Have y'all noticed that people are making a big deal about Catherine Zeta Jones revealing that she has bipolar disorder? Don't get me wrong. I think it's great when celebrities open up about their diagnoses. It helps lessen the stigma attached to mental illness. And bipolar disorder needs a big ol' batch of destigmatizing solution. While attitudes about depression and anxiety disorders have relaxed over the past few decades, there is still a significant stigma attached to bipolar disorder.
Which is why I don't usually talk publicly about my own experience with it. Even though it's a success story.
(I can't have my discerning blog readers thinking I'm CRAZY, now can I?)
What I don't get is why Catherine Zeta Jones is getting such a warm reception (She's so brave!) when other bipolar celebrities (Britney Spears!) have been ostracized. She's hardly the first bipolar celebrity to talk about it openly. These celebrities have also acknowledged that they have bipolar disorder:
Pete Wentz
Richard Dreyfuss
Jane Pauley
Sting
Demi Lovato
Axl Rose
Linda Hamilton
Jim Carrey
Carrie Fisher
Patty Duke
I think one reason the bipolar stigma sticks around is because the public at large only hears about the extreme cases. When celebrities shave their heads, or refer to themselves as aliens, or go on drug binges. Most people with bipolar disorder have quieter, less dramatic struggles. We fly under the radar--especially if we take our medications like we should. Which far too many bipolar folks don't do--because the medicines can take away some of that creative spark, the heightened emotion, the MOREness that characterizes the up times of the disorder (mania).
It's been 9 years since I was diagnosed, and I've never stopped my medication. Sanity is a good thing. I'm fine doing without the up periods, because I know they only lead to the down times. There's always a crash. And those down times can be dangerous. About 15% of people with bipolar disorder commit suicide.
Perhaps what makes Catherine Zeta Jones so brave is that she sought treatment before she got out of control. And she's willing to do what's needed to get and stay well.
And she's doing it all with a beautiful, shiny head of hair.
April 25, 2011
April 15, 2011
Top 10 Most Annoying Things People Do (Part II)
Back again, folks, with more annoying things people do. (On a side note, making drawerings about annoying people has quite a therapeutic benefit. Take note, Shrinky Dink!)
5. When caseworkers/gatekeepers of services are rude/incompetent.
One of my absolute favorite parts of caregiving is all the paperwork involved. I especially enjoy when I've spent weeks compiling required documents in order to gain access to some service that my grandma clearly qualifies for, yet the caseworker/receptionist person has neglected to do HER part, so I have to completely start over again with updated documentation.
I've been trying to get my grandma Advantage Waiver services (services designed to keep people out of nursing homes and in their own homes) through the Department of Human Services for a few months now. Her incompetent caseworker has been completely unreachable by phone, and the few times I've received a letter from her, it has a deadline for required documents that will expire in like, two days. If the paperwork isn't received by The Incredible Disappearing Caseworker by the deadline, the application is automatically denied and the case for services is closed.
It seems to me that the caseworker is setting it up so the application is denied before she ever has to go through the paperwork to verify everything. Less work for her!
4. When people ramble on with guesses instead of just saying that they don't know the answer to my question.
This bothers me because it's a waste of time. I don't know the answer, so I ask someone else. If they don't know the answer, I want to move on and find someone who does. I have no patience for listening to postulations and pontifications for what feels like an eternity. So you don't know everything. Let it GO!
3. When people cuss in public.
My son was 5 when he learned the F-word in a checkout line at Walmart. Interestingly, he heard it from another mother who happened to be cussing out her teenage daughter. Now, as I've mentioned before, the grandmas in my family let choice words fly on a regular basis, so my son has heard 'em all by now. (He is very rule-oriented, fortunately, so he doesn't say them himself.) So perhaps it shouldn't bother me when people cuss in front of him any more. But it does. And it happens everywhere--movies, sleepovers, the mall, restaurants. (Which reminds me again that I need to tell you about the Golden Corral Incident.)
2. When people call me too early in the morning(!).
I am an inveterate night owl. And I'm crabby in the morning if someone wakes me up before I'm ready. This happens most mornings. Usually it's a phone call from some doctor's office reminding me of an appointment (that I already have entered in the calender feature of my phone).
Sometimes I want to stomp on my phone.
Sometimes I want to stomp on my doctor's office.
My husband thinks it's ridiculous that it bothers me to get a call before 10am. He's all, "The REST of the world starts operating at 8. Deal with it."
He doesn't say this to me before 10am, however.
And the number one most annoying thing people do....
1. When people are cruel to animals.
See, I don't even PLAY when it comes to animal abuse. I don't keep quiet like I do in some of the other annoying situations. I don't try to confuse the idiots with witty banter. No, I create a physical barrier and face the bullies down.
I have no problem being labeled The Pet Po-Po.
