Brain Health: Thyroid Hormones

There is good reason the book, It's not mental, talks so much about thyroid hormones, dedicating an appendix to that topic. Not only were those hormone levels intertwined with both my daughters’ cases of ultradian cycling “bipolar” and “schizoaffective” (schizophrenia with a mood disorder), but the topic has been in psychiatric textbooks, and involved in the research on these brain symptoms, for going on half a century.

Bipolar and Off Her Meds

Words that usually strike fear into a parent’s heart are that their adult child with a diagnosed mental illness is off their meds.

My older daughter suffered 13 years of unrelenting, unstable bipolar disorder in spite of hospitalizations, psychiatrists, therapy, and strict adherence to medications.

She is finally STABLE, but NOT while on any of the past psychiatric medications.

She is finally stable, AND off her meds. (Part 2 here - Getting Better and Part 3 - Recovered: No Longer on Psychiatric Medications or, start with the book that started it all -- It's Not Mental)

Huh!!???

Stress, Growth, Life, & Hormones

As with most families caring for a child with a severe prolonged illness, our family was under tremendous stress when our little girl was very ill. It was not a good kind of stress. It was too severe. Too prolonged.

But in the long run, I do believe it helped us grow as individuals. It made our marriage stronger. It made our family stronger. It helped me to see the wisdom and strength of my extended family, who all extended moral support in spite of physical distance between us. But that was in the long run. I also know that the chronic, prolonged nature of that horrific stress was physically damaging.