@GOOD has posted an Infographic: Facing Mental Illness by the USC School of Social Work.
What have you found for National Mental Health Awareness Week?
Tag Archives: Bipolar
Brian Wilson, Barenaked Ladies, and Me
When I was a senior in college, I had a car. I’d loved driving ever since I got my license – driving around the county, the state. I had loved figuring out how to get somewhere I hadn’t been since I was six. And, as everyone knows, music always sounds best when you’re driving, at night, passing the exit for where you’re supposed to be.
Those nights, when I was a senior in college and when I wasn’t able to sleep, or when I was freaked out, or when I was trying to do everything I could think of to NOT think, I would get in my teal Taurus wagon and head away from my apartment. And as soon as I signaled for my first right, I’d get my copy of Gordon ready. By the time I passed the second-hand CD store, I’d be well into the first verse of “Brian Wilson,” by Barenaked Ladies. I’d had the CD since 1993, but this song became the song.
Drove downtown in the rain/ nine-thirty on a tuesday night,/ just to check out the late-night/ record shop.
I was able to let go, to relax as the song looped and I drove toward the Conservatory or downtown or past new construction. The heater would eventually turn on, or I’d open all of the windows and breathe in the cold. I had a rule at the time: If I drove through two stop signs or red lights, it was time to turn back and head home. Until then, drive and sing to “Brian Wilson:”
Call it impulsive, call it/ compulsive, call it insane;/ but when I’m surrounded I just/ can’t stop.
The song just… matched me. Me, and how I felt whenever I got in that car, and how I felt as I drove. It was right. It was true. It was real. And so everything that was going on in my head and my life must have been real, too. The singer seemed to feel the way I did, and he seemed to think that was what it was like to be Brian Wilson. He (the singer) was reaching out to identify with someone. I was, too.
This week I read on BP Magazine‘s Facebook page that Steven Page, writer of “Brian Wilson” and lead singer of the same, has bipolar disorder. BP had attached a link to an article on MetroCanada about Steven Page‘s talk at Algonquin College, which has created support systems for students and staff with mental illness. (Read the article, the resources look great.)
The article stated that “being an artist makes it easier for him to talk about his struggles.” Being a listener helped me understand mine. Thank you, Steven Page.
NYTimes Op-Ed: Romney’s Sick Joke
A reader asked me to post this, a New York Times Op-Ed by Paul Krugman, titled “Romney’s Sick Joke”
Author Paul Krugman says:
“No. 1,” declared Mitt Romney in Wednesday’s debate, “pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.” No, they aren’t – as Mr. Romney’s own advisers have conceded in the past, and did again after the debate.
Mr. Krugman continues: What Mr. Romney actually proposes is that Americans with pre-existing conditions who already have health coverage be allowed to keep that coverage even if they lose their job – as long as they keep paying the premiums. As it happens, this is already the law of the land. But it’s not what anyone in real life means by having a health plan that covers pre-existing conditions, because it applies only to those who manage to land a job with health insurance in the first place (and are able to maintain their payments despite losing that job). Did I mention that the number of jobs that come with health insurance has been steadily declining over the past decade?
What Mr. Romney did in the debate, in other words, was, at best, to play a word game with voters, pretending to offer something substantive for the uninsured while actually offering nothing. For all practical purposes, he simply lied about what his policy proposals would do.
How many Americans would be left out in the cold under Mr. Romney’s plan? One answer is 89 million.
(The photo is not from the Op-Ed piece, but from a photo library – And it really matches how I feel about this issue. I apologize that I don’t know who to credit it to.)
Love Love Love This Fashion
A fabulous style icon. After spending so many years trying to fit in, or fly under the radar in black, this is an awesome, tempting alternative:
http://rookiemag.com/2012/09/byc-iris-apfel/
Superhero Shout-Out: My College Dean
This Superhero Shout-Out goes out to my College Dean!
I was hospitalized halfway through my senior year at college. I was also halfway across the country from home. My Dad flew in, and as he helped me figure out so many changes, he set up a meeting with the Dean. The Dean helped me stay registered in two of my scheduled classes, working it around the weeks of out-patient therapy that was a requirement of my hospital release.
She also checked in with me – not just on my academic standing, but on how I was feeling and coping. I’d always really respected and liked her, but after that I also thought of her as my friend and a member of my team.
I walked with the rest of my class at commencement on a cold May morning, and received my diploma the following spring after I completed my senior capstone requirement. I don’t know what my Dean did behind the scenes. What I saw was her encouraging my work on the illustrated book I had started about/to help me understand and create a structure for the bipolar. It was the beginning of my survival kit.
Without her support and friendship, I wouldn’t still be working on my book (it evolves as I do), and I wouldn’t have created my blog and set up the Facebook page. With her encouragement, I don’t know that I would be so comfortable talking about how I have bipolar and how it’s part of who I am and part of my success.
Thank you for everything, Superhero Dean!
Loving BP Magazine!
I’m really loving BP Magazine. I found it in a Headache Institute office’s waiting room, and it was the best part of the appointment! They put out regular posts on Facebook: well-written pieces by people with Bipolar. The magazine had a great article on brain fog and the things readers do to cope with memory loss. I felt like I found my people! Check it out.
A Wonderful Day
Appreciating a day that was wonderful, and glad to recognize it at the time.
Unsettled: Weather, Me
The heat is rolling in. Clouds are filling the sky, but it’s supposed to be 20 degrees warmer tomorrow. I was looking forward to the evening ahead – good company and some good work to do together.
But the weather is creating electricity in me. I’m unsettled. I’ll change my plans around and just relax into it. Still have good company, but break a routine. Maybe skip a movie and draw instead. Play a board game. Make cool drinks of orange juice, cranberry juice, and seltzer. Drink water. Get sleep. Work with the heat, instead of getting frenzied trying to fight it and the mood elevations that often accompany it. Enjoy the summer. Enjoy the heat. Appreciate how it rises up and warps the views I am so used to in other seasons. Try to get that on film. Choose quiet. Make quiet. Drink cool water. Relax.
superfabulousgettingby 