I don't like punks who throw rocks or poke sticks at dogs in fences. I don't like people who harass (or watch while their kids harass) wildlife. I think people who torture grasshoppers need to spend some time in an inpatient facility.
And there you have it. A veritable guidebook on how not to get on my bad side.
You're welcome.
5. When caseworkers/gatekeepers of services are rude/incompetent.
One of my absolute favorite parts of caregiving is all the paperwork involved. I especially enjoy when I've spent weeks compiling required documents in order to gain access to some service that my grandma clearly qualifies for, yet the caseworker/receptionist person has neglected to do HER part, so I have to completely start over again with updated documentation.
I've been trying to get my grandma Advantage Waiver services (services designed to keep people out of nursing homes and in their own homes) through the Department of Human Services for a few months now. Her incompetent caseworker has been completely unreachable by phone, and the few times I've received a letter from her, it has a deadline for required documents that will expire in like, two days. If the paperwork isn't received by The Incredible Disappearing Caseworker by the deadline, the application is automatically denied and the case for services is closed.
It seems to me that the caseworker is setting it up so the application is denied before she ever has to go through the paperwork to verify everything. Less work for her!
4. When people ramble on with guesses instead of just saying that they don't know the answer to my question.
This bothers me because it's a waste of time. I don't know the answer, so I ask someone else. If they don't know the answer, I want to move on and find someone who does. I have no patience for listening to postulations and pontifications for what feels like an eternity. So you don't know everything. Let it GO!
3. When people cuss in public.
My son was 5 when he learned the F-word in a checkout line at Walmart. Interestingly, he heard it from another mother who happened to be cussing out her teenage daughter. Now, as I've mentioned before, the grandmas in my family let choice words fly on a regular basis, so my son has heard 'em all by now. (He is very rule-oriented, fortunately, so he doesn't say them himself.) So perhaps it shouldn't bother me when people cuss in front of him any more. But it does. And it happens everywhere--movies, sleepovers, the mall, restaurants. (Which reminds me again that I need to tell you about the Golden Corral Incident.)
2. When people call me too early in the morning(!).
I am an inveterate night owl. And I'm crabby in the morning if someone wakes me up before I'm ready. This happens most mornings. Usually it's a phone call from some doctor's office reminding me of an appointment (that I already have entered in the calender feature of my phone).
Sometimes I want to stomp on my phone.
Sometimes I want to stomp on my doctor's office.
My husband thinks it's ridiculous that it bothers me to get a call before 10am. He's all, "The REST of the world starts operating at 8. Deal with it."
He doesn't say this to me before 10am, however.
And the number one most annoying thing people do....
1. When people are cruel to animals.
See, I don't even PLAY when it comes to animal abuse. I don't keep quiet like I do in some of the other annoying situations. I don't try to confuse the idiots with witty banter. No, I create a physical barrier and face the bullies down.
I have no problem being labeled The Pet Po-Po.
I don't like punks who throw rocks or poke sticks at dogs in fences. I don't like people who harass (or watch while their kids harass) wildlife. I think people who torture grasshoppers need to spend some time in an inpatient facility.
And there you have it. A veritable guidebook on how not to get on my bad side.
You're welcome.
April 13, 2011
Top 10 Most Annoying Things People Do (Part I)
If you're like me, stuff gets on your nerves a lot. So I've compiled a Top 10 List of the most annoying things people do. Because I'm such a gracious blog hostess, I illustrated each one using examples from my life. That's a lot of drawerings, y'all, so I'll have to list them in two installments. (Click pictures to enlarge.)
10. Letting their dogs roam the neighborhood.
This just happened yesterday. We live a few houses down from an antisocial young family with a stinky, mangy, um, unaltered bulldog. This bulldog somehow frequently manages to get out of the house without anyone knowing. He then proceeds to sexually harass the female dogs on the street, peeing and pooping indiscriminately on the way. Bolt (his real name) pushed his way into our living room yesterday when my son opened the door to tell me the dog was out again. Bolt is way too interested in our 9-year-old (spayed) female lab mix. Although she responds with, "I will CUT you!", Bolt doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer. To demonstrate his displeasure, he took a dump in my front yard while I was waiting for his owner to come get him.
9. When a crowd of people stops to chat right in front of the exit.
This is a common occurrence. You're in a crowded place and foot traffic is proceeding in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, some idiot decides that he can't walk and talk at the same time so he stops right in the path to the door. Then the flock gathers 'round. Perhaps it's due to my impatient nature, but this peeves me.
