My New Hero: Glenn Close
Not because she’s a phenomenal actor, which she is, but because she’s just initiated a new project to banish stigma. The project is highly personal, as she explains on Huffington Post:
As I’ve written and spoken about before, my sister suffers from a bipolar disorder and my nephew from schizoaffective disorder. There has, in fact, been a lot of depression and alcoholism in my family and, traditionally, no one ever spoke about it. It just wasn’t done. The stigma is toxic. And, like millions of others who live with mental illness in their families, I’ve seen what they endure: the struggle of just getting through the day, and the hurt caused every time someone casually describes someone as “crazy,” “nuts,” or “psycho”.
What’s remarkable is not her frankness about this personal history, but her motivation to act, which seems almost like a wholesale rethinking of her career and what it’s meant in popular culture. In Fatal Attraction, for example, she played a woman obsessed with Michael Douglas (those were the days, right Michael?). She loses control of the obsession and becomes terrifying. As Close writes, the movie was a great success, and audiences loved to hate her character.
Alex Forrest is considered by most people to be evil incarnate. People still come up to me saying how much she terrified them. Yet in my research into her behavior, I only ended up empathizing with her. She was a human being in great psychological pain who definitely needed meds. I consulted with several psychiatrists to better understand the “whys” of what she did and learned that she was far more dangerous to herself than to others.
The original ending of Fatal Attraction actually had Alex commit suicide. But that didn’t “test” well. Alex had terrified the audiences and they wanted her punished for it. A tortured and self-destructive Alex was too upsetting. She had to be blown away.
So, we went back and shot the now famous bathroom scene. A knife was put into Alex’s hand, making her a dangerous psychopath. When the wife shot her in self-defense, the audience was given catharsis through bloodshed — Alex’s blood. And everyone felt safe again.
The ending worked. It was thrilling and the movie was a big hit. But it sent a misleading message about the reality of mental illness.
This is a bold admission from a woman who derived so much success from this role, but there’s no escaping what she says. It has long bothered me — and, I suspect, other advocates — that the message there is one of terror and fear.
Not only does Close take on her role in that film, she assesses the entertainment industry as a whole:
Whether it is Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in The Shining, or Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Annie Wilkes in Misery, scriptwriters invariably tell us that the mentally ill are dangerous threats who must be contained, if not destroyed. It makes for thrilling entertainment.
There are some notable exceptions, of course — Dustin Hoffman in Rainman, or Russell Crowe’s portrayal of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. But more often than not, the movie or TV version of someone suffering from a mental disorder is a sociopath who must be stopped.
I like to think that her speaking out will change this. As she so eloquently says, silence is the problem. Read more of her elegant prose here. It is well worth it. There you’ll find links to the initiative she’s promoting.
Thank you, Glenn, for speaking out against silence. You rock.
liz | 10:30 AM | SCHIZOPHRENIA, bipolar disorder, celebrities, depression, media, meds
Latest Video: Going Off Seroquel
The great irony of this video? Shortly after filming it, I had to resume my 100 mg dose again, which is what I’m taking now. Things got really frayed after this, but not in a depressed way, exactly — more like a psychotic way. I’m lucky in that I get to experience both and sometimes separately. Delightful! So now I’m sleeping a lot, which is good to recharge the batteries, come off the mild psychosis and deal with a pesky cold that has me producing mucus at an alarming rate. Strangely, my chihuahua is afraid of the tissue box, so every time I go for a tissue — every 3 seconds — she recoils as though I’ve just picked up a dog-beating bat (in her mind, I guess that exists).
Still, I realize that when I start working again, I’ll be able to reduce the Seroquel again to 25 mg or maybe 0 mg without much of a problem. Once I’m in a routine, I tend to do quite well. So, as those of us in recovery say every day with increasing confidence: This. Too. Shall. Pass.
liz | 2:58 PM | meds
Liveblogging Primetime Outsiders
All the below is about this show.
Madigan: They didn’t flatter you with that lighting.
