Most everyone has heard about the Los Angeles man who shot and killed his wife and five children before turning the gun on himself.
Police say Ervin Lupoe faxed a letter to KABC saying he and his wife had been fired from their jobs at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, and they had planned the killings together.
According to the school where Lupoe’s children attended, the father pulled three of his kids from their classes about a week and a half ago. He told her the family was moving to Kansas.
With the state of our economy, there are no doubt, more …read more

Earlier today, I brought up a discussion with my husband, a veteran of Desert Storm. I’ve never held my tongue when it comes to my feeling as though the veterans of the U.S. military are some of the most neglected individuals around.
I’ve watched uncles who served in Vietnam and Korea suffer from ailments that were linked to their service, go without treatment because they couldn’t afford it.
I’ve watched many a soldier come back from Iraq to a country that appreciated them while they were there, but shelved them and forgot them when they returned to normal life.
But what is …read more

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Back before we headed to the polls, I shared with you an email I received regarding now President-elect Barack Obama’s stance on mental health parity.
Well, now I’ve received an email from Mental Health America urging me to send an electronic postcard to Obama to urge him to keep healthcare reform a top priority during his first year in office.
From the email:
As he prepares to take office, President-elect Barack Obama faces many pressing issues. And some will urge him to defer efforts to achieve healthcare reform, suggesting that it will be too costly, too difficult, or not …read more

In case you haven’t heard, Lori Drew – the 49-year-old woman who played some role in creating a fake MySpace page to harass 13-year-old Megan Meier (harassment that eventually ended when the “fake” MySpace user told Meier the world would be a better place without her, and the already depressed Meier committed suicide) – was not convicted of felony charges related to the case. She was instead convicted of three misdemeanor charges of accessing a computer without authorization.
I don’t even know what that means. I mean, was the woman not using her own computer? Apparently it had something to do …read more

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Several years ago, a soldier I once knew told me about the time he had to dig graves for children who’d starved to death in a country most of us have never been to. It wasn’t a war zone; these children simply didn’t have enough food to stay alive. He and his fellow soldiers dug the graves while family members stood looking on.
This experience stayed with him for a very long time.
I’ve written about America’s service men and women more than a few times here at Mental Health Notes, so it’s no surprise I’m doing it …read more

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Wow, what a week it has been, my friends. The weather here has been sunny and in the upper 60s/lower 70s (which Chopper loved), I found a ridiculously inexpensive and surprisingly potent scented oil while wandering aimlessly around Wal-Mart (mmm, Christmasy cinnamon), and I finally found the name of the song on one of the new Blackberry commercials (it’s “Live the Proof” by Jim Boggia, if anyone’s interested. It’s great. Seriously.).
And, of course, we Americans elected our leader for the next four years. Something I (but not Chopper) found even more exciting than the rest of …read more

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That’s the question my local news reporter asked last night. Naturally I a) hung around on the couch long enough to hear the answer, and b) thought I would hear something related to Obama’s stance on mental health legislation.
Instead, what I heard was a local therapist discussing the stress-reducing benefits of Obama’s motivating and inspiring speeches.
Curious.
The overall idea was that, during such depressing and discouraging times, Obama’s talks about change help Americans feel more hopeful and at ease.
I’ll admit that I’m one of the many Americans who feels a bit more mentally (and even physically) relaxed …read more

I am certainly anxious to find out the results to what has undoubtedly been the most exciting and intense election of my lifetime.
Unless I count the high school senior class election of 1999. Ha.
Happy Voting!

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With only a few days until the 2008 presidential election, we’re getting down to the nitty gritty here in America. Like many Americans, I’m quite anxious. The race is close, and I’m looking forward to its finish. I’m looking forward to knowing who our next leader will be. I’m looking forward to seeing if he can pull us out of this economic slump.
I’m also looking forward to no longer receiving campaign emails and enjoying a full week of prime time television without debate interruptions.
Despite how close Election Day is, nearly 6.4 percent of the voting public …read more

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It’s almost time to vote for America’s next leader, and if you’re anything like me…well, you’d be quite pessimistic, jaded, and apathetic. (Well, let me take that back. I’m not really that apathetic. I care quite a bit. I just have a bad feeling about both directions, and rather than stress myself out even more…I’m just going to wait and see what happens.)
However, even if you are feeling like me, you should still vote. Given how important the issue of health care is in all elections, and given a national mental health parity finally passed this …read more