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
Liz Spikol was born in Philadelphia sometime in the 20th century. She started writing about her experience as a person with mental illness in 1999, while employed at Philadelphia Weekly as the paper’s managing editor. Aside from serving as that paper’s web editor, music editor, staff writer, senior editor, executive editor and a host of other random roles that she couldn’t make up her mind about, she has also worked as a Spanish teacher, as a Certified Peer Specialist during Philly’s system-wide transformation and as a communications specialist for a prison reform organization. Currently, she works at the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania and writes book reviews for PW. This blog — named one of the Top 10 Bipolar Blogs of 2007 and 2008 by PsychCentral — is about medications, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, PTSD, SAD (and many other acronyms), mad pride, Big Pharma, celebrities, hospitals, stigma and the recovery movement. And other stuff.
I’ll take a 1500 square feet 3 bedroom please.
My mother was depressed for years due to health problems. She did keep her spirits up by doing jigsaw puzzles. She would pass the time for hours working on the puzzles. They seemed to be therapeutic for her.
Is that Tinsel on the roof?
A comment about the accompanying Jewish Exponent ( or as we used to call it the “Jewish Explosion”) article. Were you and the PW staff so focused on cute that you missed the inherent insulting nature of the picture? Would you have thought a picture of a gerbil in a priest’s collar equally inoffensive?
That PW picture actually reminded me of just how nice a person you really are (which I may occasionally forget, but not often). I think it’s touching the way you cherish your little hamster.
I always find something interesting to read in this blog. As I’ve alluded to before, I think I’ve only ever known one or two other writers who are anywhere near as good as you are. You can say things in such a compelling way. I do think your standards for accepting comments are a little too strict – at least for me they are. But, of course, I know it’s your blog and you can do what you want to.
I’m sorry you got such negative reactions to the hamster picture. It would’ve never occurred to me, either, that a picture of a hamster wearing a yarmulke could be considered offensive. I think you never can know for sure when something might seem offensive to someone because that often depends on perspective – people interpret things differently based on their experiences and beliefs. I think the ADL guy’s point about the difference between a rat and a hamster made a lot of sense. Anyway, noone who knows you could think you had any nefarious intent in using that picture. I hope it doesn’t get blown out of proportion.
Au revoir, m’amie.
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