Hi! My name is Katherine and I'm new here (obviously).

I have diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder - bipolar type, OCD, PTSD, and Panic disorder with agoraphobia. I was recently given a fully favorable decision for SSDI.

I love animals. I have three dogs and two cats. I'm an artist and a mental health advocate. I go to doctor's (psychiatrist's) appointments with people with mental health conditions and make sure they are treated fairly and appropriately. I also offer peer support (though I'm still in training). It's all volunteer work and I can only do it between episodes, which have taken up almost the entire past year.

I'm a Unitarian Universalist and very active in the church when I'm doing okay. It helps me feel better to be around all the nice, accepting people who don't care that I'm pretty weird. It's a really open, loving type of place. We do a lot of service projects and I'm also the co-chair of the Fellowship Committee. It's a lazy committee though, because no one ever wants to do any of the things we offer, other than Wednesday potlucks before the Wednesday night service. But I digress.

I'm 30, married to a wonderful man who accepts me and loves me just the way I am. My mother has metastatic breast cancer so I spend a lot of time helping her and driving her to her chemo appointments.

So I try to stay busy when I'm doing well. It's not work-level activity (I still spend a lot of my days stuck on the couch listening to the voices) but it keeps me looking forward to certain days of the week so I get through the bad days more easily.

I also am a member of a meditation sangha that practices under the teachings of the venerable Thich Naht Hanh. Meditation helps me with my anxiety, which is pretty bad right now considering everything that's been happening in my life.

It was nice to get my award letter from the SSA though. Took a load off my shoulders. Now I have some financial independence and can pay my bills (I have some in collections, I've defaulted on my student loans, etc). I can also contribute to the household so we're not living paycheck to paycheck. We'll have a little room to start a savings and work on our credit scores (which are abysmal) so we can buy a house sometime in the next ten years.


Anyway, if you read all this nonsense, thank you very much for putting up with me! I'm very happy to be here, I could always use support and maybe my mental health activism and advocacy work can be utilized to help someone else. That's my hope anyway.

Thank you for having me!

Well I read all your nonsense and it sounds just like a regular life. I envy your volunteering expertise. I lay on the couch and wonder what would be the best use of the time I have left on this blue marble. I have Periferal Neuropathy and try to help those who havve been thrust into this particular brand of misery. There are several forums here that are closely attuned to your experience. There will be a moderator that will help match you. You can click on them yourself and peep into the posts and you will know when you are in the right spot. I just got SSDI myself and it is nice to know that there is somewhat of a floor there now. Good Luck, Ken in Texas.

Hello Katherine,
Welcome to the group I read your post and I am sure that you will find a lot of people here that will be glad to help you and that you may be able to help as well

Hi Katherine,

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups.

I see you've been finding your way around the forums. I'm sure you'll find lots of support and information here.

Our sister site also has some forums that may be of help to you as well so I'll just post the url in case you ever want to explore there.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/

take care.

Hi Katherine, **

I'm here due to Femoral Nerve Damage from a hip replacement in 2010 and a life time of advancing arthritis. You sound pretty active and good to meet you here. I'm probably 98% alternative/holistic healing and spend a lot of time in the vit/herb group and arthritis group and offer my experiences in the neuropathy group. Welcome and see you around. C

Hello and welcome, happy to see you have come to be with us, it a great place to be. We have a great number and caring fellow members here, where you have find a supportive and relaxing place. Have fun looking into the different forums. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

You need a good pat on the back for all the many things you help in a everyday life. There are not many dear one like you in our world today.

Please keep us up to date on your condition. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene

Hi Katherine

Welcome to NeuroTalk .

I am really impressed by your resilience in dealing with your IRL things.

I hope that you find the community as welcoming, supportive and knowledgeable as I have.

All the best.

Thank you everyone for your kind welcomes.

I have a problem with tremors and involuntary movements - I believe I have tardive dyskinesia. With all the medication I'm on and have been on I suspect that's the culprit.

I had an appointment with a neurologist but it ended up being on a day my Mom needed to go to the cancer center.

My medical doctor says it's TD. My psychiatrist wants a definitive answer. I think she's afraid I'll blame her. But it was the previous clinic that overmedicated me, my current pdoc has helped me come off the more sedating meds and get to a place where my head's more clear. But it's usually not lol

Thank you for welcoming me.

Hi and Welcome,

I just wanted to extend my regard for your resilience and persistence at maintaining what sounds to be a beautiful life. That takes both grit and grace. Keep up the obviously good work.

TD can improve with med changes and time. I hope yours gets better soon!