Positive Psychology - A Consumer's Story - Todd Mueller

This story is part of an ongoing series about people who have mental illness and are beginning to find or have found a meaningful level of recovery. I think it’s good to hear the experiences of others who are dealing with their own mental illnesses. We can use these to help us accept ourselves and identify our issues in a tender and loving way. Todd is a wonderful man and has made some great strides in his life. I would expect this to continue as he becomes more involved in the clubhouse where he is a member.

Hello My Name Is Todd Mueller And This Is My Story

I had a normal childhood. I had excellent scores in grade school. But high school was a different story. I started going to parties when I was 15 and continued until I was 23. I turned 18 in my senior year and was able to go to bars. When I graduated in 1977, jobs were plentiful. I started working at Manitowoc Ice.when I turned 23 I met my wife Ronnie and was married in 1985.

My misery started in 1999 with backaches. I tried Vicodin and it didn’t help. I was sent to Green Bay and put on an old antidepressant called amitriptyline. It worked. I saw many doctors and made many trips to to clinics and hospitals including the Marshfield clinic. From the numerous MRIs, CT scans and a spinal tap, the doctors diagnosed me as having migraines. My migraines happen on a daily basis so I stayed in the dark as much as I could.

You can’t imagine the suffering I had. The physical illnesses were constantly rolling around in my head. Finally I started to realize something else was wrong. Mental illness. Finally the clinic in Two Rivers talked to me about seeing a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist was in the Manitowoc. She said I had anxiety, and gave me some medication samples and sent me on my way. The second time I saw her was in the waiting room and I was crying. The next week I committed myself to holy family mental health unit with a nervous breakdown. I stayed in there for six days. I met a psychiatrist there. That was 1999. He worked with me until 2002 and said he could not help me anymore and that I should go to Green Bay. That is when I quit my job. I could function no more.

Todd Mueller -Photo Credit William Ehrendreich

I found a psychiatrist in Green Bay and the first thing he said after looking at me is you need to get on disability. He interviewed me for two hours. Diagnosis: severe bipolar mixed type I and type II and also an anxiety disorder. After two tries and a lawyer I got my disability. My psychiatrist and I continue to work on combinations of medications that helped me for about three years. I had faith in him. We finally came up with a combination of medications that help me. We worked together when I needed adjustments or am depressed or stressed out. I sometimes have suicidal thoughts. The migraines were resolved by a knowledgeable neurologist with a daily medication which I still take today. In approximately 2005 I started to drink in bars again. This put a big strain on my marriage. Finally I quit in drinking entirely in 2010. I have not had a beer since.

I started seeing the new therapist in 2012. She found painting pathways clubhouse on the Internet. She printed it out and I decided to give it a try. I was impressed. I became a member a week later. I now know other people who have mental illnesses and could speak to them freely about it. I’m learning to build self-confidence. I’m getting a sense of being somebody. People take me as I am and I can trust them. I even laugh once in awhile. This is because I’m happy to be here! I try to stay busy and take short breaks in between my projects. Just like my recovery, there will be baby steps.

I tried to take a large leap a few weeks ago but just went backwards for about three days. The staff members told me to take it easy but I did not listen. I think I now know better. From now on I will take their advice in consideration. This is also a part of my recovery.

My psychiatrist does not want me working right now because I can’t take the stress he’s afraid I will go backwards and then Roni, my wife, gets the brunt of my stress.I look at painting pathways as a means to get success. I am learning to navigate on the computers. I’m learning new ways to meet people. I’m helping others and I am volunteering. I have a feeling of usefulness. When I came here I was afraid of starting a conversation and now I’ve overcome that. I will talk to anyone who just like a conversation or to help guide them to where they want to go. I would like to thank my wife for sticking with me through the difficult times then, now, and in the future.

I think I see a pattern that is beginning to to develop. A loving and accepting community helps to build the confidence and compassion that a person needs to renovate their lives. If you have a mental illness and are struggling with it, I would urge you to seek out recovery-based organizations and practices. Soon perhaps, you too will be able to create your own positive psychology story. Soon, you’ll be able to celebrate your own success and him recovery.

