Blog aids its bipolar author

Liz Spikol writes a blog called The Trouble With Spikol. But, she says, it's not she who's the problem.

The Philadelphia Weekly magazine managing editor, who suffers from bipolar disorder, says the real trouble with mental illness is its stigma.

That's why Spikol is using the Internet as a vehicle to destroy the myths and stereotypes about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other illnesses.

Opening up to the world is never easy — even for Spikol, who freely discusses her 20-year battle with bipolar disorder on the blog.

But the 39-year-old says it's time for people with mental illness to present themselves to the world as functional.

"I just kind of thought that the blog would be a good way to talk about mental health and engage younger people," she said.

The blog — trouble.philadel phiaweekly.com — is an eclectic mix of mental health news and information, mixed with Spikol's whimsical musings about culture and society.

She began one entry, for instance, with a stream-of-consciousness assessment of a press release titled, "Many Suicidal Adults Aren't Getting Mental Health Treatment." The article stated that many adults who consider suicide may find it difficult to obtain adequate treatment or medication.

"This is a short article that I'd like to file under: What Else Is New?" she wrote.

Some entries steer clear of mental illness entirely, or barely touch the subject. In "What I Didn't Do on My Fourth of July Vacation," she wrote: "I didn't see big fireworks. I didn't wave a flag. ... I didn't go to a barbecue. ... But ... I did think about our troops."

"I'm trying to show people you can have a chronic mental illness and still have a life," she said.

Many journalists write about their personal struggles with bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and other disorders. But few personalize it in a way that presents mental illness as acceptable.

Wray Herbert, for example, writes a column for Newsweek's Web site called "Mind Matters" that delves into the quirks of human behavior — including his own.

But, unlike Spikol's blog, it doesn't address personal medication intake, nor does it deal with personal breakdowns.

Spikol won't give advice; in fact, she often seems to be asking for it.

"As everyone is painfully aware by now, tonight is my book club," she wrote in one entry. "I'm having such anxiety about the event, I took two Ativan last night and am now pretty groggy. How will I make sure everyone gets in through our locked doors? When will I buy the cookies?

"What if I have nothing to say? Oy vey. I could do with a little more mania today. At least I'd get stuff done."

Most of the time, however, she holds it together — with the help of readers and the so-called experts.

Reader feedback has been tremendous, she said. But Spikol says she's a fan of the blog, too. As someone with personal demons, the experience has been cathartic, she says.

She was raped in the Dominican Republic when she was 18 years old. The incident triggered her 20-year battle with bipolar disorder, she believes. Hospitalization and treatment followed.

For Spikol, opening herself up and talking about her issues has been a freeing and educational experience.

She also believes she's helped connect people who share many of the same experiences.

"It's been great," she said. "I just started adding videos."

This column was originally published in The Record of Bergen County on Aug. 1, 2006.

MAD about pride - but how crazy is that?

The new MAD pride drive is gaining momentum - and publicity. But it's also drawing criticism and concerns from the mental health professionals who view it as nothing more than false hope.

At issue is a recent New York Times article that focuses on blogger and columnist Liz Spikol, who appeared in a You Tube video smiling and animated, "the light glinting off her large hoop earrings."

"Deadpan, she holds up a diaper," the article said. "It is not, she explains, a hygienic item for a giantess, but rather a prop to illustrate how much control people lose when they undergo electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, as she did 12 years ago."

According to the Times, Spikol is speaking candidly and publicly about her issues in a way that shows how her conditions do not preclude them from productive lives. Like many advocates, she's not afraid to call herself "mad," the Times said - to the point where people are using the term to promote their cause

The article then talks about "Mad Pride" events, organized by loosely connected groups in at least seven countries including Australia, South Africa and the United States, that draw thousands of participants. Recent activities include a Mad Pride Cabaret in Vancouver, British Columbia; a Mad Pride March in Accra, Ghana; and a Bonkersfest in London that drew 3,000 participants, the Time said.

But when author Paul Raeburn reads about the movement, he stumbles over the very first word, mostly because of it's attachment to stigma.

"Mad," he said, makes him "squirm."

"I understand the idea of co-opting pejorative words, but, geez. I just don't like it," he said. "Queer was co-opted a long time ago, as was the n-word, but those make me squirm, too."

