Now that I'm working at a community mental health center and have daily one-on-one interaction with so many people who live with psychiatric problems, I'm more attuned than ever to the need for creative approaches to dealing with mental illnesses. That's why I love the idea of "care farms," as the Europeans call them -- rural therapeutic farm communities. It's all good and well to try to get people to integrate with the community, but when the community is a big scary city, that can be hard. Listen to this, though:

“There’s hope at Rose Hill,” says Daniel Kelly, who along with his wife, Rosemary, founded Rose Hill after their son, John, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. “Many of the people who havecome here to live have taken what they learned here and gone on to be very successful. Many of our former residents will tell you it totally gave them back their lives.”

According to a 2002 survey of 100 Rose Hill graduates conducted by Wayne State University, more than 60 percent were living independently in the community; nearly 65 percent were working for pay, volunteering, or attending school.

Kudyba, who graduated from Rose Hill more than six years ago, is one of its many success stories. Today, she rents her own house, works part time as a courthouse file clerk, and rides horses for enjoyment. She funds her passion by mucking out stalls (a skill she acquired at Rose Hill) in exchange for riding time.

Read the whole article from Schizophrenia Digest, which is reprinted with permission on NAMI's website.

Home on the Farm

Posted by liz at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Today has been a hard day, perhaps because yesterday was hard. I had a mini meltdown, due to various factors, and woke up this morning five minutes before I had to leave. That's always disconcerting. I fled out of the house, totally confused and disoriented, feeling depressed and addled. I spent half an hour in a dark room today in between meetings, just sitting with my head in my hands. I thought it might bring clarity, but I think some days are just sad days, and that's that. You just have to get through them, and know that tomorrow won't be as sad. I'm going to walk home from work, which will maybe help my mood, and then get into bed and read. The sooner the day ends, the better because -- to quote Scarlett O'Hara -- "tomorrow is another day!"

Posted by liz at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Those of you who've been reading this site for some time know that I often write about the vivid dreams I have as a result of my drug cocktail. They're fascinating and horrifying and sometimes very funny. The New York Times this week has several good article about sleep and dreams. Here's a roundup.

Science writer Natalie Angier writes about nightmares, and their prevelence, in In the Dreamscape of Nightmares, Clues to Why We Dream at All :

A big reason bad dreams offer insight into the architecture of dreams generally is that, as a host of studies have shown, most of our dreams are bad. Whether research subjects keep dream journals at home or sleep in research labs and are periodically awoken out of rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep — the stage most often associated with dreaming — the results are the same: about three-quarters of the emotions described are negative.

My Times favorite, Benedict Carey, writes in An Active, Purposeful Machine That Comes Out at Night to Play about new research that says the purpose of sleep may not be as mysterious as we believe.

Now, a small group of neuroscientists is arguing that at least one vital function of sleep is bound up with learning and memory. A cascade of new findings, in animals and humans, suggest that sleep plays a critical role in flagging and storing important memories, both intellectual and physical, and perhaps in seeing subtle connections that were invisible during waking — a new way to solve a math or Easter egg problem, even an unseen pattern causing stress in a marriage.

Finally, Stephanie Saul writes in Sleep Drugs Found Only Mildly Effective, but Wildly Popular , that though medications like Lunesta differ little from Placebos, people report great results.

Dr. Karl Doghramji, a sleep expert at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, agreed. “Sleeping pills do not increase sleep time dramatically, nor do they decrease wake time dramatically,” he said. “Despite those facts, we do find patients who, when they take them, have a high level of satisfaction.” Dr. Doghramji has disclosed in the past that he is a consultant to pharmaceutical companies.

Posted by liz at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Marijuana can make depression better/worse

Posted by liz at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

All this hysteria over the "new superbug" is making me crazy. MRSA has been around forever -- a plague in prisons and jails. In Pennsylvania, MRSA is legion in prisons for all kinds of reasons, but you never see headlines about it. Why? Because no one cares about incarcerated people. If they get horrible, life-threatening staph infections, well, they probably deserve it. But if our children get it, Jesus help us! It's all over the news. I'm pissed off. And check out the first sentence of today's USA Today piece, which is entirely consistent with every other news item I've read or heard.

