BONUS: Rob's story

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From the course by The University of Sydney

Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health

183 ratings

The University of Sydney

Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health

183 ratings

In today’s world, mental illness and distress are common and these account for a significant burden of disability within our community. At the same time, there is a growing interest in understanding and enhancing positive mental health and wellbeing; particularly from developments in the fields of positive psychology and mental health promotion. Positive Psychiatry is a new term (Jeste et al 2016) that describes a dual approach to mental health, where we build strengths, supports and healthy lifestyles as well as treating illness and distress. In this course, we will explore different aspects of good mental health as well as provide an overview of the major kinds of mental disorders, their causes, treatments and how to seek help and support. The course will feature a large number of Australian experts in psychiatry, psychology and mental health research, and we will also hear from “lived experience experts”, people who have lived with mental illness, and share their personal stories of recovery. We take an evidence-based approach to a range of strategies that anyone can use to enhance their own mental health and that of others, from exercise and relaxation techniques through to the role of love, relationships and 'good' types of work. We cover topics from creativity and yoga through to psychiatric medications and psychotherapies.

From the lesson

Module 4 - Mental Illness

In this module, we cover the major categories of mental illness: their symptoms, causes and treatments. This includes the more common conditions such as anxiety, depression and addictions, as well as less common mental illnesses such as psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder9:56

BONUS: Rob's story5:11

Psychosis and Schizophrenia9:03

Meet the Instructors

Sonia Kumar
Psychiatry Course Coordinator
Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney

[MUSIC]

We know that different people have different experiences living with bipolar.

Let's hear from Rob about his personal story.

>> So I was diagnosed almost ten years ago now with bipolar disorder,

type I, after having been hospitalized.

And it's been a pretty mixed experience.

There's been some good points and some bad points to it.

I've been lucky in some regards.

My medication regime has been pretty stable over the years.

I haven't had too many side effects or changes required.

So that's compared to some people I've known have had

real struggles with that issue.

That's been something I've been well-off with.

Managing periods of low energy and low drive, struggling with anxiety and

depression has been a real challenge over the years.

It's mighty difficult to hold down employment,

to keep up with all my usual activities, to keep in touch with my friends.

Over the years, that's been a real constant battle.

And I guess it's one that's the low period.

The period of depressed energy can be a bit less visible, so it might be the one

that is less noticed by other people, that you're actually going through a hard time.

So that makes it more difficult as well.

So for me, that's definitely been one of the harder aspects of having bipolar.

In terms of periods of high mood,

that's been a really very different kind of challenge.

In those periods where I haven't slept in, particularly, typically for me,

in periods around spring or autumn when there's a seasonal change.

That's when I'm most vulnerable to going through an elevated period.

And that has, at some times, been some very enjoyable experiences,

certainly from our own point of view if not the point of view of other people.

Having a very elevated mood can be a really exhilarating experience.

It can be really, it's hard.

It's always hard to put into words to describe how different it is.

You think if it's just in terms of not sleeping very much and

having a lot of energy, doesn't really describe it.

The sensation that comes along with having grandiose delusions and

wild fights of ideas can be a real exhilarating roller coaster ride.

But equally, there have been periods where the high

energy has come with a less positive mood.

And so there have been times where I've had to deal with paranoia and

other really unpleasant symptoms.

And luckily, most of the time, my inside has remained relatively good.

So even the periods where I've needed to go to hospital, I've usually self-admitted

or at least been involved in the process of having myself admitted to hospital.

So that's another aspect in which I've been lucky compared to a lot of other

people who lose a lot of their insight in their episodes of extreme mood.

In my case, it's usually, I've had some degree of the way and

the supports going on, even if it's in combination with certain more and

more unusual ideas at the same time.

And so I've learned that I've got to stand top of my condition.

It's important to be compliant with medication.

Having always been the best with that, there have been periods

where I haven't stuck strictly to my medication regime and

always tends to lead to be more vulnerable to becoming again.

Obviously, there are other triggers that I've had to learn to be aware of.

For me, probably,

alcohol is one that I've had to become more careful about over the years.

I've always gotta be more careful around other drugs.

But because alcohol is as socially acceptable,

I tend to like to indulge in a drink with my friends.

But if I do it at periods where there are other trigger factors,

like say there's no change or whatever, or when I'm highly stressed.

If I combine those with lots of alcohol, and

that disrupts my sleep, and then it tends to spiral and snowball.

So I've learned I have to be a bit more careful about that sort of thing.

[MUSIC]

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