Raeburn also asked if people should be proud of their illnesses.
"Would somebody be proud to be wasting away with breast cancer?" he said. "Proud to be wheezing with emphysema? Proud to be psychotic, or manic, or depressed?"

"To me, the idea of mad pride harks back to the old R.D. Laing notion that madness is some kind of gift of awareness, or it's the "mad" people who see the truth and the so-called "normal" people who are mad," he said.

"Or something - ick."

Britney and Heath needed more help, and less pain

By ANDY BEHRMAN
Featured Blogger

There's been so much in the media lately about two celebrities - Britney Spears and Heath Ledger - and about their mental health conditions.

I'm not a psychiatrist or a mental health care professional, so I'm not qualified to say whether Britney has bipolar disorder, or if Heath's death was a suicide. I was encouraged to hear that Ms. Spears was seeking treatment by qualified psychiatrists at one of the best mental health care facilities in Los Angeles. But now that she's been released, who knows what will happen to her?

Perhaps the most horrifying piece of Ms. Spears's story (not to minimize her own suffering) is how the media has turned her erratic and often risky behavior into a joke and her psychological problems into a circus event. If she is diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, she - like any one else - deserves our best wishes, because she will struggle with this invisible and insidious disease for the rest of her life.

At the least, we can be hopeful that perhaps she will eventually get the help that she so clearly needs. And today, there is so much support available to people with mood disorders and their families. If you visit "About Bipolar Disorder" on my website, www.electroboy.com, you'll find some helpful information.

With more than 6 million people suffering from bipolar disorder in this country, it's finally time to take mental illness seriously. It's not a laughing matter, regardless of how famous you may be or how much the media spins the story of this "crazy" pop culture figure.

More and more people are becoming aware of the fact that mental illness is so rampant because of cases involving celebrities - but this particular case increases the stigma of the illness as one which is defined by the media with terms like "crazy" and "lunatic." I even was shocked to read that someone couldn't believe that "someone with all of the resources of Ms. Spears couldn't just control herself." If it was only that easy.

Heath Ledger's death, according to the medical examiner, was caused by a combination of six prescription drugs - two sleep medications, two anti-anxiety drugs and two narcotic painkillers. Hopefully, we're waking up to the fact that the abuse of prescription medication is a huge problem in this country. Coincidentally, tomorrow is the first anniversary of Anna Nicole Smith's death.

The real tragedy of all of these stories is that people are still ashamed of mental illness and addiction and would prefer to sweep them under the carpet by saying that all three of these celebrities were unfortunate victims of being in the spotlight. Mental illness and addiction doesn't discriminate, and perhaps their being in the spotlight is a blessing in disguise.

Andy is a mental health writer whose autobiographical book, "Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania," has been translated into six foreign languages. His articles have been featured in The New York Times Magazine, and he was recently featured on CNN's "360" with Anderson Cooper. He currently lives mania-free in Los Angeles with his wife and daughters.

Britney to undergo mental health treatment; but she's still subject to ridicule

From The Huffington Post:

Barbara Walters told her fellow panelists on "The View" that Britney Spears' friend-manager-hanger on Sam Lufti called her over the weekend to say that Britney has mental issues, that they are treatable, that she has seen a psychiatrist, and she is in touch with her mother. Then Whoopi made fun of it.

Here is the link to the video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/28/britney-spears-has-treata_n_83589.html

Britney may have a mental illness, but she's only human

It's no wonder that Britney Spears' obituary has already been written. Anyone would struggle to survive with paparazzi preying on their every move, ready to pounce and pop flashbulbs that blind their eyes.

With the exception of that self-proclaimed master of mental healing - otherwise known as "Dr. Phil" - well-studied health professionals and advocates say a hostile, chaotic environment can only exacerbate a person's declining mental state.

They look at how the media - and not just the so-called illegitimate tabloid kind that fills supermarket shelves - have almost self-created Britney's demise by goading her and baiting her into behaving in a bizarre way so they can be there if - or, quite possibly, when - the end comes.

Debra Wentz, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, said common sense dictates that media pressure "can certainly stress anyone out, and so that added pressure on someone who is vulnerable can lead to more symptomatic behavior."

