You may have noticed that we've devoted every Monday to a guest blog by inCYST network member, psychologist Gretchen Kubacky. If you belong to our fan page, you know I've been directly addressing issues related to mental health as well. There is a very important reason we're doing that.
For many of you, it's not that you don't know what you need to do. It's what is going on inside your head that keeps you from taking the action that could help yo. It could be that your depression is so severe that small changes feel like monumental tasks. Or that your anxiety spins so violently in your head that you're paralyzed out of taking action. Or, if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder, you can't get your thoughts out of fruitless loops of thinking (Ha! I didn't mean to make a pun there but I kind of like that one!) to focus on new and different behaviors. Or maybe you have bipolar disorder that leaves you feeling pulled around between being hyperenergetic and completely wiped out. And I do know that more than a few of you live with PTSD, the stress of which wreaks havoc on your metabolic functin. You may be on medication for one or more of these, or you may not. If you are, some of those medications can worsen PCOS.
It's all inter-related. To ignore how your mental health affects your physical health is to ignore the key to your overcoming what you are on this blog to overcome. Just this morning, I read a press release about a study that found that having a mental health diagnosis reduces life expectancy. I certainly don't want THAT for any of you.
So instead of trying to work around these issues as if they do not exist, we're going to begin to talk more openly about them. I've always felt that we do a huge disservice in our culture to people with mental health issues. They're not about being stupid…did you know Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill were believed to have bipolar disorder? I actually know that because a client long ago, who has become a good friend, did some research on being diagnosed with the disorder and made a list to inspire her to better self-care and less self-destruction. She is, because she's a very typical, highly intelligent and creative person with bipolar disorder, a very productive member of society. Because she deciede to embrace it. If you look around, some of the smartest people in history lived with psychiatric illness. It's time we stopped acting as if these problems were something to be embarrassed about and started realizing how ultra-important it is to recognize and take care of brains that have them.
I understand if this feels uncomfortable; in fact, making this shift cost us more than a few Facebook follows. But I'm ok with that. I know there aren't very many places people who live with these problems feel safe to talk, and I believe the fallout removed personalities that weren't allowing that to happen.
It's where we're going and I hope you come along with us. I do believe, if we take this on, we have a far better chance of beating PCOS than we do if we hide in the closet and let it determine your fates.