Self-Diagnosis on Scripps News

Self-diagnosing via social media is a big trend these days, especially on TikTok. As many more people seek a better understanding of their own mental health it’s important to be careful about the information you consume online. I recently talked with Kristin Krauss of Scripps News on the topic.

Take a look at the coverage below!

The Breakfast Club Talks Mental Health

Recently, the radio hosts of the Breakfast Club hosted a discussion on their morning show about mental health issues, particularly in the Black community. They were joined by Dr. Kendall Jasper, a clinical psychologist who practices in North Carolina and Rwenshaun Miller, a mental wellness advocate, coach and founder of Eustress, Inc.In the interview below Jasper and Miller (along with Charlamagne, Angela Yee and DJ Envy) talk about symptoms that someone may be struggling, the stigma around mental health and paths to recovery. Miller also shares much of his personal story as well. It's a great discussion, and one that is all too infrequent, particularly in Black communities.  Check it out below.

Lady Gaga Opens Up About Living with PTSD

Performer Lady Gaga recently opened up about living with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The condition affects about 8 million US adults each year (US Department of Veteran Affairs).  Lady Gaga recently penned an open letter for her Born This Way Foundation that I am sharing here in its entirety to help those who may be living with PTSD.

She writes:

"I have wrestled for some time about when, how and if I should reveal my diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After five years of searching for the answers to my chronic pain and the change I have felt in my brain, I am finally well enough to tell you. There is a lot of shame attached to mental illness, but it’s important that you know that there is hope and a chance for recovery.It is a daily effort for me, even during this album cycle, to regulate my nervous system so that I don’t panic over circumstances that to many would seem like normal life situations. Examples are leaving the house or being touched by strangers who simply want to share their enthusiasm for my music.

I also struggle with triggers from the memories I carry from my feelings of past years on tour when my needs and requests for balance were being ignored. I was overworked and not taken seriously when I shared my pain and concern that something was wrong. I ultimately ended up injured on the Born This Way Ball. That moment and the memory of it has changed my life forever. The experience of performing night after night in mental and physical pain ingrained in me a trauma that I relive when I see or hear things that remind me of those days.

I also experience something called dissociation which means that my mind doesn’t want to relive the pain so “I look off and I stare” in a glazed over state. As my doctors have taught me, I cannot express my feelings because my pre-frontal cortex (the part of the brain that controls logical, orderly thought) is overridden by the amygdala (which stores emotional memory) and sends me into a fight or flight response.  My body is in one place and my mind in another. It’s like the panic accelerator in my mind gets stuck and I am paralyzed with fear.

When this happens I can’t talk. When this happens repeatedly, it makes me have a common PTSD reaction which is that I feel depressed and unable to function like I used to. It’s harder to do my job. It’s harder to do simple things like take a shower. Everything has become harder. Additionally, when I am unable to regulate my anxiety, it can result in somatization, which is pain in the body caused by an inability to express my emotional pain in words.

But I am a strong and powerful woman who is aware of the love I have around me from my team, my family and friends, my doctors and from my incredible fans who I know will never give up on me.  I will never give up on my dreams of art and music. I am continuing to learn how to transcend this because I know I can.  If you relate to what I am sharing, please know that you can too.

Traditionally, many associate PTSD as a condition faced by brave men and women that serve countries all over the world. While this is true, I seek to raise awareness that this mental illness affects all kinds of people, including our youth. I pledge not only to help our youth not feel ashamed of their own conditions, but also to lend support to those servicemen and women who suffer from PTSD. No one’s invisible pain should go unnoticed.

I am doing various modalities of psychotherapy and am on medicine prescribed by my psychiatrist.  However, I believe that the most inexpensive and perhaps the best medicine in the world is words. Kind words…positive words…words that help people who feel ashamed of an invisible illness to overcome their shame and feel free. This is how I and we can begin to heal. I am starting today, because secrets keep you sick. And I don’t want to keep this secret anymore.

