Blogging Seen As Good Therapy

A new study finds that blogs are more likely to deal with personal matters than politics or current events, and nearly 50% of bloggers see the activity as a form of therapy.

According to an AOL survey conducted by Digital Marketing Services Inc., many bloggers write about "anything and everything." But while blogs often include comments on news topics, they are more likely to be about friends, family and other personal interests.

Although bloggers say they write about personal matters on their blogs, 43.9% of respondents said that they read other blogs to get a different perspective on the news. These findings are similar to a Harris Interactive survey from March 2005, which found that about 44% of US Internet users read political blogs, including 16% who read them less than once a month. And although most bloggers read other blogs, the AOL survey found that almost one-quarter of them do not.

About one-half of bloggers (48.7%) keep a blog because it serves as a form of therapy, and 40.8% say it helps them keep in touch with family and friends. Just 16.2% say they are interested in journalism, and 7.5% want to expose political information. Few see blogging as their ticket to fame.

Bill Schreiner, Vice President, AOL Community, puts it in perspective: "In a way, blogs serve as oral history. When it comes to sharing blogs and reading other people's blogs, we like to connect with people, learn about their lives, and find common ground. There's no pressure to write about a particular subject or keep blogs maintained a certain way, and it's not necessarily a popularity contest."

©2005 eMarketer Inc. All rights reserved @ http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003595

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Psychological Reactions To Disaster

In light of the devastation and suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this list is offered to help individuals understand "Disaster Reactions". Witnessing a traumatic event sets into motion a variety of psychological reactions. These psychological reactions have physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral presentations. This list is not exhaustive but serves to illustrate many of the reactions people experience.


Psychological Reactions

•Anger
•Anxiety
•Apathy, diminished interest in usual activities
•Appetite change
•Avoidance
•Blame
•Confusion
•Criticalness
•Decreased sexual interest
•Denial
•Depression
•Difficulty concentrating
•Difficulty making decisions
•Difficulty using logic
•Difficulty naming objects
•Difficulty focusing
•Disorientation
•Distortions in time perspective
•Exaggerated startle reaction
•Excessive worry about safety of others
•Emotional numbing
•Fatigue
•Faintness or dizziness
•Fearfulness
•Feelings of being unappreciated
•Feelings of inadequacy
•Feelings of loss
•Feelings of gratefulness for being alive
•Feelings of isolation or abandonment
•Feeling high, heroic, invulnerable
•Feeling a “lump in the throat”
•Feeling uncoordinated
•Forgetfulness
•Frustration
•Grief
•Guilt
•Headaches
•Helplessness
•Hyperactivity or an inability to rest
•Increased heartbeat, respiration, blood pressure
•Increased alcohol use or substance abuse
•Intense concern for family members
•Inability to express self verbally or in writing
•Irritability
•Letdown
•Loss of appetite
•Loss of objectivity
•Lower back pain
•Memory problems
•Muffled hearing
•Nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea
•Nightmares
•Numbness
•Pains in chest
•Periods of crying
•Persistent interest in the event
•Persistent or obsessive thoughts
•Sense of being in a bad dream
•Sense of unreality or being in a movie
•Shock
•Sleep disturbance
•Slowness of thinking, difficulty comprehending
•Social withdrawal, distancing, limited contacts with others
•Soreness in muscles
•Stomach and muscle cramps
•Strong identification with victims
•Strong identification with survivors
•Sweating or chills
•Tremors, especially of hand, lips, eyes
•Trouble catching breath
•Visual flashbacks
•Withdrawal


Coping with Disaster Stress

1. Stay active. Falling into passivity can worsen psychological and physical disaster reactions.

2. Resume a normal routine as soon as possible.

3. Remind yourself that you are normal and having normal reactions in the face of the disastrous event. It is especially important to teach children that reactions like these are normal.

4. Be aware of numbing the pain with overuse of drugs or alcohol.

5. Avoid caffeine as its effects can amplify anxiety.

6. It is all right to spend time by yourself, or on the other hand, feel the need to be with others.

7. Avoid over-exposure to media images and newscasts.

8. Realize that those around you are also under stress and may not act or react in a manner you would normally expect.

9. Keep a journal or start a blog. Written expression can have healing benefits.

10. Make decisions that will give you the control over your life.

Of course, consult a mental health professional if you need assistance in coping with disaster-related stress reactions.

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The Anniversary Effect

Birthdays.
Thanksgiving.
Christmas. Kwanzaa. Hanukkah.
Halloween. Carnivale. New Year's Day. Cinco de Mayo.
Bastille Day. Boxing Day. Labor Day. Independence Day.
The first day we met.
The last day of school.
There are so many dates that mark occasions throughout the year that bring us happiness. But there are days in the calendar year that make us feel unsettled. These dates go unnoticed. Not that we don't remember them, but unnoticed as to how that date presses on our psyche. This experience is known as "The Anniversary Effect".


