“I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” - Socrates
In all my creative endeavors as a mental health advocate, I strive to convey how
I maintain a sense of contentment, even in my discontent. Despite my whims and
inconsistencies, I have learned through acceptance, forgiveness, transparency, and trust to love and accept myself as perfectly-imperfect; I can just be, even when inundated with life stuff. Living with rapid cycling bipolar disorder, I look at life through the lens of a survivor, not a victim. I advocate for those who share the ill-experience of being labeled as mentally ill, and who have felt shamed and lost as a result. Many have been forced to succumb to pharmaceutical oppression and offered only chemical options to mask their dis-ease and create a false sense of normalcy. From experience, I am well aware that outside of the suggestion of therapy in conjunction with debilitating meds, psychiatric patients are not given many avenues to overcome and heal from their mental dis-ease; many do not have the tools to heal themselves and are not-so-subtly coerced to rely solely on medical doctors for answers that do not lead to solutions. The pharmaceutical band-aides that are overprescribed only mask the issues.
Traditional psychiatric medicine neglects to offer people non-invasive techniques to heal their fractured souls, while manufacturing the victim mentality among psychiatric patients by overmedicating to mask their symptoms. Patients become dependent on pharmaceuticals to “normalize” their symptoms, while doctors introduce more psych meds to address side effects. It is a vicious cycle of dependence and works like a temporary band-aide.
There is a reason that I comfortably refer to the word d-i-s-e-a-s-e in two different ways; dis-ease and disease. Allan Frances, MD, author of Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt against Out-of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life, refers to dis-ease as a state of being where one is on the mental journey from discomfort (or dis-ease), and disease as illness. Frances continues to share that dis-ease is "a common daily experience for many of us—for example, when we struggle with a situation that is difficult to manage," whereas disease describes an illness. Dr. Frances highlights where he feels that traditional mental health has gone wrong:
A major facilitator of the transition from dis-ease to disease is medication. If there is a medicine to ease the dis-ease, surely
it must really be a mental illness. The pharmaceutical companies
are enthusiastic participants in this process, but so are we—the
prescribers and the consumers.
Dr. Frances' observation resonates with my advocacy plight. I, too, choose to refer to mental illness as a state of dis-ease, rather than a disease, because I have experienced the efficacy of holistic approaches to dealing with the state of dis-ease. Using writing and radio as my platforms, I join the ranks of those who look at mental health through this different lens, having experienced mental dis-ease from the perspective of patient and advocate.
After many years as a patient, I was introduced to Positive Psychology (PosPsy), a scientific methodology that investigates human behavior focusing on a patient's strengths, rather than weaknesses. I found that if I moved my thinking out of my cluttered mind and slid approximately 18”down into my heart space, I was far more comfortable in my own skin. It took practice, but it was there that I found clarity; I felt content with discontentment. I experienced the efficacy of this approach when treated by an innovative psychiatrist named Dr. Martin Freimer. He implemented Socratic questioning into his Pos Psy approach to psychotherapy to create a shift in my behavior. His intent was to enable me to focus on my strengths and work through my dis-ease myself. It was the first time in my mental wellness journey where I felt acknowledged as a fractured emotional being with immense potential to piece myself together, rather than stuck in a static state as just another overly medicated statistic.
As I healed, I realized that having been a traditional psychiatric patient was a necessary unraveling that unearthed my new understanding. It was not long after my discovery of the benefits of a PosPsy approach to understanding and heart-based thinking that I created my own H.O.L.D.F.A.S.T. method to share with others and give them the healing tools that I find work for me in my journey:
• H is for Honest
• O is for Open a Dialogue
• L is for Look to Your Heart
• D is for Discern with Logic
• F is for Face Anxiety
• A is for Anticipate Fear
• S is for Step Up
• T is for Trust the Process
I share this method in books, in an interactive workbook, and on HOLDFAST Radio: Ride Out Life with Mental Illness. H.O.L.D.F.A.S.T. implements Positive Psychology. Through my experience, I have learned that contentment resides in the heart space, not in the mind. My journey is ongoing with PosPsy, a new rabbit hole that has led me to discover other ways to work through mental illness and heal. Through PosPsy, I unearthed a new knowledge of ancient Japanese wisdom referred to as wabi sabi, and the art of kintsugi, a Japanese gold-joinery method of pottery repair. They braid seamlessly, and the collaboration has encouraged me to accept what is, so I can just be. They are an invaluable triad; Socrates would agree! I will explore ancient Japanese philosophy in adjacent articles to exhibit its effectiveness.
Independent Practice:
Socratic questioning can be used to bring your awareness to irrational thoughts. Once you gain an awareness of your thinking and how it can potentially hinder you, you can learn to restructure your method of thinking. In this cognitive restructuring exercise, you will use Socratic questioning to identify an irrational thought. You’ll then go through a list of 10 questions to help you examine the thought.
Identify an irrational thought that you may have. Example - (I will never get promoted at my new job.)
In this example, we’ll examine the irrational thought: I will never get promoted at my new job. Other examples could include, "I'll always be alone" or "I'll never find someone who understands me."
Question 1: What is the evidence for/against this thought? Write it down.
Question 2: Ask yourself if you are basing this thought on fact or feeling? Reflect on it.
Question 3: Is the thought cut and dry, or more complicated? Reflect on the many facets of the thought.
Question 4: Ask yourself if you could be misinterpreting the evidence or making
assumptions? Write down your thoughts.
Question 5: How do you think others would interpret the situation? Step outside and look in from a different perspective.
Question 6: Are you looking at all the evidence or just what supports your thoughts? Reflect on it.
Question 7: Could your thought be an exaggeration of what’s true? Consider whether you may be magnifying the situation.
Question 8: Are you having this thought out of habit or do the facts support it? Write it down.
Question 9: Did someone pass this thought or belief to you? If so, are they a reliable source? Be honest.
Question 10: Is my thought a likely scenario, or worst-case scenario? Reflect on it.
The goal is to become aware of irrational thought patterns and utilize this type of questioning to challenge them.
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