Blog Archives

What would you do for love?

3/31/2014

I saw this wonderful video about love and friendship, and it made me think. What would I do for love? Having good friends can be rare. Sometimes we only find one person in our whole life who is the kind of friend that would stand by your side during the good and bad.

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."--Oprah Winfrey

Cherish the good friendships you have. Surround yourself with people who love you. Be a good friend to others. Treat them the way you would want to be treated and if your friendship isn't reciprocated move on, don't be weighed down by those who don't lift you up.

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art. . . It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival." --C.S. Lewis

Watch the video link below and get your tissues ready.

http://abc6onyourside.com/news/features/around-the-web/stories/anything-for-love--wsyx.shtml#.Uyn03E18PIV

March 28th, 2014

3/28/2014

March 26th, 2014

3/26/2014

The Cosmos

3/24/2014

I read an article in Smithsonian magazine this week about Carl Sagan by Joel Achenbach. He said, "We live in Carl Sagan's universe--awesomely vast, deeply humbling. It's a universe that, as Sagan reminded us again and again, isn't about us. We're a granular element. Our presence may even be ephemeral--a flash of luminescence in a great dark ocean. Or perhaps we are here to stay, somehow finding a way to transcend our worst instincts and ancient hatreds, and eventually become a galactic species. We could even find others out there, the inhabitants of distant, highly advanced civilizations--the Old Ones, as Sagan might put it."

Carl Sagan's series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage was broadcast on PBS in 1980. It was a huge success and now, in 2014, Cosmos is back in a new version.

In a lecture, after 1990's Voyager I aimed the spacecraft's camera back toward Earth, showing Earth as " . . . just a fuzzy dot amid a streak of sunlight." Sagan said, "That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you have ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives . . . Every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every revered teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."

We are small in this vast universe. Remember to keep your life in perspective, knowing it is only a blip in the vastness time and space.

Stop the stigma!

3/21/2014

Comedian Ruby Wax presented a TED lecture on mental illness that is inspiring. She tells us how mental illness has affected her. She says, "depression and mental illness may not be visible, but they are real — and they come with a sense of shame built in. When you are ill, you want to see your lump or your x-rays, but with mental illness you have nothing to see. Every other organ in the body can get sick and you get sympathy, except the brain."
http://www.ted.com/talks/ruby_wax_what_s_so_funny_about_mental_illness

I wrote about this in my book--Year 3, Chapter 2-Adjustments

As well as visiting schools in April, Matthew received an MRI of his brain that I had wanted him to have since the start of his psychotic episodes. I still hoped to explain away all of his mental illness with a brain tumor. During Matthews’s recent yearly physical, he told the doctor that he had several fainting episodes in the past year. I scheduled an appointment for Matthew to see a neurologist. The neurologist drew blood, performed examinations, monitored Matthew’s brain with electrodes, and administered an MRI, but despite the search for something other than mental illness, Matthew’s brain was a perfect specimen.

I did not want to be the mother of a child with a mental illness. I wanted to run away from it, as I had wanted to run away from all of the symptoms he had displayed in the past, but I couldn’t. I needed to embrace and except his illness. Mental illness is an intimidating disease that people shy away from, but it is a disease, and it can be treated. Mental illness is a challenging illness, because we can’t see it or sometimes even diagnose it. Everyone wants to be able to look at their illness on an x-ray or a scan and say, “There it is.” People with mental illness are denied that satisfaction. There isn’t anything to look at and see, to touch or quantify; it’s simply there. We need to realize that mental illness is an illness, and we all have to learn more about it for the sake of our future generations.

Mental Health America’s motto is “The invisible chains of misunderstanding and discrimination continue to bind people with mental illnesses and addictions.” We need to help people break free of those bonds so they can obtain the support they need in a world where mental illness is not something they hide from or are embarrassed by, but rather an illness in need of a treatment.

