So Easily Solved

I haven't been shy about sharing my mental health struggles this year for two reasons:

1.  This blog is my scrapbook and journal and it helps me process my feelings when I write them.  I also like it being a social outlet where others can read and comment, which further helps me make sense of it.

2.  I wish more people were more open about this stuff.  I hate struggling alone to call the right person, to know who/what kind of Dr. to approach about it, etc.  Especially when you are feeling very sensitive, its a difficult thing to face.  I figure my being open might give others license to do the same.

I don't regret sharing this stuff with the world at all, even though it makes me vulnerable.  That said, I'd like to share with you how I found my cure.  

It isn't what I expected.  I've started taking higher doses of Vitamin D after some bloodwork revealed that I am low in it.  That simple.  I've gone off of my {three!} different psych medicines and am feeling more healthy and myself than ever.  Simply a vitamin deficiency it appears to have been.

I want to emphasize that I am not sharing this as a prescription for others with mental illness.  I am too well aware of its dangers to ever give advice.  I just wanted to share one person's story, so that in the "getting of help" I could urge people to make sure all medical issues are checked.

In the beginning of my breakdown (for lack of a better word) no medical checks were even discussed or encouraged.  Just one heavy hitting medication after another were tried, along with their myriad of side effects.  If they didn't work the dosage was increased....along with....more side effects.  So much of the previous months were spent in a fog just trying to put one foot in front of the other.  I'm not resentful of the medical path taken, but feel more educated about the possibilities behind certain situations I might find myself in.

Vitamin D deficiency seems to be getting more press these days, as I feel it should.  I think a number of factors contributed to mine.  First of all the lack of sun in the area I am in, and the way we live in our culture.  But secondly, nursing for two years (this time) drained my body in ways I didn't expect.  As much as I believe in breastfeeding and encourage it for all moms, sometimes the way our bodies give more than they have to ensure the survival of the species :) can deplete us a lot.

Be careful, ladies.  And, as always, thanks for reading!