Bipolar Insomnia

Bipolar Insomnia

Mental illness is often a leading cause for sleeplessness for those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. For individuals with bipolar disorder sleep can be a major problem. In some cases without medical intervention people who suffer from this disease can be sleepless for days. For general practitioners, diagnosing a sleep disorder may not include consideration of bipolar disorder. This is particularly true in situations where medical history does not include the diagnosis for this disease or when a patient does not self-identify as being bipolar.

Bipolar disorder is estimated to affect from 2% to 7% of the people in the United States. It is further estimated that almost 10,000,000 people will develop the illness at some point during their lives. Bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed because it can be confused with other diseases. Often people with mental illnesses have more than one diagnosable disease. For instance, if you are bipolar it is highly likely that you will have substance abuse issues, high-risk sexual behaviors, or other symptoms. Sometimes these symptoms can be very hard to differentiate. If you have sleep problems and are bipolar make sure that you tell your doctor. It will help significantly. Keeping your doctor informed can help you to find relief from symptoms sooner. It also becomes easier to find the proper treatment.

Sleep is a major factor in maintaining stability

For all individuals sleep is an important part of maintaining physical and mental well-being. There are various reasons that people have problems sleeping. Research shows that individuals who have bipolar disorder are at high risk for instability without appropriate sleep. Sleep is a basic component in managing the stability of this disease. Without proper cycles of sleep our bodies' basic biorhythms can be significantly disturbed. These biorhythms or "circadian rhythms" manage or contribute to not only our mental well-being but our physical well-being also. Sleeplessness is not the only problem. Too much sleep can also be a major factor of instability. It can contribute significantly to depressive cycles.

If you suffer from bipolar insomnia, it's important to take some basic steps that will help you to manage sleep. The steps can be called sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene includes several factors:

• 1. Try to avoid napping. If you do need to nap limit napping to the early afternoon and for a short duration.
• 2. Cut down or avoid the use of caffeine entirely.
• 3. Limit your consumption of alcohol.
• 4. Regular exercise is important because it helps to limit factors like adrenaline and quiets the body. The quiet body helps to produce a quiet mind.
• 5. Meditation or relaxation methods can help significantly when patients have sleeplessness. Often this helps to attack the problems that are introduced by hypomania and mania.
• 6. A helpful tool to help you and your doctor understand your sleep situation is to record your sleep cycles and other pertinent information in a log book or journal.
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Treating Bipolar Insomnia

If you're experiencing bipolar insomnia, there are several ways that your doctor may choose to treat your illness. Often this will be through the use of medication. Medications such as Seroquel can help to induce sleep. This class of medicines is called atypical antipsychotics. These medicines can act in a powerful way to induce sleep. For some patients with bipolar insomnia traditional sleep medications like Lunesta or Ambienmay not work. Trazodone may also be used as an off-label treatment for insomnia. Trazodone is an older treatment for depression. Generally with people who have bipolar disorder antidepressants are not used. It can cause the bipolar individual to have a, "bipolar switch". This switch can cause a person to come out of depression and enter mania. Careful consultation with your doctor is recommended. For those with bipolar induced insomnia it is recommended that treatment should come from a properly trained psychiatrist.

Over-the-counter medications for sleep

Over-the-counter medications for sleep are generally formulated from antihistamine medications. Many of these medications are older drugs. These antihistamines tend to make people sleepy. This is a major factor in why antihistamine medications have been changed. Newer antihistamines do not generally stimulate sleep. Other over-the-counter medications or supplements may also contain ingredients such as Valerian root, melatonin, or other herbal central nervous system depressants. Bipolar insomnia may not respond to over-the-counter medications.

Finding solutions for bipolar insomnia

To find the right solution you may have to try several approaches. It also might require the use of more than one of these options at the same time to help the bipolar individual stabilize both their sleep and their lives.

Information for this article is based on research by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Mayo Clinic.