Author: Kitt O’Malley
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Verbal Non-Verbal
Sometimes, I’m verbal The words rush They press They insist on getting out of my head They keep me awake at night Unless I shut them up Turn them off with meds Sometimes, though, I’m simply not Sometimes, I’m non-verbal The words are not there I do jigsaw puzzles Watch TV Play with numbers Rather than…
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Am I Still a Mental Health Blogger?
What defines being a blogger, specifically a mental health blogger? Must I write regularly or frequently? Must I always write about mental health? What if that is not my focus ALL the time? What if I’m so busy that living with bipolar disorder is not in the forefront of my mind? What if I’m overwhelmed…
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Yes, I'm a Math Geek
By January 22nd I had scanned almost every home improvement receipt my parents kept since 1978 to help the CPA, my old boss, adjust the basis of their house to calculate capital gains. I scanned over 625 receipts! There is more work to be done, more information to be gathered, for my parents’ income taxes. I’ve also started…
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Time to Write Again?
Pre-Christmas Travel Writing I jump from one app to another. Jigsaw puzzle to reading to writing. Back and forth, writing and jigsaw. Uneasy. Jittery. Uneasy. Not at ease. Tense. Guilty. Dramatic, yes, but so fucking what. That’s who I am. I have no desire to change that about myself. Besides, honestly, I keep most of…
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Caregiving Can Wear You Down #RealTalkAboutCare
Since Thanksgiving weekend, I’ve been sick with an upper respiratory infection (URI). As an asthmatic, URI’s tend to go to my lungs. My son, too, is sick and in bed (no way for a teenager to spend the weekend). URI’s are highly contagious. We tend to share far too many illnesses in my family. Even…
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Mini Thanksgivings
This weekend my sister visited and we celebrated Thanksgiving twice with our parents. Friday we joined our mother at her memory care community and joined their festivities. That afternoon and early dinner went very well. We had fun decorating her room and organizing photos. Saturday we brought our father to visit our mother for lunch.…
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Bipolar Network News
The Bipolar Network News offers fabulous articles about the latest research. I subscribe to their newsletter, which I’m sharing from my email. Sign up for more information at bipolarnews.org. Latest Findings on Ketamine IV Ketamine 2 or 3 Times Per Week Improves Depression Mouse Study Shows That Ketamine Metabolite May Treat Depression with Fewer Side…
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Shedding a Few Tears
It’s been a year. It’s been a year since I noticed that my mother hadn’t taken her turn in Words with Friends. It’s been a year since my mother was verbal. It’s been a year since she could use language. Her passion was words. She spent her days playing word games. She was proud that she…
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Featured Blogger: Kitt O’Malley – Art by Rob Goldstein
Thank you, Robert Goldstein, for featuring me on Art by Rob Goldstein as his November featured blogger. The original interview is posted at: robertmgoldstein.com/2016/11/06/featured-blogger-kitt-omalley/. Here I reprint it. This month’s featured blogger is writer and Mental Health Advocate Kitt O’Malley. In this interview we talk about internalized stigma, learning to accept and taking up the challenge of…