past, or has motivated you. Music can be a great distraction, but can also be a trigger to those who have experienced trauma. Find what works for you, and set up playlists for your changing moods. Don't let anyone judge your choices-- suggestions are one thing, but don't let anyone tell you that you are listening to the wrong type of music if you know that it helps you to feel better, or to be distracted, or to have more energy. I had a 15 year old boy I worked with in long term therapy and the music that calmed his aggression and brought him down from feeling agitated was death metal. I don't know how it worked, I don't know why it had that effect, but it did.

Also, schizophrenics and other folks who have auditory hallucinations (AH), ie hearing voices, often find that listening to music with earphones helps them to block out negative AH and function in the world.

I've got my sad yet soothing music, my I just want to feel better and not think music (usually disco lol) and all sorts of other playlists on my mp3 player.

Great question, Linus!

Andrew, Jr. · 12-09-2009, 09:25 AM

3 days ago my bio-father was rushed to the hospital. His diabetes is out of control, he has bronch./pnemonia, and his heart rhythm is causing his pacemaker to go off. Now he is on dialysis. I was called late last night by my bio-mother. She asked me to call my siblings because she just couldn't.

Now my twitch has come back (from my ocd) and it starting up again. Shit. No other way to say it.

My stress level is wayyy up there. There is this one nurse or cnp who is nasty, and has the personality of a pea. I am just waiting to say :shutup: which is so unlike me (really). I think that pretty much summs up my anxiety level.

Apocalipstic · 12-09-2009, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew, Jr.

3 days ago my bio-father was rushed to the hospital. His diabetes is out of control, he has bronch./pnemonia, and his heart rhythm is causing his pacemaker to go off. Now he is on dialysis. I was called late last night by my bio-mother. She asked me to call my siblings because she just couldn't.

Now my twitch has come back (from my ocd) and it starting up again. Shit. No other way to say it.

My stress level is wayyy up there. There is this one nurse or cnp who is nasty, and has the personality of a pea. I am just waiting to say :shutup: which is so unlike me (really). I think that pretty much summs up my anxiety level.

I completely understand, dealing with most family stuff gives me a twitch.

Remember (and I have a hard time with this myself) the nurse works for you, you don't work for her. If someone is nasty, tell their superior.

Andrew, Jr. · 12-09-2009, 01:11 PM

This place is so dirty. OMG. I am washing my hands all the times. I just went thru the hand sanitizers my mother had. Now, I am back and forth in the bathroom washing, and washing. I am back to step 1.

MsTinkerbelly · 12-09-2009, 02:04 PM

Hi there all...

I'm joining in the middle of the thread, and I hope that's okay.

I have Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD for short. It is often passed along down the female side of the family, and I have noticed that my mother has it and my daughter is showing signs. BPD affects 2% of the population, mostly women.

It took the break up of my relationship to finally figure out what was wrong, and why I was unable to form lasting friendships and relationships. My Marriage is now back on track, and all of my interactions are becoming easier in general. Oh I still have BPD, and I still don't like most people, but the way I deal with people is changing every day. I can regulate myself better, although I still occasionally do lose all perspective and have an episode.

When I am completely stressed I have OCD issues, where I check over and over for my keys before I can leave the house or get out of my car. When those episodes begin, I keep my keys in my hand and stare at them as I exit. It is not a cure, but at least I can move.

Thank you all for sharing...it really helps to know I am not alone.

Andrew, Jr. · 12-09-2009, 03:26 PM

Hi and Welcome BlushingFemme!

Mindy · 12-09-2009, 06:03 PM

Music is great. I find that it often helps make my mood brighter when I'm feeling down. There are times, though, when i'm down that I listen to stuff that makes my mood worse, because I'm listening to music that "fits" my mood. A lot of times when I'm angry and upset I like to listen to loud, angry music with the volume on high. I'll listen to it a bit, do housework and the movement and the music makes me feel better after a bit. When I'm feeling better, the volume goes down and the music style changes. Can't do it where I'm living now, no loud music, no music at all unless it's through my head phones, otherwise there are fights over the music. I live with music haters! lol... not really, we just have huge differences on what constitutes "good" music.

atomiczombie · 12-11-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blushingfemme

Hi there all...

I'm joining in the middle of the thread, and I hope that's okay.

I have Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD for short. It is often passed along down the female side of the family, and I have noticed that my mother has it and my daughter is showing signs. BPD affects 2% of the population, mostly women.

It took the break up of my relationship to finally figure out what was wrong, and why I was unable to form lasting friendships and relationships. My Marriage is now back on track, and all of my interactions are becoming easier in general. Oh I still have BPD, and I still don't like most people, but the way I deal with people is changing every day. I can regulate myself better, although I still occasionally do lose all perspective and have an episode.

When I am completely stressed I have OCD issues, where I check over and over for my keys before I can leave the house or get out of my car. When those episodes begin, I keep my keys in my hand and stare at them as I exit. It is not a cure, but at least I can move.

Thank you all for sharing...it really helps to know I am not alone.

I think it's amazing that you realized you were BPD, and I commend you for taking responsibility for that! That is a very tough thing to do, given the nature of BPD. Most people with it have no clue they have it, let alone take responsibility for it and make a real effort to change. KUDOS!!!

MsTinkerbelly · 12-11-2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

I think it's amazing that you realized you were BPD, and I commend you for taking responsibility for that! That is a very tough thing to do, given the nature of BPD. Most people with it have no clue they have it, let alone take responsibility for it and make a real effort to change. KUDOS!!!

