Wondering

I thought that this was a mental health forum?? I haven't seen very much on here about any mental health issues. I have seen things about people that are recovering alcoholics and/or addicts, but not too much about mental health disorders. I would think that there would also be an "addictions" forum for that sort of thing. Is there??

I also see the same "spiritual" posts that I see on other forums, what's up with this??

Sorry, don't want to offend anyone, just wondering how things seem to work on here.

Anita

Hi Anita,
This used to be just an Addictions forum, but Obesity Help changed it to Mental Health, given that addictions are a mental health issue anyway.  Ask any medical insurance provider, and they will tell you that treatment in a drug rehab is covered under  mental health benefits.  

We do get people posting on mental health issues, in addition to the people seeking recovery from addictions.  The spiritual posts are given to help everyone, because spirituality is a key component to addictions recovery, but most therapists recommend seeking spirituality for mental health issues as well.  The most active posters are the people with the addictions issues, for some reason.

I am a dual diagnosis case myself.  In addition to my alcoholism, I am also bipolar and a former borderline personality disorder patient.  I also work in a psychiatric hospital part time as a therapist. 

Glad you joined us.  I hope you will come back often and share your journey with us.

Hugs,
Trish

Thank you for the explaination Trish. I don't think that this is the right place for me though. I am bi-polar, but do not suffer from any type of addiction and since that seems to be the main focus of this forum, I don't think that I will really have any pertinent input here.

O/T, do you think that you were mis-diagnosed with BPD since many of the symptoms are very similar?? I know of several people that have been diagnosed with BPD, then have that diagnosis changed to BP (myself being one of them).

thanks again,
Anita

Hi Anita,
Please don't let the addictions focus scare you away.  All mental health issues have a common factor, emotional pain of some sort, and different ways of coping with it.  I work in a psychiatric hospital and find that my dual diagnosis patients usually only drank or used drugs to cope with their mental health symptoms.  That is how their addictions took hold of them.  Please stay and share your recovery with us.  Too often, my friends in AA do not understand the mental illness component of the dually diagnosed.

I don't think I was misdiagnosed, because I had 8 of the 9 criterion for Borderline Personality, when my therapist first diagnosed me in 1990.  I think that my BPD was so severe at first that it did not let my Bipolar Symptoms really show through.  It was only through trial and error with medications in the past year that my Bipolar came to a head and was diagnosed.  By then, I no longer had the BPD diagnosis, but was diagnosed Personality Disorder NOS.  My psychiatrist really thinks my Bipolar Disorder is mild, and as long as I don't play with my meds, I should be fine. 

Hoping to hear more from you soon.

Hugs,
Trish

Anita,
I wrote you a long reply, but the forum does not show it.  I will try to repost later.  I am so confused as to why it was not on the forum, because my signature is definitely there.

Hmmmm.

Trish

MMMMMMMMMMM..........I am bipolar,ocd,ptss,anorexic,bulimic, and much more and it is all covered in mental health issure. eating disorders either beng eating or not eating are all mental issues....

That is what is charged to me when I go to the phych doctor is under mental issues.....
oh yeah and drug habits....