tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post1774380601938958924..comments2024-03-28T22:21:46.973-07:00Comments on Tossing It Out: Personal Encounters with Mental DisorderArlee Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-14823684450262897252017-02-22T15:55:54.043-08:002017-02-22T15:55:54.043-08:00Stacy, I think Bloch offers good advice. I agree t...Stacy, I think Bloch offers good advice. I agree that nearly all if not all behavior is based on habits. We all need to train our habits.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-24474038531556050792017-02-22T09:59:30.759-08:002017-02-22T09:59:30.759-08:00Those of us with moderate to Severe mental "i...Those of us with moderate to Severe mental "issues" are usually stuck with them for Life...<br />Robert Bloch had a Great piece of advice on "how" to deal with this... "Your insanity will have formed Habits.... learn to Train those Habits"...<br />Makes living with these problems Much easier to deal with in every day Life...Dr. Thedahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16437013120611829846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-28572588096900594212017-02-22T09:10:53.103-08:002017-02-22T09:10:53.103-08:00Debbie D, so true--normalcy is all kind of relativ...Debbie D, so true--normalcy is all kind of relative. I guess keeping the quirks and eccentricities in check keeps us in better balance with the world around us which helps achieve a better state of normalcy.<br /><br />I've been fortunate not to have had to deal with dementia or Alzheimer's. My mother was mostly pretty lucid until the day she died at age 85. She could get pretty quirky though which sometimes put things in kind of touchy relationships, but that was kind of her personality though.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-15267589473349777992017-02-22T09:06:14.795-08:002017-02-22T09:06:14.795-08:00JG, When we're in our teenage years and even y...JG, When we're in our teenage years and even young adulthood there are so many questions that we have and it can all be so confusing. Fortunately, I think most of us are able to sort things out as we get older.<br /><br />The frustration of the condition rather than the person with the condition can be taxing on those who have to deal with the problem. It can be a real challenge that requires a lot of patience and willingness to try to understand.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-7785268380802801592017-02-22T07:45:58.778-08:002017-02-22T07:45:58.778-08:00Sorry to have missed this post earlier! That's...Sorry to have missed this post earlier! That's a sad situation with your brother and not unlike the one I had with my mother, who was afflicted with Alzheimer's and lived far away in a care home. Our high school experiences were also similar. I had few friends my own age (most were older and out of school already) so I kept to myself a lot. One of my closest friends has bi-polar disorder and it's almost like she has two different personalities. It's a crapshoot which one surfaces on any given day. Thankfully, she has become more stable in the last year. Different meds, I think. Stephen King has a point. We all have our little "quirks", yes? Who's to say what's normal, anyway? Debbie D. https://www.blogger.com/profile/13153118405565035071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-86220940829221865202017-02-22T06:59:44.393-08:002017-02-22T06:59:44.393-08:00You are so right about how we deal with crappola. ...You are so right about how we deal with crappola. We all carry baggage but it is how we carry it that makes the difference. We can be slogged down with it not knowing which way to go and not accepting help or we can find another way to carry it so the load feels less weighty. As for the comment...oh, that's just sadBirgithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09439720285857050428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-74740227806989733022017-02-22T01:18:49.691-08:002017-02-22T01:18:49.691-08:00I agree with Stephen King and I agree with you. I ...I agree with Stephen King and I agree with you. I was actually worried about myself when I was in high school and even sometimes, I wish I have money to just be able to talk to a professional to make sure I'm okay. I'm really pretty normal, but sometimes, I just wonder if my approaches or reactions to things are normal. Or maybe I am just questioning myself if I'm doing the right thing, I dunno.<br /><br />Sorry about your brother. I can just imagine. I had several months of experience dealing with my mother's dementia before she passed away. That dementia was triggered by her illness. It was really hard and heartbreaking at the same time. It can take its toll on anyone dealing with someone with dementia. There were several times I became angry, but knowing it really wasn't "her", I did not make it personal. I was angrier at the situation, not the person. <br /><br />"What have been your direct encounters with people who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder?"<br /><br />I also have another example, not-so-direct (thankfully), but could be a bit of an issue if I mentioned his name (he's a foreigner living in this country). One of these, I'll tell, maybe. jgifederizohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08225763142532864066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-11254312672376512272017-02-21T18:25:14.423-08:002017-02-21T18:25:14.423-08:00Susan K, and part of the irony is that most of tho...Susan K, and part of the irony is that most of those against President Trump will call him "fascist" while their tactics are the true exhibitions of fascist behavior.