Brooke Shields is laughing right now

Tom Cruise is pissed off again. He really needs a better publicist. There have been reports that Katie Holmes is suffering postpartum depression—which, after what Cruise said about Brooke Shields, would be his just desserts. But Cruise denies the suggestion that Holmes is suffering.

Remember when Katie Holmes was cute, sweet Joey on Dawson’s Creek? Now she’s crying into her high-thread-count bedsheets at Scientology Central, not allowed to take anything stronger than a vitamin to make her feel better. Is she permitted Centrum, at least? Or are multivitamins verboten?

Life & Style magazine, that arbiter of truth and responsibility in journalism, quotes a “confidante” of Katie’s saying that she thinks she might have made a mistake. Too late, sweet girl. Now you’re stuck with L. Ron’s spawn.

liz | 10:58 AM | Uncategorized

A little time off

I’m going to take the rest of today off. I need to get away from the computer for a few hours. I haven’t even left the apartment yet today, which makes me feel like I’m coated in the same goo that seems to cling to me when I’m depressed. And sometimes I worry that the mere suggestion of depression will pull me down into the real thing. Does that happen to you too?

I can’t have these depression cooties on me. I have to get out of here. I’ll see you all tomorrow.

liz | 2:21 PM | Uncategorized

A woman with schizophrenia talks about her favorite poem

This video is making me reconsider my notion that Charles Bukowski was nothing more than a drunken misogynist who should pretty much be ignored. The notion that writing can be deliverance from the sting of mental illness, well, I’ve essentially made my career of testing that hypothesis. But I still don’t know the answer.

liz | 11:35 AM | Uncategorized

Elmo?

I woke up earlier than anticipated this morning. Last night I was planning to take a little extra Ativan to ensure a good night’s sleep. But then, as often, I chickened out. I worry constantly about addiction issues, especially given that I battled addiction to both Desoxyn and Klonopin. So I’m very careful now.

The result of my hesitation is that I awoke at 10 a.m., rather than the hoped-for noon, which gave me just enough time to catch some Sesame Street, which I haven’t watched since 1976. My first thought: Where’s Grover? He used to be my favorite. Now Elmo seems to have taken on the goofy Grover role. He even does that weird double take that takes him out of the TV frame like Grover used to do.

My second thought: Did Muppets always talk this way? I can hardly understand a thing Elmo’s saying. He said, “How many elephants can sleep in this bed,” and I thought he said, “How many underpants…” His words are coming out all clotted. Do kids like that? Is that part of the challenge?

Ah, such are the questions that consume me when I have a day off from work, as I do today. It’s as though all my serious thinking during the week has to be negated by mulling Elmo’s diction. Maybe I will take that extra Ativan after all.

liz | 10:16 AM | Uncategorized

Fun with words and pictures

Headline from today’s Herald Democrat: More than 4.3 million Texans may suffer from mental illness

[Image from George-Bush-Pics.com]

liz | 10:33 AM | Uncategorized

Tuesday, May 23

I’m still at work right now, and I don’t expect to leave soon. So I’ve decided that tonight I’m going to go crazy and take two Ativan instead of one and a half. It’s madness! Thus, my posts of Tuesday, May 23, will arrive a little later than usual.

But they’ll still be as delicious as ever, just like a sweet and scrumptious piece of pie. Yummm. Pie. [Insert drooly sound.]

liz | 7:53 PM | Uncategorized

Elton John postscript

But why doesn’t anyone ever show the love to Bernie Taupin? Didn’t he write the lyrics to most of these songs? And aren’t the songs great because of the lyrics? I mean, if instead of “Bennie and the Jets” Elton John was singing “Jenny and the Pets,” would it be as exciting? (And yes, I am assuming you think it’s exciting.)

So here’s a photo of Taupin. Thanks, Bernie, for the songs. This blog’s for you!

liz | 4:20 PM | Uncategorized

iTunes confession

My co-workers and I are all hooked up to iTunes, which means we can listen to each other’s music and decide who has the best taste. The person with lots of Dave Matthews? Ew. The person with lots of Al Green? Now we’re talking.

Today I’ve been listening to the new Bruce Springsteen album We Shall Overcome. It is, without question, one of the best albums I’ve heard in the past three years. And as I used to have all the music-editing duties here, that’s a lot of music. The six-minute “O Mary Don’t You Weep” is the best antidote to depression I could ever recommend. It should be the official song of The Trouble With Spikol. Don’t weep! ’Cause the Boss rules!

But here’s the confession: After two listens to Springsteen’s newest, which is actually prompting me to visit a record store in the flesh, I discovered that the same person with Dave Matthews and Coldplay also has … wait for it … Elton John’s Greatest Hits. And I’m afraid to say that’s winning the iTunes battle of the day. It may be crap, but I’M LOVING IT.

“Your Song,” “Levon,” “Tiny Dancer” (which always happily reminds me of Almost Famous), “Rocket Man”—what could be better?

Oh dear. I’m embarrassed. And singing aloud.

[This photo represents the brief historical moment when Elton John had something in common with Tom Wolfe.]

liz | 3:54 PM | Uncategorized

Bipolar Made Me Do It: Grow almost $500,000 worth of pot

Says self-professed bipolar tattoo artist David Heydn, who was arrested in Newport News for having 100 pot plants in his house: “I’m making a stand for all people who smoke pot for medicinal purposes. … My head spins so fast it’s like a swirl of mud up there. Without medication, I can’t grab a thought to think and I get irritated and annoyed and I get moody and I get frustrated and irritable.”

Heydn was arrested with a friend and fellow smoker/grower who it turns out, uh, is bipolar too.

Busted for growing pot, man says it’s his medication

UPDATE: I’ve been contacted by a few members of Heydn’s family, as well as a person who has the tattoo I originally posted here as an example of his artwork. I’ve removed the image. As for the comments, I really can’t post things here that say terrible things about a person unless that person is, like, the president. The issues in the family seem to be serious ones, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on them.

liz | 1:54 PM | Uncategorized

I don’t get this

A study presented at the 159th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association identified five predictors for bipolar disorder in patients diagnosed with major depression who have been unsuccessfully treated with antidepressants:

1. anxiety
2. feelings of people being unfriendly
3. family history of bipolar disorder
4. a recent diagnosis of depression
5. legal problems

With the exception of No. 3, does the study really suggest someone with major depression will be stricken with bipolar disorder because someone is unpleasant to them at the bus stop? And if the study pertains to people already diagnosed with depression, how does No. 4 fit in?

I suspect I need to do more research into this, perhaps when I’m off deadline at the newspaper. (Today is a doozy.) Meanwhile, if any of you guys have a better interpretation, let me know.

Study identifies predictors of bipolar disorder risk

liz | 12:23 PM | Uncategorized