On Language: Offensive or Just True?

Gothamist headline: “Crazy is the New Normal on Wall Street.”

Yeah, just true.

liz | 4:33 PM | Uncategorized

Heath Ledger: Bipolar?

Wow. That was fast. There’s a biography of Ledger out, which if you think about writing a bio, must have been started before his body was cold. The book is by Britisher Janet Fife-Yeomans, and has prompted headlines like: “Heath Ledger suffered mental misery,” “Broken Ledger ‘was ill’” and “Heath Ledger may have been bipolar.”

I have no idea if it’s true, but a 52-year-old relative who has bipolar disorder suggests it runs in the family and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. From Hollyscoop:

A new biography about him called Heath: A Family’s Tale, reveals that his uncle Haydn is bipolar, and that it may run in the family. The book by English journalist Janet Fife-Yeomans, reveals that friends believe Ledger’s wildly fluctuating emotions may have been linked to bipolar disorder.

Ledger’s mental condition was said to have deteriorated after he split up with Michelle Williams.

Heath’s uncle Hayden, who is now 52, tells the author, “I don’t mind people knowing I have bipolar disorder, and it’s a shame that it took this long to be diagnosed.”

The book also details Heath’s relationships with Hollywood stars Heather Graham and Naomi Watts but tells how last year dad Kim told pals of his fears for Heath’s mental health.

Who knows. I hate these speculations.

liz | 2:36 PM | Uncategorized

The Psychology of Phandom

In today’s Guardian UK, writer Steven Wells (a PW contributor) makes an excellent case for why winning the World Series might actually work against Philadelphia’s long-cherished sense of self. As a psychological study in identity politics, it’s actually quite keen. The only part I disagree with is this:

I haven’t met a single Philadelphian who advises caution, who’s hedging their bets, who harbours even the thinnest sliver of a smidgeon of a scintilla of doubt that this year a quarter-decade of cross-sports humiliation and hurt ends in a blaze of cathartic glory. … Philadelphia is positively swaggering with confidence. Same as the last seven times. But what the heck.

I guess Steven and I have gone too long without talking. My entire being these days is suffused with doubt of the most painful kind. Unlike these yahoos Steven’s referring to, I’m almost certain we won’t win. Because, to paraphrase Barack Obama, Philly sports teams have a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

What’s curious about this conversation is that I’m so invested in it. I’m not a sports fan, though I think basketball is awesome and beautiful and the Sixers championship was one of the highlights of my young life. I’d also like to make out with Allen Iverson, maybe go to second base.

Anyway.

But I am overly obsessed with the fortunes and foibles of my hometown, and at this point in a sports championship, I begin to get really, really anxious. Because look:

Down 3-1, Rays thinking comeback

liz | 11:39 AM | Uncategorized

You’ve Heard of Casual Friday?

It’s Phillies Monday this week!

liz | 11:28 PM | Uncategorized

I’m Stressed Out

Watching the game. I want another 1980.

liz | 9:47 PM | Uncategorized

Punny or Offensive?: Synonyms

Sometimes a newspaper editor is forced to make puns in the service of a headline. So let’s say you had a blog that was about home aquarium fish. An article about you could be called: Blogging Molly. Like for molly fish. Like making a pun on Flogging Molly, the band. Oy, that sounded lots better in my head than it reads. I swear I’m good at this.

But others are much better. A colleague of mine once wrote a good one for an article about chicken sales. Title? “Poultry in Motion.” Another time she headlined an article about the decline of an old hotel here, the Warwick. Title? “Alas, Poor Warwick.” She was a genius at headlines. She’s now teaching journalism.

When it comes to mental health, there are some truly terrible puns. A Trenton newspaper got into hot water a few years back when there was a fire at a psychiatric hospital. Their headline? “Roasted Nuts.” That egregious example aside, there are times when I want to write a headline about a mental health article, but I just don’t know how far I can go. Below is a list of words and I’d like to know which ones are inherently offensive to you.

-Madness
-Insanity
-Crazy
-Lunacy
-Madhouse
-Bedlam

Do any of these words offend you so much that they can’t be used in any context, especially a punny headline? I’d like to know.

liz | 1:45 PM | Uncategorized

This Is So Absurd and Bizarre, I Don’t Know What to Say

Thanks to Susan S. for sending this link to me. It frightens me how happy I was to see Happy Days again. I think I watched that show for the entire 10 years it was on, despite the fact that the plots never changed. If you’ve never seen it, you have now.

liz | 9:20 AM | Uncategorized

Seroquel Wins Approval to Solve Global Energy Crisis

I think I forgot to clarify yesterday that Seroquel XR was FDA-approved about two weeks ago to treat bipolar disorder.

AstraZeneca’s Seroquel XR Gets FDA Clearance for Bipolar Disorder

Oh wait. I just said that. But click the link for more.

liz | 7:08 AM | Uncategorized

Good Luck. I Love You. Let’s Do It Again.

UPDATE: On the path to glory.

liz | 5:26 PM | Uncategorized

Thank You, PsychCentral!

I am grateful to PsychCentral for listing The Trouble With Spikol as one of this 2008’s Top 10 Bipolar Blogs. PsychCentral is “the Internet’s largest and oldest independent mental health network created and run by mental health professionals to provide reliable, trusted information and self-help support communities, for over 16 years.”

I really appreciate being on the list, which was compiled this year by Sandra Kiume. It’s a great list; I didn’t know about many of these sites, and I’m really excited to make them favorites now.

Below is the list in final order. For the links and descriptions of each blog, click here.

1. Furious Seasons
2. MentallyInteresting.org – Pole to Polar: The Secret Life of a Manic-Depressive
3. Coming Out Crazy
4. Bipolar Wellness Writer
5. The Trouble with Spikol
6. Bipolar Beat
7. How is Bradley?
8. Two video blogs (vlogs) tie for eighth place: John McManamy’s Depression and Bipolar YouTuber, and Bipolar Survivor Back
Kimberly’s Bipolar Survivor Back
9. Caught in my Burble
10. Yoga for Bipolar

Honorable mentions: Fidlr.tv, If you’re going through hell keep going and The Bipolar Bisexual.

liz | 1:13 PM | Uncategorized