What the Anniversary Effect?

"The Anniversary Effect" or an anniversary reaction may be defined as upsetting behavior, reactivation of symptoms, and/or distressing dreams that occur on an anniversary of a significant experience. Sometimes we know why we are feeling melancholy, irritability or anxiety. For example, 9/11 holds an anniversary effect for many Americans and others in the world. And now, hurricane Katrina will also hold anniversary reactions for survivors and those who witnessed its aftermath. These dates will continue to be recognizable sources for our psyche's disturbance. We have conscious awareness of these dates and events. We are aware of the trauma time-line and the current calendar time-line[1]. Anniversary dates that are known to us enable us to identify why we are upset or in mourning. We connect the dots from our current emotional state to the trauma date or the traumatic event. Other obvious dates make the anniversary reaction traceable: birthday of a loved one that is not living, the date of an accident, a loved one's death, the holiday time when something traumatic happened, just to name a few.

But, there are dates that have a time-specific relationship to us that are not recognized or readily made conscious to us in the calendar year [2]. There is no conscious awareness of the trauma or calendar time-line. These "Anniversary Effects" take us by surprise. We don't know why we are feeling so down, anxious, upset, lost, or confused. Our bodies take on the psychological impact of the anniversary date, and we can also feel physically ill or sick. For example, the date you signed your divorce decree, not the day your loved one died but the day of the burial, listening to certain song that elicits a swirl of emotions, the season of the year when your child goes off to college, the scent or smell of something that triggers a deep response in you, or a current event that recalls a trauma in the past[3].

Anniversary reaction types, whether single, repetitive, or generational, are ways by which a person re-experiences mourning in an attempt to gain mastery. It is important for the individual who moves through this to realize that it is a part of the normal grieving process. In the first year of healing, a feeling of pain or anxiety may occur at the 3 month, 6 month, and one-year anniversaries of the date. After the first year, people tend to experience "The Anniversary Effect" on the year-marker. For vulnerable individuals, a specific time of day, a certain day of the week, a season of the year, a scent or a glimpse of something related to the trauma can trigger an anniversary reaction [4].


What You Can Do

Despite the fact that "The Anniversary Effect" was first identified almost 100 years ago, it is often overlooked as a source for psyche disruption. There are things that you can do to help yourself with this experience.

An anniversary marks a time of heightened vulnerability. Being aware or predicting anniversary reactions is always helpful. I often advise people I work with to look at a calendar and explore dates and memories attached to such dates. This framework can help prepare one for the anniversary reactions, and how the present day time-line can be connected to losses in the past.

Anniversaries of public trauma,crises or disasters receive significant media coverage, and re-visit imagery of damage and destruction. Such exposure can intensify "The Anniversary Effect" --- so it would be important to limit media watching and reading in and around those dates.

Journaling or blogging can be a helpful outlet for "The Anniversary Effect". Such expression can provide an opportunity for emotional healing. By recognizing, allowing and attending to feelings, memories and thoughts, an individual can make significant steps forward through the natural process of grief [5].


References


[1] Mintz, I. (1971). The anniversary reaction: A response to the unconscious sense of time. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 19, 720-735.

[2] Campbell, R. (1981). Psychiatric dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press

[3] Dlin, B. (1985). Psychobiology and treatment of anniversary reactions. Psychosomatics, 26, 505-520.

[4] Pollock, G. H.(1971). Temporal anniversary manifestations: Hour, day, holiday. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 40, 123-131

[5] Myers, D. (1994). Disaster response and recovery: A handbook for mental health professionals. Rockville, MD: Center for Mental Health Services.

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Body Image and Self Worth In Women

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women and their body parts sell everything from food to cars. Researchers report that women's magazines have 10 1/2 times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than do men's magazines, and over 3/4 of the covers of women's magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman's bodily appearance by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.

Film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Some have even been known to faint on the set from lack of food. These industries all insist that thin is beautiful and that fatness is always a dangerous problem in need of correction [1]

Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger than any of these models and actresses? The roots, researchers say, are economic. By presenting the ideal body, the cosmetic, diet and product industries are assured of growth and profits. And it's no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. The stakes are huge. On the one hand, women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, gym memberships, and diet aids, just to name a few. It is estimated that the diet industry alone, in the United States, earns over 100 billion dollars a year. Sadly, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is significantly linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls[2]

Another important aspect to realize is the vicious circle that perceptions of beauty hold in society. Young girls and young women are not only exposed to unreal aspects of body image in media, but also on the home terrain. Sometimes parents impose messages of fatness or largeness as being unacceptable, and thinness and smallness as more desirable. Words that are chosen can shape a young girl's body image and growing sense of confidence. "Those jeans make you look fat " will certainly cause a wave of insecurity. Choosing words that enhance beauty rather than emphasize a negative aspect of a person are much better choices. "Those jeans don't flatter you, I think these jeans are beautiful on you," would be a much wiser exchange.