Thank you very much. I worked with people with Mental Health issues for 16years, and I knew deep inside something was wrong; the inability to form lasting relationships was very troubling for me.

BPD is a really strange disease, in that you blame EVERYONE else for your problems and issues, and it all seems quite rational.

12-09-2009, 01:11 PM	#4
Andrew, Jr. Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Me Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Over the Rainbow in a House Posts: 5,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 16,004 Thanked 5,249 Times in 2,216 Posts Rep Power: 0	Handwashing This place is so dirty. OMG. I am washing my hands all the times. I just went thru the hand sanitizers my mother had. Now, I am back and forth in the bathroom washing, and washing. I am back to step 1.

12-09-2009, 06:03 PM	#7
Mindy Member How Do You Identify?: femme Preferred Pronoun?: her/she Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 194 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 49 Thanked 174 Times in 57 Posts Rep Power: 13975	Music is great. I find that it often helps make my mood brighter when I'm feeling down. There are times, though, when i'm down that I listen to stuff that makes my mood worse, because I'm listening to music that "fits" my mood. A lot of times when I'm angry and upset I like to listen to loud, angry music with the volume on high. I'll listen to it a bit, do housework and the movement and the music makes me feel better after a bit. When I'm feeling better, the volume goes down and the music style changes. Can't do it where I'm living now, no loud music, no music at all unless it's through my head phones, otherwise there are fights over the music. I live with music haters! lol... not really, we just have huge differences on what constitutes "good" music. __________________ You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy. ~John Calvin~

12-09-2009, 03:22 AM	#1
Unndunn Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Preferred Pronoun?: doesn't matter to me Relationship Status: single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Connecticut Posts: 122 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 149 Thanked 166 Times in 48 Posts Rep Power: 676965	Music therapy is an amazing thing and I've seen it help some people tremendously. It can be a treatment modality all by itself and a lot of patients will respond to having a choice of instruments, especially percussion and some gentle direction on how to express themselves. I'm not trained in music therapy, so I won't even try to go into the details of it. In terms of using music as a tool to treat a mental illness or to lessen the symptoms, the most important thing to remember is that what we might think of as calming, someone else will be agitated by. I've had many patients that became agitated listening to classical music, regardless of the tempo of the songs. We changed our waiting room music at one clinic because of it. (I would advise against music in a waiting room, but we had paper thin walls and the noise machines weren't loud enough to block out raised voices). Choose what you like, and what has calmed you down in the past, or has motivated you. Music can be a great distraction, but can also be a trigger to those who have experienced trauma. Find what works for you, and set up playlists for your changing moods. Don't let anyone judge your choices-- suggestions are one thing, but don't let anyone tell you that you are listening to the wrong type of music if you know that it helps you to feel better, or to be distracted, or to have more energy. I had a 15 year old boy I worked with in long term therapy and the music that calmed his aggression and brought him down from feeling agitated was death metal. I don't know how it worked, I don't know why it had that effect, but it did. Also, schizophrenics and other folks who have auditory hallucinations (AH), ie hearing voices, often find that listening to music with earphones helps them to block out negative AH and function in the world. I've got my sad yet soothing music, my I just want to feel better and not think music (usually disco lol) and all sorts of other playlists on my mp3 player. Great question, Linus!

12-09-2009, 09:25 AM	#2
Andrew, Jr. Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Me Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Over the Rainbow in a House Posts: 5,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 16,004 Thanked 5,249 Times in 2,216 Posts Rep Power: 0	3 days ago my bio-father was rushed to the hospital. His diabetes is out of control, he has bronch./pnemonia, and his heart rhythm is causing his pacemaker to go off. Now he is on dialysis. I was called late last night by my bio-mother. She asked me to call my siblings because she just couldn't. Now my twitch has come back (from my ocd) and it starting up again. Shit. No other way to say it. My stress level is wayyy up there. There is this one nurse or cnp who is nasty, and has the personality of a pea. I am just waiting to say :shutup: which is so unlike me (really). I think that pretty much summs up my anxiety level.

12-09-2009, 02:04 PM	#5
MsTinkerbelly Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: ... Preferred Pronoun?: ... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ... Posts: 6,573 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,737 Thanked 22,895 Times in 5,017 Posts Rep Power: 0	Hi there all... I'm joining in the middle of the thread, and I hope that's okay. I have Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD for short. It is often passed along down the female side of the family, and I have noticed that my mother has it and my daughter is showing signs. BPD affects 2% of the population, mostly women. It took the break up of my relationship to finally figure out what was wrong, and why I was unable to form lasting friendships and relationships. My Marriage is now back on track, and all of my interactions are becoming easier in general. Oh I still have BPD, and I still don't like most people, but the way I deal with people is changing every day. I can regulate myself better, although I still occasionally do lose all perspective and have an episode. When I am completely stressed I have OCD issues, where I check over and over for my keys before I can leave the house or get out of my car. When those episodes begin, I keep my keys in my hand and stare at them as I exit. It is not a cure, but at least I can move. Thank you all for sharing...it really helps to know I am not alone.

12-09-2009, 03:26 PM	#6
Andrew, Jr. Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Me Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Over the Rainbow in a House Posts: 5,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 16,004 Thanked 5,249 Times in 2,216 Posts Rep Power: 0	Hi and Welcome BlushingFemme!