CREST.BD Independence & Bipolar Disorder Slides

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CREST.BDBipolar Wellness Center Webinars Connect. Learn. Engage.

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Bipolar Wellness Center Webinars Connect. Learn. Engage. CREST.BD

Independence

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Bipolar Wellness Center Webinars Connect. Learn. Engage. CREST.BD CREST.BD

Featuring: Dr. Eric YoungstromCREST.BD Member and Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Independence

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Defining independence Why independence is important to your QoLIndependence and BDTools and resources

Webinar focus

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Defining independenceIndependence - ‘freedom from outside support or control’1

Empowerment – ‘the process of taking control and responsibility for actions that maximize personal fulfillment’• Similar to independence, empowerment includes self-reliance, participation in decisions, dignity, respect, belonging and contributing to a wider community

1 World Health Organization (2010). User empowerment in mental health: a statement by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Copenhagen: World Health Organization.

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Defining independenceIndependence usually requires some healthy dependencies on others!Knowing when you need to ask for help and effectively doing so can be empowering Often a fine balance; can take some trial and error to figure out

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Why is independence important to QoL?The ability to independently choose, navigate or create environments that support wellness is core to mental health2 Being independent gives us the sense that we are able to influence our environments and life eventsRegardless of how much control we actually have in our lives, most important is the sense that we are capable of acting for ourselves and in our own best interests

2 Ryff CD & Keyes CLM (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of personality and social psychology, 69(4): 719.

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Independence and BDLittle research specifically on independence and BD People with BD interviewed about their QoL described their struggles with establishing independence in terms of:• financial independence• independence within families• independence within healthcare system

Michalak, E. E., Yatham, L. N., Kolesar, S., & Lam, R. W. (2006). BD and QoL: A patient-centered perspective. QoL Research, 15(1): 25-37.

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Supporting independence in youth/adolescents with BD BD often first appears in adolescence and early adulthood, a time of life when people are often struggling to establish independence, even when they don’t live with mental health challenges

Independence and BD

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How you can take actionSocial support and independence

Foster relationships, including those with healthcare providers, that allow you to get the support you need without unnecessarily inhibiting your independence Find supporters: • you can speak freely to about your concerns• who give you a voice• you have a healthy partnership with Identify different supporters to help you with different parts of your life

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How you can take actionGoal setting

Envision the life you’d love to have (e.g., I value having my own space; living alone in my own apartment would be my ideal situation)Set a target goal to help you embrace this life vision (e.g., to move out of my parents’ home and into my own place within a year)Set some smaller goals to help you reach your target goal • describe these in detail – good goals are specific and clearly defined • set some goals that you can act on now! (e.g., save 10% of my income for future deposit and 3-month rent cushion)

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How you can take actionChallenges to working on goals

Common challenges: • Being afraid of failure if goals are not achieved• Depression, fatigue or stalling

Workarounds: • Treat your challenges as an experiment • Watch out for false assumptions about what may occur if you

try but fail

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How you can take actionChallenges to working on goals

Workarounds: • Create a goal hierarchy

❒ list all your goals from easiest to hardest and work on one or two of the easiest first ❒ after your easy goals have been achieved, move on to a harder one

• Praise yourself for your accomplishments!• Keep track of your successes

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Tools and Resources

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SMART criteria. (n.d.). Retrieved Jan 13, 2015 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria#cite_note-Siegert-12

Setting reasonable goals (SMART)• S - Specific [what, how, where, when]• M- Measurable [how will I know when it’s achieved?]• A - Acceptable [will I feel good about this?]• R - Realistic [can I do this?]• T - Time-limited [when will this be achieved?]Taking Action: Just Do It!Assessing Your Progress

Goal setting

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Resources1. The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide (2nd Ed) - Dr. David J. Miklowitz 2. Welcome to the Jungle: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About

Bipolar But Were Too Freaked Out To Ask” - Hilary Smith3. On Your Own: A College Readiness Guide for Teens With ADHD/LD - Theresa

Maitland

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For more information and resources, visit our Bipolar Wellness Center at:

http://www.bdwellness.com/

To assess your quality of life, visit our QoL tool at:

http://www.bdqol.com/

http://www.bdwellness.com/

http://www.bdqol.com/

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Acknowledgments

CREST.BD Independence & Bipolar Disorder Slides

Education

Transcript of CREST.BD Independence & Bipolar Disorder Slides