Boys learn at an early age what is desirable, albeit unrealistic, from media and social messages at home and at school as well. Often they perpetuate the cycle, befriending girls who come close to the ideal image and casting aside those who don't. The circle is regrettably sealed when these boys mature to men who continue to objectify women in unrealistic ways.

As a young girl hears the words and messages of thinness, she can become indoctrinated into the world of unreal beauty. The cycle that starts with media, moves within the home and social world of the girl becomes internalized within her. Then she talks to herself in ways that perpetuate the myth of beauty. When failure occurs, as it always does, self image plummets and self worth is questioned.

What helps to break this cycle are indiviudals who break the mold that has been unrealistically cast for beauty. Helping people realize that beauty can come in many shapes and sizes will help young girls and boys redefine self image and body integrity. And it may help those who suffer with their own self worth to consider a raise in their status.


The Time For Change is Now

*Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign*
*Nike's Thunder Thighs, Big Butt & Tomboy Knees campaign*
*Seventeen and Glamour Magazine using "real life" models*

No longer are just rail-thin models showing up in fashion magazines and on billboards. Large women, or what are being called "real people," are now gracing ads of companies, magazine covers and commercials. Editors and ad executives say they are using more average women and fewer models to reflect changing body types and to help self-conscious teens see that not everyone is perfect.

This new advertising approach is especially important when one looks at child development. In late childhood and early adolescence social comparison plays a major role in self-perception. Boys look at other boys and learn to use their bodies as a tool to master the environment, where sports, strength and mastery in making, building and inventing are socially ingrained. Girls look at other girls and learn to use their bodies to attract others [3].

The shift in the industry enables young girls to see other renditions of beauty and can find more models like themselves with which to admire. Mary Pipher, author of a book about teen girls and body image, "Reviving Ophelia" says anything that shows realistic women is a step in the right direction to help girls gain self-esteem. Hopefully, Hollywood will follow the trend, showcasing girls and women whose shapes and sizes reflect the real world in which we live.

Consequences of the Unattainable Body

Pursuit of the unreal, ideal, thin beauty can result in poor self esteem, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders [4]. Eating disorders have doubled in incidence since the 1960s, and increasingly they are striking in younger age groups. They are also increasingly occurring in diverse ethnic and sociocultural groups unlike in decades before. Interestingly, the mental illness with the highest mortality rate is not Depression. It is Eating Disorders. Up to 20 percent of those with eating disorders die from their illness [5].

Did You Know [6]

* The genes that we inherit from our mother and father determine 70% of our body weight and shape. This means that we can improve the body we were born with, but only to a certain degree.

* Pictures of models in magazines and advertisements are technically altered. This means that a computer changes their picture by making their legs longer, their stomach flatter, and their muscles bigger. Most of the pictures you see in magazines have been altered, and in fact it is humanly impossible to achieve these body types.

*Feeling badly about your body size and shape can lead to unhealthy eating habits, such as skipping meals, low-calorie diets, and may lead to an eating disorder, and eventually could result in medical problems and even death.

*Exercise is important for your health, but too much can be a bad thing. Excessive exercise may be a sign that someone is overly worried about their body size and shape. In fact, another sign that someone may have an eating disorder is that they are always worried about how much and how hard they are exercising. Excercise to be fit, not thin.

*There are no "good" foods and "bad" foods. All foods can fit into a healthy diet.


What You Can Do

1. Develop criteria for self-esteem that goes beyond appearance. Find other aspects of yourself that are worthy of celebrating.

2. Cultivate the ability to appreciate your body, especially how it functions.

3. Engage in behaviors that make you feel good about yourself.

4. Reduce exposure to noxious media images.

5. Exercise for strength, fitness, and health, not just weight control.

6. Seek out others who respect and care about your body.

7. Disengage from abusive relationships where the subject of your body is used as a weapon to minimize your self esteem.

8. Identify and change habitual negative thoughts about your body.

9. Control what you can, forget about what you can't.

10. Seek professional help if necessary.

References

[1] Boston Womens Health Collective (1998). Our bodies ourselves: For the new century. Boston: Peter Smith Publisher

[2] Beauty and Body Image in the Media accessed at www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm

[3] Stephens, DL, Hill, RP & Hanson, C. (1996).The beauty myth and female consumers: The controversial role of advertising. Journal of Consumer Affairs. 28, 137-153.

[4] Thompson, JK, Stice, E (2001). Thin-ideal internalization: Mounting evidence for anew risk factor for body image disturbance and eating pathology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 180-183

[5] Garner, D. M. (1997). The 1997 body image survey results. Psychology Today, 30-84.

[6] California Dairy Council

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In Good Company

There are many high profile individuals who experience mental illness. I feel like I'm in good company. Maybe you are too?

So read the list below and let's take stigma out of mental illness.


