Getting Help With Mental Health
- Alaskan Bush People‘s Rain Brown, 19, has been working on her mental health while continuing to cope with the devastating loss of her father, Billy Brown, from a seizure last year.
- Grief is an unavoidable and essential part of the healing process following the loss of a loved one, but things like therapy can help.
- One of our experts recommends practicing mindfulness and mediation in order to begin a journey of healing.
- Genetic testing can help determine the best course of mental health treatment for people struggling with issues like anxiety and depression. This testing help doctors gauge which medications are likely to work for their patients and cause the least amount of problematic side effects.
Since losing her beloved father, Billy Brown, last year, Rain has sought professional help in her grieving. In a confessional on the show, her mother, Ami, revealed that she’s noticed her daughter struggle since Billy’s passing.
Read MoreBased on a recent post to her own Instagram, Rain seems to be working on ‘staying happy’ during this difficult time.
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“Often times we forget how truly beautiful the world really is, the trees the mountains the fields even the city's the sunsets and sunrises the waves the people, I want you to look around you today and find beauty in something, in anything, our good lords beauty is in each and every one of us, and all around us,” she wrote under a beautiful picture of trees. “Only if we have the eyes to see it, open your hearts and be grateful for our glorious days, even if they don't feel beautiful today, one day they will.
“Even if nothing good has happened to you today one day you will look back and it will be a beautiful memory and just that is something to be celebrated. I pray you are never be blind to the beauty that is around and in us all, God bless ♥ï¸#staystrong #stayhappy”
Heartbreaking Loss for the Alaskan Bush People Family
The Alaskan Bush People family lost their beloved patriarch, Billy Brown (also known as da) to a seizure at age 68.
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“We are devastated to hear of Billy Brown's sudden passing,” the official Alaskan Bush People Instagram wrote in February 2021. “He has been part of the @discovery family for years – a trailblazer, a lovely man, and most definitely one of a kind. Our heart is with his family and those that knew him and loved him as they deal with this devastating loss.”
In her own tribute post, Rain Brown shared her thoughts following her father’s tragic death.
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“I lost a true friend,” she wrote on Instagram. “Not forever, but only in this world. Please hold my family in your thoughts and prayers, especially my mother.
“Please hold your family tight for me. Words cannot express how wonderful he was and is. But I will say, the closest thing to an angel I've ever known. God bless you da I love and miss you dearly. You will always be my hero. God bless everyone.”
Her mother, Ami Brown, has also taken the time to reflect on her husband’s passing.
"Sad as it may be, da's not right here with us, not physically, but we know in spirit he is," the Alaskan Bush People matriarch and lung cancer survivor said on the show. "And we know what all da wanted we have to go on, that's what we do."
Losing a Loved One
Grief is an inevitable and essential part of the healing process after losing a loved one. And there's definitely no one way to cope, but Doug Wendt shared his thoughts on grief in a previous interview with SurvivorNet after losing his wife Alice to ovarian cancer.
"We're never gonna move on, I don't even think I want to move on, but I do want to move forward," Wendt said. "That's an important distinction, and I encourage anybody who goes through this journey as a caregiver and then has to face loss, to think very carefully about how to move forward."
Everyone's journey of grief looks different, but therapy and support groups can also be wonderful options to explore. It's also important to keep in mind that time does not heal everything, but it certainly helps.
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Camila Legaspi shared her own advice on grief after her mother died of breast cancer. For her, therapy made all the difference.
"Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
"Therapy saved my life," Legaspi said. "I was dealing with some really intense anxiety and depression at that point. It just changed my life, because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on. Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings."
Legaspi also wanted to remind people that even though it can be an incredibly difficult experience to process, things will get better.
"When you lose someone, it's really, really, really hard," Legaspi said. "I'm so happy that I talked to my therapist. Keep your chin up, and it's going to be OK. No matter what happens, it's going to be OK."
Prioritizing Your Mental Health
Therapy can be a great way to prioritize your mental health. In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, ovarian cancer survivor Ni Guttenfelder talked about how finding the right counselor helped her process the feelings that came after her diagnosis.
"One of the things that my counselor has taught me from the very beginning that has helped me is the concept of acceptance," she says. "Acceptance is a process. It's like downloading a computer file in increments. Visualizing it in that way has really helped me."
In addition to therapy, mediation and practicing mindfulness can also be used to cope with a mental health struggle. Dr. Deepak Chopra, acclaimed author and pioneer of mindfulness movement, spoke with SurvivorNet about how asking yourself who you really are is the first step down the path to practicing mindfulness.
"If we can combine our actions in the world with reflective self inquiry, love and compassion, and a state of secure, stable, ornamental, peaceful being without the addictions that humans have, then we can begin our journey of healing," Dr. Chopra explained.
Medicating isn’t the right choice for everyone when it comes to addressing a mental health issue, but there should be no shame in turning to medication when you need it. That being said, it can be hard to find the right one. These days, however, there is a form of genetic testing that has shown the ability to match people with the best medication for mental health treatment.
We've seen genetic testing used for treatment plans for other diseases, such as certain types of cancer, but the ability to use it to help people who are suffering from things like anxiety and depression is relatively new.
How Can Genetic Testing Help Determine the Right Form of Mental Health Treatment?
"Doing the genetic testing has absolutely transformed the landscape of psycho-pharmacology," psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet. "It's something that I highly recommend for anybody that is taking medication, whether they are being treated for cancer, or not … I recommend it for children who are taking medication. I recommend it for elderly people. Anybody who is taking medication, I think, can greatly benefit from genetic testing."
Genetic testing can give a profile of how a person is likely to respond to different types of psychiatric medications, Dr. Plutchik explained. Testing is also available to create a profile of how patients will likely respond to different sorts of pain medications, which can be really beneficial for those going through some other sort of health issue.
Genetic testing "gives me information about which medications are likely to work without having problematic side effects. It also gives information about interactions between any of the psych medications that we choose," and other medications a patient may be taking, Dr. Plutchik said.
The genetic test that Dr. Plutchik was discussing, Genomind, looks at multiple factors before determining which treatment is likely to have successful results and minimal side-effects. The test examines certain genes that are associated with responses to medications commonly prescribed for mental health issues and then looks into the patient's ability to metabolize medication.
If you're considering going on medication for mental health treatment, consider asking your doctor if genetic testing might be helpful for you.
Contributing: Dr. Lori Plutchik
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