A killer bacteria known as MRSA has been a growing problem for years, particularly in hospitals and nursing homes.

And prisons! Prisons, you idiots!

Okay, I'll try to calm down now.

Governments urged to make killer bugs a priority

Posted by liz at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I'm a little late on this story. Immigration officials have apparently forced deportees to take psych drugs so they are in pliant condition to be returned to their native countries. The ACLU has filed a motion in federal court to stop authorities from using the practice again. From the Los Angeles Times:

The motion comes after an official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement testified before the Senate last month that 50 immigrants had been given psychotropic drugs against their will over a seven-month period. Thirty-three of them had no previous psychiatric diagnosis.

One deportee, a Christian pastor in Riverside, was pinned down in a holding cell in Los Angeles the day before he was scheduled to be flown to his native Indonesia, the ACLU contended in court papers. Another, a Senegalese man, was wrestled down in the aisle of a plane parked at LAX and injected with medication. Those two deportees were in addition to the 50 cited during the Senate hearing.

"The new information shows the government's forcible drugging policy is more widespread than previously suggested," said ACLU attorney Ahilan T. Arulanantham.

Deportees file motion over forced sedation

Posted by liz at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm all about Canada's Globe and Mail today. Check out this good article about PPD:

The new prenatal exam: Are you blue?

Posted by liz at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Canada's Globe and Mail reviews an interesting new book with a provocative title: The Astonishing True Story of a Woman Afflicted With Bipolar Disorder and the Miraculous Treatment That Cured Her . The cure is something I guarantee (okay, almost) you've never heard of before, and I wouldn't recommend it. But the book sounds like a compelling memoir nonetheless.

Bipolar explorer

Posted by liz at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We haven't done one of these in a while, so I thought it was high time. Thanks to John for the tip...

In the Know: Is the Government Spying on Paranoid Schizophrenics Enough?

Posted by liz at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Hello all. I spent the weekend in Sandy Hook, NJ, and it was nice. I walked on the beach and picked up sea glass, which is really just glass, but doesn't "sea glass" sound better? It was 80 degrees out. I know that should make me anxious about global warming, but I basked in it. It was so lovely to be beachcombing in October. Usually, October is a depressing time for me. SAD hits hard. So I'm feeling more optimistic than usual.

I wanted to see a movie yesterday but the timing didn't work out. I really want to see Does Your Soul Have a Cold?, an IFC production about depression in Japan. The latest review I read was pretty harsh. But Monsters & Critics liked it.

I wish I had cable. As it stands now, I'll have to wait for a year until it comes out on DVD. Or, like, a few weeks until someone posts it on YouTube.

Posted by liz at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Woman's Beach jail lawsuit moves to federal court

Posted by liz at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

County labelled 'kiddie coke capital'

Posted by liz at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I was in meetings all morning, so I'm late posting. The whole idea that someone would actually want me in a long meeting, well, it's something I couldn't have imagined when I was really ill. For that reason, I actually like meetings. They make me feel like I'm part of the normal world. I can complain with everyone else afterward, "Wow, that was long. Whew! I thought it'd never end!" But secretly, I love it. Every meeting feels like an accomplishment.

Posted by liz at 02:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Vandals in Amsterdam attacked a police station to protest the police killing of a man with mental illness. But unlike some other cases in the U.S., in which people with mental illnesses are killed prematurely by police who are ill-trained for the interaction, in this case the homicide sounds, at the very least, understandable from the police officer's point of view.

Bilal B. appeared at a police station, jumped over a desk, and immediately began stabbing the on-duty female police officer. She ran away, and Bilal chased after her, stabbing her in the back. A male officer came over to try to help, and Bilal attacked him as well; he is still in the hospital. The female officer turned around and shot Bilal. He later died of his injuries.

From that rendering of events, which I cobbled together from several news reports, I can't really blame the female police officer for firing that shot. You can imagine the chaos and fear. But not everyone feels the way I do. Bilal's parents, in turn, blame the psych clinic that released Bilal before he was competent.