John Quincy Adams (US President), Lionel Aldridge (football star), Buzz Aldrin (astronaut), Alvin Ailey (choreographer), Adam Ant AKA Stuart Goddard (singer),Ann-Margaret (actor), Louie Anderson (comedian, actor), Gillian Anderson (actor), Isaac Asimov (author), Diane Arbus (photographer), Fiona Apple (musician), Ludwig van Beethoven, (composer), Robert Burns (poet), Drew Barrymore (actor/producer), Daniel Boorstin, (Former US presidential advisor), Zach Braff (actor), Art Buchwald (columnist), Oksana Baiul (skating star), Kim Basinger (actor), Ned Beatty, (actor), Syd Barrett (musician), Ludwig von Beethoven (composer), Carol Burnett (comedian), Maurice Bernard (actor), Irving Berlin (composer), Danny Bonaduce (actor), Halle Berry (actor), Kjell Magne Bondevik (Prime Minister, Norway), Steve Blass (baseball star), David Bowie (singer), Charles “Buddy” Bolden (musician), Charlotte Bronte (author), Marlon Brando (actor), Willie Burton (athlete), Barbara Bush (former First Lady - U.S.), Delta Burke (actor), Robert Borrstin (political advisor), Lord Byron (Poet), Cher (singer/actress), Dick Clark (producer/music magnate), John Candy (comedian), Ray Charles (musician), Deanna Carter (singer), Helen Caldicott (activist/writer), Dean Cain (actor), Drew Carey (comedian), Earl Campbell (football star), Eric Clapton (musician), Jim Carrey (actor/comedian), Melanie Chisholm (singer), Naomi Campbell (model), Jim Carrey (actor/comedian), Rosemary Clooney (singer), Jose Canseco (baseball star), Shawn Colvin (musician), Mary Jo Codey (First lady of New Jersey), Judy Collins (musician), Dick Cavett (TV host/writer), Courtney Cox (actor), Margaret Cho (comedian), Natalie Cole (singer), Michael Crichton (writer), Francis Ford Coppola (director), Sheryl Crow (musician), Winston Churchill (English Prime Minister), Nicolas Cage (actor), Sandra Cisneros (writer), Patricia Cornwell (writer), John Cleese (comedian/actor), Leonard Cohen (musician), Paula Cole (actor), Shayne Corson (hockey star), Judy Collins (musician), Shawn Colvin (musician), Jeff Conaway (actor), Ty Cobb (baseball star), Pat Conroy (writer), Billy Corgan (musician), Calvin Coolidge (US President), Bill Dana (comedian), John Daly (golf star), Rodney Dangerfield (comedian/ actor), Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederate States of America), Gaetano Donizetti (opera), Jonathan Davis (musician), Charles Darwin (scientist), Mike Douglas (TV host), Sandra Dee (actor), Walt Disney (entrepenuer), John Denver (musician), Dame Edna (comedian), Ellen DeGeneres (comedian/actor), Richard Dreyfuss (actor), Johnny Depp (actor), Paolo DiCanio (soccer star), Eric Douglas (actor), Charles Dickens (author), Patty Duke (actress), Scott Donie (Olympic star), Kitty Dukakis (former First Lady of Massachusetts), Albert Einstein (Nobel Prize Physicist), Michael English (singer), Queen Elizabeth, Jim Eisenreich (baseball star), Thomas Edison (inventor), Ralph Waldo Emerson (writer), Robert Evans (film producer), Jules Feiffer, (cartoonist), James Farmer (civil rights leader), Edie Falco (actress), Betty Ford (former US first lady), Carrie Fisher (actress), James Forrestal (undersecretary of US), Eddie Fisher (singer), Aretha Franklin (singer), Harrison Ford (actor), Albert French (writer), Sally Field (actress), Connie Francis (singer), Sarah Ferguson (Duchess of York), Sigmund Freud (psychoanalyst), Stephen Fry (actor), Bill Gates (Microsoft Magnate), Shecky Greene (comedian), Barbara Gordon (filmmaker), Phil Graham (Washington Post), James Gandolfini (actor), James Garner (actor), Peter Gabriel (musician), Kendall Gill (basketball star), Ruth Graham (writer), John Gisbon (pianist), Danny Glover (actor), Dwight Gooden (baseball star), Tipper Gore (Former US first lady), Carey Grant (actor), Mariette Hartley (actor/activist), Tim Howard (soccer star), Juliana Hatfield (musician), Ernest Hemingway (writer/ Nobel Laureate), Margaux Hemingway (actor), Audrey Hepburn (actor/activist), Olivia Hussey (actress), Pete Harnisch (baseball star), Linda Hamilton (actor), Stephen Hawking (physicist), Sir Anthony Hopkins (actor), Marty Ingels, (comedian), Janet Jackson (musician), Kay Redfield Jamison (psychologist/author), Richard Jeni (Comedian), Billy Joel (musician), Beverly Johnson (supermodel), Jim Jenson (newscaster), Elton John (musician), Ashley Judd (actor), Daniel Johns (musician), Naomi Judd (singer), Angelina Jolie (actor), Al Kasha (songwriter), Danny Kaye (actor), Leila Kenzle (actress), John Keats (poet), Franz Kafka (writer), Gelsey Kirkland (dancer), Margot Kidder (actress), Nicole Kidman (actress), Joey Kramer (musician), Julie Krone (star athlete), Pat LaFontaine (hockey star), Jessica Lange (actor), Hugh Laurie (actor), Jacob Lawrence (artist), Vivien Leigh, (actress), Peter Nolan Lawrence (writer), Primo Levi(writer), John Lennon (musician), Meriwether Lewis (explorer), Courtney Love (singer) Allie Light (director), Abraham Lincoln (American President), Rick London (cartoonist), Mary Todd Lincoln (Former US first lady), Salvador Luria, (scientist/Nobel Laureate), John Madden (football star), Meat Loaf (musician/actor), Camryn Manheim (actor), Martha Manning (psychologist), Gustav Mahler (composer), Alanis Morisette (singer), Howie Mandel (comic), Bette Midler (singer/actress), Dave Matthews (musician), Gary McDonald (actor), A.J. McLean (musician), Burgess Meredith (actor), Sir Paul McCartney (Musician), Robert McFarlane (security advisor), Sarah McLachlan, (musician), Rod McKuen (writer), Gary McDonald (actor), Les Murray (poet), John Stuart Mill (philosopher), J.P. Morgan (industrialist), Edvard Munch (artist), John Mellencamp (musician), Paul Merton (comedian), Kate Millet (writer/feminist), Carmen Miranda (dancer), Claude Monet (artist), Many Moore (Singer), Michelangelo (artist), V.S. Naipaul (writer/Nobel Laureate), John Nash (Mathematician /Nobel Prize), Ralph Nader (consumer rights advocate), Stevie Nicks (musician), Vaclav Nijinsky (Dancer), Sir Isaac Newton (scientist), Deborah Norville (journalist), Marie Osmond (entertainer), Sir Laurence Olivier (actor), Rosie O’Donnell (comedian/actress), Georgia O’Keefe (artist), Donny Osmond (entertainer), Lani O'Grady (actress), Eugene O'Neill (playwright), Joe Panteliano, (actor), Dolly Parton (musician), Meera Popkin (broadway star), Charley Pell (football coach), George Patton (US general), Jane Pauley, (journalist), Teddy Pendergrass (musician), Edgar Allan Poe (writer), Elvis Presley (entertainer), Ezra Pound (poet), Jason Pollock (artist), Cole Porter (composer), Jimmy Piersall (baseball star), Alma Powell (wife of General Colin Powell), Susan Powter (motivational speaker), Freddie Prinze, Jr. (actor), Roseanne (comedian/actress), Bonnie Raitt (musician), Burt Reynolds (actor), Lou Reed (musician), Norman Rockwell (artist), Theodore Roosevelt ( President of the United States), Joan Rivers (comedian, actress), Mac Rebennack AKA Dr. John (musician), Alex Rodriguez (baseball star), Alys Robi (vocalist), Winona Ryder (actress), Yves Saint Laurent (fashion designer), Sam Shepard (playwright), Tom Snyder (TV host), Monica Seles (tennis star), Linda Sexton (writer), Neil Simon (playwright), William T. Sherman (US general), Marc Summers (TV host), Diana Spencer (Princess of Wales), John Steinbeck (author), Paul Simon (musician), Lauren Slater (writer), Willard Scott (star weatherman), William Shakespeare (writer), Carly Simon (singer), Jose Solano (actor), Rick Springfield (musician/actor), Brooke Shields (actress), Rod Steiger, (actor), George Stephanopoulos (political advisor), Barbra Streisand (singer), William Styron (writer), Charles Schulz (cartoonist), Teresa Stratas (opera singer), Sissy Spacek (actor), Dave Stewart (singer), Darryl Strawberry (baseball star), Lori Schiller (writer), Francis Sherwood (writer), Scott Simmie (journalist), Earl Simmons AKA DMX (musician), Alonzo Spellman (football star), Nikola Tesla (inventor), Spencer Tracy (actor), Hunter Tylo (actor), Leo Tolstoy (author), Ted Turner (entrepreneur), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (artist), Mark Twain (author), Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky (composer), Anne Tyler (author), Tracy Ullman (actor), Dimitrius Underwood (football star), Vivian Vance (actor), Meredith Vieira (journalist), Kurt Vonnegut (writer), Mike Wallace (journalist), Evelyn Waugh (novelist), Damon Wayans (comedian), Tennessee Williams (writer), Dar Williams (musician), Ed Wood (director), Tom Wolfe (writer), Michael Warren (Canada Post), George Washington (US President), Lewis Wolpert (scientist), Hugo Wolf (composer), Luther Wright (basketball star), Virginia Woolf (novelist), Bill Wilson (Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous), Tom Waits (musician), Brian Wilson (musician), Jonathan Winters (comedian), Ann Wilson (singer), Amy Winehouse (singer), Oprah Winfrey (TV host), Robin Williams (comedian), W.B. Yeats (poet), Robert Young (actor), Bert Yancey (golf star), William Zeckendorf (industrialist), Renee Zellweger (actor).

