In this podcast, I start out by giving some information about books I am promoting, and then launch into information from my lived experience with mental illness which caused me to gain 95 pounds from what was deemed my ideal weight.
The first book I spoke about was “The Ghost Garden” By Susan Doherty. This is the story of an incredibly kind and compassionate author who volunteers her time visiting patients in a psychiatric hospital in Montreal. I wanted to encourage anyone battling psychosis or their caregiver to either purchase this book, or to get it from their library (link below) I also wanted to ask that if it isn’t in your library, request that they purchase a copy and bring it into the system, the book is that good and that important.
Those interested in purchasing a copy can get it here from the US Amazon store:
https://a.co/d/hkDyH6X
And Canadian residents can get it here at the Canadian Amazon store:
https://a.co/d/3FjGdxf
I am also trying to get the word out about a book by Bethany Yeiser, who started the CURESZ foundation called “Awakenings” which contains 28 incredible stories of recovery from schizophrenia (one of which I wrote) the CURESZ foundation (Comprehensive Understanding through Research and Education into Schizophrenia) offers those with schizophrenia and their caregivers and loved ones many services such as caregiver mentoring, support groups, a newsletter, and offers a service by donation where up to six families have direct one on one time online with a psychiatrist called the “Ask the Doctor” series. The book “Awakenings” can be found here in the US Amazon store:
https://a.co/d/cMK3wyS
and here in the Canadian:
https://a.co/d/6g7oUhm
All that aside, the main part of the podcast is to talk about weight gain and antipsychotics. One of the biggest ways I learned to lower cravings I had for food while on antipsychotics was when I studied Buddhism. When you immerse yourself in meditation and learn to control what Buddhists call “The Monkey Mind” you naturally start to be able to use your new calmer, more logical mind to overcome needs for vices or cravings to constantly eat.
I also had a great deal of help from attending a Metabolic Clinic where I saw a Doctor who specialized in diet and psychiatric medications, as well as a dietician. This was critical to me gaining control over my blood sugar levels, which was a life or death situation if I had let it keep going on the course it had been taking.
Diabetes affects millions. It is basically a condition where your pancreas is not producing enough insulin, which is what the body needs in order to turn sugar into energy to deliver to your cells. Having even treated diabetes can end with blindness, amputations, and according to one registered nurse I spoke to, can take literally an average of 12 years off your life. I want to encourage anyone who is overweight to both look into ways to trim down all they reasonably can with a healthy, balanced diet and exercise, and to also educate themselves on the risks and management methods that people with diabetes take on, even if you have never been diagnosed.
Obesity is sadly something that comes with mental illness. Antipsychotic medication can give a person severe cravings for fatty or sweet foods, but there are ways to overcome this. I have found some respite in healthy snacks such as seaweed (no, honestly—it tastes great) and by eating kimchee. I also have a method that is perhaps not the healthiest, when I feel like I am very hungry but don’t want to eat a meal right away, I will often take a scoop of "light” peanut butter. One tablespoon has just 1 gram of sugar which is just enough to give me energy to make it to supper. Of course, we all should understand that the hungrier you are when supper time comes, the better your supper will taste.
I still have a long way to go. I am 210 right now while I was 265 at my heaviest. I want to lose 40 more pounds, but I don’t want to take too many medications. I do have friends who have decided the best way they can lose weight is to have bariatric surgery, which is likely one of the better ways to guarantee you will be a new, slimmer you. The procedure involves removing part of the person’s stomach, making it impossible for them to eat more than tiny portions. This is a serious decision to consider and I recommend that the person going into the program consult with a therapist for a while to make sure this is what is best for them.
I hope some of this has been helpful. I would love for anyone struggling with their weight and food cravings could message me and offer their own lived experience and wisdom, so I can make my information more verified and relevant. Until then, stay real and thanks for tuning in!
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