Soundbites, Tachyons, Shorts from show
The Complexity and Future of Brain Illness Research
Yes. And I think, you know, it's kind of important to remember that we're talking about illnesses of the brain in the broad sense, right? So neurology and psychiatry aren't really very different. There is a line that has been drawn there, but it's mostly artificial. It's all just illnesses of the brain. So if we can help one type of illness of the brain, oftentimes we learn something about the brain that can help us change. treat someone else with an illness of the brain although i will say and i tell people this all the time too we're still in the dark ages when it comes to the brain i mean the reason why i don't get to just take a pill and get better is because we just don't understand enough about why bipolar disorder exists in the brain we can't really tell you there are things i can tell you about it we know certain things but we're still groping around in the dark. That's what we're doing right now with the brain, which makes it very hard for those of us who live with these illnesses. But it also is very exciting because it means there's more to come.
Overcoming Stigma: Natasha's Bipolar Journey
Welcome to Planetary Health First Mars Next. I'm Michael Mann, the host, and we have Natasha Tracy today, and we are going to have an amazing special topic today on all things stigma, mental health, and she's going to be leading the conversation from her lived experience and what's so important for those out here, and whether it's Canada or anywhere in the United States or in the universe or globe since we are talking about Mars next. So Natasha, if you want to just quickly introduce yourself before we get going, I think that would be really helpful to why you're here and just all about you. Thank you so much for coming on. Thanks, Michael, for having me. I really appreciate that. So my name is Natasha and I do live with bipolar disorder and I've been living with bipolar disorder. I was diagnosed around age 20. So that's around 26 years ago. And I've been dealing with it for all of that time. And some might say before that, but that was the time when I was diagnosed. Now, bipolar disorder has been a huge struggle for me. I was diagnosed when I was in university. And at the time that that happened, the doctor that I was seeing told me to drop out. He said there was no way I could get a university degree and have bipolar disorder.
The Real Challenges for Mental Illness
And the unfortunate thing about that is that while those people are going through medication trials, it can actually make them worse for a So, yes, it can take a very long time for people to really suss out. This is what needs to be handled by psychotherapy. This is what needs to be handled by medication. This is your actual diagnosis. Maybe you have multiple diagnoses. It can be quite complicated. What are the biggest challenges that you see that people face that are dealing with mental illness, serious bipolar disorder? So it's interesting. So there's a common misconception that stigma is the biggest problem for people with mental illness. This is actually incorrect. Now, I know we see anti-stigma campaigns everywhere. And stigma is an issue. I'm not saying it isn't. And I think we're going to talk about it in a little bit. But there are actually bigger issues. And the bigger issues for people, particularly with serious mental illness, are access to treatment and affordability of treatment. That is the issue. The number one thing that harms people with mental illness is the fact that they cannot get the treatment that they so desperately need.
The Complexity of Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder
I went to a psychiatrist and it took two years for a psychiatrist to correctly diagnose me with bipolar disorder. And that was with me walking in and saying that I thought I had bipolar disorder. It still took two years. So it can take a very long time for a psychiatrist to truly understand who you are, your symptomology, your life, your history, and everything about you so that they can come to a real conclusion. Now, in the case of bipolar disorder, things are even more complicated because you might present to a psychiatrist in a depression. In fact, most people do. And if that's the case, what the psychiatrist will do is they will try to screen you for something called mania, which is a highly elevated mood. Now, some people may not have had a mania yet, but it's coming. Some people may have had a mania but didn't recognize it because it's been so frequent or has occurred in their life that they think it's normal. And so it also could be the case that people like me actually experience hypomanias, which are manias but not quite as severe. Now, in all those cases, a psychiatrist can easily miss that you have bipolar disorder and incorrectly diagnose you with major depressive disorder. And so what of course ends up happening because you have the incorrect diagnosis, you are, you end up taking the wrong medication. So in my case, it took a long time before we stopped trying depression medication and moved to bipolar disorder medication. And that happens for very, for many, many people.
Don't Fear People with Bipolar Disorder
I guess if I were to talk to people about individuals with bipolar disorder, my big message would be, don't be scared. The illness is scary. The people are not. I promise you right now, while I could list to you many, many scary things that have happened to me because of this illness, a hospitalization, electroconvulsive therapy, there are all kinds of awful things that have happened. I'm not actually a scary person.
Challenging Misconceptions About Mental Illness
I think it is the case that if you do not know a person in a particular group, you may have false beliefs about that group because you have no firsthand knowledge. If you know a person with mental illness, however, you may start to realize, oh, my gosh, they're just like me or oh, my gosh, they have kitties and I love kitties or whatever it is. But you may start to realize that. You know, there isn't a huge barrier between you and them. You know, the reason that people want to believe that people with mental illness are an other is because they want to believe that they will never become one.
