Kate McLaughlin - Expert Insight Into the World of Mental Health

I've got the JOY down in my heart,

Long absent.

Deep and Real and Ready.

It's the JOY from which springs hope and possibility.

Where dreams become reality.

The JOY that shouts "Yes, We Can!"

From deep within the belly

And from the highest mountaintop.

The JOY that dares to dream of opportunity for all

And guarantees a future

Brighter, cleaner, clearer than today.

It is the JOY that nurtures young souls,

Soothes the old

And offers the middle-aged something to work for.

It is the JOY of American dreams and expectations.

Of all that we can be, should be, hope to be.

It is the JOY of better days.

The JOY of America.

Our America.

My America.

JOY.

Does Your Group Need a Keynote, Breakout or Session Speaker?

Possible Topics include:

-1 in 4 Families-Is Yours One?
-Abandon Ship or Make Sails and Oars
-Acceptance is NOT Surrender
-An Educator's Guide to Student Mental Health
-Are You Afraid of Your Own Mind?
-Bipolar Disorder: What it is and what it's not
-Caring for the Caregiver
-Criminal or Ill?
-Depression: A Primer
-5 Areas of Mental Health and Wellness
-5 Reasons to Talk about Mental Illness in the Workplace
-Is My Child Bipolar?
-Is This Normal Teenage Behavior? Why does it seem SO Bad?
-Move through Your Fear and Live Well
-Live in the Moment. It's the only one you have.
-Let Go and Love Unconditionally
-Love an Addict without Losing Yourself
-My BFF is Suddenly Not Herself. What's Going On?
-My Cocktail Isn't Working: Get the medical treatment you deserve.
-Not MY Son, Mom, Friend%u2026Getting through the Denial
-Paralyzed by Fear?
-Parenting Teens with Challenges
-Peace, Joy, and Purpose through Challenge
-Something's Not Right, but I'm Not Sure What's Wrong
-We Have a Diagnosis, Now What Do We Do?

Get in touch with Kate here

When someone is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it can be a shocking and discouraging thing for both the individual and his or her family. But you can have hope when you see how others have dealt with the disease and had success in managing it.

In Mommy I'm Still In Here: One family's journey with bipolar disorder, Kate McLaughlin openly shares the way her family has handled this disorder. You'll find frank discussions of what it's like living with someone in your family - and in this case a teenager - who struggles with this disorder.

She not only discusses the symptoms of the disorder and its treatment, but she also discusses the way the family dynamic is changed when this disorder comes to live in the home. McLaughlin doesn't paint a rosy picture; rather she's brutally honest about the challenges that her family has faced.

At the same time, this is a message of hope for anyone battling mental illness. McLaughlin wants to remove the stigma surrounding disorders affecting the brain and emotions and speak frankly and honestly about how we can face them head on.

If you or someone you know has a member of the family suffering from bipolar disorder, this book is a must read. It's a difficult journey, but one that can be filled with optimism and hope.

Mental illness often is coupled with a stigma. Many people don't want to be considered "crazy" and "different." Unfortunately, many people who suffer from mental illness feel like they are defective in a way that people who suffer from other illnesses are not.

But mental illness is just like any other biologically-based disease like cancer or heart disease. It's caused by imbalances in brain chemistry and genetic predispositions. And it can be controlled by medications that restore a more balanced brain function.

Kate McLaughlin has worked as an advocate to help people who suffer from mental illness to be free from stigma. She's spent a great deal of time learning about current research and trends in medicine and she wants to offer her help to anyone who's also dealing with mental illness in their family.

In Mommy I'm Still In Here she shares her own experience of having a child with bipolar disorder. By reading her memoir, you'll be able to understand that you're not alone in dealing with this disease. You'll also learn that there are physiological causes for this disorder and that there are many things you can do to treat it. You don't have to suffer alone.

In kids and teens, bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed, and is often confused with other illnesses and problems. But once a correct diagnosis is made, you can begin treatment that actually improves day-to-day living. Most people are diagnosed with bipolar disorder when they become adults in their early twenties.

But research is showing that most people with bipolar disorder actually exhibit some symptoms as teenagers. And if they're diagnosed earlier, problems can be prevented later. In Kate McLaughlin's memoir of her family's experiences with bipolar disorder and addiction, she discusses the symptoms and treatment of her own daughter and son, and how the diagnosis was made.

She also shares how the symptoms and diagnosis affected her family and how they managed and coped. She shares her experience as the mother of two children with bipolar disorder and an as advocate for those who suffer from mental illness.

If you're parenting a teenager with bipolar disorder, you'll want to pick up a copy of Mommy I'm Still Here. It will give you help and hope for your own journey with your family.

If you work with an agency or organization that supports youth, book Kate for your next training session or in-service day. Go to www.katemclaughlin.net for details.

Most of us recognize depression as unrelenting or recurring sadness. But five other symptom clusters that may seem unrelated are also strong indicators of a mental health problem. Consider the scenarios below. If they describe you or someone you love, get to a doctor and discuss what's going on. All can be symptoms of, among other things, chronic or clinical depression. All can be successfully treated with a variety of approaches.

1.-Deep fatigue or a slowness of thought or action

Examples:

You got plenty of sleep, but you feel tired by mid-morning and exhausted by mid-afternoon...
Halfway through your normal work day, you feel as if you cannot complete another task...
You're working on a project not unlike hundreds you've completed in the past, but you cannot, no matter how hard you try, move to the next step...
In conversation, you're perpetually two beats behind the flow. It's as if you're communicating underwater. You're mind feels as if a layer of fog has settled in, preventing your ideas from moving freely. Every cohesive thought takes concentrated effort.