Ruby Wax goes on to tell us, rather humorously, that our pets are happier than we are. Writer Helen Walters says, "Yet amidst the colorful drawings and exuberant presentation, we should be clear that Wax is deadly serious." "My point is, if we don’t learn to deal with this it won’t be one in four, it will be four in four who are really going to get ill in the upstairs department," Wax concludes. "And while I’m at it, can we stop the stigma? Thank you.”

Watch the video for yourself and see Ruby in action.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ruby_wax_what_s_so_funny_about_mental_illness

New additions to resources page

3/18/2014

I was contacted the other day by someone who volunteered at two organizations that are trying to make an impact in the lives of those struggling with tobacco.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/tobacco/smoking/

http://quitsmokingcommunity.org/best-electronic-cigarette-brands-2014/

If you or someone you know is trying to quit smoking check out these sites for information and help.

I also updated my resources page with these new sites and added descriptions of other sites with vague URL addresses.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

3/17/2014

March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. To those of you who celebrate this day and those of you who are of Irish decent, like myself, have a happy day.

Mental illness in entertainment

3/17/2014

I have noticed recently that several television shows depict mental illness incorrectly. For example they might say someone is schizophrenic when they mean they have dissociative identity disorder, also known as multiple personally disorder, or they say psychopath when they mean psychotic. There is a huge difference and the entertainment world should check their facts and present the information in an accurate manner.

Schizophrenia does not refer to someone who has multiple personalities. I recall as a child hearing someone negatively referring to another person who appeared to have multiple personalities as a schizo. Even now in 2014 I heard someone the other day jokingly referring to themselves as schizophrenic because they were running around like multiple people. Schizophrenia is not multiple personalities.

Schizophrenia is characterized by having hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are seeing or hearing things that aren’t there. Delusions are the belief in something that isn’t true. Those who live with schizophrenia do not "black out," but rather lose a sense of reality.

According to www.webmd.com Dissociative identity disorder is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct or split identities or personality states that continually have power over the person's behavior. With dissociative identity disorder, there's also an inability to recall key personal information (black outs) that is too far-reaching to be explained as mere forgetfulness. With dissociative identity disorder, there are also highly distinct memory variations, which fluctuate with the person's split personality.

Psychotic--the existence of specific symptoms such as delusions, prominent hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior. In layman's terms a psychotic individual could be described as someone who is "insane."

Psychopath--Psychopathy is defined as a personality disorder in which the following traits or exhibited: 1) Glib and superficial charm, 2) Grandiose exaggeration of self, 3) Need for stimulation, 4) Pathological lying, 5) Cunning and manipulativeness, 6) Lack of remorse or guilt, 7) Shallow affect, 8) Callousness and lack of empathy, 9) Parasitic lifestyle, 10) Poor behavioral controls 11) Sexual promiscuity, 12) Early behavior problems, 13) Lack of realistic long-term goals, 14) Impulsivity, 15) Irresponsibility, 16) Failure to accept responsibility for own actions, 17) Many short-term marital relationships, 18) Juvenile delinquency, 19) Revocation of conditional release, 20) Criminal versatility. Furthermore, Psychopaths typically do not show signs of having a conscience and are highly intelligent individuals.

The term psychopath and sociopath are often used interchangeably, but there are subtle differences. Sociopaths are often higher functioning than psychopaths. Where psychopaths are impulsive, sociopaths are meticulous planners. Psychopaths tend to have no empathy or emotion for others, but sociopaths can have feelings for those in their inner circle.

According to http://knowledgenuts.com/2013/11/03/the-difference-between-psychopaths-and-sociopaths/

The term “psychopath” is usually used to describe a person that has crossed the line of moral behavior in a society. They’re the murderers, the school shooters, the manipulative cult leaders. They’re the ones mutilating animals just to see what happens. They’re also the ones that society views as a danger to others. On the other hand, a person is deemed a sociopath when they have the lack of emotion and ability to relate to others, but aren’t a threat to society. While they’re not as dangerous, they can still be destructive in a smaller, personal setting such as in friendships, romantic relationships, or in a family. But they’re generally not going to go on a killing spree.

