Bipolar disorder is one of the toughest of all mental illnesses. Personal stories about the complexity and severity of bipolar symptoms and behaviors represent great challenges for those fighting for recovery, their friends, family, and many professionals in the psychiatric field. Firsthand accounts provide invaluable information and inspiration when an individual recounts battles and triumphs over bipolar disorder. In this episode, Helen and Valerie interview Patricia Wentzel, a writer and mental health advocate, whose long journey with bipolar disorder ultimately led to a life in recovery—but not before a fierce and powerful struggle lasting many decades. Patricia’s amazing story, her strength and determination in the face of this powerful disorder, will educate and inspire listeners everywhere.
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The Rough Road of Bipolar Disorder: One Woman's Journey
Episode 56
Helen Sneed: Welcome welcome to our award winning podcast, Mental Health Hope and Recovery. I'm Helen Sneed.
Valerie Milburn: And I'm Valerie Milburn.
Helen Sneed: We both have fought and overcome severe chronic mental illnesses. Our podcast offers a unique approach to mental health conditions. We provide practical skills, guest experts, and inspirational true stories of recovery. Our knowledge is up close and personal.
Valerie Milburn: Helen and I are your peers. We're not doctors, therapists or social workers. We're not professionals, but we are experts. We are experts in our own lived experience with multiple mental health diagnoses and symptoms. Please join us on our journey.
Helen Sneed: We live in recovery, so can you.
Valerie Milburn: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information presented is not intended to be a substitute for or relied upon as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The podcast is for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified providers for any health related questions you may have. Welcome to episode 56, the Rough Road of Bipolar Disorder. One Woman's Journey. This is our third episode on bipolar disorder and this time it's a first person perspective. When I read our guest's insightful, relatable description of her first manic episode, I knew her perspective was one we needed to share with you, our listeners. Her journey is an excellent addition to our previous explorations into bipolar disorder. The illness is so complex and powerful that we have devoted two previous episodes to the subject. Our first look at bipolar disorder is episode 24, which features psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Strakowski, who is a national leader in treatment and research of bipolar disorder. Our conversation with Dr. Strakowski explores misdiagnosis and misconceptions of bipolar disorder, symptoms, treatment methods, the co occurrence of bipolar disorder and substance use disorder and the latest research.
Helen Sneed: Episode 27 is an in depth follow up to the rich conversation we had with Dr. Strakowski. We explore bipolar depression, often overlooked Even though it's as debilitating and dangerous as manic episodes. Also the co occurrence of bipolar disorder with other mental health disorders, genetics and treatments. These two episodes are wide reaching resources for learning about all aspects of bipolar disorder. As many of our listeners know, Valerie, you and I both have had our long years of struggle with bipolar disorder. So that's one reason why we're so excited to have a candid discussion with our special guest today. Now, another main reason is the many requests we receive from listeners for firsthand stories from people who fought and recovered from mental health challenges. It's just so uplifting. So today we offer the unique opportunity to hear one woman's story of her amazing battle and victory over this fierce mental illness. Valerie, please introduce us.
Valerie Milburn: I'm delighted to. I want to welcome Patricia Wenzel. Patricia is a mental health advocate, a writer, artist and parent. After 40 years of struggle with bipolar I disorder, she now lives in recovery. Patricia works for the national alliance on Mental Health, our friend nami, and she lives in Sacramento, California, running the helpline
Valerie Milburn: and facilitating support groups for nami. Patricia also sits on the Mental health board and a few other state and local committees dealing with behavioral health. Patricia's newest endeavor is on Substack, and it is wonderfully titled Disordered Chronicles. It's a newsletter about the field of behavioral health with an emphasis on the topic of serious mental illness. Now, I've read all but this morning's post since its launch last month and I'll just say, go to Substack, find Disordered Chronicles. Read it, it's great. And now let's welcome Patricia Wenzel to Mental Health Hope and Recovery.
Patricia Wenzel: Good morning. Nice to meet you both. I'm glad to be here.
Valerie Milburn: We're so glad to have you.
Helen Sneed: Yeah, we're delighted.
