HOW AM I TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE?

When I went to my first National Alliance on Mental Illness meeting in Asheville, NC in 1988 you heard mostly about folks with Schizophrenia. Then the talk turned to what I call the big three. Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder and Major Depression. Now you hear more talk about other disorders like Dissociative disorders, Panic disorders and Anxiety disorders along with dual diagnosis meaning a mental illness and substance abuse. Post-Traumatic Stress disorder is also coming to the front of the stage. Partly because of the five year war in Iraq and because we are learning more about it.
I found this interesting article in the Sunday Charlotte Observer. “Dr. John Kelsoe has spent his career trying to identify the biological roots of bipolar disorder. In December, he announced he had discovered several gene mutations closely tied to the disease.
Then Kelsoe, a prominent psychiatric geneticist at the University of California, San Diego, did something provocative for the world of academic medical research: He began selling bipolar genetic tests straight to the public over the Internet last month for $399. ……Kelsoe, 52, acknowledges that bipolar disorder, whose sufferers experience intense mood swings, probably results from a combination of genetic factors and life experiences and that the presence of these gene variations does not at all mean that someone will, in fact, develop the disease. “
I wonder if my wife got a call from me and I was standing on the pier in Santa Monica, California (2,375 from Glen Alpine, NC) and had just put a few thousand dollars on our credit card would I test positive with Dr. Kelsoe’s home bipolar genetic test? Just a thought.
Another article in the Charlotte Observer caught my attention. It says, “Groundbreaking research suggests genes help explain why some people can recover from a traumatic event while others suffer post-traumatic stress disorder.
Though preliminary, the study provides insight into a condition expected to strike increasing numbers of veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, one health expert said.
Researchers found that specific variations in a stress-related gene appeared to be influenced by trauma at a young age -- in this case child abuse. That interaction strongly increased the chances for adult survivors of abuse to develop signs of PTSD.
Among adult survivors of severe child abuse, those with the specific gene variations scored more than twice as high (31) on a scale of post-traumatic stress, compared with those without the variations (13).
The worse the abuse, the stronger the risk in people with those gene variations.
The study of 900 adults is among the first to show that genes can be influenced by outside, nongenetic factors to trigger signs of PTSD. It is the largest of just two reports to show molecular evidence of a genetic influence on PTSD. …….About a quarter of a million Americans will develop PTSD at some point in their lives after being victimized or witnessing violence or other traumatic events. Rates are much higher in war veterans and people living in high-crime areas.
Symptoms can develop long after the event and usually include recurrent terrifying recollections of the trauma. Sufferers often have debilitating anxiety, irritability, insomnia and other signs of stress.”
The truth is that many of us with a serious mental illness also have been abused. Many sexually abused. Many over a long period of time by either a family member or someone close to the family. We are mostly found on the long term wards of state hospitals. Some of us are lucky enough to have pulled ourselves together enough to live in society, but just barely.
When I am struggling I don’t know which is causing me the most trouble. The sexual abuse as a child or the bipolar disorder which started manifesting itself as I grew into adulthood.
Read the symptoms of PTSD and you are looking at the same list they give for hypomania, the stage right before you break into full mania. How am I to tell the difference?
You can reach me directly at edcooper@projectdreamagain.com
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