Your Mental Health and You

By Sandy Pace

Let’s face it. We live in a very black and white world. Even with all of our technological and medical breakthroughs, we nevertheless have an issue of not being able to look past our own preconceived notions. This stops us from seeing something for how it actually is, instead of just through our own biases.

This book takes a different approach to how you should respond to mental health stigma. It does that through understanding what is within your power to change and how to get the proper medical or psychological support for the rest, through giving you a comprehensive appreciation of the things that you need in order to effectively reach your full potential. Those things involve the medical, therapeutic, and pharmaceutical interventions that are there to help you achieve this and many other things which will help you to reach that full potential.

This book isn’t going to make your life perfect. What it will do, though, is teach you how to handle the bad days and your everyday struggles a little easier and smarter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers USA
• Release date: Nov 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463938201

Book preview

Dedication

I dedicate my book to my friends who supported me, gave me advice and helped me evolve what started one day as something I was writing about in my lunch break into an actual book. To friends who also helped me at a time in my life where I had no idea what I wanted or where I wanted to be. You guys gave me the focus to find that.

Also, Carrie Fisher, not only because she embodied what hope meant on the screen, but also off the screen for so many people. Carrie Fisher gave hope and raised awareness in a time when people thought talking about these issues a taboo. Whether it’s ADHD, anxiety, or any other medical condition, she helped us with being able to think that mental illness isn’t a life sentence and it’s perfectly fine to talk about it.

Also, to the people who I have lost; those people are gone and without them, I never would have had the focus and determination to write this. This world is truly less of a place without you guys in it and you helped shape me in so many ways that I can’t even count.

To the people who feel shame and embarrassment for having something that is a valid medical condition. Honestly, don’t ever feel shame. It’s the people who don’t take the time or effort to understand something who should be embarrassed. Also, please remember that you are not alone. There’s always someone out there who cares. Don’t give up on you.

Lastly, I hope you learn much from reading this as I have from writing and that out of all of the relationships in your life, whether it’s family, friends, or any other, the most important relationship that trumps all of these is the relationship that you have with yourself

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Sandy Pace

Your Mental Healthy and You

Copyright © Sandy Pace (2018)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Sandy, Pace.

Your Mental Healthy and You

ISBN 9781641822923

ISBN 9781641822916

ISBN 9781641822909

The main category of the book — SELF-HELP / Mood Disorders / General

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2018)

Austin Macauley Publishers ™ LLC

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

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Acknowledgement

I’d like to thank Austin Macauley for letting me publish with them. I feel honored and a little humbled that one of the world’s best publishers chose my book. Thanks for helping me to help make this world of ours a better place.

I’d like to thank my professors who taught me that in order to help others, you need to first learn to help yourself.

Also, I’d like to thank my late TKD coach and friend for teaching me how to fight; thanks for being you. The only reason why I hope that heaven is a real place is so I have the chance to thank you one day.

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Let’s use the metaphor of baking a cake for the perfect recipe for how you approach your mental health treatment. In order for making the cake exactly how you want, you need certain things in order for it to turn out exactly as you want.

Just like in receiving the improper mental health treatment, or ignoring treatment all together. For the first few chapters, we’ll go over the things that people don’t do and the negative effects those things have on that person.

We’ll also explain various behavioral and psychological interventions, which are effective in helping a person with those issues. While looking at both sides of the argument: the facts and various stereotypes and cognitive biases people have within our society towards mental health and mental health treatments Think of mental health treatment in four sections of a cake:

Psychological: Triggers, dealing with your issues, understanding the importance of proper treatment with a qualified professional.

Yourself: Self-awareness, self-care and self-acceptance, and understanding how conflict resolution and setting internal and external boundaries is vital.

Pharmaceutical: Viewing medication in the proper context, understanding how it works, understanding of being open and honest with your doctor and yourself regarding your medication and any potential issues that go along with them.

Medical: Understanding the role of medical professionals such as doctors and nurses in relation to your treatment.

When one of the sections is missing or something is incorrectly added to the recipe, treatment becomes unbalanced and inconsistent. When you don’t properly deal with psychological issues and mental health issues, it’s almost like what I call a snowball effect.

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Which is the issue gets larger as it rolls down the hill, and picks up other things which can be compared to sub- psychological issues due to improperly treating the main problem.

Plus, understanding the difference between mental health myths and mental health facts through educating yourself and building the proper tools and coping mechanisms help you also.

By looking at the various little things that interfere with your treatment and understanding them, you learn essentially how to deal with them but how to recognize them.

