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

Guess what amigos! Not only does today begin Mental Health Awareness Month, but it’s Mental Health Notes’s first birthday!

That’s right – exactly one year ago today b5media and I gave birth to Mental Health Notes, the lovely vessel of information you read each day (well, at least I hope you read it each day…every other day? Can I get once a week?). Ah, it was a joyous occasion (actually, you’ll see I was much less talkative than I am today) and I am one proud momma.

In honor of Mental Health Notes’s first birthday (and today being the kick-off for Mental Health Awareness Month!) I’m giving away presents! I know, I know, I’m actually the one who’s supposed to get a gift or three, but what can I say? I’m a generous soul. Well, that, and Mental Health Notes would be nothing without fantastic readers such as yourselves.

Of course, I’m not actually giving away presents – there’s a catch, and it’s a contest. However, it’s so simple, I may as well be giving them away!

All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me (and the world) one thing you’ve learned since you started reading Mental Health Notes. It could be something you learned from a particular Mental Health Notes post or something you learned about your own mental health. You can enter as many times as you want, but make sure each comment reflects a different lesson you’ve learned about mental health.

Leave your comment between today and midnight on May 31, 2008 and make sure to include your email address in that little box that reads “Mail,” so I’ll know how to contact you if you win.

And (are you ready for this?) – there will be three winners!

First Prize: One Silver Ribbon Pin
Second Prize: One Silver Ribbon Wristband
Third Prize: One Silver Ribbon Bumper Sticker

Have you ever paid attention to the silver ribbon in Mental Health Notes’s header?

I chose to purchase and give away Silver Ribbon products from NARSAD Artworks because the Silver Ribbon is a popular symbol of awareness for brain disorders and disabilities. The Silver Ribbon Campaign for the Brain is an internationally recognized endeavor, and advocates for all types of mental health and brain issues – including anxiety, depression, autism, brain cancer, brain injuries, depressive disorders, Parkinson’s, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychotic disorders – represent the Silver Ribbon Coalition.

Winners will be chosen at random and announced on June 1, 2008.

What are you waiting for? Start entering!

Image: Newscom

Be sure to stay tuned, because later today Mental Health Notes begins its This Is Why I ROCK! series!

Post from: Blisstree

Enter The Mental Health Notes Birthday Giveaway!