Another big difference between the two is how they’re created. Recently, psychologists have begun to differentiate these processes. A psychopath is always a psychopath; genetic traits or chemical makeup causes the person to lack the ethics and empathy most of us have. Signs that something is not quite right with the person are generally visible from a very young age. A sociopath, however, often becomes one as a product of his or her upbringing. Environmental factors such as abuse or a cold, difficult childhood can cause a person to emotionally shut down and gradually devolve into sociopathy.

Remember 1 in 4 people in the United States are affected by mental illness. This means you or someone you know has a mental illness or is affected by someone with a mental illness. It is all around us, get involved and learn more.

Acupuncture

3/14/2014

According to WebMD.com, Acupuncture is a form of Chinese medicine that has been practiced for centuries. It's based on the theory that energy, called chi, flows through and around your body along pathways called meridians. Acupuncturists believe that illness occurs when something blocks or unbalances your chi. Acupuncture is a way to unblock or influence chi and help it flow back into balance.

I am an advocate for acupuncture. I have a treatment monthly for pain, sleeplessness, headaches, and anything else that isn't "right" with my body. I have witnessed it's "miraculous" healing power in myself and others. There is a lot of information out there on acupuncture. Find a professional and give it a try. Even the animals are doing it.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/03/11/dnt-owl-gets-acupuncture.katv.html

Watch this 21 second video on a pig having a pressure relaxing treatment. It will bring a smile to your face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VrWz4qE1ck

The Fallacy of Fame

3/11/2014

American Historian Daniel Boorstin said - “Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day, and by doing so we come dangerously close to depriving ourselves of all real models. We lose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous, but are famous because they are great. We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety. The celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness.”

There are often "famous" people in the media receiving attention for bad behavior or breaking the law. I find it insulting that a "famous" person can often get away with a "slap on the wrist" for disrespect, hostility, and violence. Those people might be performers, media moguls, or professional athletes and our young people look up to them. There is something wrong when our society becomes obsessed over celebrities and their lives. "The celebrity is nothing but a person of celebrity, famous for being famous," as Gregory D. Foster puts it.

There are a handful of people in the public eye who accomplish great things and give to those in need, but often the "giving" is another media display. Instead of giving kudos to the celebrity for what he or she has done, look around at the real heroes and praise them. That person who faces adversity and danger, yet displays self-sacrifice for others in need, those are the real heroes.

Gregory D. Foster professor at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University says we need heroes today because, "despite our self-deluding sense of superiority as a country--you know, world's only superpower and all that--we are less than we could be as individuals and as a people. Ultimately that's what heroes do for us: They make us mere mortals want to be better." As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed: "Great men exist that there may be greater men."

Do not "lose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous, but are famous because they are great."

Check out Gregory D. Foster's website by clicking on the link below.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0723-20.htm

In memory of Dale Regan

3/6/2014

Two years ago today I received this text message from my daughter, "Mom I'm really scared, the school is on lockdown, and I have been on the floor in the library for almost an hour. Someone has been shot." This is a parents worse nightmare.

My daughter's school principal was shot and killed in her office by a former teacher who had been fired that morning. He then killed himself. The schools website posted this, "It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of Dale Regan, our beloved Head of School. Dale died in an unspeakable tragedy today. We will spend the rest of the week counseling and comforting our student body and faculty and staff. Please pray for Dale’s family and for the Episcopal Community. Dale has devoted her entire life to this School as a teacher and administrator. She is known for her gentle, wise, leadership. Dale was a life-time educator, beginning her career in education in 1970."

It is odd to me that two years has already passed since this tragedy. It seems life a life-time ago. Remember how short life is and cherish each moment. Give your kids a hug before they go to school, you never know what kind of day they are going to have.

Unconditional Love and Acceptance

3/4/2014

If only we could love and accept others like dogs do. This story appeared in the media recently about a disabled boy, his disabled dog, and the remarkable bond between them. If we could all be as accepting as this dog, the world would be a better place. Animals can be wonderful healers. Please watch the full video below to hear about his story. Be warned it will make you cry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZIXoYHYEnkg