Was He Only Dreaming? MLK Day Today
In the fall of 1975, I opened my fresh new Language Arts textbook and found that some pages had been cut out. I walked up to my teacher’s desk and his response was, ”I did that. It was a story about that King fellow. I don’t want you reading about some nigger who went around stirring up trouble.” Yesterday, I was talking with an elderly woman who didn’t realize today was a holiday. “What holiday is it?” “Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday,” I replied. “I swear. What do you have to do to get a day named after you? He didn’t do nothing.” This morning, I was talking to a man in his 70s about King’s legacy. “I know he preached non-violence,” he said, “but as soon as he’d finish his speeches, blacks would go around breaking into stores and stealing stuff. I don’t care what the history books say. I saw [...]
Songs of Thankfulness and Praise by Christopher Wordsworth
Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord, Present in Thy holy Word; Grace to imitate Thee now And be pure, as pure art Thou; That we might become like Thee At Thy great epiphany And may praise Thee, ever blest, God in flesh made manifest. (from "Songs of Thankfulness and Praise" by Christopher Wordsworth)
The Pandemic and Mental Health by Jason Tapscott
Our guest blogger is Jason Tapscott. Jason's work can be found on his website is jasontapscott.com You can find his two published books at Amazon, on Kindle, for 99 cents each. Right now, there are two installments in the series with a third forthcoming that he hopes to release in paperback. Writing is Jason's way of healing and processing some tough personal times. The story is all fabrication but actually based on some real events that happened in his own life. Personally, I have very mixed feelings about the pandemic since it hit in March(ish). In that month, I started working from home. Eventually, I switched jobs in August because I wanted to be a little more on the front line, as crazy as that sounds. I work as a CPS in mental health services. That means I have my own issues. In August, I started working at Einstein [...]
A Bipolar Blessing in 27 words.
A bipolar's blessing: What comes up, must come down. Every now and then, however, the crash occurs in safe waves and people are there with life rafts.
Out of the Darkness by Laura M.
I have a horrible confession, an unthinkable thought. At one point, I thought about ending my life. Why? Well, I’d just had a baby and my husband of thirteen years had been constantly on my case, during my whole pregnancy, about what a horrible person I was, what a failure as a mother I was, and how I cornered him with this pregnancy. What was the point of my being here then? It never occurred to me, until later, of course, that those feelings were a mix of sleep deprivation, of not having the medicine I needed to heal, of postpartum depression, and that my husband was abusive. I was breastfeeding our child and his tummy was not filling up. Plus, he was a newborn with his days and nights mixed up, and was busting out of his swaddles like Hulk Hogan. All I saw, instead of those logical [...]
From Mental Illness to MBA by John Witcher
Living with a mental illness is very challenging and can be very frustrating. In 1994, when I was diagnosed, the culture surrounding mental illness was much different. Many of the support groups were not as easy to access, due to technology limitations. The internet was not as user friendly, if you had it at all. When you were the person in the room with a mental illness, you typically kept it to yourself, and it was suggested that you do not disclose. With the help of organizations like NAMI, SARDAA, APSE, Vocational Rehabilitation, KEY and many others, mental health is becoming something that is easier to discuss, when in the past, it was not. In 2017, I received an MBA with honors, from IndianaTech. I remember, in the 1990’s, when I was considering going back to college, I got a great deal of pushback. I heard countless times, that it was a crazy thought. Then, I approached my [...]
Family Support of the Seriously Mentally Ill by CJ Hanson
Beginning with this post and continuing through 2021, I will be featuring guest posts from persons who have been impacted by mental health challenges, from such things as bouts of anxiety and depression to serious brain disorders (SBD) such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. My first featured author is CJ Hanson. Catherine J (CJ) Rippee-Hanson is 63 years old and a lifelong, social activist, writer, and singer - maneuvering through tragedies that have led down many different paths. One of a set of identical twins who now work together to advocate and personally challenge our broken mental healthcare system. Also known as the 'Twin Tag Team,' after 33 years of tending to the needs of our brother. He had a horrific accident in 1987, resulting in a TBI and loss of his eyes. Three years later he began showing symptoms of Schizophrenia w/Psychosis with chronic and severe Anosognosia. He has [...]
Helping Each Other During the Chaos of COVID by Emma B.
This was written by Emma is a psychologist in New Zealand who works using the Solution Focused approach. She has worked in mental health, education, and suicide postvention and is currently employed by New Zealand Police within the family harm team. In her spare time, Emma delivers free suicide prevention workshops to the general public, as well as online learning via Zoom. Let me begin by acknowledging that 2020 has been a tough year for everyone. That said, let’s talk about how to help each other get through the changes brought by this virus….. Convey empathy People need to feel heard and understood. It is important that we acknowledge what the situation is like for them, without judgment, and communicate that we understand how things are for them. Examples of statements or questions that convey empathy include: It sounds like things have been really stressful for you? It must [...]