Big pharma takes a hit — for now

It’s a sad day for the drugmakers. The American Society of Addiction Medicine in New York has found that addiction to video games is not, in fact, a mental illness. From Reuters:

“There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn’t get to have the word addiction attached to it,” said Dr Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine in New York.

Gitlow spoke at a meeting of the American Medical Association. But the next DSM, which comes out in 2012, may well include it.

AMA Backs Down From Video Game Addiction

RELATED: Video Game Addicts Now Have a Detox Clinic

liz | 4:07 PM | Uncategorized

First Person, Singular: Not everyone’s on psych meds

Here’s a dispatch from one of the TWS faithful, Kent R. I really appreciate your all sharing your experiences. Keep ‘em coming!

It’s been so long since I’ve taken any psychiatric drugs I can hardly remember what it’s like, but I thought I’d offer my opinion anyway (since I sometimes get the impression that not everyone realizes it’s possible to be on these drugs at one time but not forever).

One of my last crises that seemed to be alleviated by these drugs happened in Philadelphia, actually. It was during the Bicentennial celebration. I had come down from Boston by bus with a group to protest something. My first feeling of panic came shortly we arrived, when I found out the group might not have enough food for everyone to eat that evening. I think I eventually got a bowl of something, and things seemed a little bit better for a while. Then we drove to some church to bed down for the night. We had to sleep on the floor of the church, and it was so crowded that practically every inch of floor space was covered by people laying on it (but at least it was carpeted).

Since I had felt all right before leaving Boston, I had left my medication at home. But all this crowding and uncertainty caused me to have something like a panic attack, so the next morning I found a trolley station and took the train downtown looking for a hospital. When I got there I found a very large one (I think it was Hahnemann Hospital), and I presented my Medicaid card at the desk in the emergency room and told them what I was experiencing. I spent several hours there over the course of the next two days waiting. Eventually they were able to supply me with a small bottle of some drug – I’m not sure if it was the drug I had been taking (Stelazine), or just something similar – but I definitely felt better after taking some of it. Another thing that helped me feel a little better was that the hospital had a very beautiful chapel just down the hall from the emergency room, and some of the time I was waiting I spent there.

Within two or three years of that experience, though, I completely stopped taking psychiatric drugs. First I tapered them off, then I just stopped them completely. I believe that one of the reasons I was able to do this was that during most of that time I had a relatively stable and secure housing environment. Even though I lived in an inexpensive neighborhood, it was well-maintained and interesting (on the cheap side of Beacon Hill).

It’s been over 25 years now since I’ve taken any kind of psychiatric drug. It hasn’t been great, but I’ve had a few accomplishments. I put myself through college, using mostly a combination of grants and scholarships, and got a B.A. (in Communications, unfortunately). I’ve had a lot of different jobs, most of them short-term, but I haven’t been living on the street as is often expected of crazy people who aren’t taking medications. For a few years I worked at the post office, before I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to quit (but a lot of people can’t stand the post office).

So it’s possible to take psychiatric drugs for a few months or years without having to always take them. Perhaps the quality of life isn’t necessarily all that great without them – but I think it’s probably not that great with them, either. I might’ve developed something like tardive dyskinesia by now if I hadn’t stopped. I think environmental factors can make a big difference in whether or not someone has to be dependent on these drugs, and in some cases money spent on providing decent housing and a secure environment can be much more cost-effective than money spent on drugs.

[Image of the Bicentennial quarter.]

liz | 12:45 PM | Uncategorized

All right, then

Yesterday, for my birthday, I decided to allow myself not just to eat whatever I wanted, but to binge. Here is the list of stuff I ate:

corn muffin
rock candy
cornish hen
bagel with whitefish
stuffed artichokes
asparagus
t-bone and ribeye steak
birthday cake

When I went to bed last night, my stomach was so full, I was having trouble breathing. I was drowning in my own corpulence. It was sort of freeing, oddly.

Today, however, I’m barely sentient, so I’m signing off. I’m going to eat more rock candy and birthday cake tonight. So there!

[Image of my fantasy meal -- 'cause I like my shit pure, homes! -- from Jordan Almonds.]

liz | 4:18 PM | Uncategorized

Cute fix: Grammar!

This is a photo of my colleague, Jeff Barg, who is the managing editor of Philadelphia Weekly. He is gazing fondly upon his nephew, Samuel, who was born just a few months ago. (Side note: Jews aren’t allowed to name a baby after a person who is still alive; it’s considered bad luck. So if they want to pay tribute to a relative, they have to wait till the relative is dead. This means the names often seem kind of old-school. God forbid I should want to name my baby after a grandparent — their names were Yetta, Eddie, Manny and Bloomie. No matter what happens, in a world of Dakotas and Britneys and Harpers, “Yetta” will never be cool.)

So that’s the Cute Fix. I am breaking all the Cute Fix rules by posting a photo of a human being because Jeff, with whom I have a brother-sister-get-on-each-other’s-nerves-but-love-each-other-anyway relationship, has started a GRAMMAR PODCAST. Is that not the coolest/nerdiest thing on the planet?

The podcast is an adjunct to his PW column, the Angry Grammarian — a column I thought was completely insane. Who, other than me and Jeff and readers of Copy Editor Magazine — would be interested in the proper use of semicolons? Lots of people, as it’s turned out. And the podcast goes one better. It’s totally awesome.

Check it out here! (Scroll to the bottom of the page for the link.)

liz | 12:50 PM | Uncategorized

Preacher’s wife

EVS sent me the latest news about Mary Winkler, the woman who shot her husband, a preacher, in their home. The murder sent shock waves through the religious community of Selmer, Tenn. Everyone wanted to know why she did it, but there was no clear answer for a long time. She was very reticent.

