Announcement
I’ll be blogging through the weekend because I haven’t been blogging much this week. It’s only fair.
liz | 5:35 PM | Uncategorized
Not dollhouses or Risperdal Consta, but…
Countering Schizophrenia by Finding Solace in Art [New York Times]
liz | 8:26 AM | Uncategorized
Risperdal art exhibit
Andrew T. writes:
Thought you might find this interesting. I personally find it unsettling and paradoxically uninspirational. There’s something really depressing about most of the artwork shown, and the Risperdal ad that flashes at the end makes it all seem so contrived.
And what’s the message? If you take our medication, you’ll be more creative? Somehow I doubt that’s always the upshot.
liz | 8:04 AM | Uncategorized
By far the weirdest headline about depression I’ve ever seen
Couple beat depression… by making dolls’ houses!
[I had to put an image with a hamster in it, as I'm now all about the hamsters.]
liz | 11:17 PM | Uncategorized
There’s a crazy person on the loose!
Media coverage like the below makes me feel like we still have a long way to go.
Police Capture Mental Health Escapee
liz | 8:36 AM | Uncategorized
I’m trying not to obsess over this article, but…
Brain scans ‘may detect OCD risk’
liz | 9:39 PM | Uncategorized
Cookies, and more cookies
Thanks to FEB for letting me know that The Stranger, one of my fave papers, published a great story about depression (among other things) that’s definitely worth a read. The first paragraph really could have been written by me.
P.S. I know this blog has been super sparse of late, but I have no computer access for most of the day, a situation and that I hope is temporary. This week I’m in training, and will have absolutely no computer at all until 5:30 or 6 p.m., at which point I’ll collapse in agony. So … I don’t really know what to do. Be patient please. I promise to be back soon.
liz | 7:17 AM | Uncategorized
Just in time for the holidays…
A little pick-me-up from muckraker extraordinaire Philip Dawdy over at Furious Seasons.
liz | 1:31 PM | Uncategorized
Call for nominees … for relaxation
From Matt S., who I hope (ahem) is nominating me!
Get on board for the Relaxation Ride!
Be chauffeured by PhillyCarShare Ambassadors from place to place while listening to soothing sounds and enjoying calming products and healthy goodies.At each location you’ll enjoy a rejuvenating experience in reiki, massage or yoga.
All you have to do is show up – we’ll take care of the rest!
Know someone who deserves a day of relaxation or want to ride yourself?
Here’s what to do: Email Jason@phillycarshare.org the name of the person you’re nominating, their email and phone number, your name (so we can tell them who nominated them), and the reason why you or they deserve to take the ride. Remember, you can nominate yourself.
Winners will be announced November 20th.
The Relaxation ride will take place Sunday, December 2nd, from 1-5:30pm.
*Brought to you by PCS and Key to The City Members Dhyana Yoga, The Reiki School and Clinic, and the Massage Arts Center
liz | 4:44 PM | Uncategorized
What if you mandate treatment that doesn’t work?
This comes from Stephany. The issue of meds not being the answer — especially in people with severe mental illness — is a very real one.
I understand a few things based on my experience as a mother with an adult daughter who is taking an anti psychotic medication, and also walks:
1. The meds are not as efficacious as the general public is led to believe via NAMI and other groups.
2. Med-compliance is not a cure or guarantee for safety or mental wellness.[of the person taking the meds]
3. My daughter was recently missing for 4 hours in the dark, in an unfamiliar city, while medicated, and in care of a mental health outpatient residential home.[that requires med compliance].
This is the point where I can say, yes people like my daughter DO deserve the right to live in a least restrictive [unlocked] environment, and that medication is clearly not the entire answer here. What is the answer?– is what we must all ask, because right now the mental health system across the United States is a malfuntioning system, based on a psychiatric medication paradigm–that clearly is not working. The terror of finding my daughter dead was unbelievable, and I am grateful she was found by police.
The article discusses eating food from dumpters, etc. as reason to tout forced medication–those same people can read here that med compliance didn’t work in my daughter’s case. What if you saw her wandering the road? lock her up for walking while medicated? She got lost in the dark.
liz | 8:36 AM | Uncategorized
