Imbalance

Psychiatry is probably one of  the areas I am weak at as far as dealing with patients.

 I always thought of myself as a very empathetic person, but i feel like im one of those nurses who would rather deal with physical exhaustion than emotional/mental one. That is why (i even said this before), I can never be a Psych Nurse.

 The problem is because i connect with other people easily and i can  put myself in their shoes, and it hurts me.

Growing up in the Philippines, I have always thought that other countries make a big deal of mental health illnesses. I was raised to believe that just because someone feels depressed- doesn't mean they have depression, which is probably true in some cases. And i really hated it when people call someone "bipolar" just because that person is moody. I thought it was very offensive.

But i learned and i knew all along that our mood, emotions are all linked to our body's chemistry. Certain neurotransmitters/hormones (dopamine, serotonin etc) regulate and coordinate  the way feel. And if there's an imbalance, (just how it is for a other illnesses like Hypertension, diabetes), you're not going to feel/be normal. (what is normal, anyways? lol)

I still do feel though that there are instances in our life where we are allowed to be "imbalanced" in some way. We're humans after all. The feelings that we feel and how we react to situations makes us what we are- humans. I feel like most people falter into the deep hole of mental illness because of the combination of bad coping strategies, poor support system and a series of mishaps in life.

Don't get me wrong, i don't judge people who are diagnosed with mental health illness. Mental Health illness, just like with any other illnesses have to be going on for awhile (talking about months, years....) in order to have a proper diagnosis.

I just wish that everyone can buy that time to feel better and put get their balance back when something bad happens in their life. 

Whole point of this post i guess is:
1. Everyone comes from all walks of life and go through different types of hell, so don't judge.
2. Mental health is as important as physical health
3. It's always important to have good coping strategies and support system in life
-- and if  you have them, don't forget to seek for them when you're feeling low/sad. (This blog is my outlet. ;])

Hah, this post is random but psychiatry lectures for grad school got me to look back at my post 6 years ago about my Psych rotations when i was still in nursing school.