Building mental wellness on a foundation of strength
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term is paranoia. Kind of like anxiety and depression, the word paranoia often gets tossed around fairly loosely in common parlance, but in a psychological/psychiatric sense it has far more significance. Google Dictionary defines paranoia as: "a mental condition characterized… Continue reading What Is… Paranoia
People tend to fear the unknown. Psychosis is arguably the group of symptoms that the average person finds the most frightening when it comes to mental health problems. There is stigma associated with many/most/all mental health conditions, but psychosis kicks it up a notch. What psychosis is As a quick explanation, psychosis refers to a… Continue reading Why Psychosis Scares People
Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse is a documentary, available on Amazon Prime, about a man with schizophrenia who was killed by police in Portland, Oregon. This film was funded by The Mental Health Association of Portland and over 1500 individual supporters, which I thought was pretty impressive. It's an extremely disturbing example… Continue reading Alien Boy: The Police Killing of a Man with Schizophrenia
Here are a few great TED Talks I've found on a variety of topics related to mental health and illness. Eleanor Longden: The Voices in My Head https://embed.ted.com/talks/eleanor_longden_the_voices_in_my_head A psychiatrist once told Eleanor Longden that she would be better off having cancer than a psychotic illness, as it would be more curable. Having the voice… Continue reading TED Talks: Mental Illness
No One Cares About Crazy People is Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author Ron Powers’ exploration of his two sons' journeys with schizophrenia, combined with a sweeping social history of mental health care and attitudes towards those with mental illness. He skillfully interweaves these separate threads, drawing the reader along from the early… Continue reading Book review: No One Cares About Crazy People
A primer on antipsychotics and how they work
This is what I learned about love and acceptance from a man with schizophrenia.