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-48149487529227610722017-02-21T17:11:07.313-08:002017-02-21T17:11:07.313-08:00I appreciated your post especially today. It is o...I appreciated your post especially today. It is only now that I look back and recognized that some people I endeavored to help and to express kindness were struggling with some form of mental illness. <br /><br />Also, I am exhausted with Trump paranoia or phobia or hate. The anarchists who riot, destroy property, assault random people are criminals. They remind me of documentaries showing Nazi Gestapo doing much the same.Susan Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834094675218254410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-73137796918459176622017-02-21T15:19:30.775-08:002017-02-21T15:19:30.775-08:00Roland, sometimes what others deem as who we are m...Roland, sometimes what others deem as who we are might be way off base and we need to be true to ourselves. We should be in control of our own lives, but we should also be cognizant of the social boundaries that keep us in alignment with the world around us.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-32281305528437888552017-02-21T15:16:29.952-08:002017-02-21T15:16:29.952-08:00JoJo, life isn't always easy all of the time a...JoJo, life isn't always easy all of the time and we all need proper coping mechanisms. I don't think medications are always the best answer and rarely, if ever, the cure. But it can be a real struggle for some with no easy solutions readily at hand.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-6370332546791628222017-02-21T15:14:23.963-08:002017-02-21T15:14:23.963-08:00Larry, the Carlin clip is a classic and what I lik...Larry, the Carlin clip is a classic and what I like best about his humor. Our society gets absurd in trying to be more delicate about issues and more politically correct. This nonsense thinking causes more confusion I think and in a way makes us all socially paranoid that we're going to say the wrong thing so we just avoid a lot of issues. It's nice to be respectful or delicate at times, but sometimes the simplest explanation is the easiest to understand.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-53501037682691184482017-02-21T15:11:12.916-08:002017-02-21T15:11:12.916-08:00LD, having a parent with such a condition has to b...LD, having a parent with such a condition has to be difficult for a child. And I agree that when it's something that seems outside the bounds of ones control it makes more sense that people behaving in unreasonable manners just because they are in disagreement or don't get what they want.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-1163889650699807062017-02-21T15:09:10.649-08:002017-02-21T15:09:10.649-08:00Patricia, answers would be nice, but even the prof...Patricia, answers would be nice, but even the professionals don't seem to have absolute answers about what to do. If they did I guess the problem of mental afflictions would already be eradicated.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-56332722222882949522017-02-21T15:07:46.237-08:002017-02-21T15:07:46.237-08:00Birgit, unfortunately many people do enable loved ...Birgit, unfortunately many people do enable loved ones with problems often to avoid or reject any attached stigma to whatever might be wrong. Ultimately though it is how we ourselves deal with whatever life difficulties we face, but if we aren't armed with the tools and knowledge it can be difficult to overcome the struggles we encounter in life.<br /><br />I agree that the blog exchange if in another context might have been a friendlier exchange, but looking at the connected events leading up to the statement I can only conclude that the blogger was being very serious in the belligerence shown.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-80813732584353764622017-02-21T14:53:24.454-08:002017-02-21T14:53:24.454-08:00Full marks, Arlee, for standing behind your brothe...Full marks, Arlee, for standing behind your brother.<br /><br />My only direct experience of 'mental disorder' was a cousin of mine that the family tried to pigeon-hole. His own family classed him as mentally disturbed, especially when he tried to live his own life and chose a job 'below his social station.' He was forced to commit suicide to escape. He was as sane as me, but not able to stand up to the family as I did. <br /><br />[But maybe as a staunch, green leftie, I'm part of the world's insanity and have been for decades.]Roland Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03302133565980901397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-13901931952936324062017-02-21T13:23:32.790-08:002017-02-21T13:23:32.790-08:00Larry, I don't know about that, but I do encou...Larry, I don't know about that, but I do encourage everyone to boycott watching the Oscars and don't go to any Meryl Streep movies--I never liked her even before what she said about Trump.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-3704042884942951882017-02-21T11:59:45.525-08:002017-02-21T11:59:45.525-08:00I've definitely had a few major breakdowns and...I've definitely had a few major breakdowns and I've been damn close to ending things on many occasions too. It's hard to get through it. I did have a hard time with my ex-husband and his bipolar issues though. Medication didn't really help him much and by the time I finally left, his liver had just about given out and sending toxins coursing through his brain.JoJohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18165375435543044068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-19765068136658307482017-02-21T11:13:23.238-08:002017-02-21T11:13:23.238-08:00Except for my own, I do not have much experience w...Except for my own, I do not have much experience with mental illness. I have often wondered if we're quick to call some things these days an illness (and prescribe a pill for it) or is it that things went undiagnosed before.<br /><br />I kind of subscribe to the "never promised you a rose garden" theory-life is gonna have highs and lows-if you're lucky, more highs than lows.