Valerie Milburn: Let's just jump right in with the first question. Patricia, you have fought, as I just said, a long battle to recover from bipolar disorder. Please tell us about your journey, when it began and major turning points along the way.
Patricia Wenzel: Sure. Well, when I was community college, which was quite some time ago, 1974, I had a manic episode that ended in a psychotic breakdown, suicide attempt. I had no insight into the fact that I was having a bipolar episode. It passed quickly in just a matter of a couple of days. And I managed to survive my attempt without anyone realizing I had made an attempt. So I went back to school and behaved as if nothing had happened. Over the next few years, I had episodes of depression and hypomania, but no repeat of my psychotic episodes. So it was Easy to pretend there was nothing wrong. But when I became pretty depressed in 1991, I went to a psychiatrist for the first time, and he diagnosed me with depression and started me on an antidepressant. As many of you probably know, that was probably not the best thing to put me on because it sent me into a psychotic mixed state again. I didn't go back to the psychiatrist or go to the hospital. I just set myself to endure as best I could. That's when I discovered that binge eating helped me cope. After I recovered from that episode, I didn't have another one for 14 years. When a medical doctor started me on prednisone, I slipped into a happy manic days. But that didn't last. And when I became suicidal, I entered an intensive outpatient program for the first time. At the end of several weeks of treatment, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But I was convinced it was just the prednisone and stopped treatment. Soon after, I was released. But I wasn't well, and I experienced more and more episodes, and they became more and more severe until I ended up hospitalized in 2011. I was hospitalized a lot over the next few years, but that entire time, I didn't tell anyone about my religious delusion. Finally, I confessed to a new psychiatrist that I believed I was evil, and he put me in the ICU at the psychiatric hospital. That hospitalization was when we finally found a combination of medications that worked. I've had a couple of hospitalizations since then for med changes, but I've been stable now for about eight years.
Helen Sneed: Well, that's remarkable. So you were misdiagnosed before you got the right diagnosis?
Patricia Wenzel: Yes, that's correct.
Helen Sneed: Did you get any other misdiagnosis along the way before you got to the right one?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, one of the things that I was misdiagnosed with was borderline personality disorder, since my bipolar episodes come and go very fast. When. When I finally got to the point where I was in the icu, I was having a complete bipolar cycle every day or even more often than once a day. And earlier I would go maybe two or three days. And so it was, you know, it wasn't borderline personality disorder. And I think if they had done a more thorough questioning, they would have figured that out. But also, I was working pretty hard to hide the fact that I thought I might be bipolar, that I might have bipolar disorder, which is, I think, a really common experience for people, is like, oh, no, I'm just having a really good day when really you're hypomanic. But the idea of having a diagnosis like bipolar disorder is very disturbing and very hard to accept at first.
Helen Sneed: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. Obviously, it. It's pretty sobering to be told that you have a serious mental illness, but how long did it take you to sort
Helen Sneed: of accept the fact that. That this was true about you and you were going to have to deal with it?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, you know, there were some ways in which I. I didn't accept it for many years. Even though I had a diagnosis in 2005 of bipolar disorder, which was handed to me in the form of a diagnosis written on a discharge summary. I wasn't told I had bipolar disorder. I wasn't given any information about bipolar disorder. I was just handed a discharge summary that said bipolar disorder for the diagnosis. And I was like, you know, my. My heart stopped, and I felt like, oh, my gosh, you know, I'll never be able to hold a job or drive my car. I'd lose my kids. I had this very negative reaction to that, and I was like, no, no, no. It's just that I was on prednisone and it made me ill. Right. So for the next several years, I struggled. And I finally went to a psychiatrist, not really thinking I had bipolar disorder, thinking I had some kind of weird depression. Because it's okay to be depressed, right? Everybody gets depressed. Everybody has anxiety. Everybody gets depressed. We don't. In our country, we discount those illnesses or those symptoms as something that everybody has. But that's not true for major depression, for the kind of depression that you get often with bipolar disorder. That is not the kind of depression that people talk about when they say, oh, yeah, I feel depressed today. And so. But it was easy to say, oh, yeah, I'm just depressed, but I'm, you know, kind of have these weird other symptoms. And it took probably two or three years after I started seeing a psychiatrist again before I really went, okay, really, I have bipolar disorder. And then I didn't. Because of the psychosis. Part of my psychosis was that I had to keep it a secret. And a lot of people who have psychosis are. Tell everybody, right? Oh, you know, the. The CIA is watching me. Well, my psychosis was one where I felt like I had to keep it a secret. And I did keep it a secret for 40 years. And it wasn't until I was terribly, terribly ill, and that I finally told a psychiatrist because I knew I was going to die, I was going to kill myself if I didn't tell someone, because I believed I was Evil. And I needed to kill myself because I was evil, and I was, you know, an evil influence in the world and that my children would suffer because of me being their parent. And so I. So in some ways, the full. Accepting, the fullness of my diagnosis and symptoms didn't happen until, you know, I had been hospitalized several times.
