Education and awareness are the keys to understanding and thus removing stigma. I haven’t always been this open about it, but since sharing more via social media, I’ve had more than one person reach out to me with similar struggles of their own. It’s important to know that you are never truly alone!
Rants
The Insanity Virus
Schizophrenia has long been blamed on bad genes or even bad parents. Wrong, says a growing group of psychiatrists. The real culprit, they claim, is a virus that lives entwined in every person’s DNA.
Absolutely fascinating theory on schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, and bipolar disorders (and perhaps other mental illnesses as well?) This could provide so much hope for prevention and cure, if it’s true!
Swear to God, I can’t stand to hear a woman claim that she thinks like a guy and hates women because they’re all catty. That’s misogyny. The very fact that you, as a woman, think differently than how a socially-stereotyped woman is supposed to think is proof that our gender “norms” are f*cking us over. Women are not all alike. Some of us like football. Some of us like talking on the phone. Some of us like religion. Some of us are emotional. Some of us speak three languages. Some of us have boyfriends. Some of us have girlfriends. Some of us wear lipstick. Some of us don’t shave our pits. Some of us have kids. Some of us worry we’ll drop our best friend’s baby. Now please stop claiming that you don’t act like a woman. It doesn’t make you a special f*cking snowflake. It makes you a perpetrator of misogyny.
I am completely guilty of this, and now I feel bad.
Does anyone else find the press coverage of the NSA Leaker’s girlfriend creepy? I guess I’m not surprised… But I feel bad for the poor girl! To have your boyfriend of 4 years up and leave under such nefarious circumstances, and then have your personal life and photos splattered, sensationalized, and mocked all over the Internet…
I blog…I pole dance… I have had some professional photos taken. If Chuck ever becomes the world’s most wanted criminal-at-large, I’m doomed!
2 children beheaded by militants, Afghan authorities say
Taliban militants beheaded two children in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor’s office said.
Sometimes this war gets so politicized that even I forget why our men and women put themselves in harm’s way: to stop tyrannical entities like the Taliban, which has no respect for the most innocent forms of life, from preying on the innocent and manipulating a culture.
“How does this affect us?” one might ask. When you start manipulating cultures, extremism becomes rampant – and that puts us all at risk.
I finished The Great Gatsby last night, and my first reaction was “WTF, that was stupid! What a pointless mess!” But, after thinking about it and absorbing the message some more, I think that’s how I was supposed to feel… and I think I got it!
It was interesting how closely it paralleled some of my own experiences, and the lifestyles I was exposed to in my DC world. I frequented some lavish parties hosted by millionaires and their athlete/supermodel/celebrity friends, in decadent Georgetown and Embassy Row mansions and sparkling yachts.
Someone I know personally matches every character in the book, for better or for worse. I like to think I’m Nick Carraway – a relatively aloof and somewhat bored participant who recognized the emptiness of what we were doing, but participated anyway (albeit from a guarded distance without taking it too seriously, if that makes sense…)
Though I must say, our millionaire hosts weren’t quite as elegantly, mysteriously interesting as Jay Gatsby. There were plenty of rumors of course – but more along the lines of snorting cocaine off 14-carat gold bars just for the heck of it, and bizarre sexual practices with high-end hookers in Cannes or St. Tropez (or DC), and yes, maybe some investment fraud here and there…
But fortunately, no one’s lives were ruined by their extravagance… that I know of. Just reputations maybe… but even those stains disappeared with the relatively anonymous cycle of revelers that go in and out of those kinds of shin digs…
…Can’t wait to see the movie!
When my coworkers leave early to pick up their kids and I have to finish their work
Soooo been there!! And I must say it’s one of the reasons I understand why women make less in the workforce (to an extent – not saying it’s okay). Kids – and the omnipresent possibility we may have them – are a risk factor and potentially pricey burden on an employer…. And fellow employees.
3 Things to Never Say to a Military Wife (Please)
One thing I’ve learned about being a military wife is that people will say all sorts of things with the honest intention of helping me feel better… but somehow it misses the mark. I’ve narrowed it down to the Annoying Top 3:
1) “I could never do it! I’m so impressed you can stay faithful.”
This cheapens my relationship (and yours) to sex. If you truly loved him enough, you could definitely do it. I swear I’m not weird or crazy. 🙂
2) “You knew what you were getting into when you married him.”
There’s got to be a better way to tell me you don’t want to hear me share what I’m going through or about the surprises I encounter… which I thought friendships were for, but whatever, I get the picture.
3) “You’re already at X months? Wow, it’s going by SO quickly!”
This one is particularly awkward for me to hear, and ironically it’s also the most well-intentioned – so I don’t get hard feelings. Seriously though… I’m glad my husband being away/in danger/out of touch has gone quickly for you…but unless I say it first, I wouldn’t go there.
Again, all these things are never meant in a bad way, but having received each in quite a few variations, it just makes me shut up and shuffle away to my corner, feeling stupid. I guess it’s one of those things that people don’t quite “get” unless they’re going through it.
And it’s something I should remember too, when friends share with me. We all experience our own little battles, that’s for sure.
15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy
Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many th
So much truth here.
Today marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness month. Today also marks the beginning of my mother’s homelessness.
According to the Mental Illness Policy Organization, people with untreated psychiatric illnesses comprise one-third of the homeless population. My mom suffers from Paranoid Personality Disorder and Delusional Disorder, and she has no insight into her condition and thus refuses treatment. It’s been more destructive to her and to our family than any kind of cancer.
Take some time to learn something this month as we continue to find hope for those who struggle with this every day of their lives.
Wildflowers & Whimsy 