Multiple mental illnesses common
By Lauren McLane, Sentinel Reporter, www.pennlive.com, May 7, 2011
Rarely does a patient have only one mental illness. Frequently, a patient will be diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses, and sometimes the inability to cope with one mental illness leads to another.
For Brian D. Satterfield, his generalized anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. Or, more accurately, his unwillingness to face his horrific childhood - led to his alcohol addiction.
"I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, age nineteen in 1989 and I self-medicated with alcohol since the age of twelve," he said.
The Mechanicsburg man dates his recovery to 2005, when he finally came to terms with his multi mental illnesses and substance use disorder - generalized anxiety disorder, generalized panic disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and seasonal effective disorder.
"I accepted who I truly was in 2005 with the generalized anxiety disorder and, at the same time the generalized panic disorder. While going through jail diversion - treatment court.," he said.
Having so many mental illnesses was daunting for him, he said.
"They affected my interpersonal communication skills. I had an inability to handle money. I had a lack of positive coping skills, poor decision-making," he said.
"The biggest problem I ran into was not having an effective structure in my life. I'm an individual who always worked in a profession that wasn't good for me. I had to rely on my negative strengths," he explained.
Prior to his diagnosis, he was an accounting clerk, and before that he worked in the high-tech computer field.
"I learned, painfully, that those were not the right fields for me," he said. He now works in human services / behavioral health field.
He says that the key to recovery from a mental illness is "to surround yourself with people who are compassionate about mental illness.”
"It's an illness like any illness. It's vital to have positive structure; from understanding, compassionate people. You need a support team - peers, family, friends - and a medical team - a doctor, or a therapist, or a counselor," he added.
He also credits spirituality for helping him. "We all have some form of spirituality, so wherever you would go for that. I rejuvenate from being in nature," he said.
Some people, but not all, require the use of psychiatric medications to help control their mental illnesses, he said. In addition to medication, he credits cognitive-behavioral therapy for helping him. I went through CBT to re-program myself, and now I'm able to turn around and help others. I wish I'd been in this field 24 years ago," he said.
By Lauren McLane, Sentinel Reporter, www.pennlive.com, May 7, 2011
Rarely does a patient have only one mental illness. Frequently, a patient will be diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses, and sometimes the inability to cope with one mental illness leads to another.
For Brian D. Satterfield, his generalized anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. Or, more accurately, his unwillingness to face his horrific childhood - led to his alcohol addiction.
"I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, age nineteen in 1989 and I self-medicated with alcohol since the age of twelve," he said.
The Mechanicsburg man dates his recovery to 2005, when he finally came to terms with his multi mental illnesses and substance use disorder - generalized anxiety disorder, generalized panic disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and seasonal effective disorder.
"I accepted who I truly was in 2005 with the generalized anxiety disorder and, at the same time the generalized panic disorder. While going through jail diversion - treatment court.," he said.
Having so many mental illnesses was daunting for him, he said.
"They affected my interpersonal communication skills. I had an inability to handle money. I had a lack of positive coping skills, poor decision-making," he said.
"The biggest problem I ran into was not having an effective structure in my life. I'm an individual who always worked in a profession that wasn't good for me. I had to rely on my negative strengths," he explained.
Prior to his diagnosis, he was an accounting clerk, and before that he worked in the high-tech computer field.
"I learned, painfully, that those were not the right fields for me," he said. He now works in human services / behavioral health field.
He says that the key to recovery from a mental illness is "to surround yourself with people who are compassionate about mental illness.”
"It's an illness like any illness. It's vital to have positive structure; from understanding, compassionate people. You need a support team - peers, family, friends - and a medical team - a doctor, or a therapist, or a counselor," he added.
He also credits spirituality for helping him. "We all have some form of spirituality, so wherever you would go for that. I rejuvenate from being in nature," he said.
Some people, but not all, require the use of psychiatric medications to help control their mental illnesses, he said. In addition to medication, he credits cognitive-behavioral therapy for helping him. I went through CBT to re-program myself, and now I'm able to turn around and help others. I wish I'd been in this field 24 years ago," he said.
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