An Introduction

Welcome to my resource and information blog!

There is so much to know about mental illness. So much that it becomes overwhelming and intimidating. What is Emotional Disturbance? Why is there such a stigma associated with it? Emotional disturbance sounds scary, as if you entered a cobblestoned ally in the dead of night and in the darkest corner you will find an Emotionally Disturbed creature waiting to pounce on you. Who wants to teach that kid? Who wants to raise them?

Emotional Disturbance is defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as:
"...a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance through…
A. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
B. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
C. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
D. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
E. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems."
[Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34, Section 300.7(c)(4)(i)]

If that didn’t make any sense to you it is because it is meant to be vague. When dealing with mental health disabilities there is a lot to consider. On any bad day or year any one of us could fall into this category. So why is it so vague? Why do we need to provide special ed services to someone experiencing these issues? What does any of that legal jargon actually mean?

First of all, we must recognize that mental illness is hard to pin down. There is a lot to consider, right? Psychological, emotional, brain function, trauma, and anxiety stem from something. The power of life experiences can either liberate us or take us down. It’s all a matter of perspective. How we recover and respond to these life challenges is different for everyone. How we learn to cope, heal, maneuver, think and feel has kept psychologist and psychotherapists busy for centuries. The bottom line is that our environment and our biochemistry equally work together at creating our emotional selves.

The purpose for creating this site to help remove the stigma, the fear, the question marks and the shine a bright light on what it means to have mental health issues. The first order of business is to know that not all mental health issues are a life sentence. There is a very wide range and the more we know about it the less there is to fear.

It may be less complicated if you know what type of mental health disabilities fall under the umbrella of emotional disturbance:

Depression: a psychiatric disorder showing symptoms such as persistent feelings of hopelessness, dejection, poor concentration, lack of energy, inability to sleep, and, sometimes, suicidal tendencies

Anxiety Disorders: A chronic condition characterized by an excessive and persistent sense of apprehension with physical symptoms such as sweating, palpitations, and feelings of stress. Anxiety disorders have biological and environmental causes.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): common anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): psychiatric disorder characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions, such as cleaning, checking, counting, or hoarding.

Bipolar Disorder: a psychiatric disorder characterized by extreme mood swings, ranging between episodes of acute euphoria mania and severe depression

Schizophrenia: a severe psychiatric disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, and withdrawal into the self

Special Ed services are provided for students that are dealing with these issues because plainly speaking we cannot focus on school when we are mentally and emotionally at war with life. Special ed services for Emotional Disturbance designation are going to fall in the category of mental health services. Therapy. Treatment. Help. We have to first heal before we can grow, which can be a challenge if we aren’t aware that we are broken. Sometimes we unconsciously self medicate, self mutilate, and lash out at others.

I have personally sorted through the vast world wide web and selected some of the best websites, online communities, blogs, articles and studies. All to educate ourselves so that we may approach the ED community with understanding instead of ignorance.