Hey everybody, happy Tuesday! And since it's tuesday as you all know now I'm on Tumblr.
And someone asked a question on my video that I put out yesterday which kind of gave a structure of what my video schedule looks like
and a lot of people asked about what times to ask questions.
Now there is not hard and fast rule because it really depends on my day.
Sometimes I take the questions in the morning because my evening is really busy
or I do it in the middle of the day when I have a little break.
So it kind of varies. However, the most common timeframe that I'm usually looking at questions is around, you know
if you asked it around one and two PM pacific standard time, the times that I'm on, that's probably the most likely time that I'm on, just to give you am overall average.
But like I said, it changes, just depending on my schedule, so, um, but yeah, that's the answer to that.
So, since I'm on Tumblr, I've already some questions, some of them anonymous, some of them not
so some will be populated to my Tumblr. I don't even know what you call it, my Tumblr blog.
And the others, hopefully you got some of your questions answered.
And I have three, as well as a journal topic, os thank you so much for that.
And I think that was anonymous cause I don't have a name on that.
But, first question is: "Hey Kati, my question is what is a 'normal' amount of anxiety, and what is a 'normal' reaction to it?"
I thought this was really great because we don't really talk about what we're aiming for when it comes to things like depression or anxiety
because it's very normal to have bouts of anxiety or depression in a regular, normal, healthy life.
Things are gonna happen that bring our mood down, or things that make us anxious or nervous in some way.
And those are all normal human responses. However, if it's impeding on our life and we can't get things done and we can't do the things we want to do
or interact with the people we want to because of it, then it's a problem, right?
Now a normal amount of anxiety is when something stressful's happening, or you're trying something new, like let's say you're getting ready for a big performance
you're going on stage, you have a test coming up, you're meeting new people for the first time.
A normal amount of anxiety is when you just have those kind of butterflies in your stomach and feel, you know, extra antsy
or one your toes, or you have that little bit of feeling of anxiety and once the situation has either started and you're a couple, five minutes into your performance
and you're in the zone, it goes away, or you've met people and you're sitting down now and you kind of have already done the 'awkward,' you know, introductions
and stuff like that. Then the anxiety feeling goes away.
The struggle is, those of us who have really bad anxiety, it's either an extreme amount of that, where we have panic attacks, or we can't even focus
some of us may even say that we dissociate when we become extremely, extremely anxious.
And some of us, the anxiety lasts, like, forever and ever, all day every day, if you have Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
So that's kind of a normal amount, and it will just come and go a little bit, here and there when things pop up, but it's not something that we even really think about
or worry about, because it's just not really frequent.
Yeah, and a normal reaction to it is honestly no big deal.
If we're experience a normal amount of anxiety, it's usually because of something, and so we're more worried about that thing, and that's actually the worry
so we're like, 'Oh, you know that test, OK, so I need to study a little bit more," and we don't really think about the anxiety so much, because it's really about something
it actually has a reason, and there is, kind of sort of a deadline for it.
If that makes sense. OK?
Now question number two, "Hi Kati, I will be starting group therapy this Thurday," Yay!
"And I am really nervous. The group is for people with eating disorders, but I have no idea what to expect.
On top of that, I'm really shy and have a hard time speaking up. Do you have any adivce for me? Thank you!"
I wanted to talk a little bit about groups, because I've run some groups, I'm getting prepared to run a group in January.
And group therapy can be really beneficial because it not only helps us begin talking about the things that we may feel shameful about, or embarassed
but it also gives us an extra amount of support and people who understand our experience, and it reminds us we're not alone in our experiences.
And, the
What to expect? So the way that groups work is, if you're new, the group leader will, most likely, and every group is different, so I'm just gonna tell you what I would do
personally, and what people I've trained with have done.
When you're new to the group often they'll allow you to introduce yourself, like, let's say it's me, they'd say
"Hey Kati, it's so good to have you. Would you mind just telling the group a little bit about yourself, as much as you feel comfortable?"
So let's have you, usually people will say, you know
"Hi, my name is Kati, and I, you know, I'm here because I also struggle with an eating disorder," like if that's the group you're in.
