Greetings,
Saturday is upon us and school is calling my name…and
frankly I would rather just sound it out. Lalala-I don’t hear you. At the
moment our current discussion topic is does the media accurately portray mental
illness/neurological disorders. The end result is we are supposed to agree on our conclusion. We will
never agree on our conclusion. Ironically/sadly…really I am not sure which, I
am probably the most experienced with mental illness both personally and
PROFESSIONALLY(people seem to forget what I did before I became a basket case).
It seems to me that the people in class who actually have really dealt with
mental illness/neurological disorders feel that the media gives a pretty
accurate portrayal. An example I used in class was Parenthood. I love the Braverman’s. Max Burkholder portrays Max
Braverman, a boy with Asperger’s syndrome. It shows the challenges as a parent
with a special needs child, and the difficulty of simply being Max. Max is
smart, but socially awkward and doesn’t fit in. Max gets bullied, Max doesn’t
have friends. Max has a hard time feeling and understanding feelings.
"I
see people with Asperger's syndrome as a bright thread in the rich tapestry of
life" - Tony Attwood
I really feel that
this show is educating people about Asperger’s, and as someone who has worked
with the autism spectrum for many years I think I know just a tiny bit about
this. People still act like you can catch autism or Down’s syndrome-and those
people should be slapped.
“Patience. Patience.
Patience. Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a
disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism
has given me. It may be true that I’m not good at eye contact or conversation,
but have you noticed that I don’t lie, cheat at games, tattle on my classmates
or pass judgment on other people? Also true that I probably won’t be the next
Michael Jordan. But with my attention to fine detail and capacity for
extraordinary focus, I might be the next Einstein. Or Mozart. Or Van Gogh.”- Ellen Notbohm
True-so very true…however I would not
say that Michael Jordan thing is out of the question either!
Wait! I am ignoring school because I
don’t want to talk about this…moving on!
Trying to find some affordable and fun
family type of activities going on around town today-nada. Nothing really age appropriate
for my teen, that he would WANT to do with me. Really not much going on at all.
We need some shift in the weather. I need to actually start feeling some
warmth, see some flowers blooming, I need some sign that summer will eventually
be here. The joys of Wisconsin.
I am perusing around the net looking
for some helpful tid bit about panic and agoraphobia-as I usually do every so
often…perhaps I should just go back to bed today. So apparently I can find someone
to “cure me” on line-that is just bitchin!
Reality is we hear a lot about CBT-cognitive behavior therapy and drugs,
lots of drugs with lots of side effects(which drug therapies work for many
people, but not all people). What we need to remember is the importance of
exposure therapy. With exposure therapy the point is to expose yourself to the
panic itself. Exposure isn't aimed at the grocery store, or the highway, or the
crowded theater. We just go there in order to have the experience of feeling panic. That's the point of
exposure. Expose yourself to the panic itself, and practice working with those
feelings so that you can lose your fear of fear. Doesn’t that sound like one
big suckfest? However, it is true. We need to keep putting ourselves out into
the world and with each step and each new day-hopefully it just keeps getting
better and better.
Tomorrow I am going to a bridal
shower-for the rest of you, like me, who are afraid to leave the house…GO DO
SOMETHING!!!! Love to you all!
Love and Light!
Agoraphobia Gurl
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
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