Today I'm chatting with Shannon Skelton, a co-author alongside me in Reclaiming Mental Health. We'd never actually sat down and talked before this, so it was a first, and she turned out to be a light, joyful person to spend an hour with.

Shannon's chapter is called "A Walk Down Mania Lane," and it's about a manic episode brought on by a pharmaceutical. We get into the whole chain of events, what the mania was actually like, and the bigger questions it raised for both of us. I felt drawn to get curious with her here because of my own experiences with what's been called mania and psychosis, and there were some interesting parallels between our stories.

We talk about the manic episode that came from a medication, starting with a severe reaction to one drug and then a dose of prednisone that was too high, too fast. Shannon also shares about living with Crohn's disease since she was 16, being told more than once she would never have children, and going on to have two. We get into why she stopped taking a diagnosis at face value, including the seven years she spent being told it was Crohn's before her liver shut down, and we sit with the bigger questions around mental health labels, stigma, and the case for doctors asking what a patient's life actually looks like outside the office. She also talks about what she carried out the other side of all of it: more confidence, more willing to use her voice, and a habit of saying yes.

At the heart of this one is awareness. Shannon shares her story so that someone going through the same thing might recognize it sooner, and so that more of us start asking better questions about the medications we're put on.

Reclaiming Mental Health

Connect with Shannon:

@shannon_shining_through
@skeltoncrew

Connect with Darrel-Lynne:

Instagram: @dee_ogsoul

Website: ogsoul.ca

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

04:19 Personal Journey with Mental Health

07:14 The Impact of Pilates on Life

10:14 Exploring the Chapter: A Walk Down Mania Lane

13:15 The Experience with Hydroxychloroquine

16:24 The Prednisone Dilemma

19:22 Navigating Medication Reactions

24:23 Navigating the Unknown: Initial Reactions to Prednisone

25:23 Personality Changes: The Impact of Medication

26:50 Obsessions and Relationships: The Effects of Mania

28:01 Time Distortion: Losing Track of Reality

30:04 Bizarre Behavior: Chasing Strangers and Consequences

32:06 Recognizing the Problem: The Turning Point

34:09 Challenging Medical Assumptions: The Journey with Crohn's Disease

36:15 Manifesting Dreams: Overcoming Medical Limitations

38:56 Current Health: Managing Joint Issues and Hormonal Changes

42:32 Growth Through Adversity: Finding Confidence in Recovery

46:24 Exploring Boundaries and Connections

47:37 The Complexity of Mania and Mental Health

50:01 Finding Humor in Dark Times

51:07 The Journey of Healing and Forgiveness

52:35 Communication and Understanding in Family Dynamics

54:32 The Writing Process and Personal Reflection

56:31 The Impact of Medication on Mental Health

59:07 Advocacy and the Importance of Patient Voices

01:06:53 Hope and Change in the Healthcare System