Follow Up to Medicated Mothers/Parents

I just wanted to post a few links from mothers who responded to this controversy in a more gracious manner than I.
Please see the following posts and stick around their blogs for the rest of their great writing and information:

• I am a Medicated Mom! by Motherhood is not for Sissies
• So You Think I Shouldn’t Have Had Children by Susan at Learned Happiness
• You Will Not Shame Me – The Stigma of Mental Illness and Prescription Drugs by Christina at Well, in THIS House
• And for general PPD posts check out Ivy's PPD Blog 

 

What the hell does that mean?!?

So... I am not necessarily a believer of paranormal phenomenon, but I don't NOT believe. I'm quite skeptical, but I lean towards believing, let's put it that way.
For a period of a few months, I was finding dimes EVERYwhere, some in quite odd places, especially in my house. (Some examples: the middle of the windowsill in my bedroom, on top of the coffeemaker, between the sheets at the foot of my side of the bed.) I finally mentioned it to my mother, who looked it up and told me it's supposedly a sign from deceased loved ones that you're in a time of transition and that things will work out for the best. I was in a time of transition and this had been the house of my great-grandparents, whom I loved very much. Then the dimes stopped. And now I am finding pennies everywhere, and in odd places, especially in my house. (The latest was the couch cushion I had my head on, which was empty when I left the room, but had a penny on the middle of it when I returned. The dogs were out in the kitchen with me, the cats were upstairs, and nobody else was in the house.) But I can't find anything on the internet of what it might be a "sign" other than "pennies from heaven"--well, what does that mean?? It could mean anything from "I'm thinking of you" to "Stop being such a cheapskate." If you have ever heard what the specific meaning of the penny might be, feel free to leave me a comment.

Mental Health

Just a quick note because I haven't posted in forever.
I saw this post on Anderson Live's Facebook page. The post and the ignorant comments enrage and sadden me. I responded (see below) and directed people to my site if they have questions about ECT. So I wanted tot put the links at the top to make it easier to find than scrolling through all of my tags.

• Find all of my ECT-related posts here
• ...and all of my posts tagged "mental health" here.

My response was as follows:

I read every comment in this thread and I have so much I want to say as a mother of two beautiful, intelligent teenagers and as someone who also has BIOLOGICALLY based mental and physical health issues. Essential oils, the Bible, cellular salts, homeopathy, Scientology, parenting classes, being a vegan, eating cleaner, sucking it up, tucking it away, praying/asking for prayers (did God not give us the ability to diagnose and treat mental illness?? It's like ignoring the life raft and helicopter because "God will save you"), blahblahblah are bullshit and worthless when you have a literal chemical imbalance in your brain which does not allow the correct chemicals to be processed correctly.
I've also been in therapy for around 20 years, and guess what? My meds and ECT have helped me more than any therapist because the day to day stresses I talk to them about (with which they DO help me) are NOT the reason for my mental health issues, my faulty body is. The same as it responsible for the chronic physical illness for which I takes meds. Said meds are what have helped me stay alive and active when the illness I have kills people like me EVERY DAY. Just as mental illness does. (See the connection there??) Should I stop taking these meds and succumb to the symptoms and stay in bed until I die, immobile?? Then why should I stop taking my Effexor, Lamictal and Klonopin?
The hateful and IGNORANT comments and the way the question was phrased by ACLive staff are so offensive as to make me wonder if these people realize what UTTER DAMAGE they are causing by increasing stigma for real and DIAGNOSED mental health issues.
Step one should be DECREASING THE STIGMA! I find it truly hard to believe AC himself chose to tell this story this way when his brother committed suicide while his mother watched and they both spend time working for honesty and openness about mental illness. His staff should be ASHAMED...
Here's my step towards decreasing stigma by being open and honest and speaking truth to the ignorance displayed here: I have MENTAL ILLNESS. I live with it EVERY day and if it were not for medication and two rounds of ECT, I would be dead. My children would be orphans. I know that every one of the ignorant peole commenting has a person in their life with mental illness because 40% of people do. One can only hope if one of these ignorant people is asked for help that they wise the fuck up and learn in what ways they are seriously wrong and delusional about their beliefs because they will have it on their conscious if the friend/family member asks them for help and then dies because the ignorant person remains ignorant and tells the ill person to "suck it up, exercise, and rub some lavender on it."
I could still go on, but most of you probably already got to "tl/dr" but if you need a hand or have questions, please message me. You can also read about ECT from an honest POV at my blog. Tag: ECT at kulma dot blogspot dot com. Not linking bc I don't wanna spam here and if you want to read it, you can type it out yourself. 

