Today started off great with a new plan for my mental health future. I have been pushing the community to break the mental health stigma, to start talking about mental health, share their experiences, and to be aware of mental health around them. Sometimes I forget that while I am my platform, I must also take care of me too. One thing that I tell anyone, make sure you take care of you and that you are well.
Today was my first appointment with an ARNP at the Vera French Community Mental Health Center. Going in you feel welcome and I like that. I was a lil annoyed by a boy in the waiting area that just had to keep moving and talking and was just into everything and he was every bit of 9 or 10 years old! But I sat back and realized that there are many forms of mental health and he too was a patient. He just couldn't help it. I couldn't help but think I hope the best for him and his family and by the look on his dad's face and his tone towards him, you could tell that he was irritated himself.
The good thing about today was that I got to vent about what had been going on with my mental health in the past couple of years without having been under the physical care of a mental health professional. In order to be treated and cared for to get more results, you must be completely open and honest about your feelings, thoughts, moods, habits, etc. if you are to get the proper care and get the most out of mental health services you are paying for. You can't be helped if you are not open. I told my doc that I was not happy with the medications that I was on and I felt that I was tired and gaining weight with no motivation to do the most that I am capable of. Trazodone apparently has this effect on some and so we came up with a new course of action that I could feel good about. Cymbalta would be upped more and we would switch out the trazodone for Ambien.
Making a change in medications can make you nervous and excited at the same time. For me, I am nervous because I am thinking I don't need any mood swings, lol I am still a queen and I have stuff to accomplish!! You almost never know what is going to happen when meds are switched/changed. But since we are only going up 30 more miligrams I should be okay for the better in the transition stage. I am excited because I am thinking now maybe I will feel good and have that extra push to get some things done that I have been pushing off. Ambien will be new for me. It may sound silly, but I can't wait to see how I will feel when I wake up. I was getting a lot of groggyness with the trazodone and was sleeping much later than any "normal" person should.
What I was really thankful for and surprised about, was the fact that there was a 24-hour emergency number for a psych doctor on call. I did not have that before. I hope I never have to use that, but it least I know that I do have the option. There had been a few occasions, more than I would like to admit, especially when I first moved here, that I needed someone to call and didn't have the option. Now that I have been reassured that I would not run out of medication and there is always someone to reach I feel a calm that I have not felt before. One less thing to worry about. That being my mental health situation.
If you ever feel like you don't know where to turn or where to start and you live in the Quad Cities area, know that Vera French is an option. It is a community based service so there is no need to worry about inability to afford mental health services. Everything is confidential and there is always someone who can be reached. They see people for all types of mental health, including ADHD, depression, anxiety, and even more severe forms.
I come here knowing that this is a good place. I am happy that I am working with the MJL Foundation for this year's "Walk for Hope" which will help fund their school-based services in Scott County.
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