EACH MIND MATTERS... our society has hospitals and treatment centers for physical health-based conditions BUT not enough resources for mental health-based ones. What's up with that? STIGMA! SILENCE! INSTITUTIONAL DENIAL!

EACH MIND MATTERS... 

WHAT IF... two out of three or most people in our society had a mental illness?  What if two out of three people people in our nation are obese?  Would we call either a CRISIS? Would we treat either or each, as NORMAL?

I LIVE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS... on a daily basis, all around me.  I see it on the faces of those: in traffic, at stores, in offices, in law enforcement positions, on the football field, at the highest levels of government; those I call friends, and those I see working as mental health care givers.  We see the results of diagnosed and un-diagnosed mental illness almost on a daily basis.  Often treatment and/or medication is the difference between those functioning well and those who are violent.  It's by now well-established in research that TREATMENT WORKS.  The hardest part, however, is often convincing someone with a compromising or deteriorating mental condition... that they need help.  Since the purpose of the brain, research confirms, is to maintain the status quo, that is to survive... we shouldn't be surprised to hear: " I am not sick, I don't need help."  Yet, that same person wouldn't say that if blood was spewing out of a gut or arm.

I AM ANTI-STIGMA! I therefore support a national conversation about mental health needs, treatment, resources, and awareness.  By acting as if, mental health is as normal as physical, emotional, and spiritual health-care needs, we will begin to end the silence and magical thinking around mental illness.  It's not going away. Mental Illness has long affected our mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, and other relatives. Help is needed to get better facilities and greater resources for what I call - the Silent Mental Health Crisis in America.

May is MENTAL HEALTH MONTH.  Let's do something!  Join a NAMI walk (National Alliance on Mental Illness) or other project in your county or state.  Share your story about mental health experiences. Write legislators. Look people in the eye... when you see them asking for money, laying on a sidewalk, talking to you to themselves, or unseen friends.  You might even be surprised to learn that a lot of the people we see wearing Bluetooth might not be talking to anyone, but themselves.  These days, more and more of us look as if we have Schizophrenia, multiple personalities, depression, or a bipolar disorder that takes us from highs to lows.  Why?  Because between technology and unhealthy diets and lifestyles, our bodies and brains have to wrestle with stress and chemical changes, as well as perceptions and expectations of ourselves and others.  Let's hope the quality of mercy, is not strained.

Join me in the conversation to demonstrate that EACH MIND MATTERS.  The above new KPSA (Public Service Announcement) shows that we are, indeed, the answer and the change.

Let's thank the producers and creators of #IamAntiStigma  #millionslikeme: 

 the Hope&Grace Initiative.

EACH MIND MATTERS... 

ROBIN WILLIAMS' LAST ACT...

THE LEGACY OF ROBIN WILLIAMS 1951-2014

Depression, like food addiction and suicide, is a disease of isolation. You want to be alone to lick or contemplate your wounds or comfort yourself with your favorite foods. If there's any kind of story in your head, it's when you're alone that you're also more likely to question whether others would be better off without you. Only time will tell whether Robin Williams received such depressing health news that he figured he was going to be a burden to his loved ones. On the hand, we may never be able to make sense of the actor's one act that DID NOT leave us laughing.

But the death of Robin Williams is less solemn, than it is a WAKE UP call.  The legacy Robin Williams is leaving us is a door-opening opportunity to talk openly about DEPRESSION, SUICIDE, and other MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. As a certified teacher for the free NAMI education 12-week course - Family2Family - I have witnessed first hand the pain and helplessness of the relatives and caregivers of their loved ones wrestling with various kinds of mental illness.  Whether there's confusion of thought or processing of information (Schizophrenia) or mood shifts between manic and depression (BiPolar Disorder)...  MENTAL ILLNESS IS BIOLOGICALLY BASED.  MENTAL ILLNESS IS A FAMILY AFFAIR. But too many in the public have not been educated to know these facts.  Most haven't seen or heard the research that demonstrates that mental illness is not associated with violence, WHEN diagnosis and treatment are provided.  Instead, legislators are typically sidetracked into controversial discussions about the rights of people with a mental illness: should you or should you know force treatment on a person who can't make appropriate decisions because their mind in temporarily compromised by a brain disorder. Instead of holding legislators accountable for the lack of mental health facilities and integrated treatment teams, we continue old debates at the expense of new and ongoing needs. 