Police station attacked after shooting

Posted by liz at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

New Data Suggests Doctors Might Not Be Considering Depression Symptoms That Are Important to Patients, Such as Pain and Anxiety

Posted by liz at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I just got this email from Will Hall, of the Icarus Project. Sounds intriguing:

*Harm Reduction Guide To Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs*

This 40-page guide gathers the best information we've come across and the most valuable lessons we've learned about reducing and coming off psychiatric medication. Includes information on mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, risks, benefits, wellness tools, withdrawal, support for people staying on their
medications, a detailed Resource section, and much more.

The guide was written by Freedom Center co-founder and Icarus Project staff Will Hall, with a 14-member health professional Advisory Board comprised of medical doctors, nurses, psychologists and acupuncturists
providing research guidance. More than 20 other collaborators from the survivor movement were involved in developing and editing. The guide has photographs and art throughout, and a beautiful original cover painting
by Ashley McNamara.

Based in "harm reduction" philosophy, the guide emphasizes personal choice and weighing risks and benefits for each individual. It offers non-judgmental support to people continuing to take medication or lowering their dosage, as well as people exploring coming off. The risks associated with psychiatric medication are discussed along with risks of emotional distress and mental health crisis. Years of advocacy at the Freedom Center and Icarus Project have proven the effectiveness of this approach, which is neither pro-medication nor anti-medication, but
instead provides accurate information and offers choices and alternatives.

TO READ THE GUIDE AND / OR DOWNLOAD AND PRINT A COPY
You can read a .pdf copy of the guide online, download and share the pdf file, link to it from your site, and print it out here:

http://theicarusproject.net/HarmReductionGuideComingOffPsychDrugs

GO AHEAD AND SHARE THE GUIDE FREELY!
Please note that the guide is copyright Creative Commons, and you are *free to copy and distribute it* without alteration, for non-commercial purposes, and with credit to the source.

TO ORDER PUBLISHED COPIES WITH COLOR COVERS
We are selling beautiful offset printer versions of the guide with a color cover at low cost. Please contact orders@theicarusproject.net.

FEEDBACK + ADDITIONS FOR FUTURE VERSIONS
We are actively planning a Second Edition of the guide that will incorporate even more feedback, suggestions, and ideas from our readers. If you have anything you think we should include, contact will@theicarusproject.net

DISCUSS THE GUIDE AND COMING OFF MEDS WITH OTHERS
You can register at the Icarus website and discuss the guide and medication at our discussion forum:

http://snipurl.com/comingoffmedsforum

HEALTH PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
While not co-authors, these health care professionals advised the development of this guide and reviewed it for its usefulness:

Alexander Bingham, PsyD Full Spectrum
Patrick Bracken, MD University of Central Lancashire
David Cohen, PhD
Daniel Fisher, MD National Empowerment Center
Peter Lehmann
Bruce Levine, PhD
Bradley Lewis, MD New York University
Rufus May, PhD Bradford, UK
Renee Mendez, RN Windhorse Associates
Joanna Moncrieff, MD University College London
Matthew Morrissey, MA Full Spectrum
Catherine Penney, RN
Maxine Radcliffe, RN Action Medics
Judith Schreiber, LCSW Soteria Associates
Claudia Sperber Licensed Acupuncturist
Peter Stastny, MD INTAR
Philip Thomas, MD University of Bradford
Barbara Weinberg Licensed Acupuncturist

CREDITS
Thanks again to everyone involved in making this guide happen, and be on the lookout for upcoming publications!

Written by Will Hall.
Published by the Icarus Project and the Freedom Center.
Thanks to Amy Bookbinder, Dave Burns, Oryx Cohen, Mary Kate Connor, Marc Dinacola, Dianne Dragon, Sascha DuBrul, Empties, Vikki Gilbert, Chaya Grossberg, Richard Gilluly, Molly Hardison, Gail Hornstein, Mollie
Hurter, Jonah, Krista MacKinnon, Ashley McNamara, Alex Samets, Seven, Bonfire Madigan Shive, Jessica Max Stein, Terramuggus, and many other collaborators and allies.
Cover art: Ashley McNamara. Art design: Carrie Bergman.
Contributing artists: Fly, Gheena, Miss Led, Ashley McNamara, Erik Ruin, Janice Sorensen, and Bec Young.

