Treatment

I currently (September 2015) am in light psychotherapy,  see a psychiatrist every two months for medication management, and take the following pharmaceuticals:

• 150 mg Wellbutrin (antidepressant)
• 100 mg Lamictal (mood stabilizer)
• 10 mg Abilify (antipsychotic)
• 2 mg Klonopin (antianxiety)

I believe our dysfunctional American society makes it difficult to maintain both mental and physical health, by not having decently paying jobs, jobs that are flexible enough to reflect our humanity, by letting homelessness and hunger persist, along with so many other problems and issues… In one of the richest countries in the world, all of these are shameful. Our national mythologies place blame on victims of the economy – and each other – squarely on the shoulders of those same people. Shaming and stigmatizing go a long way towards keeping people scared and silent. Remembering what we learned during the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Silence = Death, is extremely important! I raise my voice, because I can; I have the ability – and the luxury & privilege – to be able to speak out.

Our U.S. healthcare system plain sucks. There is no reason any resident of the United States of America should not get the medical care they need. I have strong opinions about mental health care in particular. We are being under-diagnosed, over-diagnosed, wrongly diagnosed, over-medicated, under-medicated and not treated professionally or properly.

I also understand everyone is different, has different body and brain chemistry, tolerance for meds, and different interest levels regarding taking medication and dealing with the psychiatric establishment.