Sad Ending In Vermont

The search for Vermont resident Danny Goldstein, that I posted recently on this blog,  has ended with very sad news. I want to extend my sympathies to his family and     friends. As I have written many times, mental disorders are cruel illnesses. 

Rutland Town remains identified as missing man

Human remains found over the weekend in Rutland Town have been identified as missing Rutland man Daniel Goldstein.
Dozens of searchers along with family and friends had been
 

What Role Should A Family Play?

What role should a family member play when someone shows symptoms of a mental disorder?

It seems like an easy question. If someone becomes sick you would assume their family would gather around and help them get well.  But as we all know, mental disorders are not like any other illnesses and families…well, if you want to know how complicated family relationships can be just read a recent comment by Leslie Khalsa on my August 2nd post on facebook. She wrote poignantly about how she feels her family has abandoned her and doesn’t want any extra “drama” in their lives because of her mental issues.

It would be easy for me to dismiss what Ms. Khalsa has written if I had not heard similar  Click to continue…

Family Seeking Missing Son

I was asked by a reader to post this Missing Person’s Poster  and am happy to do so. This is every parent’s nightmare — a child off medication disappears.  For updates, you can visit the family’s Facebook page

Daniel Goldstein Daniel Goldstein
 
Name: Danny Goldstein
Age: 34 (date of birth: 7 August 1976)

Mental Illness, Money, and Cheats

If you read my book, CRAZY, you may remember Ted Jackson who lived in South Beach, had a mental illness, and was convinced that Jesus was returning to earth in 2007. Ted said God had ordered him to warn people about judgment day so he spray painted “Jesus 2007” graffiti  everywhere he could. He was caught several times and when he refused to stop, he was beaten by a police officer before being booked into the Miami Dade County Jail. That’s where I met him.
Ted received a small stipend each month from his family to pay his bills. He got his medication from the Veterans Administration, so even though the monthly cash payment was small, it was enough for him to live independently — until people started stealing from him.
And that sadly, that happened regularly in South Beach.

Mental Illnesses Never Take Vacations

Patti and I took six of our children on vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last week along with three of their significant others, and I witnessed something that I wasn’t certain I would ever see. 
While sitting comfortably in my beach chair with a cool breeze blowing ashore from the Atlantic Ocean, I watched Mike ride a boggie board on top a wave. 
Four years ago in August, Mike was on a downward slide that would end badly with him becoming psychotic, being picked-up by the police and hospitalized for a sixth time because of his brain disorder. That would be his fourth major psychological break from when he was first diagnosed and when it happened, I had reached a point where I wondered if he would ever find a way to manage the symptoms of his illness. I felt helpless and, quite frankly, without hope. 
Watching him at the beach last week, I turned in my chair to Patti, who was reading nearby, and said, “This is one of those rare moments in life when I can honestly say that I am totally and truly happy. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but today, I am happy.”

What Advice Would You Give? What Advice Do You Wish Someone Would Have Given You?

  A family friend stopped by unexpectedly and began to cry the moment she entered our house. She explained that her son had been diagnosed with a serious mental illness.

She asked me for advice.

It’s easy for those of us who have been dealing with mental disorders for many years to forget how we felt the first time we learned that someone we loved had a brain disorder. But seeing my friend in distress instantly reminded me of how confused, angry and hopeless I had felt when Mike first became ill.

What advice could I share with her? What advice do I wish someone had given me?