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Note-taking: Are u ok? by Kati Morton

04.15.2025 - Day four of notes! Just some quick tools on mental health that I found interesting. Sorry for the low effort content, I'm in the process of planning a total site rehaul.

Interesting Takeaways from Are u ok? By Kati Morton

• Questions to begin exploring your background

  • Are you a leading actor in your family play or do you have a supporting role?

  • Do you have a lot of speaking parts? Why or why not?

  • What do you do first when you are really upset and feel out of control?

  • When you were growing up, was it okay to be mad or sad? How did your parents respond?

  • If something was going on in your home, did you feel free to talk about it?

  • Are there things about you those closest to you say they love? What about things they don’t like?

• What Constitutes Needing Help?

  • We all have varying levels of functioning. The first thing you need to do for your own assessment is think about what you can do when you are having a good day – slept well, eaten well, feeling pretty good. What’s your inner dialogue like? Are you more kind and patient to those around you? More productive at work or in the home?

  • If you haven’t had that day in a while, when was the last time you felt accomplished, really laughed, or experienced genuine connection with someone.

  • Then compare to what you’re able to do when you feel bad. After a fight with a loved one, or lack of appetite, or lack of sleep. Notice how it differs from your good days.

  • YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AT ROCK BOTTOM. YOU JUST HAVE TO NOT FEEL LIKE YOURSELF IN ORDER TO SEEK HELP.

  • What if we don’t know what’s a good or bad day?

    • Identify your emotions – at the end of each day, write down 3-5 emotions you felt that day. Doesn’t have to make sense or go in order. Just practicing identifying emotions, experiencing them, and understanding them.

    • Describe the emotion beyond the word used to identify it. What does an emotion feel like within the body, within your relationships, and overall experience? Example: “I would say that anger feels like an impulsive fire that jumps to conclusions and bursts out without warning. It feels out of control, downright terrifying, and in all honesty, I avoid it as much as possible.”

• A good therapist will reframe a situation that you’re dealing with and let you process through all that comes up for you when you reprocess the situation.

• A therapist is not limited to those who require a diagnosis; you do not need to wait until you are ‘properly ill’ to seek care.

• On inpatient care/seeking help:

  • “When I went into the hospital, I did so voluntarily. I know I was heading downhill quickly. Over the years, I have learned what signs to look out for in myself, so that I can be proactive about getting help instead of waiting till it is too late. I was beginning to isolate myself from everyone around me, having obsessive thoughts of death (in general), and thoughts of wanting to hurt and/or kill myself. I couldn’t concentrate at work or anywhere else for that matter. The people around me noticed that I wasn’t quite myself, also. When that happens, it usually means I need to get some immediate and intensive help, or I will find myself in a bad situation.”

  • “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” – Mandy Hale

• Mental Health Professionals Decoded

  • Psychiatrist – medical doctors who specialize in the treatment of mental illnesses. Undergrad, medical school, residency. MD. Best understanding of medication and how it affects the body. Now mainly do medication management: 15-20 minute appointment focused on symptoms and medication tolerance.

  • Psychologist – doctors who specialize in psychology and treatment. Undergrad and grad school focused on research, science, clinical application. PhD or PsyD. Best used for testing and assessment of conditions, like ADHD or anxiety.

  • Psychiatric-Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (PMH-APRN) – Encountered in the hospital setting. Medical and clinical knowledge, able to assess, diagnose, and even prescribe.

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) – Sees patients for therapy. Undergrad, master’s program, and licensing. Can diagnose mental illnesses and help you work towards your goals in long-form sessions. Can offer testing and assessment if trained. Trained to offer support and guidance in relationships specifically.

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) – Sees clients for sessions. Undergrad, master’s program, and licensing. Focus is on helping individuals getting on the right track. Found in government positions or other agencies. Similar to LMFT.

  • Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) – Newest addition to the roster. Undergrad, master’s, licensure. Sort of a middle ground between LMFT and LCSW.

  • Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP) – Only found in school contexts. Help test for any mental health issues relating to school and testing for learning disabilities.

• Finding The Right Kind of Therapy

  • Psychoanalysis – foundational theory that drives other forms of therapy. Idea is that all humans are driven by their instincts and biological drives; focuses on how our unconscious mind affects us each day.

  • Talk therapy – Premise: Talking about the issues we are struggling with can help us feel better. It can allow us to clarify what we experienced, express what we think about it, and gain a new perspective. Many techniques fall under this umbrella term.

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – Focused, short-term behavioral treatment that helps us see the link between our beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and actions. “If we work to change our thoughts, we can change how we feel and act.” is the thesis in a process called cognitive restructuring. Noting cognitive distortions, getting to the root, and giving you tools to act out less and less.

  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) – Spin-off of CBT, BPD variant. Offers tools to more quickly acknowledge our emotions, where they’re coming from, and know that we can decide how to respond to them. Intensive treatment option requiring individual therapy, group therapy, and homework. Four parts: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness.

    • Side note: It takes about 5 healthy skills to replace 1 unhealthy urge. If you’re struggling with one bad coping mechanism, try at least 5 good ones before giving in.

  • Group Therapy – self explanatory. A place to connect with others going through the same issue and a supplement to personal therapy.

  • Family Therapy – Group therapy but for family units as opposed to an affinity group.

  • Exposure Therapy – Short term treatment that’s best for any phobia or worry.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) – Eye movements to process past trauma. Best for PTSD, C-PTSD, and anyone who has sustained an overwhelming or painful life experience that needs to process the trauma/distress.

  • Art and Music Therapy – self explanatory.

• Questions for picking a good therapist:

  • Who do I usually talk to when I am having a hard time?

  • Are my closest friends and confidants a certain age or gender?

  • Would I be okay with talking to someone much younger than me? What about much older? Would that be better or worse?

  • What about someone who is the same gender?

  • Could I see someone who is the gender I’m attracted to? Would that be uncomfortable?

  • After trying out someone: Do I trust them easily?

• Simple journaling prompts:

  • What happened today? Was any of it exciting? Frustrating?

  • Did you feel overwhelmed today? Or possibly bored?

  • Who did you see today? Do you like them? Why or why not?

  • How do you feel now that your day is finished?

  • What do you hope for tomorrow?

• Are you in a toxic relationship?

  • Do you put off seeing them or responding to their texts and calls?

  • Do you feel worse after having spent time with them?

  • Have they ever threatened to hurt you physically or emotionally?

  • Do they discourage you from doing things on your own?

  • Have they asked to borrow money and not pay it back?

  • Do they ask you for a lot of favors?

  • Do you struggle to make decisions without them?

  • Have you found out they were talking badly about you behind your back?

  • Do you constantly feel like you are walking on eggshells when you’re around them?

  • Do they repeatedly put you down?