Breaking the silence

Breaking the Silence carnival of mental illness blog posts, August 19

HELLO and thank you so much for reading our blog. Thank you for all the messages you have sent in the last few days saying how much you appreciate the chance to speak up about mental illness and thank you for sharing links to your posts 'behind the scenes.'

We thought it would be a good idea to have a monthly carnival of blog posts about mental illness and now seemed as good a time as any to start.

So, this is how it will work.

1. If you would like to enter a post you have already written into the carnival, please leave a comment here on this post before Tuesday, August 17 which includes a link to your post and a reason why you would like to flag it up.

Is mental illness funny?

A THOUGHT-provoking video - do you think it makes a valid point?

A survivor shares her story of living in fear

THIS post has been reproduced with permission from the writer after being first published on Sleep is for the Weak.

THE terrible unfolding events of a gun massacre in Cumbria have made some very unsettling feelings resurface for me, and I feel the need to get something down in writing – some sort of catharsis is needed. 

It doesn’t matter if you think you know who I am, or can work out my identity at the end of this piece.  That matters little to me, because I know that my ex-husband will never read this and that makes it safe to write without fear of retribution. It also means I can talk about a part of my past that I was ashamed of, and have tried to push to the back of my mind but every so often – especially at times like this – it resurfaces.

Why do we call a mass killer a psycho?

YESTERDAY I wept as I listened to a mum on the radio news telling how her children would miss their grandad, shot dead by Derrick Bird.

The carnage and grief laid bare by this shocking tragedy is too much to comprehend.

Of course the media have examined the events closely, with time-lines of the shootings, comparisons with Hungerford and Dunblane and reports about the killer's home life, history and money worries.

According to reports, it has emerged that Bird had been self-harming for years and that mental health workers are helping police understand any connection with his murderous spree.

A view of the election - and an appeal for contact - from inside a psychiatric ward

Patients resident in mental hospitals may now register to vote, unless they have been detained under certain sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 or are convicted offenders.

(Source: Electoral Commission guidelines)

DID you know that? No, nor me.

I never imagined for a minute people weren't previously allowed to vote because of a mental health condition. Shows what I know.

Poll: Who will you vote for?

APOLOGIES if this has been done to death, but I'm interested in who readers of this blog, other UK parent bloggers and anyone else who wants to share, will vote for come May 6.

You can answer the questions above anonymously. If you want to explain more about choosing the "other" option, please do so in the comments, but please note I'd prefer if you could put your name to your comment.

Thanks. Maybe this will fall as flat as my attempt at Bombay potatoes, who knows.

* Mental health services need cash not cuts.

Debt and mental health: 'Ignoring things will make it worse'

By Linda Jones

DO you have an unopened bill or six hidden away in a drawer?

Don't we all.

But please do all you can to stop things escalating. It's easier said than done of course, but there is help available.

I recently contributed a feature on bankruptcy to Able magazine and wanted to include the experience of someone whose mental health had suffered because of the debt they were in.

I'm reproducing this article here in case it is of any interest.

Rich, famous and depressed: Desperate measure or PR strategy?

THIS week in Psychology Today, journalist and blogger Anthea Rowe raised the question: Depression: The New Black?

She reflects on how genuine celebrities' suffering may be and says revelations about mental illness may be a PR strategy as various high profile figures discuss their depression. Are people in the entertainment industry publicising - or even exaggerating - their condition in an attempt to sell their latest album, show or fitness DVD?

Perhaps naively, as I commented on the fantastic Reluctant Memsahib blog, I can't help feeling that if we castigate celebrities for speaking up, we may be creating some sort of pecking order about whose illness we feel we can believe in.

Photo by Catzi on Flickr

Teen lobbies for better mental health education through You Tube

Kayla Murphy, 19, from Minnesota, submitted the above video to a hearing of her local state politicians to encourage them to approve a bill requiring better mental health education in schools.

To find out more, read an article in Kayla's local media, Postbulletin.com