Christopher Bussard's Blog, page 20

A Little Boost

I would like to preface this post with the fact that I am NOT a doctor. I do not recommend making any changes to medical (including mental health) treatment without consulting with your doctor.

I stumbled across an article that I found very interesting. They studied supplements in conjunction with prescription medication to aid in combatting mental health disorders. I’m going to spoil things a little bit here. They found that omega-3 fatty acids are the best for patients suffering from depression without any major side effects. But the benefits were from a >50% EPA formula providing 2,200 mg EPA/day.

If you continue to read the article, it also shows minor benefits for those suffering from ADHD and bipolar disorder.

Please keep in mind that this is all in conjunction with prescription medication and should be under the control of a medical professional. I have forwarded this to my doctor, and if you are interested in this at all, or know someone who could benefit from a little extra boost, please forward this your doctor (or to whomever you think can benefit) to see if this is an option.

We continue to see people suffering from mental health disorders despite treatment. I do not benefit in any way for anyone reading this article or adding any sort of supplement to their daily routine. I am increasingly saddened by people losing the daily battle with mental health, and I think we need to fight back. We need to get rid of the stigma associated with mental health disorders and we need to recognize the impact this has on our society. Please help me fight back and help bring recognition to need for increased mental health treatment.

Here is the link to the article:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/wps.20672

Irony

Trying to make it through today, while at the same time dreading tomorrow, leaves little room for productivity.

Needing a Friend

Sometimes I’m just looking for a friend. Instead, what I find is more people pulling me down.

Daily Fight

This fight I fight each day seems to be getting more difficult. You would think that dealing with it my entire life, I would have found some technique or strategy to defend myself. But it’s all I can do to just pick myself back up.

This fight is real and we see people losing the battle every day. I wrote a book to hopefully help people who struggle, but it doesn’t appear to be having the impact I had hoped. Please help me pass along the fact that this fight is real. If you struggle, or know someone who struggles, please know that you are not alone.

If anyone can benefit from hearing it from someone else, please feel free to pass along the information below for my book. As much as I appreciate copies of my book getting out, the most important thing is getting the word out that this is a real struggle. It’s not something to hide out of shame. We cannot keep losing this fight.

And PLEASE, if you feel you are losing the fight, seek help before you give up hope.

The Fight

The Fight

Present

“Today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.” I would like a refund or an exchange. Or perhaps even store credit. I keep getting this “gift” but I think it’s defective.

Too Much Hate

I have been increasingly bothered by the amount of HATE in this world. Regardless of religious beliefs, political views, ethnicity, gender, or any other way of differentiating us from anybody else, whatever group(s) we can put ourselves into comes with it a sense of hate both inward as well as outward. We are hated because of who we are and what we believe. We disapprove of the hate toward us and tell others they have no right to hate and judge us because of what we believe. And because of the hate toward us, we begin to hate and judge those who hate and judge us. But we have become blind to the fact that our intolerance for others is born from hypocrisy. If you tell someone they don’t have a right to hate you for what you believe, and in turn you hate them because what they believe opposes your view or even because they hate you, that is hypocrisy whether you are right or not.

There appears to be an increase in separation of viewpoints and an increase in intolerance for those who think differently than we do. I am purposely not mentioning specific beliefs because it doesn’t change the point I am trying to make; there is an increasing hate for opposing viewpoints. But in saying this, I also HATE. I don’t hate the person, and I don’t hate the viewpoint even if I disagree. I HATE the HATE.

I HATE  the HATE by those who believe the same as I do, and I HATE the HATE by those who believe differently. And with all this said, this is not going to change. In my opinion, it is only going to get worse. I believe there is only going to be an increase in separation based on our differences. So then what’s the point in writing this? My hope is that you the reader will not fall into this HATE.

Don’t become someone who hates anyone else. Don’t perpetuate the HATE. There is no point. Nobody will ever change their point of view to what you believe because of your HATE. You will only increase the separation and drive others away.

Love the person regardless of their point of view. Disagree with their opinion if it differs from yours, but do it out of respect. And disapprove of the HATE of those whether they believe the same as you or not.

New Book

It has been a while since I have posted anything here, but I’m hoping to stay on top of it a little more. My family and I have been pretty busy with many things lately, one of which is the book I have been working on. I have been working on it for several years, on and off, but I finally got it published. Currently it is on Amazon, but it should be available at other retailers online as well. The book is called The Fight and if you would like to take a look, just click on the title and it will take you to the page on Amazon.

This book is about my struggles with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I try to explain how I maintain my faith in God while struggling with how to be a good husband and father. I hope it can help others as well, so take a look and I hope you like it.

Appreciation

There are certain things that I try to avoid as much as possible, such as getting gas in the car.  I don’t avoid it because I find it inconvenient, or because I don’t have time.  I find that I avoid certain things like this because they trigger my obsessive-compulsive disorder, or my anxiety, or both.

I am the guy you see wearing a glove to put gas in his car.  I can deal with that, however, it triggers my anxiety because I start thinking about other people judging me.  This is when I start to sweat uncontrollably; and then it snowballs.

My wife will never understand what it feels like to have this run my life, but she does know that it does affect me.  So she will get gas in the cars just so I don’t have to.  In fact, she put gas in both cars in the last two days, and she automatically get out of the car to fill up when I am driving, saving me the embarrassment of having to ask.

Yesterday we went out to eat for dinner with the family.  I wanted barbecue sauce on my sandwich, but I have an extremely difficult time with touching the community condiments on tables at restaurants.  Knowing how much this bothers me, my wife didn’t hesitate to put the sauce on my sandwich for me.

I don’t say all this to brag about my wife (maybe just a little).  I am saying all this because when you have a debilitating disorder it helps to have someone you can trust to take on some of your burden.  They don’t need to be able to understand how you feel.  They just need to understand that this is something that you deal with every day.  And if you do have someone in your life that you can trust, and who is willing to make things a little easier for you, please show them some appreciation.  Because this is not something everyone is willing to do.