Posted by liz at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It wasn't Tom Cruise, though. No worries.

Woman accused of murder denied bail

Posted by liz at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Science Daily reports a new possible treatment for depression, and it involves the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) thingies that people use for sleep apnea. A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, which usually puts me to sleep (ba-da-bum), showed that "the institution of CPAP therapy resulted in a significant decrease in those symptoms of depression that were assessed at both the short-term and long-term follow-up periods."

OSA: Positive Airway Pressure Therapy Improves Symptoms Of Depression

Posted by liz at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Everyone has been very kind in telling me they'd be sad if I died. And Josh, let me know if you're coming to Philly! A beer wouldn't be that weird.

As for blogging, it seems working at a partial hospitalization program leaves little time for the computer. But I love it, and am glad to be so engaged with meaningful work that makes a difference for mental health consumers. I promise to find a better balance between that job and this one. It's taking me time to adjust. Change is hard. But I think it's exhilarating too. I think if I had to choose, I'd opt for change over stasis every time.

You are all kind and generous people, and I appreciate your caring. I also appreciate how engaged people are when they comment here, and how willing to talk to others. And for those who just started to comment, don't stop! We love it.

Again, thanks to all. I'm not going to die, though. Who would take care of my hamster?

Posted by liz at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Why do I think a lot of TTWS blog readers will understand what I mean in this one? Maybe because, in a way, you all are my true friends.

Not long ago I started to obsess over who’d be sad if I died. The question came on like a malevolent flu, and wouldn’t get out of my head. I scrolled through my cell phone address book. I looked at old birthday cards in my attic. I checked my email inbox and sorted names.

Things got morbid when I went to lunch with my ex-husband, who’s now my closest friend. “Would you be sad if I died?” I asked him over a steaming bowl of pho.

Ever the master of understatement, he shrugged and deftly speared another vegetable with his chopsticks. “I guess,” he said.

You guess? You guess?
I racked my brain for an appropriate response, then reminded him that if he died I’d be devastated.

I demanded equal devastation in return. I got the feeling he’d think about it and get back to me.

Later I realized the reason I’d be devastated is because I have so few friends. I’m a warm and open person, and I seem to be well liked by co-workers and intermittently at parties. But I’m not truly close to people.

This has long been remarked upon by my mother, who has, at any given moment, at least 50 true friends. If she gets a cold, the phone is busy for days with people calling to know how much her throat hurts.

Does she have a fever? It’s all right—they’ll hold on while she checks. And they actually care. And she actually cares about them.

My father, on the other hand, is more aloof, and I guess that’s where I get it. His closest friend in recent years was his dearly departed Yorkshire terrier Sugar. Now he has a finch.

“You’re a Spikol,” my mother tells me. “I worry about you.”

In her estimation, my father, the originating Spikol, is saved by her aggressive geniality. But what about me, floating on a lonely raft without a shore to land on?

She actually used that metaphor. Credit where it’s due.

All this is why I was thrilled to find the book Friendship: An Expose by Joseph Epstein. Epstein is the former editor of The American Scholar, and the author of books like Snobbery and Envy.
I thought I could learn something from Epstein, who professes himself “overwhelmed by friends.” But I’m glad I’m not on his radar. Here’s his account of an interaction with a poet:

“[He] talked through the meal about himself, his small triumphs, his enemies, his good works, his plans for his brilliant future. At the end, I wanted to touch his hand and say, ‘Forgive me, but you have spoken way too much about yourself, especially in the presence of someone who, in our puny literary world, is much better known and more important than you. A serious mistake, especially if you plan to have lunch with me again.”

Wow. Harsh. The Philly version of that, I suppose, would be if I had lunch with John Grogan and talked too much about my hamster. Which I would certainly do.

The best part of Epstein’s book is the first part—the chapters in which he talks about friendship in the history of philosophy. But putting Aristotle aside—as I did so many times during the years of my higher education—I find more wisdom in a yearbook signature from my best friend in high school Abby Gross:

“Do you remember that McDonald’s commercial? This 12-year-old girl is there with her friend and she says, ‘This is Chrissy. She’s my best friend in the whole world.’ And then you see all these scenes where they’re dancing in the rain, and pretending they’re rock stars, and laughing hysterically, and at the end she says, ‘What I like best about Chrissy is … she’s my best friend.’ I don’t want to compare you to a McDonald’s commercial, but you are the ‘Chrissy’ I always wanted.”

