Hey everybody, it's Tuesday!
And you know what that means; that
means I'm on Tumblr. And I'm back! Hello!
Thank you so much for understanding
that I had to take a vacation last week.
We had Thanksgiving here in the States,
and so I flew home to Seattle. Umm, or
a town outside of Seattle. But I flew
home to Washington state to visit my
family. Sean came with me. We had a
really good time. And thank you all for
understanding, because I know that the
internet never sleeps. Not everybody has
Thanksgiving holidays, but I have to
recharge my batteries. Right? I have to
take time off, so that I can take time for
me. And I can come back and keep
doing this forever and ever and ever.
Okay. So I'm on Tumblr like I said. So if
you asked your question using the
#KatiFAQ. I have four questions today as
well as a journal topic at the end, so
stay tuned. Without further a do, question
number one. "#KatiFAQ My husband and I
have begun talking about having our first
baby." How exciting! "I have chronic
depression, often involving suicidal
ideation and anxiety. Depressive episodes
come and go over the years and I worry
that if we wait until I'm actually healthy
we may never have kids. Is having a baby a
bad idea when you know you struggle
with mental illness. I don't want … ah
blah blah blah … I don't want my
depression to dictate my life, yet I don't
want to head into parenthood without
considering the impact that it could have
on our children. Thanks"
This was a great question, because I don't
really talk about this stuff very often.
And the way that I'm going to answer this
is kind of like if you were in my office.
I would give you, I'd have, we'd weigh in.
Right? We'd talk about the pros and the
cons, what to think about, and how to
prepare. So I agree with you, that your
depression should not dictate your life.
And it should not be something that you
wait to be healthy about or wait to have
happen. Because mental illness and our
different issues can come and go, like you
said, over the years. And we may think
we have everything under control, and
we don't. Then we may think that
everything's out of wack and we start
feeling better. And so, it's something
that I don't really like my clients to put
life on hold for. However, there are
things we can do to be proactive.
For example, if you would like to get
pregnant, and you and your husband ...
it's something that you really want and
you're ready for. Because it's a big
change, right? I want you to enlist a
therapist and a psychiatrist as part of
your team. I want you to see them now,
all the way through until after you have
your baby. Because a lot of people suffer
from postpartum depression, after the baby.
Because as we know our hormones
change a lot when we're pregnant and
they kind of feel all over the place.
People cry when they don't even know
why they're crying. They'll be mad when
they don't know why they're mad.
It's almost like PMS extreme … maybe.
But um, so you want to make sure you
have people on your team, on your side
who know what you're like before you're
pregnant, and what you're like when
you're pregnant, and they can help you
afterwards. So that we make sure that
everything is healthy and happy and
great with your baby and you.
And also it will be good for you to start
thinking about and talking about being a
mother and what that means. And maybe
even working with your husband. You
know, I mean everybody has their own
process, and I think having a team
together will really really help with that.
Also, because you're saying what it
could have on your child. We are going
to pass on good and bad genes to our
children. It just is part of the whole
fact of being a parent. We all have good
and bad things about us. Things we don't
like and things we do like. And I would
not that discourage you from having a
baby. The great thing about being aware
of our struggles is that we've learned,
and we can pass that education on to our
children. Making sure that they have
good coping skills in check. We can talk
openly about how we're feeling. If we're
feeling down. And just starting that
conversation early, so that it's more
normal for them to talk about it, and to
cope with it and get over it versus
maybe some things that we would have
done when we didn't know what to do.
We ruminated on it, we stayed in our
rooms, and you know turned off the lights
or whatever. So ya, I think having a baby
if you're ready and that's something you
want, go ahead. Go for it. Let's just be
prepared and let's make sure we have
our tools in place. Okay.
Question number two, "I'm recovered from
bulimia. I don't weigh myself, but I know,
all caps, and feel that I have gained
weight. I want to lose a few pounds, but
I'm scared that I'll relapse. My thighs
are so fat. I don't want to count
calories, etc., but I need to lose weight.
How?" I get these questions all the time.
Now first of all if you haven't weighed
yourself you don't know that you've
gained weight. You shouldn't weigh
yourself and trust me that eating disorder
voice is getting louder. And it will always
tell us that we're fat, we've gained
weight, we're so big, we're bloated, my
stomach, my thighs, my blah blah blah.