Valerie Milburn: Well, Helen, and I can relate to that. And finding out about your diagnosis the way you did would definitely make it harder to accept. But I know that you eventually did because you so skillfully communicate what a manic episode is like, that I know you wouldn't be able to do that without full acceptance. And so if you can talk a little bit about what a manic episode is like, I think that would be very helpful. And what are those symptoms you experience? And can you talk about how maybe they changed over time after you tell us about the symptoms of a manic episode for you?
Patricia Wenzel: Sure, I can try and do that. So for me, mania starts out as a deliciously happy feeling. Who wouldn't want to feel that way, right?
Valerie Milburn: Right.
Patricia Wenzel: I tend to talk fast and walk fast. I go into high gear when it comes to art projects or cleaning the house. I once made more than 20 felted vessels in three days when I was manic. I don't sleep or I sleep an hour or two. I eat a lot, and I eat really fast, much faster than normal. And I'm likely to spend money I don't really have on things I don't really need. Fortunately, my episodes of mania were usually brief, lasting only a few days. And I didn't become psychotic every time. When my mania shifted into a mixed mood, which is when I would get psychotic and believe that I was evil and needed to kill myself, then my symptoms changed and I became very distraught is the word I would use, and feel very, very shame, very ashamed. A lot of shame and a lot of guilt. And just like I've said already, you know, this impulse to kill myself would take over. Over the years, I've gradually developed better
Patricia Wenzel: awareness of when an episode is starting and more insight into my symptoms, because when I first started having them, I had no insight into my symptoms. My first episode, I had no clue that I was anything other than just my moment in that moment experience. I didn't see it as abnormal. I didn't see it as psychosis. I just experienced it. And afterwards, I dismissed it. And gradually, my ability to recognize and understand that I was having symptoms of a mental illness grew. Until now, I. I have come to really understand what the depth and breadth of the kind of symptoms that I can have and what that looks like.
Helen Sneed: Well, that is, that to me is kind of the whole key to recovery, you know, is learning to, I guess, monitor it within yourself and not completely succumb to it. Do you know what I mean? And so that's a long trip though, to get there. Or it was for me. I have, I have a question. In your experience, what are the differences between a manic episode on one hand and then the bipolar depression, which is so, it can just be so deadening and was one more difficult for you to overcome? And did they change or sort of morph over time or did they remain the same degree of severity?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, over time my illness became pretty severe and I developed the ultradian cycling that I've mentioned, where I was cycling every day. I would go through a full cycle of bipolar symptoms that I would start out manic and then I'd develop a mixed mood when I had the energy of mania but believed I should kill myself. And then that would give way to a profound depression where I would become listless and unresponsive and finally I would become terribly anxious. Having panic attacks before experiencing a short period of being normal before it all started again. It's very unusual to have clear cut cycling that happens that quickly. So the manic is about energy and impulsivity. For me. I get it intensely busy in whatever arena it happens to show up in my life might be art, might be house cleaning, might be. Once I was charting my moods, which is something I recommend to people to do especially early in their illness. And I was hypomanic at the time and I made a chart for my psychiatrist in Excel and I was tracking like 16 different things and I color coded all of it. And when I showed it to her, it. And when I showed it to her, it looked like someone had spilled confetti on the page. And she was like, maybe just track a couple of things.