David Oaks: You’re looking so handsome! I had no idea. Your eyebrows are very sexy. (I’m completely sincere.)
“But critics worry …” That’s journalism-speak for “We don’t have any specific sources who say this, but we’ll generalize it so we have reason to focus on …”
… violence. That’s what they’re focusing on. Why am I not surprised?
So of all the things they could talk about related to Mad Pride — and related to mental health — this is what they’ve come up with: criminals and violent crime. Ugh. TV is so predictable and depressing.
Okay, so now we’re telling the story of a kid with hallucinations and delusions (the CIA, yadda yadda) who KILLS HIS MOTHER? Does the average American viewer understand how fucking rare this kind of thing is? That it’s not the necessary result of deciding not to take meds?
On to the withdrawal story: Clearly, the program wasn’t looking for a success story. This poor woman who decided to do the show so they could feed off her misery — I knew that’s what they wanted. Is she doing the withdrawal in conjunction with a doctor? Who the hell knows? The show doesn’t tell you. It hardly tells you her name. And …
Oh! There it is again: “Critics worry … ” (that she’s going to be “a time bomb” without her meds). Who are these critics worrying about this girl? Frank Rich? David Denby? I’d love to know.
“Violence is unpredictable with or without drugs.” Brilliant script.
Blurry homeless images. Madigan cello-ing. … This show is so bad, it’s like a joke. I guess it all goes back to what producer Ia Robinson told me, when we discussed my being on the show: She doesn’t have any friends or family who have mental problems, so the whole topic was like “walking on the moon.” Yes, that’s the phrase she used. The show should’ve been blasted out to Mars.
Except Joey P. He’s delightful and a voice of reason.
liz | 9:34 PM | SCHIZOPHRENIA, alternative treatments, bipolar disorder, celebrities, criminal justice system, depression, hospitals / hospitalization, meds, philadelphia, side effects, stigma, suicide, violence
Goodbye, Anti-Sacred and Profane Writing Machine
After a long battle with cancer, PW staff writer, Guardian columnist, punk-rock novelist, NME gadfly, gender-twisting rebel comedian and poet Steven Wells has gone on to other things. Well, not really. According to Steven, there’s no such thing as the afterlife, and if there is, I guarantee he’s really, really pissed off right now. I can just picture him at St. Peter’s Gates, saying, “Fuck me! This shit actually exists?”
We’ll all miss Steven so much, and I’ll say more about that later. For now, I’m wishing the best to all family and friends who are hurting. That’s what Steven really cared about in the end, though he was very passionately annoyed by knitting, as well.
Steven was often told he was anti-American. I loved his passion, and he cracked us the fuck up every day. This video was part of a series he did for PW called Steven Wells’ America, in which he took sacred cows and basically grilled them for dinner. Below, he reflects on the religiosity of an America that voted for Bush a second time (Steven was a staunch atheist). Toward the end he smiles a bit, so you know that he knows he’s being ridiculous. And that’s part of what was so cute about Steven — he’d rant, but then laugh at himself.
liz | 10:41 AM | BIG PHARMA, Funny or Offensive?, GLBT, Song of the Day, alternative treatments, anxiety, celebrities, children, cute fix, depression, hospitals / hospitalization, media, meds, military, philadelphia, phobias, politics, random, religion, suicide, violence
Just What We Need: Another Drug With Bad Side Effects
Is there no end to the amount of shit Big Pharma expects us to put up with? Literally?
Shares of Clinical Data Inc. (CLDA) rose after the last late-stage study on its treatment for major depressive disorder achieved the targets for efficacy and tolerance, clearing the way for the treatment’s new drug application to be filed later this year.
The biotechnology company jumped as much 14% Tuesday morning after saying its treatment, vilazodone, was generally well tolerated …
But the study also showed high rates of some side-effects, including diarrhea and nausea.
…
Biologic Investment Research analyst Kevin McNamara didn’t think the study was positive at all. He pointed to the high amount of patients who suffered from diarrhea – 31% – and nausea – 26% – saying the effectiveness of the treatment wouldn’t set it apart from the field.
