TTWS Best Post of 2008

Think it’s too early to dole out awards for 2008? Then read the below fabulousness from Joe, reacting to NAMI’s 2008 conference theme of Tomorrowland Today.

So much optimism, so much systemic anosognosia. While organizations are free to make different representations to different audiences, it is difficult to accept NAMI’s bold assertion that “Tomorrow has arrived!” After all, NAMI gave our nation’s mental health system a grade of D in 2006. The idea that “Tomorrow has arrived!” might only be true in Fantasy Land. (It seems appropriate that NAMI’s 2008 conference is being held in Orlando, the home of Disneyland and in the state which ranks 48th (2006) in per capita public mental health spending.)

Tomorrow has arrived!

“Improved treatments; new social supports for employment, housing, and a host of other services needed to sustain recovery; significant progress in the realm of criminal justice; widespread education efforts and a strong and vital consumer movement – these and other innovations are making possible what just a few years ago seemed unattainable for many persons will mental illness – recovery!”

I guess I should go down to our county psychiatric hospital and tell the 300+ inpatients that they are no longer being discharged to the shelters but are actually being housed. Then I’ll go over to the county jail and tell those on the psychiatric pods that they are receiving treatment beyond medication alone. Then I’ll go stop by but one of our community mental health centers where eighty percent of the 2500 consumers in its outpatient division receive no treatment other than medication and tell them that that they are receiving improved treatments. Then I’ll go down to the sheltered workshop which receives three hundred referrals a year yet but could only relate one individual’s post program outcome and tell them that they are receiving new social supports for employment. Then I’ll go national and call those who comprised the 34% increase in the number of individuals on SSI by virtue mental illness in the five years ending 2006 and tell them they might well be on the path to recovery. I guess I could but my peers and I have to live in the real world of Today Land.

Joe, you kick butt.

liz | 11:53 AM | Uncategorized

Back from the semi-dead: Funny or Offensive?

We haven’t had this category for a while, but Masale Wallah helps us out with the below satirical piece from the Utne Reader. If you’re British, you’ll be best equipped to tell me if it’s Funny or Offensive.

Not Depressed, Just British!
A new take on mental health

George Farthing, an expatriate British man living in America, was diagnosed as clinically depressed, tanked up on antidepressants, and scheduled for a controversial shock therapy when doctors realized he wasn’t depressed at all, he was just British!

Farthing, a man whose characteristic pessimism and gloomy perspective were interpreted as serious clinical depression, was led on a nightmare journey through the American psychiatric system. Doctors described Farthing as suffering from pervasive negative anticipation: a belief that everything will turn out for the worst, whether it’s trains arriving late, England’s chances of winning any national sports events, or his own prospects of getting ahead in life. The doctors reported that the satisfaction he seemed to get from his pessimism was particularly pathological.

‘They put me on everything — lithium, Prozac, St. John’s wort,’ Farthing says. ‘They even told me to sit in front of a big light for half an hour a day or I’d become suicidal. I kept telling them this was all pointless, and they said that was exactly the sort of attitude that got me here in the first place.’

Dr. Isaac Horney, a psychotherapist, explored Farthing’s family history and couldn’t believe his ears. Farthing spoke of growing up in a gray little town where it rained every day, of treeless streets lined with identical houses, and of passionately backing a football team that never won. Although Farthing had six months of therapy, he mainly wanted to talk about the weather. ‘I felt he wasn’t responding to therapy at all,’ says Horney, who recommended electroconvulsive therapy.

Farthing takes up the story: ‘Hopeless case? I was all strapped down on the table, and they were about to put the rubber bit in my mouth when the psychiatric nurse picked up on my accent and said, ‘Oh my God, I think we’re making a terrible mistake!” Identifying Farthing as British changed the diagnosis of clinical depression to rather quaint and charming. He was immediately discharged from the hospital with a selection of brightly colored leaflets and an I Love New York T-shirt.

liz | 2:07 PM | Uncategorized

Awards time, and I’m not talkin’ Golden Globes

Honoring Those Who Make a Difference for Mental Health

It’s time to thank mental health consumers once again for giving a voice to people with mental health problems. The Voice Awards honor mental health consumer leaders for their contributions in reducing stigma and discrimination.

If you know of a mental health consumer who has led efforts to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illnesses, demonstrated that recovery is real and possible, and made a positive impact on their workplace, community, and/or school, please nominate them for a 2008 Voice Award. Additional consideration will be given to nominees who have made a positive impact within special populations, such as racially and ethnically diverse groups and young adults ages 18 to 24.

Nominations are open to anyone, are free,
and there is no limit to the number an individual can submit.

Nominate at www.voiceawards.samhsa.gov.

Mental health consumer nominations are due Friday, January 18, 2008.

The Voice Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony in Los Angeles in May 2008. More details about the awards ceremony to follow!

liz | 3:11 PM | Uncategorized

Still SAD?

SADly, Seasonal Affective Disorder is with us for quite a while still. Here are some tips from the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Natural Medicine: Natural Treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or winter depression, is very common in the Pacific Northwest. The lack of sunlight in winter is thought to contribute to symptoms of SAD, including loss of energy, mild depression, oversleeping, overeating and carbohydrate cravings. Fortunately, there are several natural ways to combat these symptoms.

Light therapy is one of the easiest, non-invasive, natural ways to treat SAD and research supports its use. Light boxes providing 10,000 lux are used to stimulate light exposure with a goal of 30 minutes of direct facial exposure in the morning.