The Allure of Hypomania
And I imagine there's a part, too, that like, oh, my gosh, these good hypomania or manias, not the manias. I know that's a much different, that can be very, very problematic and very horrifying and with psychosis and, you know, full blown, but maybe the hypomania, it's too good to not, you don't want it to, you don't want to let the doctor know about it. It's like the mojo or whatever. And forgive me for, you know, tongue in cheek, but it's sometimes, you know, maybe the depression, you know, sticks out more. And so there's some also adverse selection in the diagnosis process. I don't know. That's absolutely true. If you talked to a swath of people with bipolar disorder, some people would not say that their hypomanias are fun, but some people would say that they're fun because it's an elevated mood, but it's not to the level of mania. So it's not life-threatening. What it actually is, is a lot of energy. What it tends to be is a lot of talkativeness. What it tends to be... is this huge burst of everything about you.
Advocacy and Education on Mental Health
Well, I'm very stubborn and I decided he was wrong. So I did go forward and get a degree. But I can tell you that it has been very, very challenging to study and to work and to now have this particular diagnosis almost my whole life. So now I am a writer and speaker and I do a lot of advocacy work. I have a book. I'm bringing out another book. And basically what I do every day, all day, is talk to people with mental illnesses and I try to help them. I try to make it work. I try to tell them my techniques for dealing with mental illness. I try to explain to people who don't have mental illness what it's like to have mental illness. I try to explain to people what it's like to be suicidal. I try to explain to people what it is to have a hypomania or a depression. I try to move beyond the myths that we see in the movies. I try to move beyond the things that people think they know. And I try to move to a real fact-based, experiential-based knowledge. Yeah, I love this. And so what I'm hearing is you offer really great insight perspectives for those who are that are wanting to be empowered, informed, and then also the general population, because there's so many myths, and then specifically family members, and those are more closely living with it with a loved one trying to support them. So I really love your perspective.
My website –
https://natashatracy.com
Buy her book: Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar: https://bit.ly/book_lost_marbles
Information about her new book – Bipolar Rules! Hacks to Live Successfully with Bipolar Disorder:
Here Social’s….
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/natasha_tracy_writer/
YouTube – https://youtube.com/natashatracy
Natash’s bio
Natasha Tracy B.Sc. lives with bipolar disorder and is a mental health thought leader and subject matter expert in bipolar disorder. She is an award-winning writer, speaker, and consultant. She works to bring high-quality, insightful, and trusted information on bipolar disorder and related illnesses to the public while engaging with the mental health community.
Natasha Tracy is the author of the acclaimed book, Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar. This book was called “the book medical students should read, not the ‘DSM.’ This is the real thing,” by Jim Phelps, MD, and a Best Bipolar Book of All Time by Book Authority. Additionally, Natasha coauthored the paper, “Results From an Online Survey of Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Unmet Needs in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder,” published in the Primary Care Companion CNS Disorders journal.
Natasha has been the proud recipient of many awards for her work as a writer, speaker, and advocate. These awards include a WEGO Health Award for health activism, being named an Invisible Illness Champion by Healthline, and an Erasing the Stigma Leadership award by Didi Hirsch.
She is also a well-regarded speaker, having spoken at conferences and events for organizations like The National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Mental Health America, The Mood Disorder Association of Canada, the Vancouver Greater Health Authority, and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals among others.
Natasha has written 1000s of articles on mental health and is the author of the award-winning blogs Bipolar Burble at NatashaTracy.com and Breaking Bipolar at HealthyPlace.com. They consistently show up on top 10 health blog lists compiled by sites like Healthline, Medical News Today, Health.com, and many others. Her work has also been featured on sites like Huffington Post, BPHope, Healthline, Daily Mail, and Sharecare, among others.
Find us & follow us:
😍 💕 🌍 💜 😊 🚀Most important thing is to subscribe to keep updated with our latest podcasts, newsletters...etc.
Planetary Health First Mars Next is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
We might just lift off to Mars if the orbit is right! 😍 💕 🌍 💜 😊 🚀
In love & kindness,
Michael Mann, (😍 💕)
Disclaimer: the views of the participants are their own only and do not reflect the views of other participants, participants' organizations, etc or Planetary Health First Mars Next or the Host…….
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional or medical advice.
In addition if there are any mistakes or facts that need to be corrected please feel free to reach out to us so we can correct any statement.
Understand we are a self published entity and do the best we can.
If you have an idea or have an inspiring topic or know anyone that would be a great guest for our show please reach out to michael@planetaryhealthfirstmarsnext.org
127 Natasha Tracy Dispels the Myths Around Mental Illness