"I don't envy anyone in that position and believe they get more than they bargain for, as part of their fame," she said.

Britney is to blame, many say, because she alternates between chasing the paparazzi away and cursing at them and then bonding with them in an inappropriate way. Reports this week said she allegedly dumped her most recent boyfriend, British photographer Adnan Gharib, and filed a restraining order against him.

But Britney's behavior may be merely symptomatic of something larger. She may be experiencing the mania many feel when they're dealing with bipolar disorder. The media, in turn, enable that behavior by following her, stalking her and even dating her.

Then, that added pressure of media attention pushes the behavior to a level that's frightening, dangerous and self-destructive.

"Often people say, 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire,' " Wentz said. "But a young, vulnerable person who has an illness may not be able to exercise such good judgment.

"I wish the media would leave her in peace."

The more that's said, the more we learn about mental illness

My affiliation with the Carter Center has allowed me to establish contacts with some of the top mental health professionals in the world.

I say that not with bravado, but with gratitude because it's allowed me to tap into their world - and it's world that more people need to see.

This group of mental health professionals, all of whom have associated themselves with Rosalynn Carter's Mental Health program, have written a series of books that have broken new ground in the mental health field.

And they've done it because of Mrs. Carter's inspiring call to give those with mental illness more of a voice in society. Giving people a voice could lead to more tolerance. To further this effort, Mrs. Carter awards $10,000 fellowships to at least six journalists each year to help them perform such work.

The following Amazon.com review refers to a book that was featured in a recent MSNBC video, and involves Larry Fricks, who sits on Mrs. Carter's mental health advisory board:

"Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope" is the remarkable story of five ordinary people trapped in the complex world of serious chronic illness. In this intimate portrait, acclaimed journalist Richard M. Cohen probes lives of sickness as these individuals struggle to cope.

In 2003 Cohen published "Blindsided," a bestselling memoir of illness. The outpouring of support revealed to him that not only does the public want to hear from people who overcome the challenges of illness, but that in the isolated world of illness, there are people who want their voices to be heard.

"Strong at the Broken Places" was born of the desire of many to share their stories in the hope that the sick and those who love them will see that they are not alone.

Cohen spent three years chronicling the lives of five diverse "citizens of sickness:" Denise, who suffers from ALS; Buzz, whose Christian faith helps him deal with his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; Sarah, a determined young woman with Crohn's disease; Ben, a college student with muscular dystrophy; and Larry, whose bipolar disorder is hidden within.

The five are different in age and gender, race and economic status, but they are determined to live life on their own terms. Intimately involved with these patients' lives, Cohen formed intense relationships with each, talked to their families and friends and shared joy, even in heart-breaking setbacks.

Though each individual's illness wreaks havoc in a different way, Cohen shows how their experiences are strikingly similar and offer lessons for us all—on self-determination, on courage in the face of adversity and public ignorance, on keeping hope alive, and on finding strength and peace under the most difficult of circumstances.

We are strong at the broken places, stronger than we think. In sharing these inspirational and revealing stories, Richard M. Cohen and his fellow warriors against illness offer a chorus of hope.

Having bipolar disorder is no means to an end

Stephen Puibello was diagnosed as being HIV positive and having bipolar disorder at the same time, in 1997.

But life doesn't end, even after getting a double-whammy.

So last year, Stephen came up with www.BiPolarbear.us, a website that serves as a clearinghouse for people who experience the illness - including contact information and medical referrals.

It also provides personal stories - like this website - that resonate with people who suffer from bipolar disorder and educate those who have no connection to it at all.

But it also should inspire, because having bipolar disorder and HIV has not brought the Cliffside Park, N.J. resident down. In fact, the dual diagnosis has picked him up, and inspired him to act.

He said he was inspired to create the website after participating in an AIDS awareness ride last year.

"On the ride, HIV riders were offered a RED Flag if they chose to promote awareness," he said. "Being bipolar, I wanted to promote that as well, and when you arrive at the site you will see a polar bear (him in costume) riding a bike wearing a red AIDS ribbon."

Next year year, Stephen is planning on promoting HIV and Bipolar Illness in California's 5 day AIDS Ride.

"In three years I have raised an impressive $11,338.00, with close to another $4,000 this year anticipated," he said.