Inspired by work people have done on madness maps and mental health first aid kits, I decided to make a checklist/flowchart to use when I am having a particularly hard time or am in crisis. It was a good process for me to make because it helped me to really think about what has helped me or caused me trouble in the past. I really like that we can make these sorts of tools for ourselves instead of relying on more general (often judgmental) dos and don’ts or advice from people who never know us as well as we know ourselves.

Tags: anxiety, art, BDSM, beauty, body, checklists, comfort, counseling, crisis, crisis checklist, depression, eating, emotions, enjoyment, exercise, fear, flowcharts, friends, games, hormones, hunger, hypnotic, illness, injury, insomnia, isolation, journaling, laundry, loneliness, madness map, madness maps, manageability, massage, medication, meditation, mental health, mental health first aid kits, messy apartments, misanthropy, museums, music, pain, painkillers, panic, parks, pets, projects, psych meds, psychiatrists, QueerMentalHealth.org, responsibility, rest, restlessness, self-fear, self-harm, self-help, self-help books, sex, showering, sleep, sleeping environment, snacks, social activities, stair climbing, stress, supplements, support groups, symptoms, task management, tea, The Icarus Project, therapists, therapy, tools, vulnerability, withdrawal, yoga

A terrible crime has been committed, a brutal murder. The suspect? Mental Illness. The victim? My dreams. In the past 3 years, I have gone from a successful professional with a promising career and a wonderful loving partner, to an emotional wreck, unsure if I am even able to hold down a full time job anymore.

Tags: antidepressants, bipolar disorder, careers, CBT, confidence, depression, disability, dreams, emotions, fear, goals, homelessness, hypomania, loss, love, mood stabilizer, partners, pride, psych meds, recovery, relationships, sadness, self-acceptance, spoons, stigma, suicidal thoughts

Seroquel is an atypical antipsychotic, with FDA approval for use in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Tags: akathesia, antipsychotic, anxiety, bipolar disorder, BPD, date rape, dementia, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, insomnia, meds, OCD, psych meds, psychosis, quick facts, schizophrenia, seroquel, sleep disorders, tardive dyskinesia, weight gain, withdrawal

Celexa is an antidepressant drug of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It has U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to treat major depression, and is prescribed off-label for a number of anxiety conditions. Other Brand Names: Cipramil Generic Name: Citalopram. Primary Uses: Depression Other Uses: Anxiety Panic Disorder Dysmorphic Disorder OCD Availability: [...]

Tags: antidepressant, anxiety, celexa, citalopram, confusion, depression, drugs, insomnia, mood swings, nausea, OCD, psych meds, quick facts, SSRI, suicidal thoughts, withdrawal

Ativan is used for the short-term treatment of anxiety, insomnia, acute seizures including status epilepticus and sedation of hospitalised patients, as well as sedation of aggressive patients.

Tags: addiction, anxiety, ativan, benzodiazepine, confusion, drowsiness, drugs, insomnia, lorazepam, nausea, psych meds, quick facts, sedative, substance, withdrawal

Lamictal is an anticonvulsant, typically used in psychiatric medicine as a mood stabilizer, particularly for bipolar disorder. Other Brand Names: none Generic Name: Lamotrigine Primary Uses: Partial seizures Lennox-Gastaut syndrome Bipolar I Disorder Other Uses: Bipolar II Disorder Treatment-resistant depression Schizoaffective Disorder BPD PTSD Depersonalization Disorder Availability: 25mg, 50mg, 100mg, 200mg tablets Contraindications: Any known hypersensitivity to lamotrigine [...]

Tags: anticonvulsant, anxiety, bipolar disorder, BPD, depersonalization disorder, dizziness, drugs, dry mouth, headache, lamictal, lamotrigine, medication, mood stabilizer, mood swings, psych meds, PTSD, quick facts, rash, schizoaffective disorder, seizures, treatment resistant depression, withdrawal

Cymbalta is an antidepressant in the SNRI (selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) class. Other Brand Names: none Generic Name: Duloxetine Primary Uses: Major Depressive Disorder Generalized Anxiety Disorder Stress Urinary Incontinence (Europe only) Other Uses: Diabetic Neuropathy Fibromyalgia Availability: 20mg, 30mg, 60mg capsules Contraindications: Any known hypersensitivity to Cymbalta Concurrent use of MAOI’s Uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma [...]

Tags: antidepressant, anxiety, brain zaps, cymbalta, depression, dizziness, dry mouth, fibromyalgia, headache, hypomania, irritability, mood swings, nausea, psych meds, quick facts, rash, SNRI, withdrawal