Chainchainchaaaaain

Rules:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on the blog.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, as well as, creating your own eleven for the people you will tag.
3. Choose eleven people and link them in your blog.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tags back.
6. You legitimately have to tag.



1.) What content makes up most of your blog?
I almost exclusively blog about my life unless it is election season, then there are very opinionated and--shall we say--left-leaning posts.

2.) Why did you start blogging?
I just like to write and journaling is a pain because I sometimes don't have my journal on me and I end up forgetting what I want to say. I don't have anything to hide, really, and sometimes it might help others if they stumble across my posts. My highest viewed pages are about my physical and mental health issues, so it makes me feel good if even one of those hundreds of readers get something out of what I have to say.

3.) Where's the most comfortable place to think of blog posts?
I dunno. Stuff just comes to me randomly. I'll either note it on my phone or in a little Moleskine notebook if I don't have my laptop with me.

4.) When do you most often blog? Why?
I post a lot when I'm very relaxed and enjoying life or when my health problems are being, um, problems, lol.

5.) What word do you use the most?
While blogging? Probably "really." In real life? "What?" (Bad hearing and general lack of comprehension.)

6.) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Working on Doctoral thesis. Probably in Women's Studies, American Studies, or Folklore.

7.) Favorite midnight snack?
A warm cup of cocoa made by my hubby before he goes to bed. With real milk. And real cocoa.

8.) What is one physical object you couldn't live without?
My iPhone. Or a hair tie/barrette/whatever to hold my hair back.

9.) Where is your favorite place to visit?
Definitely Paris. Three times and counting!!

10.) How many people truly know everything about you?
One person, other than me, knows everything about me that *I* know about me. And probably a bit more because of their own observations.

11.) What's one thing you would do if there were no such thing as consequences?
Somehow obtain enough money to give everyone I know what they need to be able to concentrate on the important parts of life. (Rob a bank? Embezzle? Blackmail? something along those lines...)

Hmmmm.... Eleven questions for those I tag, huh?

1. If you could take over--as editor or main author--any blog, which would it be?
2. Do you find yourself trying to portray yourself in a too-positive way on your own blog?
3. If you use tags, which has the most posts on your blog? If you don't: what do you think your most mentioned subject is?
4. If you could get any celebrity to promote your blog because they really love reading it, who would it be?
5. If you could only eat variations of only one recipe for the rest of your life--with no physical consequences--what would it be?
6. Do you consider yourself a good writer, a good storyteller, both or neither?
7. What would you name your band and what genre would it play?
8. With which living celebrity do you think you could be besties?
9. What is the VERY first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
10. What household chore/nuisance/pest/etc is your least favorite thing of not being a child whose every need is taken care of anymore?
11. What is the title of the book closest to you? No cheating!

I don't know 11 people to tag, do I?

1. Vicki
2. Ethan
3. Dina S.
4. Soupie
5. Abi
6. Angella
7. Brianna

Senses on a Suburban Spring Evening

What I see:

1. at least a dozen kinds of trees growing both fresh and new, and strong and tall among the over two dozen trees surrounding us
2. a little dog's forest worth of ferns
3. a few plucky birds out almost past their bedtimes
4. lightning bugs
5. lots of lightning bugs
6. around an acre of freshly shorn, fresh, green grass
7. hot pink roses
8. clematis
9. vines and more vines!!!
10. flowersflowersFLOWERS!!!!
11. plants soon-to-flower and those which will not but are beautiful in their own right because of their million shades of green
12. the swooping bats which I always refer to as "my bats"
13. a freshly filled hot tub
14. a riding mower
15. the tranquility of the cemetery behind my house
16. the neighbor's child's child's play-set
17. ...and a few pink, plastic flamingos

What I smell:
see numbers 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 above
and
a grill in some nearby yard cooling down from the busy day
warm concrete

What I hear:
see numbers 3 and 12 above
and
children playing in a yard (catching lightning bugs?)
a nearby screen door--the old-fashioned kind-- opening and closing regularly with a "whoooosh," then a "smack!"
some creatures scurrying in the brush and plants around the house
very light Sunday night traffic on "my" two busy streets

What I feel:
warm concrete beneath my dirty feet and under my ample ass
a mosquito and some gnats lighting repeatedly on my skin

What I know:
my oldest baby boy graduated from high school today
I have the whole summer ahead of me with my boys, my dogs, my friends, and--for a week--the ocean
my boys are safe and having fun with friends tonight
I'm about to eat a tub of mashed potatoes and gravy and a few biscuits with honey for a late supper

What I taste:
joy