Furthermore, when it comes to suicide,  it is not unusual for loved ones and friends to feel betrayed or cheated.  Their long grieving period begins with trying to make sense of an event that often has multiple causes... a pain often suffered in isolation.   For the one leaving, the decision may well be seen as an act of kindness; the desire to be less of a burden.  Darkness is faced alone and though friends and loved ones offer much needed distraction, the downtime and ultimate period of isolation may encourage the use of other substances to soothe the pain or quiet the storm in the head. What we do know and is made startling clear by the death of an icon is that deep, serious depression and other forms of mental illness are not going away.

We certainly have the moral authority to demand better.  The national health care system, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, is no longer going to permit body-brain disease inequities.  In the past, the emphasis has been on treating physical diseases - cancer, ALS, diabetes, etc.  The resources and treatment options for mental diseases are not only less developed but likewise receive less research dollars.  With the closing of mental health institutions in the 1970s, the mental health burden was shifted to community for solutions, even though funding did not increase as the number of people with mental health issues living in local communities did.  The small pool of state and federal funding is only now beginning to get more attention.  The public is beginning to learn of the severe shortage of beds and professionals to deal with individuals who experience mental health episodes and that too many individuals with mental health needs are criminalized and housed in detention centers and jails.  It's becoming less acceptable that someone having a chemical imbalance in the brain is criminally blamed when someone going into a diabetic emergency while driving a vehicle, is not.

We already are an addicted nation.  In case no one has notice our neighbors and friends, our co-workers and policy makers, our loved ones and gatekeepers in schools, medical centers, and churches are likely to be taking antidepressants, using drugs and/or alcohol, or having other obsessions to cope when life is difficult.  Our society has changed drastically.  Our methods and mindset for dealing with diseases above the neck, have not changes as rapidly as needed to produce a more humane society.

So it's important in the wake of Robin Willliams' death to pause and to first, thank the comic genius and humanitarian and, second, thank the Williams family for sharing him.  I am grateful that as with President Ronald Reagan bravely sharing he had Alzheimer Disease, Robin Williams' last act is affording us the opportunity to talk more openly about mental health needs. 

At a time when the Center for Disease Control reports that more people die from suicide than car accidents, a national discussion is long overdue. Though he did not leave us laughing this time, Robin Williams gave the country a gift to explore how to  de-stigmatize mental illness, increase treatment opportunities for citizens and the military, and recognize that behavorial changes due to a brain disease can be a special gift when treatment and support are available.

R.I.P. Robin Williams... your ability to make us laugh and forget some of our own burdens will be sorely missed.  Thank you for all you did with your 63 years.

Robin Williams with his three children (Zak, Cody, Zelda) and second wife, Marsha Garces.

Spouses: 1978  Valerie Velordi
                1989  Marsha Garces
                2011  Susan Schneider

   

Robin with third wife.

 July 31, 2014 birthday shout out to daughter, Zelda turning 25.

http://www.thewrap.com/robin-williams-children-react-to-his-death-i-feel-stripped-bare/

 Here's excerpts from 2010 WEAPONS OF SELF DESTRUCTION TOUR

DAVID DeWATERS... 

STEPPING FORWARD 2DAY with some MARVELOUSLY CREATIVE  POETRY.

Get to know the Bowie, Maryland AUTHOR via his Blog: http://daviddewaters.com

David DeWaters is a 28 year old poet from the United States. His first book of poetry, Melancholy Songs, is available on Amazon at http://amzn.com/1492131903

The 54-page book published in August 2013 is an insightful read about DEPRESSION!  Visit his website for more of his comments and descriptions about his work.  See his wonderful mind at work. 

Let your own imagination soar by reading some of David's poems out loud.  Here are some samples to start the journey.  Thank you David for sharing...

