Kitt O’Malley

Author: Kitt O’Malley

  • Updated My Resources Page

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    Now that I’m one of WEGO Health’s 7 Bipolar Depression Patient Leaders You Need to Know, I decided that I would update my Resources page. Actually, the two have nothing to do with each other. Just promoting myself, thanking WEGO Health, and passing on the resources… By Category Mental Health Youth & Young Adult Mental…

  • Just Finished My CE's!

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    Just completed my continuing education (CE) for my California Marriage and Family Therapist license (LMFT). To renew my license this time around, among the courses I took, I chose the following three timely and emotionally charged ones:  Older Adults and Mental Health,  School Refusal, and Chronic Illness in Children. Yes, I’m firmly in the Sandwich Generation, parenting a sensitive adolescent while…

  • Stroke and Swallowing

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    Sunday night I spent the late night and wee hours of the morning at the emergency room with my mother because she had aspirated food and liquids at dinner. She’s doing very well now, but is again experiencing dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing after stroke. When the nurse at Silverado, my parents’ memory care community, told me that my…

  • Anxious about Dementia

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    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjf4kNp9TRU] So here I am, in my car, which is pretty hot. Probably have to open the windows to let in some air. Just going to make it hard for anything to be heard. Oh, oh, that feels good. Okay. I’m on my way to the Alzheimer’s Association of Orange County, or whatever it’s…

  • Bipolar Disorder and Neurocounseling

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    My experience with psychotherapy supports the findings that we can “rewire our brains.” In cognitive therapy, I learned to stop negative thoughts and suicidal ideation, rewrite those thoughts and replace them with more accurate ones. In therapy I’ve learned to reframe my life experiences as meaningful – as preparing me to be a better mother, wife, and daughter,…

  • I Am Not Ashamed

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    I am not ashamed that I live with bipolar disorder, a mental illness, a brain disorder. I am not ashamed that I take psychotropic medication. I am not ashamed that my parents are struggling as they age, as their brains and bodies fail them. There is no shame in that. There is no need to…

  • Vascular Dementia and Psychosis

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    My husband, son & I are visiting my sister, her family, and the in-laws (my sister and I married brothers) in Oregon. Beautiful outside. We can see Mt. St. Helens peaking out in the distance, but it doesn’t really show up in this photo. Trying to focus on nature’s beauty to give my mind and…

  • Clearing Out

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    Sunday evening I relaxed after spending the afternoon letting my husband grab his favorite tools from my father’s garage before Hughes Estate Sales takes everything not now in storage. After consulting with my sister, decided to move and store very little – the rest we will sell or donate to charity. No sense spending a…

  • #Thankful for Support

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    Thank you to my son for exercising more independence as I’ve been busy attending to my parents’ affairs, to my husband for everything from chipping in around the house to loving me deeply and devotedly, to my sister as we support each other in making decisions on our parents’ behalf now that they are unable…

  • Journal Writing

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    Saturday, March 5, 2016 Here I am at my parents’ house writing. Not necessarily for my blog, though I did save this to my blog writing folder on my hard drive. No, I’m free-writing for myself. Journaling. In the traditional sense. To ease my anxiety. To use some of the energy that my cup of…