Valerie Milburn: So, yeah, I even track my moods manically. I've tracked my manic moods manically.
Patricia Wenzel: Yes, yes, yes. So, but the depression, oh my gosh, not, not being able to get out of bed, literally feeling like your limbs feel like they're made of lead and your head is a bucket of buckshot on the pillow and just kind of a deadened feeling of some shame. But a lot of just, I don't know, almost nothingness, like the world is, has no attraction. You don't want to go outside, you don't want to talk to other people. You just silent and slow and profoundly depressed, I was going to say I fortunately haven't been that way very often, but when I am, it's very it feels very hard to get out of that. I mean the mania. The only way I know to get out of mania is with medication and but depression is not nearly as as it's not nearly as easy to treat depression with medications, I think, as it is to treat mania with medications. So in my experience, you kind of have to live through it and wait it out and do the things you can do to help yourself.
Valerie Milburn: So do you find the depression more difficult to overcome?
Patricia Wenzel: I would say yes.
Helen Sneed: Adjective used to.
Speaker E: Describe an individual whose spirit is uneasy.
Helen Sneed: Unconstrained, one who navigates life on their own terms, effortlessly. They do not always show up on time. But when they arrive, you notice an individual confident in their contradictions. They know the rules, but behave as if they do not exist. The new fragrance by Miu Miu defined by you. So, Patricia, what treatment methods helped you overcome the symptoms and the impact that the illness had on your entire life? I'm sure therapy, medication, skills training, self care, such as sleep and exercise. What helped you most?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, all of that helped me. I would not be sane without medications. I would not be as sane without therapy. In terms of the physical recovery from a period of multiple hospitalizations that ended in the psychiatric ICU and nearly unable to function physically, Sleep was a key to my recovery. When I got out of the hospital, I couldn't read or write or drive or even cross the street. So I was profoundly impaired. And I slept many hours at night and napped frequently during the day. I still need more sleep than I used to and I get a headache when I've been concentrating too long that will only go away after a long nap. So sleep really seemed to me to help rewire my brain. And I can't emphasize enough how important it was to my recovery. That and time. It took me a good six years to feel like my brain had come back as much as it was going to. There are still a few things that are harder than they were, but I'm back 95%.
Valerie Milburn: That's so good to hear that.
Helen Sneed: That's quite a statement, I think, to have retrieved virtually all of yourself, sort of out of the hands of this pernicious illness. It's really amazing.
Valerie Milburn: Yeah. And it's good to hear someone say things were hard. I stuck with it and I'm back. And to accept, I know for me, I had to accept I am not at all the person that I was, but I'm very happy with the person I am. It's not the same, but I'm happy now. And I accept that I have limitations, but I'm okay with what they are because I'm well.
Helen Sneed: Yeah, Patricia, I have a. Oh, sorry.
Patricia Wenzel: Go ahead. I was just going to say I have a medication induced tremor that meant I had to stop doing some of the artwork that I used to do, like sculpting and hand work. And that was hard to accept at first, but the trade off is my sanity, so I live with it. It's gotten better, a little bit better over time, but it's just one of those things that I've learned to live with and accept because it means that I can be stable and sane and I Also want to say that I live with white privilege and middle class privilege. And without that, it would have been much harder for me to recover because I had the luxury of being able to just sleep when I needed to slee sleep and to have enough food on the table and have a roof over my head
Patricia Wenzel: that I didn't have to worry about whether it was going to be there next month. So I also want to attribute part of the quality of my recovery to that.
Helen Sneed: Yeah, we're very aware of that. How fortunate and blessed we are if you have to have these horrible illnesses. To have the certain conditions of life that I know in my case, as you say, gave me many added advantages.
Valerie Milburn: Right.
Patricia Wenzel: And.