Beat that, Epstein. I’ll bet he doesn’t even go to McDonald’s.

I wrote something sweet to Abby too, but like Epstein’s book, it was agonizingly pretentious, quoting not McDonald’s but Dickens. How shameful is that? I hope she destroyed it.

Abby lives in Seattle, and we see each other only once a year. I’ve never visited her there, despite repeated invitations. It always seems too hard, too overwhelming, as though she lives in Jakarta. But to me (though probably not to her), she’s as integral to my life as she was in 1986.

I emailed Abby to flesh this out. I reviewed my other closest friends and realized vintage is a problem. The three other people I care most about in the world are people I met in 1968, 1975 and 1986, respectively.

What happened since then?

I got sick. People dropped out. I lost my ability to form healthy friendships. And why improve upon perfection? I’ll never have friends like the ones I started out with.

Sometimes I think, “I’m a loner,” and imagine myself in a Tom Waits song to make it all seem cool. But I do want people to be sad when I die.

Will you be sad? If yes, give me a call. I have a yearbook for you to sign.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by liz at 03:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

I don't need to recast this story in my own words. I think the following paragraph from NewJersey.com will do:

Thirteen mentally ill patients involuntarily committed to Bergen Regional Medical Center languished in the hospital's psychiatric unit for up to a decade, their cases forgotten and never revisited, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit going to trial Wednesday.

Read the rest, but best do so on an empty stomach.

Bergen Regional deaf to patients' plight, suit says

Posted by liz at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Posted by liz at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Another example of why this debate is so complicated:

My brother is currently being treated involuntarily. I want my brother to be able to choose what is best for himself, but currently he is unable to do so. My brother is 42 and has had a long history of psychiatric problems and incarcerations. His newest free flowing idea is to entice a police officer into shooting him. I would be an irresponsible sibling if I didn't fight to keep my brother hospitalized. Last week he followed students at a local college stating on the telephone that he wanted to make Headlines! The nature of the headline he spoke of would make anyone sick! The week before he was going to jump off the Bridge, and I cant tell you how many times he threatened to kill my mother who has been the one supporting him all his life. There comes a time when families have the right to choose what is best for a family member. We know him best! It took a long time for my mother to even push for short term hospitalization. If left unchecked, my brother will hurt an unsuspecting individual and as of lately has become increasingly more graphic with his thoughts and ideas. We know what he is capable of and therefore, together as a family are fighting to keep him in treatment. Most days he is happy to be there and can even carry on a conversation appearing "normal" but on the days he wants out, those are the times that I am thankful he is not allowed to make that decision. Those are the days I make sure my mom is far away from him because I know ultimately one day he will try to kill her again. The brother I knew died many years ago with a tramatic head injury during a car accident at 17. What remains is hope that he may one day return. For now, caging the animal is the most humane regardless of what anyone says,,,,,if you could only have lived through what we as a family have, you might be able to see things from our point of view.

Posted by liz at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)

I can't take the credit for the contents of the below, but the person who wrote it prefers to remain anonymous. Let's just say he's had experience with the world of mental health (and everything that connotes) with a few decades now, and knows whereof he speaks. Unfortunately. As soon as I read this, I was hit with stomach-churning memories. The shock of recognition, and all that. The question is: What can we do about it?

We're having a party. It's going to be a good time ...

It's party time in the mental health system. Just around the corner are Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years and our community, yes we are considered a community, will be pulling out all the stops. There will lots of community integration within our community, socialization, network building and skills development. We are going to do the wild thang so hold on tight and welcome to a "Mentally Ill Party."

Directions for one Mentally Ill Party:

Supplies:
One radio
Soda (Store brand is fine. The cumbersome three liter bottles are preferred.)
Chips (Enormous bags.)
Cookies (Again, store brand.)
Party hats are optional.
Paper plates, plastic cups, paper napkins.

Furniture and furnishing: Folding chairs, lots of them, to be placed around the periphery.

