Brains… Brains…

Well those fiesty little squirrels are at it again! Reminding me that I’m not quite small enough, flexible enough, or just plain fearless enough to run up and down those trees, leaping from one to the other, almost dancing rhythmically with one another. Jumping, leaping, dancing, taunting!

I am not a squirrel, I will never be a squirrel… but I might be a zombie! With all the crazy views on spirituality, the afterlife etc, who know, maybe one day I really will be a zombie! For now I can simply relate to that braindead feeling once in awhile, and share my amusement at how the first thing I noticed about this ID chart was the word “WALKER” in the middle of it… Hey that’s me! Wednesday Walker! Wait a second… hahaha, maybe there was some other reason I picked this nom… hmmmm….

Do you ever think you might fit somewhere on this ID chart? What do you do to reignite your brain and bring a sense of life back? As for me… well, I’m goin for a walk. Catch you later!

 

Confessions of a blogger… Part 4

When I started this series, I did not imagine it to be a series… I wrote, I rewrote, I wrote some more… saved draft after draft…  “How do I start the conversation exactly?”… I was not sure how deep to go, or which directions felt “right”… Still sussing out this whole “authentic blogging” adventure myself. Perhaps a great place to start is with some gratitude for prior “parts”

Part 1 I am grateful for the brief, concise nature of it… Just enough to mention difficulties/challenges/issues but not too much to get into that “hot mess” of over-share… As well as mentioning the specific tools recently utilized for moving forward…

Part 2 I am grateful for the almost poetic nature of this intriguing work… and the ability to feel a connection with the writer. Not to mention the fantastic optimism that ensues from the relatively short time frame from “bottom” to being “too busy living again”.

Part 3 I am grateful for the confession straight from the battle zone… The honest fact of the matter stance to triumph the stigmas… and the resounding support that instantly poured in through google+ for this warrior. Such as: Maryann D’Amico’s public response that includes: … I have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for decades. … We are all suffering in some way. Some of us suffer much more. But, we are winners because we go on … We are some of the strongest people alive. If you do not have an illness such as this…and..you look down upon others in hospitals. Maybe you should look up to God and … thank Him that you do not suffer. Stop looking down. Look up.

Part 4 Discussing their experience with divorce, job loss and life in general demonstrates how “shift happens”… These brave souls reminded me of just how normal it is to experience stress, pain and turmoil in life… The previous reblog on “Let’s listen more and drug people less” also reminds me that if such “shift” should lead to mental health challenges, people can and do recover from “mental illness”.

I confess that this blog is my attempt to find just that… a platform to feel listened to, and to listen to others, so we can collectively drug people less. No matter what the illness or disease, I believe that feeling listened to and supported will always have a beneficial effect. (So does humour! Have you heard of Patch Adams? Inspiring PSA movie, based on true events. Hope he is able to see Gesundheit reach phase 6)

Knowing I have created “Wednesday Walk” reminds me to check in now and then… to express, communicate, and walk. To nurture that emotional wellbeing… maybe even share how my own shift is happening and where my passions are growing…  I have enjoyed the idea of “series” posting and may explore that more in future posts… Aiming for a weekly post, holding that with plenty of self compassion if things happen faster or slower… “shift happens” right? 😉

I’ll admit that life is not all “roses and unicorns” right now… and right now, in this moment, that’s okay…

Moving forward, shifting upward… that can be challenging. I do not want this blog to simply produce fluffy pretty things to make it look like my life is “roses and unicorns” and yours ought to be too… I also do not want this to evolve to a lengthy diatribe. I do want this to be a place of conversation, progress and growth… and I must confess, I am somewhat afraid of working the blog too much. I am afraid of having it become a burden that I feel I must pay attention to… I am afraid of posting too much online, or posting something I may later regret… Do you ever think similar things?

Some final gratitude is for you, dear reader. Thank you for stopping in to check things out and read this far. If you feel inclined to join the conversation – thank you again! I really do appreciate it, and look forward to the conversation.

 

Reblog you say? What’s that? This is that!

“Let’s listen more and drug people less” Here, here!!!
Learned a few things today and thought I’d learn one more – what does “Reblog” actually do?… If you want the full scoop check out http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/reblogging-is-back/

What have you learned today?

recovery network: Toronto

UK Guardian Monday 31 August 2009

Diagnoses are psychiatry’s star signs. Let’s listen more and drug people less

The biological approach to treating mental illness has been a lamentable failure. We must focus on a patient as a person

 Surveying the history of psychiatry, the medical historian Edward Shorter remarked: “If there is one central intellectual reality at the end of the 20th century, it is that the biological approach to psychiatry – treating mental illness as a genetically influenced disorder of the brain chemistry – has been a smashing success.”

Far from being a success, there is compelling evidence that the biological approach has been a lamentable failure. Whereas last century saw dramatic improvements in the survival rates of patients suffering from heart diseases and cancer, so far as we can tell, outcomes for patients suffering from the severest forms of psychiatric disorder – the psychoses (disorders in which…

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Confessions of a blogger… part 3

In confessions of a blogger… part 1 I thoroughly enjoyed the writers ability to be short and sweet. He had challenges, maybe even what some may call failures, did some work and continues to do the work to overcome those and other challenges…

Part 2 illustrates a longer description of a similar journey that isn’t all roses and unicorns…

Part 3 was intended to be my very own confession… however I came across yet another inspirational bit of writting from a google+ post that I want to include in this series…

Mike Shaw shared:

I May Have Lost The Battle

But I’m still around to fight the war!

I have not been online too much over the last few days but there is good reason for that. I’m currently sending this from my iPhone on a bed in a psychiatric hospital!

I have struggled with depression on and of for what seems like most of my life and I have fought to try and have some form of normality but at times I lose the fight, this being one of those times and I have to stand up and ask for help. I consider myself one of the more fortunate people
In that I have a family that both understands and supports me at times such as this. My wife more than anyone else, she puts up with a lot others simply could not. Erratic mood swings, depths of depression that send me so low it’s hard to get back up from and anger at my own shortcomings but she is still at my side and for that I am eternally grateful for the love she has for me.

But why come on here to tell some 400,000 people who have yet to meet me about this. Because it is no longer something I do or should feel ashamed of, because sometimes when we talk of mental health issues in what others deem as “normal” people then just maybe we can remove some of the stigma that is attached with it.

Everyone at some point in their lives will be affected by either mental health issues themselves or someone they know. We have to be open about something that’s a lot more widespread than we like to think of. By being open with you maybe you can take it on board the next time you can come across a “normal” person that seems to be going through something like this and just maybe you can have a little understanding toward them. It’s not easy living with this condition, it’s even harder to openly talk about it, harder still for people to simply understand it.

Should you know of someone that suffers then take the first steps and offer some help. If you suffer then take the first hard step and take that help.

I know some of you will be uncomfortable with this post, I accept that but I stand by it, hope to catch up with you all soon, don’t break anything while I’m away 😉

What first strikes you while reading Mike’s post?

(For me it was something like “Wow… now that’s vulnerability and authenticity… “)

Have you had someone you care about experience something similar?

Just what is “normal” these days?