Personality Disorders

oldbadger said:

The only reason that I can just about understand something about your (past) panic attacks is that I had one in 1979 and will never forget it. I even remember the doctor's name who spoke with me over the phone, on that occasion in those circumstances he told me to drink alcohol which I did. I cannot remember how the attack ceased, only what it was like as I palpitated and could not draw much breath, head banging .... I thought I was toast.

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It's terrible, right? Feels like you’re dying. On top of the stuff you mentioned I also get blurry tunnel vision, I sweat like crazy, my muscles twitch and my ears ring so loud I can’t hear anything. I’ve never tried drinking alcohol during one but sometimes a couple of puffs of marijuana will start to calm me down a bit. Sometimes nothing helps. I’ve been on the phone begging doctors to write me a prescription for something, anything. And then I’m totally wiped out for hours (sometimes days) when it’s all over and all I want to do is sleep and sleep and sleep. It really gets in the way of living life.

Luckily, I’ve done some “talk therapy” (CBT) which actually helped me a lot and now I can go out more and live a little more than I used to be able to. It’s great!

oldbadger said:

A friend's mother had OCD and on the rare occasions when she was encouraged to venture out (for some wedding, or a funeral maybe) she would rise very very early and sparkle clean the whole house, and when it was time to leave she would clean her way to the back door (never the front) and on out.

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Oh man. Imagine how much time out of a person's life all of that takes up.

oldbadger said:

The word 'disorder' should really be scrapped, I think. Your example of a person checking the lights and stove 45 times...... this is a disability no less than if they could not walk, or could not see. imo.

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Yep, I agree. If I can't leave the house because it causes me to have a debilitating attack, then I have a disability.

SkepticThinker said:

It's terrible, right? Feels like you’re dying. On top of the stuff you mentioned I also get blurry tunnel vision, I sweat like crazy, my muscles twitch and my ears ring so loud I can’t hear anything. I’ve never tried drinking alcohol during one but sometimes a couple of puffs of marijuana will start to calm me down a bit. Sometimes nothing helps. I’ve been on the phone begging doctors to write me a prescription for something, anything. And then I’m totally wiped out for hours (sometimes days) when it’s all over and all I want to do is sleep and sleep and sleep. It really gets in the way of living life.

Luckily, I’ve done some “talk therapy” (CBT) which actually helped me a lot and now I can go out more and live a little more than I used to be able to. It’s great!

Oh man. Imagine how much time out of a person's life all of that takes up.

Yep, I agree. If I can't leave the house because it causes me to have a debilitating attack, then I have a disability.

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It's good to read that you are gaining more freedom and reducing on the horrors that you have described .
As far as social awareness of psychological, psychiatric, personality, learning and neurological disabilities are concerned, our countries and people have not moved anywhere near far enough in understanding, empathy and sympathy. Some conditions look as if mental when they are not.......
My 2nd wife had a physical condition, a tumour upon her left adrenal gland. She might be relaxing in front of the television when her adrenal gland would go into climax and flood her with more adrenaline than if she was jumping out of an aircraft. The affects were very scary and anyone could think that she was a total nutter, but this was a physical condition called pheo-chromo-cytoma. Many sufferers can die in heart attacks etc but a clever bunch of doctors saved her in 2014.

oldbadger said:

It's good to read that you are gaining more freedom and reducing on the horrors that you have described .

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Thanks, it really is nice to get back to living life.

oldbadger said:

As far as social awareness of psychological, psychiatric, personality, learning and neurological disabilities are concerned, our countries and people have not moved anywhere near far enough in understanding, empathy and sympathy. Some conditions look as if mental when they are not.......

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I couldn't agree more. I've been saying this for years.

oldbadger said:

My 2nd wife had a physical condition, a tumour upon her left adrenal gland. She might be relaxing in front of the television when her adrenal gland would go into climax and flood her with more adrenaline than if she was jumping out of an aircraft. The affects were very scary and anyone could think that she was a total nutter, but this was a physical condition called pheo-chromo-cytoma. Many sufferers can die in heart attacks etc but a clever bunch of doctors saved her in 2014.

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Geez I'm sorry to hear that. That sounds extremely uncomfortable.

SkepticThinker said:

Thanks, it really is nice to get back to living life.
I couldn't agree more. I've been saying this for years.

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It niggles at me........ that people can show such sympathy towards physical disability, and yet shun many psychiatric or psychological disabilities. And psycho-bullying is horrific, just as bad as physical bullying. But I don't think we will change human nature ........

Geez I'm sorry to hear that. That sounds extremely uncomfortable.

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It was scary and as already said, at first everybody body thought she had some mental illness.
Many physical and neurological conditions appear as if psychological illnesses..... we've got a long way to go to discover much about all of this.

Some Psychological conditions are a brilliant advantage! Ever since I was an infant I have become depressed when showered with gifts, property or successes. Really depressed. So if I ever feel a bit down I collect personal possessions (never joint ones) and either dump, sell or give them away..... always feel brilliant afterwards. When my mother left me a tiny little property I sold the family home that I shared with my late wife, paid the kids as much inheritance as they would ever get and moved in to the least valuable property on the whole coastline (I reckon)..... since my girlfriend has similar mindsets she came with me....... = 17 years of heaven-on-earth.
Sometimes personality characteristics can be a blessing.

Left Coast said:

This impression seems to be a function of some bad experiences you've had. I'm sorry for those, but they don't invalidate the entire field to which people dedicate their entire careers in scientific education, research, and patient care.

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Well, I am in one sense on your side, but the problem is that it requires in effect a lot of self-reflection and intra-psychology, because in some, notice some, cases it ends up being projection of the subjective state of the person giving the care.