A note from my psychologist, Dr. Nancy: ‘If you think you might have PTSD, please seek professional help. There is so much hope for recovery. Many people think that the event that stimulated PTSD needs to be the focus. Yet often, people will experience the same event and have completely different reactions to it. It is my opinion that trauma occurs in an environment where your feelings and emotional experience are not valued, heard and understood.  The specific event is not the cause of traumatic experience.  This lack of a “relational home” for feelings is the true cause of traumatic experience.

Finding support is key.

Click here or visit the National Institute for Mental Health for more information on PTSD in all its forms and where to find help. If you are in crisis now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8225)." 

Why I Think the University of Chicago Got it All Wrong on Trigger Warnings

Note: This post includes discussion about the topics of sexual assault and consent. There are no graphic images or descriptions of sexual violence. If you are a survivor and looking for support, please visit RAINN.

Last month, the University of Chicago sent a letter to incoming students which included discussion on the university's stance on both trigger warnings and safe spaces. In the letter, Dean of Students in The College John Jay Ellison states:

"Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.Fostering the free exchange of ideas reinforces a related University priority—building a campus that welcomes people of all backgrounds. Diversity of opinion and background is a fundamental strength of our community. The members of our community must have the freedom to espouse and explore a wide range of ideas."

 I agree that universities and institutions of higher learning should foster a diversity of thoughts and ideas. After all, that allows for the most well-rounded kind of education. But, I think that the university’s stance on this is misguided, if not downright insensitive. We’re not talking about preserving the right to academic “discomfort” here. We’re talking about the potential benefit of limiting further psychological damage in a patriarchal, misogynist and sexist culture.The folks at the University of Chicago seemed to be conflating the ideas of free speech and reasonable access. Trigger warnings aren't about giving in to "PC culture". They're about showing compassion to another's pain and suffering.Trigger warnings aren't about limiting speech in the slightest. I see trigger warnings as being about two chief ideas:

1. Accessibility

2. Compassion

Accessibility

For those who have experienced traumatic events, such as sexual assault or abuse, the effects can be longstanding. Some go on to develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, though not all survivors do.  Engaging in a culture which allows for trigger warnings means that before involved discussion about the ideas of consent and sexual assault, students would have the opportunity to not take part or emotionally prepare themselves for such a discussion.  A notification of the impending discussion doesn’t mean that there will be no discussion, it simply gives a survivor the opportunity to exit or prepare from psychologically damaging material.  For those in recovery, the power to opt out can not be overstated.

Compassion

What I find most incredulous about the whole controversy about trigger warnings is how difficult it seems to be for people to step outside of themselves and think with their hearts instead of their minds.  It may take 5-10 seconds to issue a trigger warning about a certain topic, so I think that it’s fair to say that it’s a pretty minor inconvenience for most.  What if that minor inconvenience for you enabled someone the ability to avoid further psychological pain?  Why wouldn’t you want to help someone in that way?You may have noticed that there was a small notation at the beginning of this post. In essence it was a trigger warning about this post's content.  That's really what we're talking about here.

I question any institution of higher learning that doesn’t seriously take into the account, or prioritize,  the mental health of its students. And given the rate of sexual assaults on campus, particularly among first semester women, it is astounding to me that the University of Chicago would not be more compassionate about such an issue.Some may argue that participating in these discussions is somehow “good” for survivors as it desensitizes them to the language and content. In essence, some argue that this “no trigger warning, no safe space” policy enables survivors the opportunity to heal.  Well, they’re wrong.  Only in the context of a safe and controlled environment, such as a therapy hour, can that kind of systematic healing begin. It takes a highly experienced and trained mental health professional to foster that kind of trauma recovery experience.   The classroom is no place for that.By giving trigger warnings, what do you really have to lose?

You may view a sample of the letter sent to incoming freshman of The University of Chicago at this link.