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Chapter 1

Introduction

One of the major problems in our society today is that many people do not see mental health issues for what they are. Instead they use various stereotypes and cognitive biases to judge people, when they know absolutely nothing about their life; simply because they find it easier.

I have to admit that society’s attitude towards mental health has improved but there still exists more negative than positive attitudes towards mental health, even in the technologically advanced society in which we exist today.

My simple request is that you read what I have written with an open mind; whether or not you personally have a mental health issue.

People suffering from mental health issues clearly get nothing positive from things such as unsolicited and uneducated advice, or offensive internet memes. It actually makes them feel worse about having something that they honestly have no control over. These attitudes and beliefs may also lead to the individual feeling there is nothing wrong with him/her and that what he/she is feeling is just nothing more than imaginary or that it’s for attention.

Your mind is part of your body so why can’t certain people not understand the importance of taking the proper time and care for your mental health; that they take into consideration for their physical health

I remember a few years back looking at a meme someone showed me online. The meme was about giving advice on medical issues using common things people say to people who have a mental health issue. Such as you just need to focus more on it’s all in your head, in order to show just how ridiculous mental health stigma actually is.

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If we saw any of the situations illustrated in the meme, in real life what would our opinion be and why? From the following three points of view:

The person discriminating

From the person with the mental health issues

From a third party that is witness to the situation

In this book, I will be covering various types of people and attitudes, individuals with mental health issues may encounter. Many times, in treatment, we are not told how the importance of being able to deal with negative attitudes towards mental health can affect the person suffering from such issues. I am not going to deal with specific medications as this is not my area of expertise. Rather what I am going to stress is the importance of taking the medication as it is prescribed.

I will also examine the importance of setting realistic expectations on how individuals perceive themselves and how these individuals deal with the way other people perceive them.

This book is in no way meant to be a cure for mental health conditions. What it is meant to be is a way of making people aware of many factors that we are not told when diagnosing a mental health issue. Hopefully, imparting onto the reader skills which will help them to live a productive, healthy life.

Whether this book sells one copy or a million copies, I will consider it a success; even if it helps one individual to lead a happier and healthy life.

Things to keep in mind while reading (especially for those readers who do not suffer from mental health issues).

You have to learn to view things from multiple points of views.

Think about how difficult it must be for the person suffering from a mental health issue and admitting to having a mental health issue and then to have it treated as a joke or a weakness. Not only do they have to deal with their previous negative life experiences but on top of that, they also have to deal with how society views mental health; which is not very good.

Unfortunately, many parts of society see mental health and various aspects associated with mental health as fake or the individual with mental health issues just wanting attention.

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There should be zero tolerance for this type of discrimination.

It astounds and almost sickens me that it’s socially acceptable to look down on mental health issues and the various aspects of the medical world that are in place for treating and helping people diagnosed with a valid medical condition.

Making fun of an individual who is suffering from a mental condition is no different than making fun of a blind person who cannot see or a deaf person who cannot hear.

This book is not meant to be a replacement of your treatment, but is meant to be a guide to use along with your treatment, in order to hopefully have you develop a more well-rounded and consistent treatment plan. Although I have a background in psychology, my information is also from the perspective of someone who has been diagnosed with a mental health issue.

I have ADHD and know what it is like to be underestimated and belittled, because of having lifelong mental health issues.

My intentions are to give you some tools to help overcome the various types of stigma attached to having a mental health issue. Also to assist you in not only overcoming the issues, which can lead to negative impact on the success of your treatment; to teach you to see the difference between mental health facts and mental health myths, and the importance of dealing with each one of these in the proper context.

In addition, help you understand the importance of having a strong knowledge base and understanding of what is and isn’t important.

It’s almost like the saying ‘give a man a fish and feed them for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed them for a lifetime.’

Even though that’s a Biblical quote, I don’t mean it in a religious way. I personally think religion does more harm than good in regards to mental health issues, even though that’s due more to people than religion itself.

The mindset of that quote is the mindset I hope to imprint on others with mental health issues.

Do not feel guilty about being open and honest with yourself and others about how your mental health issues affects you.

Remember you’re not responsible for having a mental illness or any other medical condition, but you are responsible for how you deal with it through educating and also empowering yourself.

A good analogy for describing how mental illness feels: It is easy to tell someone in a dark room to turn on a light switch…but when you’re the person in that room, it’s hard to find it.

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Chapter 2

Misconceptions of Mental Health

When it comes to dealing with the misconceptions of others and also how we view ourselves, understanding the stereotypes relating to mental health issues are no different

Reviews for Your Mental Health and You

[Sandy Pace · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book I highly recommend reading it it's really helpful