Category: Mental Health
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Just Finished My CE's!
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…
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Bipolar Disorder and Neurocounseling
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,…
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Vascular Dementia and Psychosis
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…
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#Thankful for Support
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…
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Journal Writing
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…
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#Bipolar Disorder and #Motherhood
My Response to Natasha Tracy’s post, Bipolar Disorder and Pregnancy: Bipolar Taking Away Choice I didn’t know I had bipolar disorder when I chose to become a mother. I was diagnosed with dysthymia [chronic depression]; although, I knew I likely had, at the very least, cyclothymia [mild form of bipolar disorder]. Once I got the…
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I've Been Really Busy
I haven’t been blogging as much recently because I’ve simply been too busy to do so. Moved my parents into Silverado Memory Care Community in San Juan Capistrano Wednesday. My parents are getting excellent care at Silverado. Already they have participated in the social hour and taken a Zumba exercise class. The caregivers are attentive.…
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I've Got This… Really, I Do
Since my mother refused post-stroke treatment, behavior I could not control, I’ve been really busy. Bordering on mildly hypomanic at times, yet surprisingly stable given all the stress I’m under, I gained a sense of control by learning what I can about those things I can control. Using skills I acquired in my careers in…