Tag Archives: PBS

Mental Health Issues: Lessons from the Talk Show Circuit

Ben Behind His Voices Events and Updates, mental illness in the media, mental illness in the news, , , , , , ,
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audiobook in CD format

In six days, Ben Behind His Voices will be officially released (audiobook version, too – preview it here!), although according to Amazon stats there have been healthy advance sales of the hardcover and kindle versions. So it’s out there! But, to spread the word, getting the media interested and involved is a huge help – and it’s definitely a live-it-learn-it series of experiences for this author.

So far, as far as print, radio and TV go:

a handful of BlogTalkRadio interviews – great hosts, interesting conversations, not sure who listens but I hope there’s a reach.  Archives exist.

The Positive Mind on WBAI inNYC with Armand DiMele. Hour-long, insightful interview with genuine back-and-forth conversation. You can hear it on the “Press” page on this site or on Armand’s website.

Interview segments on other radio shows such as Kathryn Raaker’s Let’s Just Talk, airing on several stations. July 9th segment 1, if you’re checking the archives. Kathryn was genuinely interested, as she could personally relate from her own family experience. Great prep, great passion for sharing the message.

Boston Globe interview appeared in print last week – done over the phone, all I had to do was talk. Bloggers have also “interviewed” me by asking questions in writing, to which I responded also in writing- essentially writing my own article, I guess, though interesting  answers can only come out of good questions, yes? (links are on Press page too)

This week I drove to Washington DC to appear on “Let’s Talk Live“, a local ABC-affiliate daytime talk show.  If you check the archives/blog of that show (9/7/11) you’ll see our segment did not make that cut. What did? Plastic surgery and the “Blondes vs. Brunettes” female football game (For a good cause, so not frivolous. But still). Hmmm. Continue reading Mental Health Issues: Lessons from the Talk Show Circuit →

PBS, ABC, Boston Globe, and the Flu

Ben Behind His Voices Events and Updates, how is Ben doing now?, mental illness and family, reviews and interviews, , , , ,
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 a 29-year-old whining “Mommy….” – but whenever I’m sick I want to do the same thing, and my mother’s been gone since 1994.

There’s an additional issue, of course, when your child has schizophrenia. Will he, can his body, keep the meds down? Last night we carefully orchestrated the meds between episodes, and since they are mainly in liquid form we can only hope most of them got into his system somehow. We counted (believe me, we both had one eye on the clock) 55 minutes from ingestion to, um, rejection.

Ben’s main concern, despite his pain? “If I throw up, I won’t have to go to the hospital, will I?” I thought, at first, that he was over-dramatizing his stomach pain – but then realized he was worried about having to go back to the psychiatric unit for missing one dose of meds. I’m beginning to think this last relapse really affected him – and that maybe – just maybe – he is connecting the stay to his low levels of meds at the time.

I hope so. but – as always – one day at a time. Continue reading PBS, ABC, Boston Globe, and the Flu →