2.-Difficulty concentrating, comprehending or making decisions

Examples:

You read the same paragraph three times and still cannot retain the information...
While balancing your checkbook, you notice not one, not two, but a dozen basic errors made in the last month-and you're a math wiz...
In conversation with friends, you seem to miss meanings and nuances. You feel just a little bit out of sync...
Standing at the grocery store, you swipe the ATM card and cannot, no matter how hard you try, recall the PIN number you've had for years...
You usually have clear restaurant preferences, so your date asks where you'd like to go for dinner. You are completely unable to make a choice. Nothing sounds good. Nothing sounds bad. You just can't decide...

3.-Sleep disturbances-too much, too little, or broken sleep

Examples:

After a full day, you climb between the sheets at your normal bedtime and immediately fall asleep. Two hours later you awaken for no apparent reason. You're awake for an hour before going back to sleep. Two hours later, same thing...
You're exhausted. You've had a hellacious day and it's done. The kids are asleep, the cats are crated and the dishwasher is on. You're so tired you can't keep your eyes open. You lie down. You do not fall asleep. You toss. You turn. Three hours later you're still wide awake...
In bed for the night, your mind races with thoughts of tomorrows tasks. You cannot stop moving, you cannot stop thinking, you cannot stop planning, you cannot rest. Then, you worry about the fact that you cannot... You must go to sleep! 4 a.m. You fall asleep. The alarm goes off at six...
You slept well, rising at 8:00 a.m. By three in the afternoon you're dead-tired. You take a two hour nap. By 9:30 you're ready for bed. It's been like this for weeks...
You got a solid eight hours. The alarm rings. You hear it. You don't care. You don't move to turn it off. You must sleep longer. You go back to sleep...

4.-Exaggerated sense of failure, guilt or unworthiness

Examples:

You know that you're cube-mate is doing a better job on the project. Even though you're the team lead, you're certain that he's surpassed your level of expertise and it's only a matter of time before the boss catches on...
You didn't spend enough time playing with the kids today. The playroom is still a mess and there's one load of laundry left to do. "Most women can do it all, why can't I?" you say to yourself...
Despite the fact that no conflict has occurred, no argument has taken place, you're waiting for him to tell you it's over. He'll leave you, you know it. You wonder why he's stuck around this long...
You cancel social commitments at the last minute-often. When you're invited, it sounds fun. You actually look forward to it, but when the time comes you feel too fat, you don't have the right clothes, they didn't really want you anyway, they just invited you to be polite...
You feel miserable, unlikable, not well achieved, but you deserve it...

5.-Tension-related physical ailments

Examples:

At least once a week you have a headache so severe, you must lie down in a dark room. The headaches usually follow prolonged interaction with other people...
You awaken in the morning with an aching jaw. You've spent the night clenching and grinding and now your face is killing you. You take Ibuprofen for the pain and wonder if it's TMJ. Your neck - your shoulders - your lower back ache all the time, despite no unusual physical exertion...
You have diarrhea no matter how much or how little you eat...
You buy a bottle of Tums every Friday and they're gone by the next...
You're not hungry, but it feels good to eat, so you eat and you eat and you eat...
You're really hungry, but you literally cannot swallow...

Sound familiar? Do any of these scenes feel like a playback of your own life? If so, seek treatment. Get relief. All of these incidents can be signs of chronic depression, or indicators of other physical ailments. All can be caused by your biology, your genetics and are NOT YOUR FAULT or anyone else's. If you suffer from several of these symptoms, you will definitely benefit from treatment. Talk to your health care provider about your habits and routines and create a treatment plan that starts with improved diet and exercise, and may also include relaxation techniques, nutritional supplements, naturopathic remedies, medication or therapy.

Clinical depression is treatable. Recovery is real. Wellness is worth it.

I knew in my gut that my son Michael's pot smoking was both symptomatic and causal regarding his mental health. We talked time and again about the damage he could be inflicting on his brain and about his doctor's inability to treat his bipolar disorder correctly when he continued to use.

Deaf ears. No need to say more. But we have to get the word out. We have to share the facts. And the facts are now indisputable.

Marijuana, in addition to being a gateway drug (it is for most and it certainly was for Michael) has now been proven to accelerate the onset of psychosis in those whose genetic makeup predisposes them to serious mental illness.

Shouldn't that information be enough to keep young people from experimenting?

Here are the facts:

Earlier this year a team of Spanish researchers found a strong and independent link between marijuana use and the onset of psychosis at a younger age. The possibility of chance has been factored out, as have gender and the use of other drugs. The amount of cannabis used, however, is a significant variable.

"The clinical importance of this finding is potentially high," Dr. Ana Gonzalez-Pinto from Santiago Apostol Hospital in Vitoria,"given that cannabis use is extremely prevalent among young people."

The researchers also discovered that "estimates of the attributable risk suggest that the use of cannabis accounts for about 10 percent of cases of psychosis."

The findings are based on 131 patients ages 15 to 65 years who needed inpatient care for a first psychotic episode during a 2-year period. The results showed a significant gradual reduction in the age at which psychosis began that correlated with an increased dependence on cannabis. Compared with nonusers, age at onset was reduced by 7, 8.5, and 12 years among users, abusers and dependents, respectively, the researchers report.

These results "point to cannabis as a dangerous drug in young people at risk of developing psychosis," Gonzalez-Pinto and colleagues conclude.

Spread the word. Share the facts. Save a life.