Black Dog & Meds & Nature & Other Stuff

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Bridget Phetasy and her co-host/husband Jeren Montgomery, a licensed marriage & family therapist, discuss depression this week. They talk about their own personal experiences with it, their first exposure to the concept of “depression”, how much therapeutic language has crept into everything, whether we’ve pathologized a lot of behavior that’s somewhat normal in order to be able to prescribe medication, why two drug addicts were both resistant to prescribed pharmaceuticals, and their Factory Settings around medication for depression. They also discuss what being on anti-depressants feels like, the red flags they’ve noticed when they’re slipping into a depressive state, psychiatrists vs psychologists, how depression can lie to you in your own voice, the feeling of hopelessness and inability to do the things you know you need to be doing in order to feel better, and the importance of asking for help.
https://bridgetphetasy.substack.com/p/-factory-settings-30

I understand that this is a learning process, but on these days I feel that I’ve let people down — it feels bad

Keywords: main blog , my life and perspectives , website updates and news , disappointment , gratitude , insecurity , pep talk , residency

On a brighter note, I am fortunate that even on my toughest days, when my personal shortcomings are highlighted and compounded with the grief of losing my Mom and a beloved pet cat in the same year, even with a world shadowed by a new pandemic and economic crisis, in a country that is more polarized than ever, surrounded by a population that seems to relish in the despair of others, even in these times, I maintain gratitude for the privilege I was born into, the arguably indefensible comfort that I live in, the consciousness that I’ve woken up into, and the evolutionarily advantageous spark of hope that I kindle and protect as best I can. I love the people I work with and am privileged to have the opportunity to listen to people and connect with them in a time of need.
https://atlasblackcoffee.wordpress.com/2020/07/17/a-tough-day

I am getting out of pause and back on track

Keywords: bipolar disorder , change , emotions , introspection , life

Sometimes I want to be sweet, sometimes I want to have claws. And yet sometimes I wish to feel nothing at all. I go back and forth on how to present myself to the world, or whoever I come across in real life or by internet, but it is hard. It is hard because I have Bipolar Disorder which I do take medicine for, but one moment I could feel vindicated by my wrath and after some time, I can feel remorse for having such sharp tongue or words. I have been like this for as long as I can remember, even before my diagnosis.
http://sarahmixup.com/2020/06/16/with-the-wind