<br /><br />There was a great scene on the Sopranos between Gandolfini and Alla Schaeffer-what she says about thee minutes into the scene kind of sums up what I have often thought is the case for the modern America-we cannot accept any adversity.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkXoZJx-_rI<br /><br />But I do recognize there are real people out there with real problems. It just seems like there are so many more of them. <br /><br />We also seem to have problems talking about the problems, something George Carlin illustrates well in the clip below.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n2PW1TqxQk<br /><br />I do have a cousin who sounds very much like your brother, although because that side of the family does not communicate much, I have no idea what happened to him after his parents passed.<br /><br />But I must confess-I have no experience with the problem first hand.<br /><br />LCDiscConnectedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07013919800637508392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-5696268561755562122017-02-21T11:01:00.700-08:002017-02-21T11:01:00.700-08:00Obviously, Lee, as a Trump supporter you will bash...Obviously, Lee, as a Trump supporter you will bash movies that non-Trump people watch. You'll probably be tweeting a review next, and recommending that anyone who liked this film be banned from travel.<br /><br />LCDiscConnectedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07013919800637508392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-57672327241830724972017-02-21T10:12:41.635-08:002017-02-21T10:12:41.635-08:00My mother was diagnosed as a "paranoid-schizo...My mother was diagnosed as a "paranoid-schizophrenic manic-depressive" when I was nine. She was in and out of institutions the rest of her life, depending on whether my father could arrange for whatever level of care she needed to be at home. As complex as her condition was, I think it made more sense to me than what's going on in this country right now. <br />LD Mastersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01202135756299574972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-26810788318361416082017-02-21T08:17:31.507-08:002017-02-21T08:17:31.507-08:00I have a couple of relatives with diagnosed mental...I have a couple of relatives with diagnosed mental illnesses. It's painful to deal with on many levels. I have no answers. I wish I did.Patricia Stolteyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17192369425956406122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-59923664896211720252017-02-21T07:40:42.801-08:002017-02-21T07:40:42.801-08:00Oh...and that statement, when written is ..um....j...Oh...and that statement, when written is ..um....judgemental to say the least but if the person was in front of you and said this, you both may have laughed...maybe. On another note, I still have to see this film.Birgithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09439720285857050428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-71991200686409331082017-02-21T07:39:18.196-08:002017-02-21T07:39:18.196-08:00You know, actually, from your last post, I actuall...You know, actually, from your last post, I actually felt you thought of mental illness very deeply and understood more. The last thing I thought of was that you were taking it lightly. What you have experienced and continue to happens to many, many families is sadly, more often than rare. My cousin has schizo affective disorder but he is able to live on his own and is on medication. My hubby's nephew, I am certain, has a learning disability and some sort of mental illness or as I like to say, brain illness. His mom, I don't think, wants to see that he has something wrong and she, and her husband, have enabled him so much that he feels entitled. He has been into hard drugs and is leaving jail today after being in there since October. Many people end up on drugs and in prison due to some form of brain illness. The brain is an organ that we know little about but due to too much...or too little hormones, dopamine, serotonin or whatever, it can cause the brain to not function in the correct manner. People still judge when one says mental so that's why I say brain. Now I have used words like "nuts" or "fruitcake" but I am joking but when I am serious, I take mental illness very seriously. I think everyone of us have experienced something in our lives. When I was a child and teen, due to the extreme bullying, I was not in good shape"mentally". When I separated from my husband, I need to go see someone to heal and relearn who I am and again, when I had to deal with my mom's dementia, my husband's job loss, ADHD and rheumatoid arthritis plus financial constraints never mind my pain, I had to revisit...like a tune up:) I see nothing wrong with this and we could all benefit from this. I deal with people every week who have some For of mental illness in my office and they need respect, non judgement and patience which they rarely get.Birgithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09439720285857050428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-60340151059896540322017-02-21T06:51:50.673-08:002017-02-21T06:51:50.673-08:00Cathy, we can't really get into another person...Cathy, we can't really get into another person's head let alone always understand what's going on inside our own minds. I've always been more in the camp of those who see mental affliction as more a result of conditioning, environment, and misadventures related to the mind (such as drugs, cults, etc), but I also believe there are conditions that are genetic or the result of physical trauma (such as severe head blows and such). Since it is known that the brain produces chemicals in response to certain external stimuli I might question a brain just randomly producing the chemicals, but there is so much not yet known and much research is still needed. <br /><br />LeeArlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.com