Aaaaahahahahahaha!

My Internet buddy and fellow buster of stigma Chato B. Stewart is a seriously talented mental health cartoonist, and he’s cracked me up again. Check out Chato’s newest mental health cartoon in his blog post Support: Cartoon-A-Thon By: Chato B. Stewart For Mental Health Month.

While you’re there, make yourself comfortable. In addition to his Web site, Mental Health Humor, Chato’s just recently started blogging at mentalhealthumor.today.com.

Image: Newscom

Remember! You have until May 31, 2008 to enter the Mental Health Notes Birthday Giveaway, and forever to join the This Is Why I ROCK! series!

Post from: Blisstree

Mental Health Humor Update: Chato B. Stewart’s Take On Peer-To-Peer Support

What do cows and business plans have to do with mental health?

Remember Chato B. Stewart? The owner of Mental Health Humor and the first participant in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes?

Well, Chato has added two new hilarious mental health cartoons to his already hilarious (and fortunately growing!) cartoon archive, and I don’t know which one is funnier!

Be sure to check them out to find out the answer to the question above, and let Chato know what you think!

Image: Newscom

Remember! You have until May 31, 2008 to enter the Mental Health Notes Birthday Giveaway, and forever to join the This Is Why I ROCK! series!

Post from: Blisstree

Mental Health Humor Update: Chato B. Stewart’s Two New Cartoons

I talked about a lot of stuff this week here at Mental Health Notes. Not only did I get to brag about my fantasy boyfriend and how awesome his fans are, but I also announced a contest/giveaway in honor of both Mental Health Awareness Month and Mental Health Notes’s own first birthday! Chato B. Stewart officially kicked-off the This Is Why I ROCK! series, and I took part in the Healthbolt Challenge. I also mused on House, sexy women, and bile in our bodies. And of course I offered my own thoughts on current events, including the Austrian Fritzl family and the recent suicide of Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

The world of scientific-, research-, and government-related mental health news hasn’t been so quiet, either. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is aiming to redefine “informed consent” when it comes to abortions by updating materials with information about the mental health risks of abortion, among other things. Christopher Hitchens points out that anger is “the innuendo for instability or inadequacy” in yet another discussion about Senator John McCain’s ability to run the country. You’ll find some of the highest rent in the nation in Stamford, Connecticut, so the Family Centers Housing Resource Program is helping folks with mental illness by providing subsidies, security deposit loans, and donated furniture. And, the American Heart Association is now recommending that children with ADHD undergo electrocardiograms before they’re prescribed ADHD medication.

Various mental health advocacy groups are quiet chatty lately. Mental Health America is promoting the Mental Health Awareness Month theme of Get Connected, as well as has recently released survey results that show health care obstacles for people with schizophrenia. The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance is conducting a survey to find out which mood disorders research interests you most and the National Alliance on Mental Illness has released an informational self-help brochure for women with depression.

And of course, my fellow b5media Health & Wellness Channel bloggers are never very quiet, are they? To wrap April up, many of us decided to gather up some of our favorite posts from our respective blogs, and Channel Editor Kendra James rounded them all up for readers of all b5media blogs to check out.

Remember, if you have any news you feel is Saturday Sanity-worthy, pass it my way!

All images courtesy of Newscom.

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Keeps The Doctor Away

Wow, May is going to be a busy month here at Mental Health Notes, huh? Not only is it Mental Health Awareness Month and my blirthday (as Angelique called it!), but it’s also the month for the This Is Why I ROCK! series, which is what we’re beginning right now!

Read on to find out why mental health cartoonist Chato B. Stewart ROCKS!

The smiling face you see to the right is 37-year-old Chato B. Stewart from Port Charlotte, Florida, and he definitely embodies the whole spirit of the This Is Why I ROCK! series. Not only is he an avid mental health advocate, but he is also a married father of four who, during some rocky times learning to not just survive – but to live with – bipolar disorder, discovered the joy of cartooning.

Chato is an inspiring man indeed, and I invite you all to read his story and check out his hilarious mental health humor!

A Massachusetts native, Chato B. Stewart and his family moved to Florida seven years ago, where he was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder (”and a few other things, to boot” he says).

Chato went through a familiarly hellish process many of us go through, whether it’s before or after the diagnosis of mental illness, which included trying medications that initially worked then fell short of effective; experiencing psychotic breaks that led to trips to the local Crisis Stabilization Unit; trying new medications; losing health insurance; deciding to make a go of it without medication; and doing it all with family members who may or may not really understand what’s going on.

So, how did Chato go from struggling with mental illness to virtually kicking its ass with artistic abilities and sense of mental health humor? I’ll let him tell you.

