Are You Going to Kill Yourself No Matter What?
In the below Chicago Tribune editorial, Steve Chapman says having a gun in the house doesn’t really make a difference when it comes to suicide.
Is buying a gun a suicidal act?
liz | 4:55 PM | Uncategorized
Cute Fix: Singing Puppies to Sleep
I want this man in my life.
liz | 10:25 AM | Uncategorized
Foaming at the Mouth About the New Yorker!
This is what I say to those offended by the New Yorker’s cover (here): Are you at all familiar with the history of this publication? As a longtime subscriber, I can assure you, this is utterly in keeping. To wit:
liz | 4:05 PM | Uncategorized
Have I Mentioned Recently How Much I [Heart] Benedict Carey?
He keeps writing all these delicious stories. Nice job on the below, Ben. (Can I call you “Ben”?)
The piece is also well explicated by my other most-hearted writer, Philip Dawdy, at Furious Seasons.
Psychiatric Group Faces Scrutiny Over Drug Industry Ties
liz | 2:21 PM | Uncategorized
London Goes Mad for Pride
Here’s a piece that ran in yesterday’s London Times (yum!) about mad pride and the upcoming Bonkersfest. It takes its starting point from the New York Times piece.
Bonkersfest
Laurel IvesFor the most part, Liz Spikol’s videos on YouTube come across as light-hearted and quirky. In one, she pinches her chin to demonstrate her weight gain; in another, she muses on what it meant for her relationship when she lost her libido. Yet Spikol, 40, executive editor and columnist of Philadelphia Weekly, is talking about what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder, a condition she has suffered from since her twenties.
Spikol is part of a growing movement of people who suffer from serious mental illness and are willing to talk honestly and publicly about their condition. She is articulate and successful, and this is part of the point. In books, lectures and blogs, Americans, particularly women, are gathering to fight the stigma of “the mad woman in the attic” and show they can live successful lives.
Now, this confessional trend is gathering momentum in Britain.
In London, a group of people who self-consciously refer to themselves as “mad” are getting together for a day-long festival on Saturday, aptly named Bonkersfest. It bills itself as a celebration of madness, creativity, individuality and eccentricity, “bonkers celebrations for everyone — bonkers or not”.
liz | 9:38 AM | Uncategorized
Mental Recession?
Phil Gramm, how you’ve cheered me. Here I was, feeling sad about my $4-per-gallon gas prices and $20 bunch of bananas and now I hear I have nothing to worry about. Because the recession is actually just “mental”!
You can’t imagine what this does for me, as a mental health journalist and someone who suffers with bipolar disorder. If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to solve a “mental” crisis. (And thanks, Phil, for rehabilitating the un-P.C. term “mental.” I always thought it was cute, too.)
My cure has been, typically, to invest all my pennies in Big Pharma — specifically Seroquel, Ativan, Effexor and a whole buncha other drugs that the FDA now says might make me want to kill myself. (And yes, I do know those are drugs prescribed for epilepsy, but come on — I’ve taken almost all of those drugs at one time or another, and I’m on two of them right now. Off-label is, as they say in my native Philadelphia, the jawn.)
Other options for a mental recession might be exercise, which has been scientifically proven to have enormous benefits mood-wise. Exercise you might want to think about now? Walking to work instead of driving your car, walking home from work instead of driving your car, walking to the junkyard to get rid of your car … that sort of thing.
Acupuncture can also help people with mental recession issues — I hear it’s good preparation for sticker shock. Electroshock therapy helps you forget your troubles.
Light therapy might work for those who can afford their electric bill, though that’s primarily used for Seasonal Affective Disorder. And according to Phil Gramm — and maybe John McCain, though now he’s not so sure — this Season of Want is just a hallucination.
We’re a nation of whiners, all right. Psychotic ones at that.
liz | 12:12 PM | Uncategorized
Cindy Brady Gets a Little Out of Hand
Remember cutie-pie Cindy Brady, played by Susan Olson? I always hated her character, actually. I was all about Jan, who was the loser middle child on The Brady Bunch. Anyway, people are bent out of shape because she went on a radio show hungover and had to end her interview to go throw up. As someone with emetophobia, it was really hard for me to watch that video. But in doing a little web searchity search, thanks to a tip from my colleague Tara Murtha, I’m amazed by the harshness of people’s comments about Olson, in large part because she has this breakdown of sorts with her young son in the room.
Now, clearly, she’s not getting a Parent of the Year Award for this moment that’s been caught on video. But come on. You know how many times I’ve watched Susan Olson parent her child in the 12 years since he was born? Exactly once. From what I understand, he has Asperger’s Syndrome, and she’s been an activist on behalf of autism awareness as a result.
Where is the pity? Why do people have to be so judgmental? If I could change one thing about every person around me, it would be to make them less judgmental.
You wanna see the video and talk about what a shit Susan Olson is? Click here.
liz | 4:46 PM | Uncategorized
Funny or Offensive?: Bunny Suicides
My friend Laura just hipped (verb?) me to this comic, which has been around for a few years, in differing forms. Something about the bunny’s face cracks me up.
liz | 1:42 PM | Uncategorized
Song of the Day: “Deep Sea Diver”
I’m totally into this indie band Grizzly Bear lately. Everything they do sounds depressing. I don’t even need to know what they’re actually singing about to get melancholy.
liz | 3:50 PM | Uncategorized
