I got thinking about this recently after talking with a blogger friend who has the amazing ability to optimistically see the silver lining in almost any dark cloud, and I very much do not. It makes me wonder, though, whether that makes me a pessimist, or am I just a realist? To start off, it’s […]
Mental Illness Life: Are You a Pessimist? Or Just a Realist? Read More »
Harm reduction isn’t an approach that was originally developed to help with managing nonsuicidal self-injury (self-harm), but it does offer a way to provide greater support to people who don’t yet have other strategies available to them to be able to go clean from self-harm. Addictions and harm reduction Harm reduction is most often used
Harm Reduction for Self-Harm Read More »
“So, what do you do for work?” That’s a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill question if you’re meeting someone for the first time. It’s also one of the reasons why I dislike being around people. In our society, adults are expected to work; if you don’t, that’s considered unusual unless you fall into a certain pre-determined category,
Mental Illness and Work vs. Disability Read More »
One of the many things I’ve learned about through blogging is Christine Miserandino‘s spoon theory. In a 2003 essay, she described using the metaphor to explain to a friend what it felt like to have a chronic invisible illness (in her case, lupus). She and her friend were in a restaurant, and spoons were easily
Applying Spoon Theory to Living with Mental Illness Read More »
I first heard of the documentary Out of Mind, Out of Sight when I saw it recommended on the Bipolar, Uninvited blog. It sounded interesting, so I wanted to check it out. NCRMD It’s shot at an inpatient unit in a forensic psychiatry facility in Brockville, Canada. All of the patients had committed a criminal
Out of Mind, Out of Sight: A Forensic Psychiatry Close-Up Read More »
This post was inspired by a recent post by a fellow blogger about the psychology behind excuses. I left a comment about distinguishing between reasons and excuses, and I thought the idea was worth some further expansion. Defining reasons & excuses The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines reason as “a statement or fact that explains why something
Is Mental Illness More of a Reason or an Excuse? Read More »
The disturbing documentary God Knows Where I Am tells the story of Linda Bishop, and her death after being released from a state psychiatric hospital. The film includes readings from Linda’s journal, and commentary from people who knew her, including her sister and her daughter. Their words powerfully captured the pain and frustration of a
God Knows Where I Am: A Story of Death By Mental Illness Read More »
A few months ago, I decided to go ahead and book an overseas vacation. I hoped that it would give me something to look forward to, and that it would help to finally put a dent in the anhedonia and apathy that have been such a challenging part of my depression. I decided to go
The Pros & Cons of Travelling for Mental Health Read More »
While some sources of trauma are time-limited, others occur repeatedly over prolonged periods of time. The term complex PTSD is used to capture the profound psychological harm these people exposed to the latter have experienced, including changes in self-concept, problems with emotional regulation, distorted perceptions of the perpetrator, and impaired relationships with others. Diagnostic systems
Why Isn’t Complex PTSD in the DSM–5? Read More »
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was a landmark research trial conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the U.S. Center for Disease Control. The study examined the correlation between adverse experiences in childhood and health outcomes in adulthood, and it clearly showed just how profound that connection is. What are adverse childhood experiences? Adverse childhood experiences
The Lasting Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences Read More »