The stronger the experience, the harder it is to explain

I remember lying in bed, dreaming,
Half-awake at night when I was younger.
Thoughts of life and outer space were teeming
Out my head with amazement and wonder.
The stars and galaxies were my plaything,
Drifting above me up there in the sky.
I used to think it all so amazing,
But those thoughts have dwindled as time’s gone by.
I used to stretch my imagination
Further than it could go with imagery.
Now I’m reduced to write sad narration,
Of times gone by reduced to memory.
Nonetheless, I look back at it fondly,
And sometimes it even helps to calm me.

—David DeWaters, Imagination

This poem is my attempt at capturing a real, vivid experience that I had when I was younger. I also talk about this experience in the poem that I’m currently working on, but I don’t want to paste it all here because it’s too long of a passage.

Anyway, it might not be obvious what I mean when I say “I used to stretch my imagination / Further than it could go with imagery,” but this is actually a key to understanding the experience. At the heart of the experience is an indescribable feeling, only reached by exceeding the limits of my imagination. The sheer vastness of outer-space is incomprehensible, and through the act of trying to comprehend it, I was able to experience this feeling.

I’ve always been able to experience at least a minor form of lucid dreaming and the ability to control the path that my dreams take, and this probably added to the feeling that I felt. It was a short-lived feeling, and often I would try to repeat the same steps that I took to achieve the feeling immediately after it went away. I know sometimes I would start by imagining something small, something here on Earth, then slowly “zooming out” until I reached the depths of space. Or perhaps I would imagine slowly going back in time until I reached the beginning of time. Eventually, I would reach a point where I couldn’t go back any farther, and that is when I would feel this feeling. It took a great deal of concentration to achieve it, and I wasn’t always successful at it. Over time, I became less and less capable of experiencing it to the point where now I am completely incapable.

So, there is no moral to this post or anything. I just thought I would go into a little more detail in regards to what this poem is about. It’s impossible to do justice to the experience by trying to put it into words, and, truthfully, I haven’t put very much effort into explaining it because I know it would ultimately be futile, but hopefully the poem will have a little more meaning to it after reading this explanation.

By |April 15th, 2014|David DeWaters|1 Comment

More from David's Blog:  www.daviddewaters.com

Time to talk about depression a little bit

I do hate to write about depression,
At least as often as I seem to do.
I would hate to give off the impression
That I’m selfish and of myself consumed.

—David DeWaters, But How Do I Feel This Very Moment?

I haven’t really talked too much about depression on this blog, which may seem strange given the subject matter of my book, but I think these lines from my poem, But How Do I Feel This Very Moment?, help to explain this phenomenon.

Basically, I don’t want to talk about depression. I experience it everyday, and it isn’t enjoyable. However, I need to keep in mind why I published my poems in the first place. Sure, I wanted to showcase my ability as a writer and poet, but I also realized that I was in an unusual position whereby I suffered from depression yet was able to talk about it and express how it feels. I felt obligated to publish my poems and I feel privileged to be able to lend my voice to others who may be going through the same thing yet have no way to express themselves. So, I think I would be doing a disservice if I continued on with this blog without discussing depression every once in a while.

I mentioned in a comment on here that I have trouble accepting compliments from people, and this stems from my depression. Basically, I’m so used to hating myself that it just feels weird and uncomfortable being lauded for something. I don’t feel worthy of anybody’s praise. Obviously, I know how to respond to a compliment. It doesn’t take much more than a thank you. The problem is that it feels dishonest. If I were being honest, I’d say something like, “Uh, no. You’re wrong. I’m actually a garbage individual.” Personally, I think this stops many people from talking about their depression. They don’t want other people’s sympathy because they don’t feel worthy of it, which, ironically, is actually quite a commendable attitude to have.

By |April 11th, 2014|David DeWaters|3 Comments

Feel free to leave your comments here or at David's Blog at  (www.daviddewaters.com)

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. 

Help break the stigma: talk about mental health issues, concerns, coping strategies, recognizing symptoms, and increased need for more programs and treatment sources in our communities.