“The incidence of diarrhea is outrageous, that’s the only groundbreaking thing about this study,” McNamara said. “There just is not another place in the market [for vilazodone].”
…
Clinical Data, which wasn’t immediately available for comment, pointed out in its release that only one patient out of 240 left the study because of diarrhea while three quit because of nausea.
And with two positive Phase III studies now in the books, Clinical Data says it should file its new drug application for vilazodone by the end of the year.
Clinical Data Rises On Study Results For New Antidepressant
liz | 4:14 PM | depression, meds, side effects
Going Off a Med? Want to Be on TV?
Are you going off one of your meds? Would you like to do a video diary of the withdrawal process for a major TV show? I’m looking for a person to help someone out, and it seems like it could be a good opportunity. Not exploitative, but interesting. Contact me personally if you:
1. are planning to go off med(s)
2. are interested in alternative methods for coping with illness, such as exercise and holistic interventions
3. are willing to share your story of withdrawal and coping — even if it’s awful and embarrassing — with the American public
Email me at lspikol@philadelphiaweekly.com
I Don’t Understand Health Insurance
I mean, I love it, but I hate thinking about it. I just sent in a mess of claim forms to Aetna hoping to get back some semblance of money with which to pay my shrink. They were all, “Talk to the hand” about half the charges because I hadn’t met my deductibles at that time. My plan isn’t quite what you call a “high-deductible” plan, though, I don’t think. I’m not sure. But:
The investment firm Fidelity recently surveyed employees at various companies who had opted for a high-deductible health plan linked to a health savings account. About half of those workers said they or a family member had chosen not to seek medical care for minor ailments as many as four times in the last year to avoid paying the out-of-pocket expenses.
As any doctor will tell you, small health problems left untreated can become big problems, warns Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at the health care advocacy group Families USA. “This is just one of the many high-deductible pitfalls consumers need to watch out for,” Ms. Stoll said.
Patient Money: The Many Hidden Costs of High-Deductible Health Insurance
liz | 1:42 PM | hospitals / hospitalization, meds
Codey Will Transform System?
The headline at NJPoliticker.com reads: “CODEY BILLS WOULD TRANSFORM PATIENT CARE AT STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS”
Explanation:
A package of bills sponsored by Senate President Richard J. Codey that are designed to protect patient safety and improve employee training and oversight at state psychiatric hospitals was approved yesterday by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. … Sen. Codey worked closely with the Public Advocate’s office in drafting these bills, in part, to address a number of injuries and deaths that had arisen recently at state facilities such as Ancora Psychiatric Hospital.
Bill S2492, would require the Department of Human Services (DHS) to establish a training program for staff members who work directly with patients at state psychiatric hospitals in order to ensure the delivery of safe, secure, and therapeutic care. Utilizing best practices in patient treatment, the curriculum would include topics such as state and federal reporting requirements, patient safety, disease prevention, health wellness activities, anger management, skilled decision-making and how to deal effectively with life-threatening emergencies. … The bill would require DHS to establish an on-site educational assessment and remedial instruction program at each state psychiatric hospital in order to evaluate the proficiency of all staff members who work directly with patients.The bill would also require the commissioner of DHS to establish minimum educational standards for staff members at a hospital who work or will work directly with patients. … Employees already working directly with patients at the time of the bill’s enactment would be required to undergo an evaluation to determine if they meet the educational standards or require remedial instruction through the on-site education program.Any employee that refuses to participate in the training program or fails to meet the educational standards and refuses to participate in remedial instruction, would be terminated from employment at the hospital. …
The second bill, S2493, would require current and future employees of state psychiatric hospitals, developmental centers and veterans’ memorial homes to undergo drug testing for controlled dangerous substances as a condition of employment.
The last bill in the package, S2494, would require DHS to report the number of physical assaults and deaths that occur at state psychiatric hospitals. The report would be a public record, posted on the official DHS website, and updated quarterly, but would not contain any identifying information about patients or staff members.
