Category: Family
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Private? No, Not I
You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better. – Anne Lamott Confidentiality: we ask that you keep confidentiality for anyone else who may have played a challenging role in your recovery journey. Even if you don’t mention a specific name, be…
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Christmas Day
So here I am on Christmas Day, at a loss for words. Recently I’ve been posting simple holiday sentiments on graphic images and content I’ve copied and pasted from year-end emails sent to me from NAMI and NIMH, or – in the case of To Conform or Not to Conform – content I wrote and posted earlier.…
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My Son’s Heroes
My mother lives with lymphoma and my mother-in-law lives with multiple sclerosis. My son considers them his heroes, for they are strong women who do not let their illnesses defeat them. I, too, find them courageous and greatly respect them. Here is content from the Lymphoma Research Foundation‘s page on Coping with Lymphoma During the Holidays.…
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Brain is a Brain
When I was visiting with my father to celebrate Thanksgiving, he asked me why what he suffers – dementia, a memory disorder, a neurological disorder – is any different than what I have – bipolar disorder, a mental illness, a psychiatric disorder? Why these distinctions? Why is stigma attached to one and not another? Why do so many…
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My Dad and Dementia
My dad has dementia – not Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia – but dementia nonetheless. His dementia has slowly progressed over many years and is greatly exacerbated by his heavy drinking. I am genetic heir to alcoholism, fear it, and drink minimally because of it. Because I am feeling pain and anxiety over…
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Holidays and Dementia
Quoted from the Alzheimer’s Association (ALZ.org): Holidays and Alzheimer’s Families | Caregiver Center | Alzheimer’s Association. 24/7 Alzheimer’s Association Helpline: 800.272.3900 The holidays are a time when family and friends often come together. But for families living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, the holidays can be challenging. Take a deep breath. With some planning and adjusted expectations, your…
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Giving Tuesday
Today is Giving Tuesday, so please donate to any of these charities near and dear to my heart: ALZ.org ~ My father has dementia. Alzheimer’s is one form of dementia that Alzheimer’s Association seeks to eliminate. Cancer.org ~ Thank you, American Cancer Society, for research and life-saving programs for cancer patients. Far too many of my…
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I’m Not Gonna Miss You
This post by Lynne of curvyroads.info hits close to home, as my father, like her mother, has dementia. For more information about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, visit the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.
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Being a Parent with a mental illness
I reblogged this excellent post on being a parent with mental illness, originally posted on YOUTH OF A NATION:BENT NOT BROKE by DarcSunshine. http://youthofanation.com/2014/11/22/being-a-parent-with-a-mental-illness/
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To conceive or not to conceive – Is that really a valid question?
Thank you, Edel Williams of Placid’s Place for this blog post. When I was pregnant with my son, I was under treatment for depression, but was not yet diagnosed bipolar type II. That diagnosis I received when he was two. We ended up deciding not to have more children, not because we feared passing on…