COLLECTIVE INSANITY in the 21st Century... the new normal! So much madness, so much stress, so many people in emotional pain, so many struggling relationships, an overwhelming amount of technological advances that allow more and more to isolate, moving us away from community and fellowship. It's a miracle even more don't suffer from DEPRESSION or have other mental health issues. 

BRAVO to Chiara, New York City's first daughter for putting a face on depression.

The 19-year old college student is poignant when she steps forward and reminds all of us that DEPRESSION is a disease, that cognitive or mood problems are biologically based.  There's no shame in anyone's game for seeking treatment. It's a right and an essential need for a humane and just society.  Unfortunately, when the federal government shifted responsibility for the "mentally ill" to the states in the late 1980s, patients without medical insurance were largely neglected.  Even now it is clear that the general public tends to be more supportive of social security policy than it is of mental health policy.  Yet, the fabric of our society demands parity of treatment for those who have illnesses above the neck, as well as those who struggle with physical illness in the rest of the body.

Bravo to Chiara for speaking out, first in December 2013 and more recently in an essay in xoJane.

Chiara talks about being in recovery during Mental Health Awareness Month, in an essay in xoJane

I'M CHIARA DE BLASIO AND I'M A YOUNG WOMAN IN RECOVERY

It’s progress -- not perfection -- that’s important.

Chiara de Blasio

May 6, 2014 at 12:20pm | 171 comments

READ FULL STORY HERE

http://www.xojane.com/issues/im-chiara-de-blasio-and-im-a-young-woman-in-recovery

PREVENTING MENTAL ILLNESS or HEAD INJURIES!

OR

WHY KIDS NEED RESPONSIBLE PARENTS... yeah, it's cute to see a baby doing remarkable stuff on a skateboard BUT without shoes and a helmet? Someone in Australia needs to make a "citizens arrest" of the parents of this two year old and FAST! A toddler is not going to ask for a helmet; we expect parents or adults to protect the vulnerable. Here's a good example of how mental illness can be caused by environment. One bad fall, hit on the head and subsequent brain injury can lead to later mental health issues due to biology/disease and environment. SPEAK UP! SPEAK OUT!

Skateboarding baby from Australia

Uploaded by Nick Botha

READ ME ******************** Two-year-old Kahlei from Victoria, Australia, Shows off his, skateboarding skills on the streets.. Kahlei, who has been skateboarding since he was six

SPEAKING OUT ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS...

Well, it's official: Congress is not doing more for the mentally ill because its members don't want to be "stigmatized" for helping the mentally ill. At least that's one version of the story and it's coming from a former member of Congress - Patrick Kennedy, the Representative from Rhode Island's first district, until 2011. The son of Joan and Ted Kennedy demonstrates what it means to be an advocate when he is seen and heard STEPPINGFORWARD2DAY!

His poignant remarks during a recent interview are worth hearing. Patrick Kennedy, like millions of caregivers of relatives diagnosed or undiagnosed with a biological condition affecting either moods or thinking... is authentic; he speaks from experience. Be sure to step forward with your own comments and observations about why our legislators are not doing more for the mentally ill.

Here's the full Yahoo! interview where the former Congressman says Congress is stigmatized by the stigma of mental illness.  WOW!!!  Just click on link below.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/

Patrick Kennedy: Members of Congress battle mental illness in their families but vote against help

AND... Patrick Kennedy didn't just start talking about mental illness. In this interview for the American Psychiatric Association on July 19, 2013, the former Congressman shows he has been fighting for parity in health care for some time.

Helping the Mentally Ill...

Sometimes it seems the only way to get help for a loved one you suspect of  having mental health issues is unfortunately via the criminal judicial system.  In other words, until the person is arrested for some crime, it may be difficult to get a diagnosis or get the person to willingly submit to treatment, even with a diagnosis. Most of us are against forcing an individual to take medicine but what do you do when a person’s brain is the problem and wants to maintain the status quo and, hence, no medicine is welcomed even if it might help the person to heal.  That’s an ongoing dilemma.

Former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes is finally going to get some psychiatric help after months of acting out in ways that raised question about whether she is in her “right mind.”

