Bestselling Author and Mental Health Advocate
DIANE REHM
Jessie Close, Glenn Close and I will be interviewed on The Diane Rehm Show on Thursday, February 5th, at 11 a.m. (EST.)
I’ve been on Diane’s National Public Radio show four times and she is simply top-notch. She understands the importance of discussing mental illnesses, how they impact the lives of millions and the tremendous need in our nation to improve our mental health care system.
Jamie Justice, NAMI-Utah Director; Jackie Rendo, activist; Pete; Francisca Blanc, NAMI Development Director; Zara Juillerat, past NAMI Utah President.
2-2-15 Members of the Utah House appropriations committee were studying their computer screens and not making eye contact with me until I mentioned that I had encountered three persons the day before outside the gates of the Mormon Temple grounds in Salt Lake City who were panhandling.
“Do you know how much NOT helping those three is costing you?” I asked during my hurried seven minutes of testimony.
FROM MY FILES FRIDAY: Is there such a thing as a “chemical imbalance?” The term has fallen out of favor of late, but you still hear it. In this slightly edited blog that was first published in March 2011, I offered my opinion about this often controversial term.
CHEMICAL IMBALANCES: REAL OR IMAGINED?
One of the first phrases parents hear when a loved one shows symptoms of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or persistent and major depression is “chemical imbalance.” I remember being shocked when I wrote this term in a Washington Post Op Ed piece and was confronted by someone who told me there is absolutely no scientific evidence that mental illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain.
So I was happy when I received an advance copy of the book: SHRINK RAP: Three Psychiatrist Explain Their Work written by psychiatrists: Dinah Miller, Annette Hanson, and Steven Roy Daviss, who write a popular mental health blog. I found their comments about “chemical imbalances” helpful.
“Chemical imbalance is a term with imprecise meaning…Saying that a psychiatric disorder is caused by a chemical imbalance, although an imperfect explanation, sometimes makes psychiatric disorders more palatable to patients and less stigmatizing. The term gives some credence to the practice of treating these disorders with medication. But there is no psychiatric disorder for which we know for certain which chemicals are “imbalanced” if any.
“We have reasons for believing that psychiatric disorders must certainly be mediated by biological factors. For one thing, psychiatric illnesses run in families, even when family members are separated at birth. Research has shown that genetic links, and even specific genes, may be associated with different disorders. Many studies have shown that the biological features of groups of people with illnesses are different from those same features in groups of people without those illnesses. What we don’t have, yet, is a specific reliable test for a certain genotype or enzyme level, or a brain scan finding that indicates that a specific person has a specific disease.”
“Everybody Matters”
By Ray and Connie Maternick
We were watching the President’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. As the speech droned on we were getting tired and almost ready to call it a night. We looked at each other and simultaneously said, almost sighing, he missed a very important opportunity. At that point we were just half listening, and about ready to hit the off button on the TV, when out of the blue, four words caught our attention.
“….Americans with Mental Illness….”
Bring Change 2 Mind, the stigma fighting non-profit that actress Glenn Close created, released a new public service announcement yesterday. This is its third PSA and it features four men from professional sports, television and the music industry, including one of my favorite comedians and actors, Wayne Brady.
“We want to erase the stereotypes, and to create a new narrative by raising awareness of the mental health concerns that men face,” Pamela Harrington, executive director of Bring Change 2 Mind, wrote in an email.
Bravo! Congratulations to Bring Change 2 Mind for its continued efforts to fight stigma and educate the public.
I am honored to be named a Mental Wellness Warrior by CNN, especially after reading the names of my fellow warriors. It’s nice to be noticed, but everyone who has a mental illness and is quietly going about their lives — are warriors. And everyone who loves someone with a mental illness and is fighting to reform our system is a true warrior too!
Thanks to Wayne Drash for reminding the public that there are many faces to mental illness.
From CNN Mental wellness warriors: Fighting for those who need it most
(CNN) Too often the nation only hears about mental illness when tragedy strikes. But there are warriors for mental wellness in many fields, fighting for better treatment and working to defy stigma. CNN highlights nine fighters, from the famous to the everyman, who are making a difference.
Pete Earley is the bestselling author of such books as The Hot House and Crazy. When he is not spending time with his family, he tours the globe advocating for mental health reform.
As a former reporter for The Washington Post, Pete uses his journalistic background to take a fair-minded approach to the story all while weaving an interesting tale for the reader.