Some Sensical Sayings For Fun

Be where you are...at all times. Don't let your EGO steamroller your brain! Be kind to others, even if you're not so kind to yourself. Don't point fingers at others, 'cause ya got three fingers pointin' back at you! Don't engage your mouth when your brain's out of gear. Keep a cool tool...don't let your meat loaf. Do good unto others, you'll have many sisters and brothers. When you're drownin', keep your head afloat, that way you won't lose sight of the boat! Don't ask your children to do something you're not willing to do first! Breathe in, breathe out. DON'T pray for patience, 'cause GOD gives that only through difficult trials! ALWAYS remember, no matter how smart your are, GOD is smarter...dummy! When I've been sick, I can remember how great it is to be well. Live to serve, serve to live. The most important job on this EARTH is the creation of new human life...you can't mold a life until you HAVE one. Thank you for my friends, thank you MORE for my family, thank you MOST for YOU! Until next time, redlisab

LET US BE FREE IN MIND, BODY, SPIRIT

This is something which has bothered me for some time; the idea that an "expert" can determine whether or not I'm a "danger" to myself and others simply by virtue of the fact that my thinking processes differ from "normal" people. Look around you, there are many terrible people out there, few of which are deemed mentally ill. 9-10ths of the horror I have endured as a result of being mentally ill has been because some "professional" decided I needed to be locked up. In the course of being locked up, I have been separated from my infant, threatened w/injections, locked out of my bedroom when I desperately needed sleep, locked out of the bathroom, had my shoes taken away and forced to wear shoes that don't match each other, etc. I have never committed any offense simply by virtue of being mentally ill. I had a problem for awhile because of my self-medicating use of alcohol, but apart from that, I have never done anything to hurt anyone because of my mental illness. My illness caused me severe pain, embarassment, feelings of hopelessness and futility, mostly because the current laws allow those disabled w/mental conditions to be treated as criminals. This is so bad...violations of civil rights abound. I am a human citizen w/rights. If you have a mental illness, make sure you understand your rights, and insist upon them. Generally, you have the right to wear your own clothing, the right to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law, the right to create a PAD (psychiatric advance directive) just like any medical document detailing your preferences of treatment in the event of a period of incompetence in your future. You can give your spouse or another family member the right to act on your behalf for future treatment, in the absence of your ability to act in your own best interest. My husband knows me, and knows I object totally to forced treatment. I was suicidally depressed for a period of 6 weeks, in the past, while my medications were being changed. I actually had to pretend to be OK, so the stupid doctor would let me go home, which should be my right! The person I called for help got me to confess to a "plan" of suicide, then used that to contact the police & have me forcibly dragged from my residence. I stated to her that I knew she was calling the police, and she lied to me. Five minutes later, two cops showed up at my door, screaming, and demanding me to let them in. I was terrified! Then one of the two threatened to shoot me!! It was a scorching hot day, and they deprived me of water, and put me in handcuffs, while the landlady confronted me w/screaming and accusing questions. My husband & I had to move out, which caused total duress for both of us, because of this evil, unkind witch of a woman!! My dad told me I should've sued. Because what happened was totally the result of a disability over which I had absolutely no control. Luckily, the same woman, who had terrorized many tenants in different ways, was eventually relieved of her post. I laughed when I found out. There is nothing which makes me more angry than for persons who are disabled or disadvantaged in some way, to be mistreated, by anyone!! Take that for what it's worth! Everytime I've been hospitalized, with one exception, I've had to get out of the hospital & be seen privately to realize any improvement. And I have very good instincts about which medications and what doses are appropriate for my best functioning. If I can't voluntarily participate in the forming of my own treatment plan, I don't want it! Many in the mental health community currently under treatment, and even others not associated, know doggone well, even if you are suicidal, you don't admit it verbally, because it's a guaranteed sentence of against-your-will lockup. I don't approve of people killing themselves, but I do believe in mental and physical freedom. Think about it.

Psychiatry Psells Psickness; Psychindustry Psychobabble Psucks! Don't Psell Your Psoul To Psychiatry!

