Thursday, October 26, 2017

SHAME ON STIGMA



How mental health STIGMA plays out in daily life.


Siri tells me the definition of stigma is:  
"A mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person."

Back in the day, mental illness was something families kept hidden.  If your family member was mentally ill, stigma felt like a thick, dark, looming cloud.  It choked off conversation about the realities and difficulties facing families dealing with fragile psyches.  It was too painful to be open about, because everyone judged.  The stigma was palpable. Those struggling were misunderstood and most folks feared them.  As time passed, mature reasoning and education has enlightened the masses.   Now, we realize that depression and anxiety, for example, can be normal reactions to life's hardest challenges.  We all have emotional days, to a certain degree.  We all have individual DNA, unique experineces, and we all handle things in our own way.  Depending on what you've experienced, your emotional reaction will reflect that.  It's Newton's third law:  "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."  Life is balanced like that, and that's normal.

We all feel sadness, joy, fear, anger...  We have these wonderful emotions for a reason.  They make us human, they connect our hearts.  Without emotions, there would be no feelings...no color. Yuck.  I don't know about you, but living in shades of black, white, and gray isn't how I want to see or FEEL life!  There would be less beauty, art, expression, less affect/affection, and NO LOVE.

No, thank you.

Monday, October 16, 2017

My Stress and Benzos

***MASHUP***
Things Happen For A Reason” 
~and~
Precisely What's Wrong In This Country

         I recently had an experience that I believe was providential, albeit upsetting…  
Meant to be, because it perfectly encapsulates what I and a growing number of informed citizens are realizing is a massive problem in this country; that being:  
Ass-u-me-ing a pill will “fix it”.
The scenario was the day I blogged last month about TEARS. 
(Read that, if you haven’t…it was inspired by this event.)
         Last month, for the second day in a row, my left fingers were numb.  I didn’t think much the first day, but by day two, coupled with my ongoing “broken heart syndrome” and my history of having been diagnosed by a top Vanderbilt Cardiologist of heart spasm… Plus, add in the stress of dealing with the horrors my brother is enduring (criminalization due to “mental illness”), and fighting that mountainous monster (which includes Big Pharma, the American Psychiatric Association, and potentially Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, etc.).  This isn’t a David and Goliath fight. 
This feels more like Erin Brockovich vs The Tobacco Industry/GOT White Walkers, and Slavery, combined.  I pray that doesn’t offend anyone, but since Jeff (my brother) has been force-drugged with RX that has only served to injure him for almost three decades, and then was held alone in segregation in Tulsa County jail last year for 111 days, maybe you can overlook the PC.  (Thank you.)

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Brains in Cages

BLOGWORTHY “Blog Replacement”

I’ve been traveling for 3 weeks, busy with mental health advocacy, and haven’t settled on a blog yet… So, when I ran across this, I decided to just POST IT, instead of a blog…for now.  #GREATNESS  #Ican'tTakeCredit #JohnOliver

WATCH THIS VIDEO ( link )
Mental Health:  
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (monologue Oct 4, 2015):


1. Stigma:  (min: 00.20 seconds in)
Derogatory words/phrases used to talk about the mentally ill by media and in life.
(examples:  “wacko” “psycho” “cray cray” etc.,
Cited: Dr. Harold Schwartz, Chief Psychiatrist, Hartford Hospital
(video clip from LAST WEEK TONIGHT interview)
CONCLUSION:
Current accepted vernacular perpetuates stigma.