Addiction and Treatment Blog (medical)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Addiction and Treatment Blog, by Joseph Kernozek

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.theaddictionblog.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: The Addiction and Treatment Blog is dedicated to providing up to date information to help people better understand and discuss addiction and its treatment, so those helping people involved in addictive behaviors, as well as the people involved and their loved ones will know exactly what they are battling and that there is hope and recovery is possible.

MY REVIEW: This is a blog that needs to be read by a lot of people - not only those suffering from some form of addiction, but their family and friends, as well as just people in general who too often get their knowledge of addiction from the stereotypes shown on cop shows like the Law and Order franchises or the CSI franchises.

The post are made by a variety of authors -- recovered addict or those in the process of recovery - who have been there, done that, know whereof they speak.

The blog is part of a website that also has more information, news articles, information on addiction, videos, and so on.

If you're working to take back control of your life, or helping someone else to do so, I highly recommend this blog.

Sample post

Inside Stigma: A Patient's Perspective
Posted by Sarah Ann Henderson on July 29, 2010 at 11:07 AM

Hi, my name is Sarah. I’m Anorexic, Bulimic, and a Cutter.

You could call me these things. But they wouldn’t be accurate. Because I am not these things, these labels. And I am not in recovery from these things.

I am recovered.

From those things, I am recovered. I have bipolar, which requires ongoing management. But you wouldn’t know that if I didn’t tell you. I am not the stereotype, I am not the crazy person we all think of, ranting and raving on some street corner. I am like anyone else, except I take a few pills before I brush my teeth in the morning.

And yet.

I still catch flak all the time. For taking meds, for going to therapy, for the eating disorder history, for the visible scars from years of cutting. People comment on them, I've lost jobs because of them. It's like, what do you want? I used to cut myself. I don't anymore. I used to starve and binge and purge. I don't anymore. So eat lunch with me and stop looking at me like I'm going to vomit on the table any second. Deal with me as I am now, not as I was then.

And yes, I take medication for a chemical imbalance. Guess what? So do diabetics. Only their imbalance is in the pancreas, and mine is in my brain. That's the difference that makes people freak. That's where the stigma lies.

If you ask a poet, he'll tell you the seat of the soul lies in the heart. If you ask a neurologist, he will rightly tell you that the seat of the soul lies in the brain. And anyone who's ever experienced dementia will testify to that. It's very possible to exist in your body without living in it. And it's possible for the person you love to die long before their heart stops.

I believe that stigma comes from people's instinctual knowledge that when you mess with the brain, you mess with the soul. It can be disturbing, it can be terrifying, it can be cruel. And most people just aren't up for facing that. However, when you don't face it, you also miss out on everything the other side has to offer: healing, resilience, clarity, and courage. And while they are some people who don’t come back from mental illness, the vast majority of us do. The other side is a beautiful place. And if you can get past the stigma, you can join us.
© Sarah Henderson 2010

RECENT POSTS:
--Mom Accidentally Poisons Child With Cough Meds; Researcher Sees Problem as Child Abuse
--Inside Stigma: A Patient's Perspective
--I Am Your Recovery: A Response
--That Which is Hidden Cannot be Healed: Where there is HOPE...there is HEALING!
--Spirituality and The 12 Steps

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Celebrity Psychings (Lifestyle and culture, psychiatry)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Celebrity Psychings, by Alicia Sparks

WEB ADDRESS: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/celebrity/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Celebrity Psychings examines the world of mental health through the eyes of celebrities. You see, celebrities are people, just like us. They have mental health issues, just like us. And they suffer the ridicule mental health stigma carries – just like us. However, unlike most of us, celebrities are better situated to really bring to light important issues. Updated regularly by Alicia Sparks.

MY REVIEW: Celebrities may have mental health issues just like us...I'd say they have more problems, because they are never-endingly in the spotlight. Female actresses develop eating disorders and obsessions with facelifts, and know that no matter what they do, someone is going to criticize them simultaneously for being too fat or too thin, too old (at 40!) and so on. I'd say male actors have it a helluva lot easier, but even they can have issues, over and above just what the ills that flesh (and mind) are heir to.

So this is a really interesting blog about psychology, and I'd think it'd be of interest to everybody. There's no salaciousness, no delight in the pain and agony of people with "too much money," just honest insight into people's problems.

Sample post

When We’d Show Mel Gibson Compassion, Not Contempt
By Alicia Sparks

After some of the more stigmatizing comments (“dangerous lunatic,” anyone?) that’ve been made regarding Mel Gibson’s recent behavior and maybe/maybe not mental illness, I thought it’d be nice to share some perspective from someone who clearly grasps the importance of sitting down and really thinking about what you’re going to say before you’re going to say it – and why you’re going to say it in the first place.

The person I’m talking about is Marie R., who is for all intents and purposes an anonymous reader and commenter who used a recent Entertainment Weekly update to share her thoughts on Mel Gibson’s behavior and our reactions:

You aren’t far off. I truly believe he has been mentally ill his entire adult life, probably had at least some treatment to control his symptoms, bipolar most likely, & some other borderline personality disorders, but that as he has gotten older, & I’ve had some personal experience with this, people begin to disintegrate, especially if their treatment isn’t consistent & medications retooled over the years as needed. He seems to be self-medicating now which can be nothing but bad. Also, if anyone here knows about what was going on with Rita Hayworth in her later years, just before they finally figured out she had Alzheimer’s, she was drinking heavily, prone to fits of rage, breaking things, etc., sounds a lot like what’s going on with Mel. I don’t know, not a shrink or a neurologist, but he surely needs one or both now, for himself & his children. They must be humiliated & scared at this point. Mel needs a PET scan, pronto. And if I’m off the mark then he needs to go to jail, but my money’s on mental illness, or something even worse that cannot be fixed. And if that’s the case, he deserves our compassion, not our contempt.

I suppose the reason I’m sharing this comment is to point to an example of calm contemplation in this whirlwind of outrage and shun. It is possible to pause for a minute and think about the situation – think about why Mel Gibson (and anyone else, for that matter) has done these things.

The verbal abuse and threats were bad, yes. The physical violence was bad, too (if there was any – there’s now speculation as to whether Gibson actually hit Oksana Grigorieva in the mouth, as she claimed, or if that all plays into the extortion theory).

But even amidst all that, it is possible to eventually set aside the inevitable shock and confusion and anger and evaluate the situation.

If indeed Mel Gibson is suffering from untreated mental illness, which would be better: Hoping he seeks (and benefits from) professional help, or writing him off as a lunatic lost cause?

If it were you, how would you hope your family and friends would react?

RECENT POSTS:
--Using Theater to Challenge Preconceptions of Mental Illness
--Finding the Value in Celebrity Psychiatrists
--When We'd Show Mel Gibson Compassion, Not Contempt
--Ryan Bingham: Sadness, Happiness, and Songwriting as Therapy
--Mel Gibson Might Have Toppled Over the Edge of Darkness
--Does Crystal Bowersox's New Smile Mean New Confidence?
--Ron Artest Thanks Psychiatrist After Lakers Take NBA Championship
--Are Psychiatrists Better Off Behind the Scenes?
--Cut Yourself Some Slack: Lessons From Jewel
--Get Reacquainted With Megan Jackson and EmsCharityKiss

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death