"And so I'm just looking for some extra support, nice to meet you."
That's it, you don't have to say anything extra, it's just however much you're comfortable talking about.
Now they are going to encourage you to speak up in groups, and you're going to have to, for lack of a better term, learn how to communicate in the group setting.
Now it may take you a couple of sessions to feel comfortable, but after you see a couple of people speaking up and talking about their issues
and the support, and the way that groups work, I promise you you'll feel way, way, way more comfortable.
But don't worry, you're not going to be required to speak up and talk about something your first session.
Usually they just have you introduce yourself, as much as you feel comfortable.
So I would just prepare in your mind a little introduction, and know that that's just how groups work.
We introduce ourselves to everybody, then usually there's a topic that the group leaders will have come up with, or a question they have people working on
or homework that you're going over. It could be any number of those things, depending on how the group is structured.
And that's kind of how we go about it. It kind of just helps us all process together what we're going through. OK?
I think groups can be really great, by the way.
Question number three, "Hey Kati, I was just wondering if having a history of depression makes you any more likely to develop postpartum depression
even if you're in a good state of mind during your pregnancy? Thank you."
Now, I did a video on postpartum depression, so if you have more questions about, um, or did I do it, I don't know if it's called postpartum depression.
You can look that up on Youtube, and I have some more information on that.
However, when it comes to this situation exactly, if you have a history of depression.
It makes you, I want to say, and I forget the exact number, but I think it's like two and a half times more likely to develop postpartum depression.
Now, the main reason for that is because we find there are a lot of genetic components to depression, and a lot of, um
hormones are changing during pregnancy, which we know effects how we feel, our mood
and all the chemicals that are going on in our brain. And because we're predisposed to have the chemical imbalance, chances are we will have postpartum depression.
However, that doesn't mean we're necessarily going to, it's not a hundred precent, like nothing's a hundred percent.
We're just more more genetically predisposed.
And the way that we have kind of strike back against that and kind of nip in in the bud, is if we're pregnant, even if we're feeling great
I would start talking to your therapist, I would get a referral to a psychiatrist who works with pregnant or nursing mothers.
And I would just begin getting a support team together, so that when this happens, you are prepared, whether you have postpartum depression or not
at least you have a team ready for you when it's going on.
Because the thing that we really struggle with, with postpartum depression the most, is the fact that we're new mothers, and that's really stressful
and there's a lot going on, we're not sleeping a lot. There's a lot of other thing flying around in our universe, right?
And so, it's really hard to make appointments, to get to appointments, to set up things.
And all of this work, in doing this ahead of time, saves us from that.
Now all we have to do is just have someone take us there.
So all that motivation that we may be lacking because of the depression is something we can kind of nip in the bud now.
So I would encourage you to set up a plan. Get people in place. Have a treatment team ready for you, if you need them.
And if not, you can call and cancel an appointment, say, you know, "I'm doing OK. I'll check in with you next week."
So you have something in place, because just because we're more predisposed doesn't mean it's gonna happen, but it also means that we're more aware
we have more insight, and we can prepare more for the potential happenings.
Am I right?
OK. So journal topic today says 'Instead of saying, "I don't have time," try saying, "It's not a priority."
Often, that's a perfectly adequate explanation, but other times it doesn't fit as well.
For example, "I'm not going to edit your resume because 'not a priority.' "
That makes more sense than, "I'm not going to go to the doctor, because my health isn't a priority."
The trick, this trick can help you sort out what you really don't have time for vs. what you should make time for
because it's actually a priority.'
And I really like this because, often times, we spend so much time on things that shouldn't be 'a priority'
and the things that actually are get pushed back, and back, and back, and back, and we never end up doing them
and so checking in with ourselves and make sure that we're making what should be a priority a priority, and not making extra time for things that
maybe shouldn't be a priority right now, because we have bigger fish to fry.
Am I right?
I thought this was really cool! So it's a really good check in, ever for myself.
Like, what are we prioritizing, and what should we we maybe not prioritize any more?
Something to think about
I'll see you all tomorrow, I'll be on the website katimorton.com and I'll also be a Youtube so ask your questions below today's video, and I'll see you then!
Bye!