On Monday, July 22, 2013 around 9 pm she was detained for a mental health evaluation after setting a fire in a stranger’s driveway in her California community. She’s now being held for 72 hours on what’s called a 5150 psychiatric hold. It’s involuntary and will legally allow a mental evaluation.  According to the Channel 2 CBS station in Los Angeles:

AMANDA BYNES PLACED ON 5150 HOLD AFTER DISTURBANCE AT THOUSAND OAKS HOME

THOUSAND OAKS (CBSLA.com) — Actress Amanda Bynes was involuntarily hospitalized late Monday for a mental evaluation after authorities received a disturbance call at a Ventura County home.

Local fire and sheriff’s departments responded to a residence in the 200 block of Avenida De Los Arboles around 8:45 p.m., authorities said.

When authorities arrived, they found the 27-year-old, who is a native of the area, outside the house.

“Deputies investigated the incident and determined that she met the criteria of 5150 W&I (California Welfare & Institutions Code),” Cpt. Don Aguilar said. “She was detained and taken for a mental health evaluation.”

“There’s been no charges at this time or crime in reference to this incident,” Cpt. Aguilar told KNX 1070.

Monday’s episode was not Bynes’ first run-in with the law.

On May 23, she was arrested for allegedly throwing a bong out of her New York City apartment window. She has been charged with reckless endangerment and attempted tampering with physical evidence.

Her next court appearance was scheduled for Sept. 26.

###

AND there's more... on May 25th, after another incident AND obviously more cries for help... members of the media, including TMZ, began saying Bynes wasn’t crazy enough  to be evaluated for “craziness.”   http://www.tmz.com/2013/05/25/amanda-bynes-not-certifiable-5150-mental-illness-conservatorship/

AMANDA BYNES NOT CERTIFIABLE AND IT’S A BIG PROBLEM

EXCLUSIVE

Amanda Bynes is not 5150 material, meaning she can’t be picked up against her will and held for mental evaluation, at least not yet … this according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.Our sources tell us Amanda has not been diagnosed with any mental illness.  Sources say her parents are worried there are signs she might be bipolar or schizophrenic, but Amanda has been unwilling to undergo psychiatric testing.

We’re told her parents would like to create an involuntary conservatorship, similar to Britney Spears, but Amanda’s conduct is not so over the line that a judge would take away her freedom.  

Ditto for a 5150 psychiatric hold, which would allow authorities to put Amanda in a mental facility against her will for 72 hours for mental evaluation.  We’re told authorities just don’t have the goods.  In fact, Amanda was taken to a hospital after her arrest Thursday night and the shrinks didn’t think an involuntary hold was warranted.

There’s one other option to get a diagnosis. If Amanda is so out of it she can’t understand the nature of the criminal cases that have been filed against her … a judge can halt the proceedings and order a psychiatric evaluation.  Amanda has been involved in 3 criminal cases in California recently, and there was NO effort to go this route.  That’s because she has always been lucid in court.  (TMZ  5/25/2013)

So even though Amanda’s behavior was increasingly “strange” both on and off her twitter account – from wearing blue wigs to court to being threatened with eviction for smoking “weed” in a non-smoking exclusive NY  apartment building…  there’s apparently been a feeling that there’s nothing her parents or others could do about it.

Well, there is... but no one has used the Treatment Advocacy Center's AOT strategy or the NAMI-supported ACT in Bynes case.  TAC's ASSISTED OUTPATIENT TREATMENT (AOT) plan permits court-ordered involuntary treatment of a mental illness while the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) advocates for an ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT (ACT) which requires the support of “the consumer” or mentally ill person.

Either way, and in spite of controversy involving each, the goal is similar:  keep people with mental illness from becoming criminals in order to receive treatment.  Advocates on both sides of the issues are encouraged to actively engaged in mental health care reform debates.

Thus... Amanda Bynes‘ actions are important because, like other celebrities, they are a wake-up call that more, not less, is needed, not only for those with compromised brains, but for the caregivers and loved ones of relatives struggling with mental health issues.  How can a civilized society ignore such cries for help???