Helen Sneed: It'S something that I can feel a great deal of guilt about a lot of the time. I just have a quick question about medication. With so many friends of mine who are bipolar, they reach a point where they feel good and they drop the medication. You know what I'm talking about? I'm sure you've got friends that do that too. Did you ever have that temptation or do you just because I'm so happy to hear you say that you really need it and it works?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, you know, I was, I mean, my doctor told my family that I could die if I didn't get better. And because I was, my brain was really so profoundly impaired by the severity of my illness. And when you have that kind of illness, I think it helps make it much easier to say, oh, I need this medication and I'm going to stay on it. And I have occasionally, but not often and not for long, thought, oh, you know, maybe it might be nice not to have to take this handful of pills every night.
Helen Sneed: Yeah.
Patricia Wenzel: But that doesn't last for long because I, you know, I, I stable. But, you know, it's really only in the last couple of years, even really the last year, that I've really come to grips with just how sick I was, with the fact that I had psychosis. And that understanding and realization has really solidified for me the fact that I would not have the life I have if I wasn't taking my meds every day. And so that's made it easier for me. But I understand some people, especially younger people, who are like, oh, this only happened once and it'll never happen to me again, and I'm fine now. They quit because they think everything's fine. And sometimes you can go a long time before you have another episode, but when you have another episode, it could land you in jail or in the hospital. It could Destroy your life in such powerful and destructive ways that, you know, I tell people all the time. You know, I'm. I post regularly on the bipolar Reddit, which has like 200,000 people on it, and I'm like, stay on your mask. Stay on your meds, please. Stay on your meds.
Valerie Milburn: Yeah.
Helen Sneed: Well, I just want to say one other thing, and that is that I so appreciate your being so open about the psychosis, because I, again, have had a number of friends who had the same issues, and they. They didn't want to admit it to anybody, and then it's. That means it's hard to kind of reach an understanding about it. And. And so I just want to thank you for being so generous with something that a lot of people are just afraid to even confess to.
Patricia Wenzel: Yeah, well, there's so much stigma. You know, we sort of have this pyramid right, where on the bottom, it's okay to be depressed and anxious, but you're really crazy when you're psychotic. You know, it's like everybody understands that psychosis equals being crazy. And so there's just tremendous resistance to seeing it as something that can be dealt with and that doesn't have to destroy your life and that it shouldn't have the kind of stigma that it has. But, you know, I was lucky. My psychosis was limited. It happened only during certain parts of my cycle. It went away when I wasn't in that part of my cycle. And that's. That's really different from people who have, like, schizophrenia and have chronic, ongoing psychosis that they have to cope with. So, yes, I had psychosis, but I was really fortunate not to have the kind of psychosis that really took over my life in a daily kind of situ way.
Valerie Milburn: Well, talking about it leads me to the next thing I wanted to ask you about, and that's connection. In fact, also, we were talking a minute ago about the privileges we have, and one of the things Helen and I are always so grateful for is the amount of connection we have in our lives. And, in fact, I'm doing today's mindfulness exercise on connection, and I wanted
Valerie Milburn: to ask you about how important connection is to you, and also thank you for the connection you're having with our audience right now about the topic of psychosis. But in general, we know that connection is central to healing. Connection with other people is central to our healing. So what are the key relationships that supported you, the connections that really helped you achieve recovery?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, my wife was enormously important. Her quiet acceptance, whatever I needed to do to recover when I returned kind of a shell of a person after the stay in the ICU was so helpful. She didn't push me. She helped our teenage kids understand what was happening. She a buffer between me and things I couldn't handle, like driving and cooking. So I'm not sure I would have recovered the way I have without that kind of support in my life, as well as the emotional support. I don't. Don't mean to leave that out, but, you know, her quiet willingness to just take up the slack in our partnership really helped a lot, and I can't thank her enough. I also had a strong relationship with a therapist that I had worked with for quite some time and a psychiatrist out in the community that was I could rely on. She's been my psychiatrist now for about, gosh, 15 years. And those were really important to me. But I was very isolated. I didn't have friends, and I was estranged for the most part from my family. And so I didn't have a lot of connections at the time to help me recover. I have a lot of connections now. I have a very good friend who also has bipolar disorder and who has an adult child with severe mental illness like we do. And because our oldest son has severe illness and is living in supported housing in San Francisco. And so she's just one of a whole group of friends. I have a small women's writing group that I work with every week that are all good friends now. And so now I live in a really rich and full web of connection. And I know that if I were to get sick again, I could call on those people for help.