Entertainment: Bingo set. The mentally ill really love bingo. It is the game of choice at programs and hospitals.

Venue (aka Therapeutic milieu) : Mentally ill parties are best held in an environment where the general public would not think of coming. Psychiatric units are great but any old day program, sheltered workshop, or drop-in center will do.

Scheduling: Please remember to schedule your mentally ill party well in advance of the actual holiday. The best times are between one and four in the afternoon.

Prohibited speech: Sex, politics and religion though scatological humor and anything about "Recovery and Wellness" is strongly encouraged.

Getting your party going: You really want everyone to be engaged. Please walk each attendee to the snack table and introduce him or her to the snacks. Some programs have a staff member dole out the chips and cookies to prevent the use of hands, minimize offending crumbs, and insure that none of the revelers take an appropriate portion.

Photo Op: If you represent a mental health provider agency, you are going to need a photo op for you organization's newsletter. The following is suggested. Nag one of the consumers sitting on a folding chair to rise without his or her chips and soda. Encourage him or her to do the funky chicken or the frug. Take an action shot. Please note: Any other unprompted gyrations or gesticulations should be considered as 1) a side effect of medication which is permitted, 2) a precursor to violence, 3) Mania, and 4) Acting Out. They should be addressed immediately.

Quick Guide to Mentally Ill Parties: Imagine the worst kids birthday party you ever attended before the age of six. Dump the cake, the table, and the decorations. Keep the pin the tail on the donkey and add bingo.

Posted by liz at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

When's the last time I wrote about Arkansas? Maybe never. It's one of those states that's simply not on my radar. Once my car broke down there. And I did consider going to school there for an MFA in Translation -- which I'm guessing would be just as useful as my Bachelor's in Creative Writing.

But by golly, it's Mental Health Awareness Week in Arkansas, and a candlelight vigil in Fayettville highlighted (heh) the need for more resources. From the Northwest Arkansas Times:

[The Mental Health Association's John] King said a big need for mental health patients in Northwest Arkansas is a nonprofit inpatient care center. He said he hopes that spreading awareness in the community might address that need better.

“ Some of the people that came (to the vigil ) will go home and ask what they can do, ” he said.

Vigil marks start of Mental Health Awareness Week

Posted by liz at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Looks like Glaxo is having some trouble getting a patent for its extended release version of Lamictal, an anti-seizure med that I use (off-label?) as a mood stabilizer. From Reuters (belatedly):

NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday that U.S. health regulators stopped short of approving a new long-acting version of its widely used epilepsy drug, Lamictal, until certain concerns are addressed.

Europe's largest drugmaker, which received a so-called approvable letter regrading its Lamictal XR, said it is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to address any questions the agency has and to evaluate the best way forward to outright approval.

The company did not specify what FDA questions or concerns must be addressed in order to gain approval.

Lamictal XR is a once daily extended-release formulation of the older medicine, which is taken twice daily by most epilepsy patients. The older version, which had nearly $2 billion in sales last year, is already facing competition from cheap generic versions in Europe and generic competition in the United States could come as soon as next year. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot)

I know Lamictal can have dangerous side effects upon initial treatment; maybe those are intensified with the long-acting version. I've been taking it for years -- knock wood -- with excellent results.

[Image from The Chem Blog]

Posted by liz at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sinead O'Connor, whose cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" always makes me weak, has revealed she has bipolar disorder. From the AP:

She now takes medications that serve as a mood stabilizer and antidepressant, as well as help her sleep.

The drugs have helped her become more balanced, she said, but "it's a work in progress. I'm not going to sit here and claim that I'm kinda perfect or anything. Anything is an improvement when you've been in desolation ... to be out of that place is brilliant. It doesn't mean you don't have lumps and bumps."

Sing it, sister. In my case, those are some serious lumps and bumps, but what's amazing about it is that I can actually deal with them; I've learned how. The problem is believing there's a magic bullet, that one day you won't be a work in progress. Not so. But, Sinead says, she no longer thinks of suicide. "I'm certainly out of despair, which is great."

