Search Results for: blog telling people about your mental illness

Family Influence on Mental Health

I’ve been wondering and I’ve come to the conclusion that like so many other things in life, our mental health often represents our upbringing. I look at one side of my family. At my grandmother’s level of the family tree there were ten siblings. They were raised in a strong Catholic family, learned to help take care of one another (with ten of them, what more could you do), rely on one another, and be open and honest. Family was the focus of their lives. They had twelve people in a three bedroom house, so there was no choice but … Continue reading →

Great Genealogy Blogs

Looking for the latest news in genealogy? A great way to do that is to subscribe to some of the genealogy blogs that function like newsletters. They are free to subscribe to, and many provide daily updates about news articles relating to genealogy. It sure saves time to have all this information collected in one place, ready for you to read. I like the genealogy blogs and newsletters because they do more than just provide links to resources that you can search through as you work on your own genealogy projects. The information found on these kinds of websites lets … Continue reading →

Born-Again Christians a Potential Threat to Mental Health Sufferers (2)

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In our last blog in this series, we looked at how Joyce, an elder of her church, introduced a victim of sexual crime who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to a “so-called” Christian counselor, the latter telling the afflicted woman that “God had given her this burden to work through”. As I discussed previously, this is a cruel and untrue statement, but to say such things to a person who is distressed and struggling under an enormous load is nothing short of sadistic. And yet these misguided “Christians continue to have the arrogance to believe that they can cure … Continue reading →

Online Mental Health Support Groups: Are They Useful?

These days pretty much every condition known to man has an online support group. There is really no better support than talking to people who understand and live your condition, whether it be diabetes, stroke or some form of mental illness. There are many online support groups for a range of mental disorders including depression, the anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and panic disorder to name a few. While the concept of joining a group such as these is an excellent one, again, as with selecting a therapist, one needs to be a bit choosy. Online mental health groups can provide daily … Continue reading →

The Stigma of Being a Mental Health Patient

As if it isn’t bad enough to be besieged by depression, bipolar disorder or any number of conditions that may land you in a medical facility for a period of time, there is the added stigma you as a patient may receive from family members, neighbors, acquaintances, even your work colleagues. While the majority of hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from mental and emotional complaints, the topic is still generally not talked about and many people are reluctant to admit to suffering from a mental disorder of some description. However, when the relevant condition deteriorates such that the … Continue reading →

Mental Health Week in Review: October 9-16

We certainly got people talking in response to the article Does Your Partner Look Like Your Opposite Sex Parent? While researchers at the University of Pecs in Hungary were busy finding statistically significant links between the similarities in appearance between your father and your partner if you are a female, and alternatively, your mother and your female partner if you are a male, readers at Families were conducting their own anecdotal experiments! Thanks to all contributors, both public and private. It seems that, in general, we are mortified to think that we have chosen someone who might possibly look like … Continue reading →

Telling People about your Mental Illness

Whether we suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, an eating disorder or one of the many anxiety disorders, there comes a time when decisions have to be made as to who and what to tell about your condition. Sometimes that decision is taken away from us, as when we suffer a psychotic episode, a suicide attempt, or our eating disorder has become obvious even to the most casual observer. I am often asked by clients how they should go about telling people about their illness and who they should tell. It can be quite a challenge to tell others about … Continue reading →

“Christian” Healing and Mental Health (2)

In our last article on this topic, we looked at some of the harm that can come from so-called “Christian” healing. Obviously, this form of healing has little to do with Christianity at all, but it is called that and as such, is effectively sending out the wrong message to many people. Today we look at further examples of “help gone wrong.” Jane was sick with both a debilitating physical illness and major depression. As is often the case, her family was not a great support to her, simply believing that she could and should just “pull her socks up.” … Continue reading →

Parenting A Child With Schizophrenia

Michael and Susan Schofield’s six year old daughter has schizophrenia. The LA Times has an article that describes what it is like to parent a child like Jani. The article describes what Jani was like as an infant, how her daily life is now, and the stresses involved with parenting a child with an extreme form of mental illness. The article tells the story of Jani and her parents. It was clear right from the start that Jani was different from other infants. She didn’t sleep for more than half an hour at a time, and would scream if she … Continue reading →

Another Suicide, Another Pain-filled Life Ended

Yesterday I was woken by a flurry of activity at dawn in our normally quiet street. Police cars, ambulances, forensics teams and finally, the giveaway, the funeral directors van said it all. Another suicide. Sadly, the person involved had not long lived in the neighborhood and resided in one of the few sets of units which are beginning to dot the area. Because of the isolation of the unit, she did not mix with others and so no-one knew here. Plus the now almost redundant practice of welcoming a newcomer into the neighborhood with a cake, a card or drinks … Continue reading →