As a longtime fan of Sen. Codey’s commitment to mental health matters, I do think it’s a good move. But is it transformative? As an astute TTWS reader notes:
It’s hard to see how these three bills alone will transform patient care at New Jersey’s state psychiatric hospitals which includes Ancora, let alone insure the care long required by law, New Jersey Statutes Annotated 30:4-27.1(c), It is the policy of this State that persons in the public mental health system receive inpatient treatment and rehabilitation services in accordance with the highest professional standards and which will enable those hospitalized persons to return to their community as soon as it is clinically appropriate.
Too often words and deeds fail to intersect at our nation’s psychiatric hospitals. Transform and its variants are now used so frequently that any change is considered transformative. More recently at another New Jersey state psychiatric hospital where a new building was going to lead to transformation (click here, paragraph 5), the reality belied the representations, ex. Developing therapeutic alliances between patients and staff remains a challenge, with differences in race, ethnicity, social class and education creating a ‘them versus us’ scenario.
“When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” Humpty Dumpty
liz | 1:05 PM | DISABILITY, SCHIZOPHRENIA, bipolar disorder, depression, hospitals / hospitalization, media, meds, politics
The Trouble With “Depression”
I used to do Google news searches for the word “depression” to kind of get a sense of what was happening in the world of sadness. (For a while it was a Google alert, but I got tired of being alerted all the time.) About four months ago, I noticed a change: The word is now appearing frequently in reference to stories about the economy, as in the Great Depression. Though I personally feel I’ve suffered through many a Great Depression of my own, that’s not what these news articles are referring to.
Today I found a double whammy: an article about the recession and resultant depression, which is not only concordant in terms of themes, but also rhymes. The major mental health charity organization in Britain, Mind, released a study that says that men are more prone than women to recession-related blues. Yet men are less likely to tell someone about it and get help. From BBC.com:
Paul Farmer, chief executive at Mind, said: “The recession is clearly having a detrimental impact on the nation’s mental health, but men in particular are struggling with the emotional impact.
“Being a breadwinner is something that is still crucial to the male psyche so if a man loses his job he loses a large part of his identity putting his mental wellbeing in jeopardy.
“The problem is that too many men wrongly believe that admitting mental distress makes them weak and this kind of self stigma can cost lives.”
Stephen Fry, our beloved, is supporting Mind’s campaign to educate men. One thing that’s notably different in Britain: the admirable insistence on therapy. Peter Cooper, of the British Psychological Society, was quoted as saying: “The type of help that men need includes psychotherapy but what they are also desperate for is pragmatic practical help.”
No mention of meds. Jolly well done.
Men ’suffering recession blues’
liz | 9:39 AM | alternative treatments, depression, media, meds
Slave to Effexor, and Tired of It
I think I’m going to talk to my doctor about slowly, slowly, slowly weaning myself off my Effexor. It’s okay if it takes six months or a year or whatever; I don’t have any urgent need to be done with it. But I hate to be taking a drug that has such sway over me in terms of side effects. With the other meds I take, if I miss a day, it’s no big deal. Maybe I won’t get enough sleep (Seroquel). Maybe my eye will twitch (Lamictal). Maybe I’ll worry about washing my face (Ativan). But I can make it. It’s fine. Sometimes I don’t even notice.
Not so with Effexor. I don’t even have to wonder if I’ve taken it; my body alerts me quite readily. I get really dizzy and spacey, and if I let it go till the next day, I’m essentially dysfunctional — half-asleep, half just an idiot. I’ve heard plenty of anecdotal stuff about “brain zaps,” and I’ve never had a problem with that. Just vertigo, mostly. But it’s enough discomfort that I can’t be without it. I feel like it controls me too much. It reminds me of my addiction days.
So, though I thought it helped me a couple years ago, I think I’ll move on. And if I get too depressed, I’ll just eat more candy. Um, yeah.
liz | 1:08 PM | alternative treatments, depression, meds