While on vacation in Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) in March 2008, I started to journal, but it came out like a comic book… I just drew cartoons about my stay, and when my vacation was over I had a thought. Wow, humor can really help heal! Why don’t we see cartoons about mental health from our perspective? You know, how we, as consumers see events and things might be funny or humorous in a cartoon. I searched the web and only found a few but mostly they were about the therapist, or psychiatrist or joke with someone on a couch…

So, I thought, and I will quote the kids Animated film Robots, “See a need, fill a need.” I could help fill the need by drawing cartoons about a subject that many people would want to avoid talking about… Mental Health! Maybe with the cartoons, I can help a few consumers by putting a smile on their faces using humor to heal. So, after making sure this idea was not some grandiosity symptom of my Bipolar Disorder, I set about making and drawing the cartoons.

I’m happy to say we are off to a good start; www.MentalHealthHumor.com had almost 2,000 visitors this month alone and we have posted 10 cartoons and have more on the way. We also have been contacted by a few mental health websites interested in using the cartoons for their site and maybe in some publications. Hey, I know my humor and website might not be for every one, but from the many comments I have received I can see it doing some good… So after all, maybe I don’t ROCK, but I do know, I’m a productive pebble in this ocean we call life.

Well, I disagree. I certainly think Chato ROCKS!

Because his cartoons have been published locally and are gaining attention from other mental health Web sites, Chato knows he’s “a professional cartoonist in some sense of the word,” but still considers his cartooning a hobby that he hopes to one day take to the next level.

Professional endeavor or enjoyable past time, his mental health humor cartoons have helped bring Chato successes for which we should all strive.

Not to quote James Bond, but in Tomorrow Never Dies – there was a line I liked, it goes “The distance between genius and insanity is measured only by success”. Well so far, I’m not a successful millionaire, but I measure success in other ways. One, of course, is family success, and the next would be for me, successfully using tools and coping skills to prevent my disorder from causing distress to my family.

It helps me focus and some times I just get lost in the idea and it brings a peace to an otherwise distorted mind.

For more information about Chato and his mental health humor and cartoons, visit his Web site, Mental Health Humor. And above all else, be sure to let him know he ROCKS!

This post is part of the Mental Health Notes This Is Why I ROCK! series. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter!

Post from: Blisstree

Success Story: Using Mental Health Humor As A Coping Skill

First up, let me refresh your memory regarding some of the more interesting things that went on at Mental Health Notes this week: The Lolcats paid us a visit, Boston Legal made me proud, the folks opposing the postpartum depression legislation confused me, I offered fellow American Idol Michael Johns fans some help, and, oh yeah, Mental Health Notes wants to know why you ROCK!

Next in line, I have a couple of Saturday Sanity-worthy Web sites to share with you sent in by MHN readers: Chato B. Stewart would like to announce the launch of his Web site, Mental Health Humor – and remind folks that the site is in no way meant to promote stigma. I checked it out myself, and while it seems to be in the beginning stages, I was certainly not offended and give it a Sparks Stamp of Approval. (I would also like to take this time to remind folks that, in my opinion, there is a very clear difference between mental health humor and tasteless, stigma-promoting. For example, this is mental health humor. This, however, is disgusting and promotes stigma.)

Moving right along, Hana Hasani would like to let you all know about Mamaherb, a new Web site geared toward spreading the word about natural health remedies. While browsing the site, I’ve so far found information about natural treatments for depression, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, anxiety, and narcolepsy. I’m all about using what nature gives us, so I’m happy to pass along this beautifully-designed site; however, I’d like to remind all readers that you should always consult with a medical professional before trying anything new – natural and non-natural, alike.

Now, for some scientific, research, and government-related mental health news: With more than 53,000 soldiers having been deployed to Iraq three or more times, the Army is seriously worried about the mental health effects return tours are having on our men and women in uniform – even though senior Iraq commander is telling Congress he’s “not ready to endorse any drawdowns beyond those already scheduled through July.” According to an Indiana survey, 83% of psychiatrists currently support a universal national health insurance plan. Parents with children who have ADHD and take Ritalin may be able to rest a bit easier: Researchers don’t feel Ritalin boosts the likelihood of future substance abuse.

And, finally, what’s going on around the rest of b5media’s Science & Health Channel? Well, Jul over at Veggie Chic is giving you the chance to win a copy of Gorgeously Green, Kristina over at Autism Vox shares a simply heartwarming story of sharing, and Liz over at Alzheimer’s Notes wants to remind everyone about the “All About Alzheimer’s” Carnival.

That’s all for this week’s Saturday Sanity! If you think you have some Saturday Sanity-worthy news, shoot me an email!

Image sources and credits here, here, and here.

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Your Brain’s Weekly Smorgasbord Of Sanitylicious