Hello again. I have been on youtube a lot, paying particular attention to mental illness videos and history of psychiatry. There is a long and shameful history of psychiatry about which most laypeople are totally unaware. Did you ever see "One flew over the cuckoo's nest"? There is a lot of truth to that story. Psychiatry's systematic approach to mental illness is to first put a label on you, then medicate you indefinitely. From what I have been reading, the DSM-IV (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, edition 4, the psychiatric diagnostic "bible,") is updated with new "disorders" by consensus of majority of psychiatrists, rather than medical testing or other scientifically verifiable methods. To date, this manual contains 374 listed "disorders." These updates allow psychiatrists to first create diagnoses w/billing codes, then prescribe medications for these fictional disorders to unsuspecting patients, even innocent children as young as 2 years old. All of the available psychotropic medications have serious and even grave side-effects. There are many reasons for mental illnesses besides what we're told, including thyroid abnormalities, post-surgical and post-partum stresses, childhood abuses, and nutritional deficiencies, as well as lyme disease. Current laws allow people to be locked up against their will, medicated, injected, shackled, humiliated, electric-shocked, and even surgically treated at the whim of the treating psychiatrist. Right now, in the UK, there is a woman who is being treated with electric shock against her will. This is an outrageous violation of her civil rights. She is begging and pleading for them not to do this, even though it's never been proven beneficial, and has been proven harmful, causing irreversible damage to the memory. Current law allows for them to do it, with the permission of her husband, which he has given. She has no say over treatment which will ultimately affect her permanently. Finally, many of these medications have been shown to actually cause other mental illnesses besides the one you were originally diagnosed with. Example: anti-depressant medication, given to treat unipolar depression, can actually cause your mind to go to a manic state, thereby inducing what is called "bipolar disorder." This is what I believe happened in my own case. This is all I have for now; I promise to publish more of my thoughts very soon. Ciao, Redlisab

Sometimes I make sense; sometimes I just make a mess!

If you're on this website, you've viewed my profile; you've read my story. I'm a 45 year old manic-depressive woman on disability. Yes, my illness caused me to have to go on disability. I'm always trying to do "the right thing," with results not always matching my intentions. Sometimes, the intention is to do everything right, and the results are that I piss everyone off, including friends, family, and even myself! Ego plus mental illness plus misguided intentions plus emotion-driven actions equal mess, mess, and bigger mess! At this time, I'm in a custody suit to regain rights to my nine year old daughter that I lost due to repercussions from mental illness combined with alcohol use. Also, my mother-in-law has been in the hospital for a month and 1/2, because of a fall, which resulted in a broken back, then surgery to correct it, then intubation and ventilator dependency, and finally, tracheostomy. They do not understand why she cannot get off the ventilator. I suggested they test her for a possible viral infection; something she may have been exposed to. They refused, and that really pissed me off! When I start to feel this way, it is always wise for me to step back and allow my emotions to cool off, then re-evaluate the problem when I'm more calm, cool, and collected. As a matter of course, anyone with manic-depression could benefit from doing the same. This is something that I have learned over the course of my illness by comparing successes with failures, and seeing how I arrived at both! That's all for now, Ciao!

Britney Spears' stigma, shame, and suffering.

I have been following the Britney Spears story; not closely, but generally. I have observed her downward spiral involving possible mental illness, secondary alcohol abuse, and loss of personal rights and esteem, as well as unbelievable media exploitation of this profound tragedy. I am deeply disturbed by the apparent lack of focus on the real issues of this woman and her situation. She is profoundly ill, and must be treated with compassion and concern for her well-being and recovery by the doctors (psychiatrists) and therapists (psychologists) who have the expertise to address the grave concerns at hand. This confused and injured young woman has been blamed, stigmatized, labeled irrational, difficult, etc. What she is currently going through is no different from any other person who is profoundly mentally ill. She needs treatment, not punishment and blame. How do I know this? Because I personally suffer from Bipolar Disorder which started out as Postpartum Psychosis in the aftermath of the birth of my only daughter/child. I can identify and sympathize with her plight, and hope for only the best for her, her family, and her future. Intervention is gravely needed if she is to escape with her life, much less be treated and fully recover. Judge not, lest ye be judged.