Fight carbohydrate cravings, which can contribute to and aggravate feelings of depression. Eat healthy protein from sources such as nuts, eggs, lean meats and beans regularly and with each carbohydrate serving. Choose complex carbohydrates such as fruits, grains and vegetables instead of simple ones such as white flours and sugars.

Research supports the benefits of exercise for depression, but it can be tough to exercise in the winter in the Northwest. Finding an exercise buddy may encourage daily movement and help keep you motivated. Gyms are a good place to find indoor recreation, exercise classes and equipment to keep you out of the dark.

There is a connection between low vitamin D levels and SAD. Vitamin D, actually a hormone, needs UVB sun exposure to be processed in the body. It’s important to check blood levels of 25-OH vitamin D first as there are toxicity concerns. Most data supports daily doses of 2000 IU of vitamin D3. Food sources include cod, salmon, sardines, herring and fortified cereals and milks. You also can plan a sunny winter vacation to increase your levels of this “sunshine vitamin.”

Other nutrients useful for SAD include omega-3 fatty acids, B-vitamins, melatonin, St. John’s Wort and amino acids such as 5-HTP and L-tryptophan. Each of these therapies has the potential for drug interactions, so it’s important to talk with a naturopathic physician about safe, appropriate dosage.

–Melissa McCarty, ND, naturopathic physician and resident, Bastyr Center for Natural Health

liz | 9:00 AM | Uncategorized

More on guns

It’s a provocative topic, that’s for sure. From Susan S., who shares herself quite bravely:

This past fall when I was suicidal I tried to get a gun in NJ. I was honest on the application and said I had been hospitalized.

I was told I couldn’t even apply and the man ripped up my application. He told me honestly, the way I had answered other questions the application wouldn’t have gone through,

I then went to both Pennsylvania and Conneticut , as well as Manhattan, and all forms were denied.

At the time I was real pissed, I look at it now that maybe someone was looking after me. Because when these moods hit me and I get suicidal ideation, it would be to easy to take the gun out and eat it. Instead, I got to fight the feelings and not give in. It’s hard. Right now I don’t even know if it is worth it, but I got to keep fighting in the hope it will get better again.

liz | 1:33 PM | Uncategorized

Interesting comment about gun ownership

From time to time, I’ve been accused of not sufficiently representing the Republican point of view. Mea culpa. Perhaps the below comment will go a little way toward mitigating that. It also shows why this issue of mental health and gun ownership can trouble some people. Thanks to Linda L. for sharing:

Both my husband and I have been baker acted or marchment acted. He is conservative Republican who believes in the right to bear arms. However, we decided to sell his passed away father’s guns that were locked in a safe in our house.

We both feel safer now. Not that we would hurt each other, it was more of safety for keeping ourselves from harming ourselves.

Does that make any sense?

liz | 10:24 AM | Uncategorized

Conflicted

Much to everyone’s chagrin, I remain permanently conflicted on the subject of gun ownership for people who have been 302′ed in the wake of violent behavior. I hate to deny anyone their rights; on the other hand, I don’t understand why owning a gun should be a right. So the ambiguity comes, in part, from my gun-control politics rather than my mental health advocacy.

Now a task force in North Carolina is recommending a strategy to keep all people with involuntary commitments from buying guns:

Now-confidential information about involuntary commitments to mental hospitals should be used to deny handguns to people with such a record, according to a draft report of a task force’s recommendations on campus safety.

The recommendation is one of several that the task force plans to release Thursday. The News & Observer of Raleigh obtained a draft report of the recommendations Wednesday.

The task force recommends a new law that would require that counties provide information about involuntary commitment orders to the national background check database. The proposed law could prevent people with mental illness from buying guns.

Sounds Orwellian, right? On the other hand, as the Herald Sun reports:

Mental health information is provided to the system now. But it typically is not revealed unless the person applying for a gun permit signs a waiver.

So the change is in the waiver, not in the data collection — which makes the lede of this article somewhat misleading. The waiver change is significant, and that should have been the highlighted matter.

NC panel recommends gun permit changes for mentally ill

liz | 8:34 AM | Uncategorized

A Change Is Gonna Come

And I don’t just mean via Hilary or Obama. This blog is undergoing massive change, and I feel the need to prepare you. More details later.

liz | 1:26 PM | Uncategorized

Reporters: They’re Just Like Us!

Joe writes:

Sometimes a reporter fails in his or her duty to inform the community. Here is one perfect example in an article which happens to deal with ECT. At the onset, the reporter asserts an absolute which is not the case, “In Vermont, patients are given complete medical and psychiatric examinations when they enter the hospital.” The Vermont State Hospital came under criticism for failing to provide any physical examination let alone a “complete” physical examination. It was reported on December 11, 2007 that, “The monitors found areas of worry. They called it ‘dangerous’ that the hospital doesn’t provide every new patient with a physical examination. ‘You can’t treat patients psychiatrically without knowing their physical status.’ ”

How many persons who have been in a psych hospital or on a psych unit have experienced a complete medical examination?

liz | 5:06 PM | Uncategorized

Brit has bipolar disorder?

That’s what people have been saying for a long time, but never as emphatically as this past week, when things spiraled completely out of control for the former pop star. I feel sorry for her, but it isn’t easy. She taxes the mind and spirit of the most sympathetic blogger. Thanks to Susan S. for sending me the latest Brit posts from TMZ.com. This morning I found something on MSNBC.com, which is supposedly more reputable. Hah.

Sources: Spears suffering from bipolar disorder

liz | 1:13 PM | Uncategorized