Helen Sneed: Makes a real difference, don't you think, to have to know that you can reach out to people and know who they are, which I think is also an important thing to know. Now, here's what I've been dying to ask you. Tell us about your newsletter on substack. It's called Disordered Chronicles, which is a fabulous title. And so. So, Patricia, what inspired you to write a newsletter, and what are you most eager to communicate to your audience?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, I started Disordered Chronicles because I wanted a place to write about things that were important to me, especially in the arena of serious mental illness, breaking down the stigma and misconceptions people have about mental illness by talking openly about involuntary holds or medication refusal. Refusal helps everyone, individuals with serious mental illness, their family members who often feel incredibly isolated and judged, and really the community as a whole. I have the honor of working for NAMI Sacramento as the helpline coordinator, and I currently facilitate family support groups. So I talk to lots of people about these subjects every day. I also have the honor of sitting on our local's mental health board and get to see behind the scenes of the county Behavioral health department. So I've learned a lot over the past three years since I've been doing those things and I'm really eager to share that knowledge with anyone who will sit still and listen. I'm hoping people will share their thoughts with me in turn about the things I write about and what is happening in their community to address the needs of those with serious behavioral health issues. I've really come to understand just how hard it is for family members to get help for their loved one when they have serious mental illness and really feel the need to connect with people about those issues so they understand better how how it plays out in people's lives.
Valerie Milburn: Well, you're doing a great job. I've loved reading your posts so far and I will continue to read and continue to share and get other people the important information and insight that you are putting out
Valerie Milburn: there. And that's the next thing I wanted to ask you that I would love for you to continue to share this advice and insight with our listeners right now. I mean, given the power of the illness and the misconceptions about it that we've been addressing, what is the best advice or insight that you can give to someone coping with bipolar disorder? And also what about to family, friends and caregivers? It's a big question.
Patricia Wenzel: Well, I'll tell you what I've discovered and that is that radical acceptance is the key to coming to grips with a bipolar diagnosis. It can be tough to live with bipolar disorder, but you have the power to make that easier by accepting that you have it, accepting that it's not the end of the world and and that by working closely with your care team when you're facing medication trials or changes, you can make it easier by being consistent with your sleep and your daily habits, forming a routine, and by making self care a non negotiable item on your to do list. And you must find a way to stop or avoid using alcohol and drugs like weed. They'll provoke psychosis and episodes really fast and make it nearly impossible to get stable no matter what kinds of meds you take. So it can be hard to watch your peers, especially when you're younger, drink a lot or smoke casually at parties, but your body isn't like theirs and you will pay a price for indulging that they will never be faced with. I think it's important for people to get a therapist that they can trust and with whom they can honestly confront issues like substance use or anger. And for natural supporters, which is usually how I talk about family members, because really, in the life of a person with bipolar disorder, family includes the people in your life who, sometimes your co workers, sometimes your friends in your kid's soccer club. It can include a lot of different people. So with your natural supporters, be patient. Ask them to be patient with you. It's helpful for you to. For a natural supporter to ask what help is wanted or needed instead of assuming that they know what you might want or need. And remember that bipolar episodes are traumatic in many ways, including damage to the brain that needs time to heal. Communication can often be strained after an episode or during an episode. I suggest to people that they learn about Javier Amador and his leap method of communicating because it will enhance your ability to provide empathetic and structured support, especially around boundaries. And get a therapist of your own. If you're a family member or natural supporter, you probably need one, too.
Helen Sneed: Yeah, I think this illness, as with so many of them, is just. Can just be so difficult and if not downright destructive to relationships and, you know, family and all those things. And it's good to hear that you have now just got a whole community out there for you or various communities, it sounds like. This is always our final question. And Patricia, please tell us what gives you hope for individuals battling bipolar disorder today?