O'Connor Struggled With Suicide Thoughts

Posted by liz at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I haven't been able to blog very much due to it being my first week on the new job. I do apologize for that. Here are a few things to remember:

Philip Dawdy is raising funds, so show your support!
Stephany is struggling with her daughter, so show your support!
I'm having migraines every day on my new job, so show your ... show me some cyanide!

Heh. Just joking about that last one. Sort of.

I promise to get another post out today. It's just been weird because I don't have regular access to a computer.

Posted by liz at 07:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Wall Street Journal reports on the results of a study about depression treatment. Medication? Therapy? The study says both are most effective than either approach alone, at least in terms of adolescents.

A combination of medication and therapy helps depressed adolescents heal faster than medication or therapy alone, and with fewer incidents of the suicidal tendencies associated with unalloyed antidepressant use, according to findings in the largest and longest government-funded study of depressed teenagers.

This study, published yesterday in the Archives of General Psychiatry, provides more evidence that a combination of the antidepressant Prozac and therapy can help overcome both problems.

The study's authors say the findings offer hope that teenagers can attain long-term recovery from the illness, which is marked by chronic relapses among patients of all ages. They hope that by treating adolescents for longer than three to four months -- the typical duration of such studies -- teens will reach their "maximal medical benefit" from treatment and be less likely to become depressed again in the future, said John March, chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Duke University School of Medicine and one of the study's authors.

Dual Approach Aids Depression Treatment

Posted by liz at 03:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here's an interesting story, which just so happens to be a panic sufferer's worst nightmare. I hope the media reports this carefully.

Panic Attacks May Increase Heart Risk

Posted by liz at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some days I feel like I can dish it out, but I can't take it. Poo.

Posted by liz at 07:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here are some thoughts from TTWS reader Lisa, about her experience with psychiatric treatment and commitment. In response to some emails I'm getting, I'm NOT ON ANY SIDE on this one. I want to present different stories and let people make up their own minds. I have written variously on this subject -- from being an advocate for more stringent involuntary commitment criteria to being an advocate for the reverse. I have a lot of feelings on the subject, most of them complex. I'm not pro or anti anything.

I think the problem is that sometimes the treatment itself causes more harm. Medication didn't have a lot of utility for me, in fact it made me worse. The more meds they added to my cocktail, the worse my depression got. The repeated hospitalizations left me more and more despondent.

Leaving the hospital AMA was one of the best decisions I ever made, and thank god the laws were such that I could do that. Thank goodness I could make the decision to stop seeing my psychiatrist and stop taking my meds. Because for me, treatment was a disaster. While under psychiatric care, I went from receiving academic awards in grad school, to dropping out. I became a revolving door mental patient, in and out of the psych hospital. Getting away from psychiatric care was the right decision for me. I am five yrs med free and psychiatrist free. I am employed full time. I still struggle with depression from time to time (which is what led me to a psychiatrist in the first place), but it is manageable. What would have happened to me if the laws had been different? What would have happened to me if I was prevented from telling my psychiatrist, "Adios."

And this comes from Alyson:

It isn't prison or hospital. TAC keeps saying that but it doesn't make it true. It would take over 300 people being force treated or euphemistically "AOT"'d to prevent one arrest for a non-violent crime according to a very reputable study by the Cochran research group, hardly a radical group. So are we prepared to have more than 300 people force drugged to prevent one arrest for a non-violent offense?

TAC's other argument is that people are sick, they need help. Well, yeah, all kinds of people are sick and need help and a lot of them don't get help because it isn't available, they aren't insured, or they have been so abused in the past that they are afraid of asking for help again.

What about all the people with medical illnesses out there who are non-compliant? I don't buy into the theory that someone who risks amputation or death by not taking care of his or her diabetes is making a rational, competent decision while someone who decides not to take neuroleptics is clearly making an irrational, incompetent decision.

I have kidney failure. I'm lucky enough to be off dialysis for now, but in the future it will be my choice whether to be on it or not. If I decide to die like Art Buchwald (I won't but hypothetically), the state can't do a thing about it nor can my doctor. But if someone says I'm psychotic and deteriorating and not going to die, the state and a doctor can force me to take drugs? How does this make any sense at all. I am the same person in both instances.

Posted by liz at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)