It'll go crazy on us. Right. Don't
believe it. It's lying. No, no, no.
And the only way that I'll ever allow my
clients who say I really would like to eat
more healthy, I need to gain weight
or lose weight, or whatever blah blah
blah. Use a dietician or a nutritionist.
Set up an appointment, work on a meal
plan, and make sure your body's getting
the nutrients it needs. Because the thing
is when we're recovered from an eating
disorder it's a slippery slope, and I have
had more clients than I'd like to count
go on a diet that turns back into their
eating disorder. And have to send them
back to inpatient, and have to go through
it all over again. So just be very very
careful. I know you're feeling really fat,
but I would also think about what's
going on in your life right now to stress
you out, to make that, those feelings so
intense and so heavy on you so that you
feel like you need to start dieting. I am
a firm believe in intuitive eating. If you
haven't picked up that workbook, it's in
the widget at the bottom of my website,
katimorton.com. I would grab that book,
because we should be able to eat when
we're hungry, stop when we're full, and
live healthy happy lives. Right. And I am
a firm believer in that. Don't diet.
I don't do it. Okay, question number three.
Can you explain the difference between
bulimia and anorexia binge purge type?
I get so many questions about this, and
I actually talked about it before, but
I'll say it again. Because everybody
wonders and worries, and the only
difference unfortunately is weight.
If we are less than 85% of an ideal body
weight, and that is something that has to
be determined by a doctor or a dietician,
then it would anorexia binge purge type.
Bulimia is when we don't meet the weight
criteria and we're binging and purging.
That's just what it is. It's what the DSM
says, so that's what we have to follow.
Umm, ya. But don't believe your eating
disorder when it's saying one is worse or
better than the other, because that's just
not true. They're all the same. Okay.
Question number four: "What made you
want to become a therapist?"
I've never actually, I'm sure somebody's
asked this before, but I don't know if
I've actually ever answered it. I knew I
wanted to be a psychologist, is actually
what I thought I wanted to be back in
high school. I've always been very, I
don't know, I don't know if level headed
is the right word or just like mellow and
consistent. Just keep it consistent, and
so my girlfriends would always come to
me. I'd be the one that would listen to
everybody, and I really enjoyed … um...
I enjoyed it. I enjoyed listening. I
enjoyed taking into consideration all the
factors and trying to help in the best
way that I could. And so I was always
interested in people. I found … I took
Intro to Psychology in high school, and I
found, this sounds really bizarre, but I
found mental illness to be really
fascinating. The way that the brain works
and how as humans our bodies are so
adaptive, and it's just amazing. The
human brain is amazing. The human
body is amazing. So I really found it
fascinating. I used to want to be a
psychologist, and then I wanted to be a
psychiatrist. But then when I went to
school and realized how expensive
school was, and I paid for it myself, then
I realized I didn't want all those student
loans. So I decided that I'd get my
masters in clinical psychology, and here
I am today. Ta da! So ya, i guess that
answers your question. On the journal
topic for today, because it was
Thanksgiving here in the States and I
know Canada's was in October, and I'm sure
that all of you have a certain version
that you do within your country. But I
want you all to take time to think about
what you're thankful for. Now these can
be big things. It can be like, you know,
I'm thankful for my family and my job and
the fact that this thing happened to me
and now it's amazing and I've been
blessed. Whatever you want it to be.
Thankful for your children, thankful for
your husband or your loved ones. Or it can
be small things like I'm thankful for
the air I breathe. I'm thankful that I
have clothes on my back or a roof over
my head or whatever. Just take some
time to think about things that you're
thankful for. Maybe make a list and put it
up in your bedroom or somewhere where
you can see it, so that you can be
reminded about how amazing life is.
And how many great things we have
going for us. Because often times we get
caught in this negativity cycle, and we
can't get out. So maybe use that to try to
stop the cycle. Get us back. You know?
So ya. That's it. Tomorrow is Wednesday,
and I'll be on the website, katimorton.com,
under Community Forums, you go down,
you click on Q&A's for videos I think or ya
Q&A for Videos is what it's called. I'll
answer questions there, as well as under
this video. So leave your questions
below. And don't forget to like it and
give it a plus one and all that stuff.
And if you haven't added google+ please do
it, because when you leave comments I
can't reply, and that makes me sad. But I
will see you all tomorrow. Have a
wonderful evening. Bye!
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