Patricia Wenzel: Well, one of the big things that gives me hope is that there are medications available now that mean there is the real possibility of sustained stability, provided you also do the work to make and keep habits that will support the medications that are keeping you stable. I live with the medication induced tremor, like I mentioned before, that has required me to make adjustments in my life. But the benefits of the meds far outweigh the losses. And while I hope you aren't confronted that person out there with bipolar disorder, I hope you aren't confronted with that kind of issue. If you are, work closely with your doctor and don't stop trying medications and lifestyle tweaks until you found something that works for you.
Helen Sneed: All right, Well, I unfortunately must reluctantly bring our topic to a close. I would rather talk to you for about another hour or so because I've learned so much. But Valerie and I want to extend our deepest respect and gratitude to you, Patricia, for sharing your incredible story with such eloquence and such generosity of spirit to give so much to our listeners and to us and for your expression of hope for
Helen Sneed: those fighting bipolar disorder. This hope that Valerie and I wholeheartedly share.
Valerie Milburn: Absolutely.
Helen Sneed: And now Valerie will guide us through a mindfulness exercise. Valerie?
Valerie Milburn: Yes, I will. I always give a definition. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations without judgment. And I was As I was thinking about today's mindfulness exercise, I got to thinking about telling our stories, as you, Patricia, just did, as well as other guests who have so generously shared their stories with us. And Helen, you and I talk so often about the power of connection, which we did again today, and about the importance of letting others into our lives. So today, let's mindfully identify a healthy connection we can make. Let's think about what is something we might want to share with another person.
Valerie Milburn: And who is a safe person to share it with.
Valerie Milburn: Let's try it. Let's get mindful. If you are driving or walking, please adapt this mindfulness exercise in such a.
Valerie Milburn: Way that it works in your current surroundings. If you can find a comfortable seated position, try closing your eyes. If it's safe to do so. Let's settle in. As always, we'll begin with a few diaphragmatic breaths. Whether your eyes are open or closed, let's steady our breathing with two diaphragmatic breaths. When you do this on your own, take as many breaths as you need to become calm and centered. I usually take 10 diaphragmatic breaths to begin my mindfulness and meditation practice. Let's breathe. Inhale through your nose, expanding an imaginary balloon in your stomach as you inhale forcefully. Exhale through your mouth, pulling in your stomach as you do so. Drop your shoulders. Inhale through your nose, expanding that imaginary balloon. Exhale through your mouth. Pull your stomach all the way in. Keep this slow, steady breath going. Let your mind drift. Scan the last Few Days Is there a thought pattern over the last few days? Something that has been on your mind? Have you been thinking about something it would be helpful to connect with another person about? Can you think of a friend or loved one with whom to safely share this? What would you like to say? Can you visualize this conversation? Or maybe there's a new connection you would like to make? Maybe a neighbor? A person you see frequently at the gym? Can you think of someone you'd like to make a new connection with? How would you strike up a conversation? Can you visualize this scene? In visualizing these moments of connections, breathe deeply.
Valerie Milburn: Feel the connection Breathe. If your eyes are closed, please open them and gently bring yourself back to the room.
Valerie Milburn: Thank you for doing this mindfulness exercise with me.
Helen Sneed: Well, thank you, Valerie, for such peaceful moments and I always appreciate them and always anticipate them. So I'm forever in your debt. This brings our episode to a close. It's been such a pleasure to talk with Patricia Winslow, whose courage and resourcefulness are inspiring and for me, the chance to learn through her eyes even more about an illness I've had for decades. And to our listeners, Valerie and I want to ask you for a big favor. We need your help to spread the word about our podcast. Please take the time to post a review on the platform of your choice or contact us through our website, mentalhealthhopeandrecovery.com your enthusiasm for our work will have great impact on our ability to reach more people, those needing knowledge and hope for recovery from mental illness. Now in our coming episode, we'll tackle what many experts say is the most prevalent mental illness in the world today. Anxiety. Please join us for a much needed deep dive into anxiety symptoms, impact treatment. It said we live in the age of anxiety. So don't miss this episode. And until then, I leave you with our favorite word. Onward.