References

Buchwald, A. (1999). Famous, important people who have suffered depression. Psychology Today.

Fonda, J. (2005). My life, so far. New York: Random House.

Jamison, K.R. (1993). Touched with fire. Manic depressive illness and artistic temperment. New York: Free Press.

Shepard, S. (1999). Mrs. gore breaks the ice on mental illness. Wahsington Bureau: The Palm Beach Post.

Shields, B. (2005). Down came the rain: My journey through post partum depression.
New York: Hyperion Books.

______(2005). Health: Celebrities who have admitted suffering from depression. England: Burmingham Post.

People with Mental Illness Enrich Our Lives
http://www.nami.org/helpline/peoplew.htm

Celebrity with Anxiety Disorders
http://www.anxietysecrets.com/celebrities.htm

Famous People Who Have Battled Depression
http://www.funkstop.com/ed/depression

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Stamping Out the Stigma of Mental Illness

I don’t get it.
It’s not a big deal.
I have depression.
I was diagnosed with it over twenty years ago.
I take medication to replenish my brain chemistry with serotonin and I have been in talk therapy too. My life is meaningful and I have a sense of contentedness because of the combination of these therapies. It’s not a mark of shame or a character flaw that I have depression. It’s a genetic, biochemical, physiology illness. I just wish the rest of the world could learn the facts correctly.

The Myths that Society Holds About Mental Illness [1]

Even though technological advances have proved that mental illness has physiological origins, much of the world continues to hold disparaging views on the subject. These myths need to be discredited so that those who experience mental illness can come out of the shadows and pursue the treatment(s) that will give them a greater quality of life.

MYTH: Mental illness is not a true medical illness like heart disease and diabetes. People who have a mental illness are just "crazy."
FACT: Mental illness is a physiological illness, like heart disease and diabetes. Research shows there are genetic and biological causes for mental health illnesses, and that they can be treated effectively.

MYTH: Mental illness does not strike the "average person."
FACT: Anyone can potentially develop a mental illness, no matter sex, age, race, or economic status.

MYTH: If someone looks or acts odd it means that you need to be concerned about the potential for violence.
FACT: Contrary to popular beliefs, individuals with mental illness are no more prone to violence than the general public, and in fact, are more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators.

MYTH: Mental illness is a result from a personality weakness or character flaw, and people could just snap out of it if they tried hard enough.
FACT: Mental illness has nothing to do with being lazy or weak. It results from changes in brain chemistry or brain function. Medication and psychotherapy often help people to recover.

MYTH: Depression is a normal part of the aging process.
FACT: It is not normal for older adults to be depressed. Signs of depression in older people include loss of interest in activities, sleep disturbances and lethargy. Depression in the elderly is often undiagnosed, and it is important for seniors and their family members to recognize the problem and seek professional help.

MYTH: Depression and other illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, do not affect children or adolescents. Any problems they have are just a part of growing up.
FACT: Children and adolescents can develop mental illnesses. In the United States, one in ten children and adolescents has a disorder severe enough to cause impairment.

MYTH: Most people with a mental illness are receiving treatment.
FACT: Only 1 in 5 persons affected with a mental illness seeks treatment.

MYTH: If you have a mental illness, you can will it away. Being treated for a psychiatric disorder means an individual has in some way "failed" or is weak.
FACT: A serious mental illness cannot be willed away. Ignoring the problem does not make it go away, either. It takes courage to seek professional help.

MYTH: Mentally ill people cannot lead productive lives.
FACT: People with a mental illness who receive treatment with therapy and/or medication can live full, enjoyable and productive lives. In fact many high profile people, including Abraham Lincoln, Patty Duke, Sheryl Crow, Sir Isaac Newton, Lorraine Bracco, Buzz Aldrin, Ernest Hemingway, George Stephanopolous, Mariett Hartley, Michaelangelo, Jane Pauley, Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, James Taylor, Rosie O’Donnell, Dick Cavett, Alma Powell, Halle Berry, Dick Clark, just to name a few, have been very successful in their chosen professions.