8. When people offer their unsolicited opinions about my family size.
Sometimes when we're out in public, people I don't even know ask me if my son is my only one. When I affirm this, they ask if I'm going to have any more children. Why do they need to know this? Is it a clue in a scavenger hunt they're participating in? Are they brushing up on their trivia for a future Jeopardy game? When they ask, I usually feel compelled to explain that I have secondary infertility. I guess I could just say, "Nope." But then I worry that they'll think I'm so disappointed with this parenting go-round that it's soured me to future child-bearing. And my kid is awesome, so I don't want to misrepresent!
Even worse was the time a neighbor told me straight to my face that she thinks having an only child is a horrible thing to do to a child.
She's lucky I'm medicated.
7. Interrupting me when I'm reading.*
Last week I was sitting in the waiting room of the chiropractor's office, happily reading my favorite magazine, Real Simple. A lady sat down next to me and picked up a copy of Hippies R Us Magazine (or some such) and began making noises of interest and revelation over the contents. When I didn't express an interest, she forged ahead anyway and began talking to me about diatomaceous earth. I made noncommittal sounds, avoided eye contact, and hunched further down into my magazine. She persisted. Not only did she persist, she went on tell me that she hadn't taken a shower in three days, she doesn't usually wear flip flops out in public, and her mom used to call cleaning yourself in between showers "taking a bird bath".
6. When doctors treat patients like crap.
I've seen a doctor or two in my day. It's another gift that autoimmunity brings. Most of them are nice, but some of them are buttholes. Some specialists in particular seem to have God complexes. In my experience, it's been gastroenterologists (hee hee, I said buttholes earlier) and psychiatrists. Years ago at the end of an initial appointment with a new psychiatrist, I asked her what her impression was. And I got the response in the drawing above. I was younger then, so I just kept quiet and never went back to her again. If that were to happen at this point in my life, I'd probably respond more like the cartoon me.
And that's it for today, folks. Stay tuned for the second installment!
*YouTube sensation Julian Smith made a hilarious music video about this very topic. Check it out.
10. Letting their dogs roam the neighborhood.
This just happened yesterday. We live a few houses down from an antisocial young family with a stinky, mangy, um, unaltered bulldog. This bulldog somehow frequently manages to get out of the house without anyone knowing. He then proceeds to sexually harass the female dogs on the street, peeing and pooping indiscriminately on the way. Bolt (his real name) pushed his way into our living room yesterday when my son opened the door to tell me the dog was out again. Bolt is way too interested in our 9-year-old (spayed) female lab mix. Although she responds with, "I will CUT you!", Bolt doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer. To demonstrate his displeasure, he took a dump in my front yard while I was waiting for his owner to come get him.
9. When a crowd of people stops to chat right in front of the exit.
This is a common occurrence. You're in a crowded place and foot traffic is proceeding in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, some idiot decides that he can't walk and talk at the same time so he stops right in the path to the door. Then the flock gathers 'round. Perhaps it's due to my impatient nature, but this peeves me.
8. When people offer their unsolicited opinions about my family size.
Sometimes when we're out in public, people I don't even know ask me if my son is my only one. When I affirm this, they ask if I'm going to have any more children. Why do they need to know this? Is it a clue in a scavenger hunt they're participating in? Are they brushing up on their trivia for a future Jeopardy game? When they ask, I usually feel compelled to explain that I have secondary infertility. I guess I could just say, "Nope." But then I worry that they'll think I'm so disappointed with this parenting go-round that it's soured me to future child-bearing. And my kid is awesome, so I don't want to misrepresent!
Even worse was the time a neighbor told me straight to my face that she thinks having an only child is a horrible thing to do to a child.
She's lucky I'm medicated.
7. Interrupting me when I'm reading.*
Last week I was sitting in the waiting room of the chiropractor's office, happily reading my favorite magazine, Real Simple. A lady sat down next to me and picked up a copy of Hippies R Us Magazine (or some such) and began making noises of interest and revelation over the contents. When I didn't express an interest, she forged ahead anyway and began talking to me about diatomaceous earth. I made noncommittal sounds, avoided eye contact, and hunched further down into my magazine. She persisted. Not only did she persist, she went on tell me that she hadn't taken a shower in three days, she doesn't usually wear flip flops out in public, and her mom used to call cleaning yourself in between showers "taking a bird bath".
6. When doctors treat patients like crap.
I've seen a doctor or two in my day. It's another gift that autoimmunity brings. Most of them are nice, but some of them are buttholes. Some specialists in particular seem to have God complexes. In my experience, it's been gastroenterologists (hee hee, I said buttholes earlier) and psychiatrists. Years ago at the end of an initial appointment with a new psychiatrist, I asked her what her impression was. And I got the response in the drawing above. I was younger then, so I just kept quiet and never went back to her again. If that were to happen at this point in my life, I'd probably respond more like the cartoon me.
And that's it for today, folks. Stay tuned for the second installment!
*YouTube sensation Julian Smith made a hilarious music video about this very topic. Check it out.
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