network

network
Originally uploaded by dsevilla.

This photo is an ideal image representing how a support network looks. There is beauty in joining with others for a common cause, or for friendship.
What can you do today to get the support you need and want?

As Kathleen Crowley writes in her book "The Power of Procovery",

"Rather than feeling victimized by moods, responding to feelings as they come, it is sometimes possible to create them."

Thanks to Diego Sevilla from Spain for this lovely image!

Tongue

Tongue
Originally uploaded by Dive Monkey.

There is so much in life that goes unnoticed. It's wonderful that others can show us the beauty, excitement, or delight that we are missing. I've never gotten this close to a bee (and don't intend to). But this photographer has given us a gift by letting us see something special.
Have a great week!

Down

Originally uploaded by shadowplay.

Head down, hands on face. This is a well known sign of depression. We feel like there's nothing worth seeing, nothing worthwhile period. And especially, we feel unworthy to be alive.
It seems like it's going to last forever, and that we can't get out.

Procovery reminds us that we can "just start anywhere", (tm) and that even the smallest steps in the right direction can have unexpectedly huge results. Rather than rely on our feelings, we can take an action, no matter how small, and start to break out and free ourselves from the darkness and gloom.

Basics of Mental Disorder - Part I - definition of. .

Why use the term "mental disorder"? Well, let's look at what's been used in the past:

ape, barmy, batty, berserk, bonkers, cracked, crazed, cuckoo, daft, delirious, demented, deranged, dingy, dippy, erratic, flaky, flipped, flipped out, freaked out, fruity, haywire, idiotic, insane, kooky, lunatic, mad, maniacal, mental, moonstruck, nuts, nutty, psycho, screw loose, screwball, screwy, silly, touched, unbalanced, unglued, unhinged, unzipped, wacky, whacko

Not a particularly distinguished or complimentary group of words.

Let's compare this to the list of words in a thesaurus for the term "diabetic": there are none! Has diabetes been around for centuries? Yes, it was first diagnosed 3,500 years ago!

http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/diabetes-history.html

I have two similarities and a difference in comparing diabetes to mental disorder:

1. They both are "disorders", not illnesses. An illness is something you can get over, get well from. A disorder has some characteristics of an illness, but there is NO CURE. It's something the person will have to learn to live with his or her whole life. Both conditions (not illnesses) have a "onset", a variable prognosis, and an unpredictable course.
2. Why is there such a different reaction to a problem that shows up in the pancreas and liver and one that shows up in the brain? My take on it is this: Humans are extremely behavior conscious, and norms conscious. Diabetics don't act particularly strangely. People with a mental disorder can be seen showing a whole range of objectionable, comical, or unusual behaviors. This scares us. Behavior makes a difference. Diabetes is an acceptable condition. Mental disorder has not been seen as acceptable.
3. Both conditions have only been successfully treatable within the last 40 years or so.

So I use "mental disorder" rather than "mental Illness" or "consumer" (that god-awful term). I think mental disorder is the most accurate. However, no matter what we call it, whether insane , or consumer or mentally ill, the terms we use will inevitably take on negative connotations. Why? Because we all bring our prejudices along as baggage to any descriptive term. So, while it's important to use an accurate term, it's even more important to de-stigmatize the condition. The difference is, people with diabetes don't have to cope with BOTH the illness and everyone else's nasty judgments about them.

Mania - what it's like in pictures

This is a suggestion of what it's like to be manic: too bright, distracted, often grandiose, stormy, contrasting.
1k-10-7664 Statue of King Louis XIV Originally uploaded by creativity+.