She got an unbelievably light sentence for that murder — 210 days and three years probation — because she was ultimately convicted of voluntary manslaughter, which has a maximum in that state of six years. She’s now moving to a mental health facility, which was a condition of her sentence. When she finishes her 60 days there, she’ll be able to go home.

MARY WINKLER FULL COVERAGE & BREAKING NEWS

liz | 10:56 AM | Uncategorized

On the subject of going on and off the meds

From Adam B.:

I’ve stopped my meds before either because I missed the “highs” of my bipolarness, or because I begin to view them as a form of evil control that is turning me into something other than my natural self. I try to tell myself, I’ll feel fine once the withdrawal lets off. But I always go back on them because I find the cost of those things I think I want (”highs”, mind-freedom) are still to dear for me.

I can definitely relate to thinking it will be OK and then finding (again) that it won’t, and the not-so-faint grief that its true I still need to take my meds.

liz | 4:10 PM | Uncategorized

Take good care, my friends

Masale.Wallah asked who Terry — the guy who wrote the latest First Person, Singular (below) — is. That’s Terry Boal, and he’s a faithful reader and writer for this site. He writes about his experiences with schizoaffective disorder, but whatever your diagnosis, we can all relate.

Unfortunately, Simon Nielsen — another faithful reader and someone who has brought a lot of humor and joy into my life — is having trouble much like Terry’s:

sadly, this has been my existence for the last 3 nights. after such a long period of wellness i can feel myself slipping again. i foolishly stopped taking my medication 2 months ago believing i could go it alone and travel onward into the sunset sane and happy. now i’m spending night after night awake and mindlessly googling the hours away. my mind feels numb and disconnected. i’m isolating myself from everyone and yet believing it’s okay. reading the above entry by terry reminds me i probably should see my psych. again.

Simon, I’m sorry you’re going through this. How many of us have stopped taking meds because we felt better and believed we could go it alone? I know I have. How about the other readers here? I’ll bet a lot of people.

But you are worth taking care of, and we’re all pulling for you. Please do see the psych. again if that has worked in the past. The sunset will seem a lot closer.

[Photo by Melita]

liz | 1:49 PM | Uncategorized

First Person, Singular: Sleepless Night

Another entry from Terry. Of all the things he’s written, I feel like this is the one that most hits home with me. So much of it resonates as my experience as well. Thanks, Terry, once again, for your honesty.

Ten past two, the fridge cuts out; the silence is so tangible, it’s like a blank slate, punctuated only by the ticking clock. It’s time to move, move from the couch to bed, turn out the lights. Take my meds, brush my teeth.

But no, paralysis sets in, symptomatic of the dread of going into my darkened room, the empty bed. At least on the couch here there is the illusion of well being: Sports Illustrated lays open on my chest and Springsteen only just left the building.

I’m passed the point of no return, no sleep tonight; I’m officially up; it’s now tomorrow; Starbucks opens at seven. Somehow the five hour gap must be filled.

Mindless surfing seems in order. I put an Etta James CD in the slot and open up the browser. I google myself just to make sure I still exist in cyberspace. The science fiction writer William Gibson coined the term while watching stoned teenagers play video games. He has never owned a computer.

The cursor mesmerizes me; I rub three days worth of stubble, for some it’s fashionable; for me it’s a sign of decomposition. That gets me off the couch; I shower and shave.

Back at my work station, I google Google there are 265,680,000 hits.

Yesterday I was in siege mode; didn’t get out of bed until three and didn’t go out, except for a brief foray to Subway. My hunger is fueled by elanzopine so I keep no food in the apartment or I could eat a week’s worth of groceries in a day.

I’ve put on forty pounds and now have high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. My GP prescribes exercise (I ride a bike 15 miles three times a week) and she wants me off elanzopine. Cycling is fine. Endorphins induce well being and relaxation, finally drugs without side effects. My psychiatrist wants to at least lower the dose of elanzopine. It’s only me who’s digging my heels in. It’s a delicate balancing act. One more psychotic break and I don’t think I’ll come back, but neither do I want to shorten my life or affect its quality.

[Painting is by Belarusan artist Vera Asiadouskaya. It's called Sleeplessness, and can be found at Snowbarsk online gallery.]

More »

liz | 10:06 AM | Uncategorized

Cute fix/familicide

Kent R. said soon I’d be getting into hamster towels and sinks and all kinds of other bathroom accessories. I can’t find any of that, but in looking, I did discover the Sanrio character Coro Coro the hamster. Pictured is a drawstring pouch with an image of the sweet thing.

In less cheerful news, EVS sent this fascinating article about familicide — when the member of one family takes the lives of all the others. Though it’s tempting to draw conclusions from murder-suicides, some experts fear making generalizations. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Levinson said a homicide-suicide scenario within a family is uncommon because most people who are capable of homicide won’t kill themselves, and the majority of people who commit suicide are not homicidal.

Behind dad’s slaying of family

liz | 3:10 PM | Uncategorized

Reforming healthcare one theater at a time

Looks like there’s been a crackdown on bootleg copies of Sicko, Michael Moore’s new movie about the healthcare industry. A studio exec told E!:

“From our research it is clear that people interested in the [healthcare] movement are excited to go to the theater so they can be part of the experience and fight to reform health care.”

How does going to the theater reform health care? I think seeing it at home — away from bacteria, panic attacks, claustrophobia, and a flickering, seizure-inducing screen — is much more healthy. Nor do I believe that giving money to Weinstein and co. will reform the system.

Michael Moore doesn’t care one way or another. He told E!:

“I don’t agree with the copyright laws and I don’t have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they’re not trying to make a profit off my labor,” he said.

Bootleg Sicko Copies Quarantined

liz | 10:30 AM | Uncategorized