Saturday Sanity: Your Brain Begs For It.

What does a NAMI National employee, an Oxford University graduate, Heath Ledger, and Britney Spears have in common? They’re all highlights in this week’s Saturday Sanity – and, if I do say so myself, today’s batch of sanity-worthy links are well worth zoning out in front of the computer for a couple of hours.

• If you haven’t yet checked out Race Across the West with CW Tillman, what are you waiting for? This man is on a mission!
• Oxford University graduate and co-author of The Myth of Alzheimer’s: What You Aren’t Being Told About Today’s Most Dreaded Diagnosis chimed in over at Mental Health: Six Things That Really Tick Me Off to express agreement, and let me know about how we all may be interested in the book and its related Web site. I strongly encourage anyone who’s experienced Alzheimer’s in any way to learn as much as you can about the illness and to surround yourself with people who share similar experiences.
• 9 Great Ways to Make Yourself Absolutely Miserable. I’m not a regular reader of The Positivity Blog, but every now and then I stumble upon jewels like this that make me wonder why I’m not.
• This is a Web site I’ve visited before, but I’m not sure if I’ve shared it with you all. It contains nine drawings by the same artist at different time intervals during one LSD or acid “trip.” Supposedly it was “part of a test conducted by the US government during it’s dalliance with psychotomimetic drugs in the late 1950s,” but to date I don’t have any concrete evidence to provide. If you do, let me know!
• “The problem of how to provide health insurance to all Americans is one of the top campaign issues being confronted by Democratic and Republican contenders for their parties’ nominations to the November presidential election.” I’m assuming it will become an even bigger problem if health insurance becomes mandatory for American citizens.
• Study tracks stress disorder in U.S. troops. From the article: “About 9 percent of U.S. troops who have performed combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan report experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study led by Defense Department researchers.” Why did I think the percentage of troops with post-traumatic stress disorder would be much higher?
• Yahoo! reports “To many who saw Heath Ledger in the last months of his life, the actor appeared to be happy, healthy and excited “in a great place,” in the words of one friend.”
• Defence Force ‘failed’ suicidal soldier, inquiry told. Post-traumatic stress disorder may have helped take another soldier’s life; this time, from our friends down under.
• Stop Diagnosing Britney Spears. Yes, please do. I’ve refrained from talking about Spears’ mental health for exactly the reasons given in this article. (Unfortunately, it’s too late to take back my speech on Paris Hilton. Honestly, just who the hell am I to ask such a question?)
• DBSA Author Chat: Kristin Finn, Bipolar and Pregnant. This DBSA event is scheduled for February 27, 2008, 2 p.m. Central Standard Time. Of course, I’ll update you when the time draws nearer. This is definitely something I’m interested in.

Remember, if you have any Saturday Sanity-worthy news to report, feel free to let me know! Have a great weekend!