Effects of Stigma

It is the 21st century, and though evidence-based research has shown us that mental illness is a real medical disorder, stigma is on the rise instead of on the decline. David Satcher, Attorney General of the United States writes, “Stigma was expected to abate with increased knowledge of mental illness, but just the opposite occurred: stigma in some ways intensified over the past 40 years even though understanding improved. Knowledge of mental illness appears by itself insufficient to dispel stigma.” [2]

It is an undisputed fact that individuals who experience mental health issues are often faced with discrimination that results from misconceptions of their illness [3]. As a result, many people who would benefit from mental health services often do not seek treatment for fear that they will be viewed in a negative way. The World Health Organization agrees and says that in the 400 million people worldwide who are affected by mental illness, about twenty percent reach out for treatment [4]. The World Psychiatry Association began an international program to fight the stigma and discrimination many people hold toward individuals who have mental health issues. The 'Open the Doors' program has since been implemented in more than 20 countries and involved roughly 200 different anti-stigma interventions [5]. But more needs to be done.


Teachable Moments

I have spoken and written about the stigma of mental illness, offering my views professionally in the field and personally as an individual with depression. I have been grateful for the academic journals that have published my work, and the numerous media agencies that have reached out to me as an expert in this subject area. I have also consulted with writers and journalists to ensure that mental illness and psychological issues are properly depicted in fiction and non-fiction work. These venues are very signficant in educating the public about mental illness.

But there are many ordinary moments that allow me to correct ill-formed views. I find them at the bus stop, the supermarket, on the bank teller's line, at social gatherings, and even in professional conferences. Whenever I hear misinformation about mental illness, hear a joke or a derogatory remark, with tact and sensitivity I correct the situation. These teachable moments make me feel that my voice, though singular, can raise awareness. I don't hide in shame or recoil about my circumstances. Instead, I am confident and brim with information to help others realize what is so wrongly represented in our world about mental illness.

It is my personal hope and my professional goal to keep the anti-stigma momentum going.


Resource Links

www.cartercenter.org

www.nami.org

www.nimh.nih.gov

National Mental Health Association

National Stigma Clearinghouse

World Federation for Mental Health


Footnotes

[1] National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (2001).
[2] Satcher, D. (1999). Mental Health: A report from the Surgeon General. Washington: Department of Health and Human Services.
[3] Corrigan, P. & Lundin, R. (2001). Don’t call me nuts: Coping with the stigma of mental illness. Chicago: RecoveryPress.
[4] World Health Organization (2005). Mental health atlas.
[5] Lopez, J.J. (2002) The WPA and the fight against stigma because of mental disease. World Psychiatry, 1(1):30-32.

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13 Things Your Health Insurer Doesn't Want You To Know

Excerpts from Insure.com

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Do you ever feel that when it comes to your health plan the deck is stacked against you? That's because there are many things your health insurer doesn't want you to know.

Here are just 13 of them.

1. It is sometimes cheaper to let you die rather than to treat you for a serious condition.

Health insurers don't deny care, they deny payment which usually amounts to the same thing. Denying payment saves them money, but sometimes cause patients' deaths. Sound outrageous? Consider the statement below. It's an excerpt from the May 30, 1996, testimony given before the United States House of Representatives by Dr. Linda Peeno, a former HMO medical director and medical claims reviewer for Humana and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky. Peeno is now a medical-ethics consultant and managed care whistleblower.


Whether it was nonprofit or for-profit, whether it was a health plan or hospital, I had a common task: using my medical expertise for the financial benefit of the organization, often at great harm and potentially death, to some patients. . . . I am the evidence that managed care is inherently unethical, in the areas of both medicine and business. Had my experiences been the result of merely local aberrations, I would not have had anything to do for the past six years. On the contrary, I discovered that my experiences are standard practice and quite ordinary for the managed care business."


2. Health insurers routinely hide benefit exclusions.

Health insurers make their covered benefits as narrow as the market allows and routinely redesign benefits to control their highest costs, according to Peeno. They also use deceitful policy language to hide exclusions.

Some dental plans, for example, cover accidental injury to teeth. If you bite down on a hard candy and your tooth partially crumbles, you believe the insurer will pay to fix it. But when you submit your claim, it's denied weeks later. That's when you discover the policy's "definition of terms" section states in fine print: "Injury to the teeth while eating is not considered an accidental injury."


3. Health insurers don't really want you to understand how your health plan works.

Health insurers use marketing that enhances the attractive elements of a plan, but they don't disclose potential plan problems. Most group health insurance members have no idea of their exact coverage limits or a plan's rules until they received a benefit booklet after the open enrollment period.



4. Health insurers employ "phantom networks."

Did you ever try to switch primary care physicians within your plan's provider network only to find out that many of the doctors named on the provider list are not accepting new patients? Then you have fallen prey to a health insurer that uses a "phantom network," a directory filled with doctors who are no longer with the plan or who are not taking new patients. Health insurers leave the names on the list to make it look as if they have a large number of available doctors.


5. Health insurers can make you "split" your pills.

You may be surprised one day when you fill your prescription and discover a pill splitter inside the bag along with a bottle of larger-dose pills that you must cut in half. Mandatory pill splitting has been condemned by the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP), and the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) due to the health risks involved. These include the chance that patients will divide the pills unevenly and wind up taking incorrect doses or, because some suffer from cognitive impairments, they may forget which pills should be split.


