Writing with Mental Health Struggles| My Process for writing when my mental health is low
I want to have a real conversation about my mental health and strategies I have used to keep my career afloat. This is not meant to be a diagnosis or a prescription, but rather an honest look at my personal journey. I hope it helps those of you that are dealing with similar issues and reminds you that you are not alone.
Resources:
Finding a provider:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us
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22 Comments
Hey boss. Thanks so much for posting this. I have a few mental health struggles myself, and I really needed to hear this today.
Abilify! I'm bp1. Also schizophrenic. However, I'm not on a therapeutic dose. I'm on 7.5mg. It'd be very difficult to go crazy on the med.
If I'm in psychosis, it takes about 20mg for 3 months to slow me down! Trust me, I'll go to hell in a handbag if it happens again. My heart went through it 8x in 16 yrs.
As a matter of fact, Abilify takes me from schizoaffective, to only dealing with residual schizophrenia. Hmm. That means if I didn't write something, I'd be fantasizing without a reason to do so… writing saved my life. I needed something to think about! It's granted me a sense of controlled thought.
The real question is… I'm still working from drafts. But. Making said drafts kind of almost killed me. Can I create a new draft when the time comes, without going to far into the zone?
Regardless… Abilify can change your life. Definitely ask about it. They'll probably say an equivalent that deals with bp2.
You can only treat 1. Choose to treat the mania. If you regulate it properly, your depressions will never last. The downside… cyclothemia. You will go up n down, just not far enough up or down.
My 1st boss said, "there's no stupid questions, but there is the right question. Ask the question that provides the required answer!"
Ask the Dr, what if you only treat 1 thing! Mania is the one that affects the heart!
A lot of writers struggle with mental.health issues. I don't have ADHD or autism but I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 1998. I wasn't able to write for a few years due to the illness. I was on the larger doses of antidepressants and antipsychotics, which pretty much cabbaged me but now I've dropped the dosage, I'm able to write.
Mental health is important and I'm glad to see the negative stigma about therapy is dying.
If writing is a form of wish fulfillment, it's telling that one of my characters can treat anxiety and depression overnight.
As someone who lives with severe depression, PTSD, anxiety, and ADHD, thank you for this video.
Floor of distraction! is going to be my favourite battle spell ❤ thank you so much for being so upfront, I've had similar circumstances to wrangle – have compassion with yourselves, everyone.
Man, this shit hit too close to home. You’re right on the money when it comes to some of us older gents not being raised to ask for help. Been trying to overcome that hill myself in my 40s and it is hard
I have had diagnosed ADHD for about 35 years which I used to take Strattera for until 2020 when I had a triple bypass. After that, I couldn't take anything that functions like a stimulant in the body. I found something that I rarely see prescribed for it called Guanfacine. This medication does not treat the executive dysfunction half of ADHD, but it does allow you to maintain attention on anything you do choose to work on. This medication is used for treating BP issues, but it also works for ADHD. If you already take something to lower your BP, then the doc would adjust that down and this up. I have been taking it since my triple bypass in 2020.
Secondarily, my ex (spouse of 28 years) was diagnosed with bipolar II at 29 years old. I have seen this disorder up close and personal, and for a long time. We still keep in touch and she has also done remarkably well after coming off of the constantly shifting array of psych meds.
I’m still at the beginning of this video, but as someone who inherited the ADHD/bipolar combo from my Gen X redneck father with ADHD and bipolar, shout out to you for doing the work as an adult to manage your mental health and not let it destabilize your career and your family’s lives with it.
Now I’ll be listening ti the writing management as an AuDHD bipolar (and the list goes on) writer
ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY LIST. I switch between paper lists and digital lists to keep the novelty. But if I dont write it down, it doesn’t happen.
Thank you for your videos. This topic hits at home with me. I was diagnosed with a rare brain disorder (abnormality) as a child and it has hurt my ability to be the kind of writer I have wanted to be. The self harm thoughts hit me in high school, and I almost ended my life in 10th grade. Thank you again for the video.
Remember, "better help" is a scam. Do not use it. Especially if you don't want a mental profile of you being given to the Israeli government and used to market to you In both cases.
I love how much you love your cats. This is an amazing video. Thank you. I've been struggling with trying to stay focused in writing. My animals are amazing, so's my tiny human. But the self-harm urges are always there. Fortunately, my one cat, and my service dog in training have been able to interrupt downward spirals. Neurodivergence seems to be a gateway to creative endeavors, almost like it's a way to help us be understood.
"That's now how your average Gen-X redneck was raised." I hear ya, John…same with Navy brat baby boomers. 😉
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, John❤ I am so glad you have found a way, a place, and people that let you flourish. I really hope others find your video as encouraging as I did, because us neurodivergent people have so much unique experiences that can enrich literature and beyond.
Appreciate your honesty and openness. The book I'm working on speaks to the tools you mentioned using. It sure is hard to right about my struggles while in the midst of them. It's like waxing poetic about he house being on fire while you stand in the middle of the flames.
This video is outstanding. Many thanks for putting it together for us.
Thanks for this video! It's much needed!
Transitioning to carnivore could help.
I watch your videos on 2x so it always looks like you are in a manic episode. (just kidding). If you ever need someone to talk to you know where I am.
I 100% relate. I too deal with a form of depression and suicidal ideation, both since high school but was amplified during my first marriage 25 years ago and since (she is a narcissist). I feel bad for my present wife of 22 years as I wish she could have met the man I was before my ex. I describe it as my ex-wife murdered my soul and I hang by my fingertips at an abyss unable to climb up.
My writing which I got serious with and focused and honed my craft to where I am starting to self publish my series, is all that keeps me going along with my wife and son. I have talked with my Dr and tried meds but stopped immediately when I realized I couldn't write. She didn't tell me they block the creative part of the brain. So I too have found ways to deal with these issues, using them to help drive my writing as opposed to stagnate and spiral.
Thanks for the video. It's good in a way to know others deal with similar issues as I do.
I'm watching this after coming off a high of a marathon first draft. I stopped sleeping, and spiraled out. now, crashing out at work and barely worked on revision at all. this video leaves me thinking, shit, do I have bipolar? maybe, a little… anyway I related to this a lot and thanks for putting it out there
I don't know if it's a change in you or that I just know you better now, but several times in the past year I have noticed you taking a literal beat of time in the midst of an interaction to course correct, to give the other person (like me) the grace and patience and attention they need in the moment.