I first wrote this article on my Revolution Health blog, and thought my regular readers would benefit:

A Swiss study has substantiated the fact that substance abuse and mental illness are often linked and both biologically based.

“People with manic symptoms and bipolar disorder type II are at significant risk of later developing an alcohol abuse or dependence problem, a long-term study conducted in Switzerland confirms.”

The results of the study were published in the January 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry by lead researchers from the National Institute of Mental Health Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program.

Click here to read the update.

This data should convince families and community services to treat addicts under a medical model rather than using the long-failed, crime & punishment, “war on drugs” approach. Let’s stop the insanity of wasting time and resources, and destroying relationships. Let’s treat these people with dignity, respect, and efficacious medicine.

I just completed a nearly-hour long teleconference with Michael Corbin, one of the founders of everyminute.org, a website mobilizing mental health advocates into a lobbying power in support of innovative research.

Corbin’s take: “We are a beacon of hope for mental health similar to what the Susan G. Komen or the ONE campaign are doing in their respective fields. We are the only youthful, grassroots campaign for mental health solely focused on prevention and the possibility of finding a cure through accelerating the public funding of research.

“everyminute.org exists because <the> one out of four Americans affected do not yet have a unified voice to be fairly represented when the government makes appropriations.”

I’m grateful that Michael and his business partner Jace are making the effort to change that underrepresentation. As I work to spread accurate information about mental illness, diagnosis, treatment and recovery across all strata of American culture, I’m excited that others are doing the same. Educating our communities is the first step toward eradicating profound societal challenges that include limited research into mental health causes and treatments, the lack of mental health care parity, criminalization vs. medication, and the increasing number of suicides by American youth.

I am an advocate of hope. I know the significant difference appropriate medical care and proper support systems can make in the lives of those diagnosed with a serious mental illness. I embrace the opportunity to join forces with individuals and organizations with similar agendas.

I am proud to become affiliated with everyminute.org. Like the Jed Foundation, everyminute.org is working to ensure early and effective identification, diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses in order to save lives.

How could I not be proud of those affiliations?

I spent two hours this evening with an amazing woman named MJ. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 39, MJ has spent the last 8 years working hard toward wellness and balance. She’s done a marvelous job.

Insightful and honest, MJ self-evaluates and practices good self care. She monitors her wellness, sees her doctor regularly, complies with her medical team’s guidance; and she journals as a method of understanding herself, her mind and her moods. She is utterly amazing.

I only met MJ because she read my book, Mommy I’m Still in Here, and felt compelled to contact me through my website. I am grateful. I feel blessed.

Every day I receive affirmations that this is my work and that it has great value. And it gives me immense joy and satisfaction. I am lucky!

Thank you MJ.

Thank you world!

What are you grateful for? What in your life is wondrous? Tell me!

How do you live with it?

How do you do it?

How do you get through a day?

That, my friends, is how you live with it, how you do it.

You simply get through the day.

Today.

And then again tomorrow.

The AA mantra, one day at a time, is an elemental factor in everybody’s wellness. Whether battling addiction, dealing with depression, living in chronic pain, or fighting other personal demons, you only have to do it today. In fact, break that day down into smaller increments. One day, one hour, one minute. Now. You only have to get through now–this moment. And then move on to the next. There is a lot of power in living in the now. You can achieve mastery one minute at a time. You can be perfect, now.

This line of thought is not meant to  be esoteric or obscure. It is real. It is the basis of all true happiness and success. Now. Be here. Be present. Be alive, making right choices, right now.

You can do this.

You get through the minute, the hour, the day.

And then another.

That’s how you do it.

That’s how you live with it.

That’s how.

Just now.

Now.

I have a good friend who’s lived with extreme anxiety for as long as she can remember. Her parents called her a “nervous” child. She carried labels like ‘goody-good’, ‘worry wart’, ‘pessimist’, and ‘doubting Thomas’ for most of her life. It wasn’t until she had children of her own that the overwhelming worry forced her to talk to her doctor about her symptoms.

“I worry about everything, anything, almost constantly now. I’m sure something horrible is going to happen to my husband or the kids. Even when I know that no problems lurk on the horizon, I get upset by the possibility of problems. I can’t fall asleep at night. I can’t focus my mind  during the day. Worst of all, I’m irritable and angry all the time.”

After a few clarifying questions her doctor told her, “This sounds like Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and it’s treatable. You don’t have to worry.”

What a relief!

WHAT IS GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER?

Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, seems to run in families, but doctors don’t know for sure why some people have it and others don’t. Like chronic depression, GAD is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that can be corrected with medication.

WHAT ARE THE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF GAD?

• excessive worry about everyday things for a period longer than six months, even when there is little or no reason to worry
• inability to control worry and distress
• know that you worry more than you should
• cannot relax
• difficulty concentrating
• easily startled
• difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
• feeling tired for no reason
• headaches, muscle aches, tension
• difficulty swallowing
• trembling or twitching
• irritability
• profuse sweating
• nausea
• light headedness
• feeling out of breath
• frequent need for urination
• hot flashes

HOW IS GAD TREATED?

While there is no cure for GAD, doctors are successful in treating it; and most physicians prescribe medications including:

• antidepressants
• anti-anxiety medicines
• beta blockers

They also recommend that patients with GAD consider talk therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy with a licensed counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist to change patterns of behavior and thought, and to learn how to feel less anxious and fearful once medication is doing it’s part.