6. Health insurers will go after your auto insurance settlement.

It's legal in most cases for health insurers to place a lien on any third-party settlement money you get from an auto insurer after an accident. This practice, known as "subrogation," simply means "substituting one for another."

Health insurers are allowed to recoup the cost of your medical care from the settlement you receive from the person who injured you. For example, if your auto accident medical expenses total $5,000 and you win a $10,000 settlement, your health insurer can take half — but only if its "rights of recovery" are spelled out in your plan agreement or summary of benefits. There have been many court cases over this practice, and the issues aren't clear-cut. You do have the option of hiring an attorney (at your own expense) to fight your health insurer's subrogation demands.

7. Health insurers purposefully delay paying claims in order to maximize their profits.

Although 46 states have prompt-pay laws, those laws apply only to "clean claims," or claims submitted to them without any missing or wrong information. The problem is, according to Peeno, health insurers create a maze of payment-submission rules that guarantee there will be many "technical" denials for missing information or failure to follow the convoluted claims-submission procedures.

Why do insurers drag their feet on paying claims? When you pay your insurance premium, it is invested in interest-bearing accounts. An insurer delays your claim payment until the interest in these accounts is sufficient to pay the company's accumulated claims without cutting into its profit margin.

8. Your doctor isn't calling the shots.

Do you know whose guidelines your health insurer follows when approving the length of your hospital stay? Your doctor, right? Wrong. Your insurer is most likely using guidelines developed by an actuarial consulting firm such as Milliman & Robertson.

The use of Milliman & Robertson data to limit patients' care (and increase revenue) is just one of the allegations brought forth in a lawsuit filed by the state medical associations of California, Georgia, and Texas in U.S. District Court in Miami that accuses a nine health plans (Aetna Inc. and its Prudential unit, CIGNA Corp., Coventry Health Care Inc., Foundation Health Systems, Humana Inc., PacifiCare Health Systems, United Health Group, and WellPoint Health Networks) of violating federal racketeering laws.


9. You don't have to pay out-of-network charges when they're not your fault.

Even when you've followed all the HMO rules, you still sometimes end up with a bill for out-of-network charges. But is it your responsibility to pay the doctor's fee for an out-of-network radiologist who read your hospital X-ray because no in-network radiologist was available?

No, you most certainly do not. A patient can select an in-network primary care physician and in-network hospital. Other than that, you have no control of who else gets involved with your care within the hospital setting.

If this happens to you, raise an uproar. Appeal the insurer's payment decision. File an official complaint with your state insurance department.

10. Health insurers make a fine distinction between "emergency" and "urgent" care.

Your health insurance policy probably contains a clause stating you will not be billed for emergency room services if those services are eligible under "The Prudent Layperson Standard" for emergency room visits. These visits have been defined as medical, maternity, or psychiatric emergencies that would lead a "prudent layperson" (an average person) to believe that a serious medical condition exists or the absence of immediate medical attention would result in a threat to the person's life, limb, or sight. This includes situations where an individual is in severe pain.

But in some health plans, conditions such as a broken hip are not classified as conditions that require emergency care. They are classified as "urgent" conditions and you must call your primary care physician to get authorization to visit the emergency room.

"The devil is in the details," says Robert D. Finney, a former manager for health-care cost containment at the Hewlett-Packard Co. and author of HMO Hardball, a consumer self-help book. "HMOs hide the details in incomprehensible self-serving contracts written by HMO lawyers to take advantage of sick and disabled patients."

11. Health insurers don't want you to know how they come up with their prices.

Would you shop at a grocery store where none of the merchandise had price labels? Of course not, but many health insurers use a pricing practice known as "UCR," which stands for "usual, customary, and reasonable," to determine how much of a claim they will pay. As the name says, these charges are supposedly the "going rate" health care providers in your area charge.
But a consumer can't get UCR prices to dispute a claim payment or to compare plans. Even court orders have done little to force insurers to supply the formulas that they say they use to devise UCR rates, claiming it's proprietary (or secret) business information.


12. Health insurers don't want you to take your grievance outside the health plan.

Every health plan has an internal grievance process, but insiders say many are reluctant to let you know that many states have also implemented laws governing external appeals that in certain cases give you the right to a review by an independent board of qualified experts. If the appeal is determined in your favor, your insurance company cannot deny your claim.

Additionally, insiders say few health insurers let you know that if you file a grievance with your state insurance department, insurance regulators are bound by law to investigate all consumer complaints that fall under their jurisdiction.


13. Health insurers don't want you to know that some of their practices violate laws.

Although 46 states have prompt-pay laws, insurers still violate them flagrantly enough to set off lawsuits and insurance department investigations that often lead to fines. The majority of these are settled quietly. Insiders say what health insurers really fear are the massive class action lawsuits that ask the courts to force the insurers to repay all the money they have gained from these practices.

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