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As the mother of a beautiful young man who struggles with schizophrenia every day of his life, I am always tempted by magical thinking. What if Ben’s symptoms could be brought under his control without medication? What is he could somehow manage the hallucinations himself, if he only “understood” their origin? Our Brain -How [...] At the end of the movie Silver Linings Playbook, when main character Pat Peoples is about to embark on the next, happier, more stable part of his life, I think he says something to his ex-wife about doing much better because he is focused, determined, physically fit – and (shhh!)taking his meds. I think he says [...] For the first time in years, Ben has spoken to me about goals – and he actually has some, that he is willing to share with me. When you have a goal, it can be risky to say it out loud. What if you fail? What if your dreams don’t come true? Treatment, the [...] Yesterday I had the pleasure of swapping stories, issues and tips with Susan Schofield, Host of Bipolar Nation on LA Talk Radio, and her husband Michael, author of January First: A Child’s Descent into Madness, and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her. (reviewed in my last post) Sure,we were talking author-to-author, host-to-guest, but mostly we [...] Tonight TNT unveils a new series called “Perception” , in which Eric McCormack plays a brilliant neuroscientist with a full-blown case of schizophrenia. According to the NY Times, here is the premise: Colorful characters that only Pierce can see pop up to help him solve murder cases he consults on for his spunky F.B.I. buddy, [...] Bravo, Richard Dreyfuss. Not only one of the best actors of our time, but he is speaking openly about his experience with bipolar. As reported last week in the Herald Tribune in this article by Barbara Peters Smith, Richard recently appeared in Sarasota, FL to speak on “Living With Mental Illness” for the Mental Health [...] It can be so easy to get used to success, then to keep wishing for that higher bar. I’ve read that it’s a human to forget extreme physical pain – otherwise why choose another bout with labor and childbirth? – but what about the emotional pain attached to crisis periods in mental illness? All it [...] “When you’ve lost the miracle of ordinary, and you get it back, you never forget to be grateful…to say, This is a really good day.” Those are the last thoughts expressed in my recent interview with Mark Herz on WSHU, a Connecticut affiliate of NPR. Listen to the WSHU/NPR interview here ( 4 minutes) Yes, [...] when mommy's hug could cure Ben has spent the night – we’ve all been there – worshiping the porcelain throne. Either a stomach flu, or spoiled Chinese food (thanks, Hurricane Irene), but who cares why? Poor thing is in pain. No mom wants to see that. Plus, he is whining! Ah, yes, nothing like [...] My Talisman for the Past 5 Weeks Tomorrow we finally have the discharge meeting. Ben is, at last, responding to his meds and is well enough to have completely clobbered me and my husband Geoff in a game of 500 Rummy last night. Time to think about next steps. It has now been 5 [...] |
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