It wasn’t uncommon for me to hear all about rated-R movies. The blood, the gore, and then, of course, the proceeding nightmares and sleep deprivation. I’m not slamming rated-R movies but there is a reason why they are given a Restricted Access rating. But yet, here were my 8 and 9 year old students chiming in, one after another, “Oh yeah, I saw that!”

I couldn’t hold back my opinion of them watching these murder-filled dramas… but, in the end, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t their parent and so it was up to someone else to make that decision. Read more →

… or if it’s half right, which half?

Warning: If you want a rant, filled with gross generalizations about psychiatry, this isn’t one.

If you’ve ever given or received the gift of a psychiatric diagnosis, odds are there was something seriously wrong with it. Research has shown that many therapists have a poverty of diagnoses, and are prone to faddishly offer up their pet diagnosis. Read more →

Think about what it would be like to spend most of your time alone because being around other people is just too difficult. You feel that others are judging you for your mental illness, and so you are scared to face the world. You withdraw to avoid this stigmatization. This social withdrawal is emotionally very costly. But this is a two-way street — the mentally ill withdraw from society–society withdraws from them.

An Australian survey reported that two-thirds of people affected by a mental illness feel lonely “often” or “all of the time”. The research says in contrast, just 10 per cent of the general population reported feelings of loneliness. Read more →