Just when I think I’m going to have a normal week (i.e. one not bogged down with getting caught up with work and chores, but one actually spent working and “choring” at a regular pace!), a gigantic tree about 20 feet from my house decides to give up on life and take a few power and telephone lines down with it.

Fortunately, no one (and no homes) were hurt, but most of my street went without power and/or telephones for two days – which not only blows for people who, you know, want to keep the food in their refrigerators cold, but also really blows for people who work from home.

And I once again found myself scrambling to meet a deadline last night.

In any event, all’s well with the world (and electricity!) again, and here’s your Saturday dose of sanity!

This week at Mental Health Notes, Karen Lynch contributed tips on how to manage emotional distress (and gave me a much needed break!), and then I told you about a few mental health blogs I’m reading, asked you if you’re happy with your psychiatrist’s services, reminded you about the chance to have your donations to Mental Health America matched, posted my review of Surviving Ben’s Suicide, rolled out another edition of What Do You Really Want?, and shared five brain cancer resources. Oh, and I also announced the winner of Dr. David Clarke’s They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!, spread some doggy humor, and publicly announced my extreme jealousy of Nikki Katz.

Regarding mental health advocacy, along with the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, Mental Health America published their statement on the JAMA study that shows a continued high rate of suicide among youths after the “Black Box” warnings, the DBSA’s Power of Peers National Conference is right around the corner, and there’s still plenty of time to participate in NAMI’s Grading the States survey.

In the world of mental health news, it’s a big day for women. Researchers believe dialectical behavior therapy may help women who suffer from both an eating disorder and borderline personality disorder, a large study suggests women who experience extreme stress right before or during pregnancy have a higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies, researchers have reported young women who’ve experienced extreme stress have a higher risk for developing breast cancer, and another study suggests that babies born to depressed mothers have “more chaotic sleep patterns early in life.”

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, Karen Lynch of Pink Ribbon review hosted a live blogging event during Friday night’s Stand Up To Cancer event, and also featured each one of us Health & Wellness Channel bloggers, and a few others, who participated in helping to spread the word about cancer awareness. Check it out!

• Susan Watiker is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Alicia Sparks is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Kristen King is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Michelle Smith is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Ruth Schaffer is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Scott Wharton is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Kendra James, RN is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Angela White is Standing Up 2 Cancer
• Marijke Durning, RN is Standing Up 2 Cancer

Enjoy your weekends!

Image: SXC and Andrew Faulkner

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: If A Tree Falls 20 Feet From Your House…

Well, they’re not all new, per se, but they’re some of the mental health blogs I’ve been checking out lately.

Recovering One Day At A Time is written by maryruth, a seriously busy American woman (she’s a single mother of four, a homeschooler to her special needs son, a writer, a NAMI advocate, and she just started working on her Master’s in Psychology!) who wants to share her “walk through mental illness to recovery.”

I’m Listening is written by “Wandering Coyote,” a Canadian lady who’s managing borderline personality disorder, dysthymia, and major depressive disorder and who seeks to bust the stigma of mental illness.

Clinically Clueless is written by “Clueless,” another American woman who, for the past 20 years, has both worked in the mental health field and has been is psychotherapy. Clueless has been dealing with dsysthymia, borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and an eating disorder, as well as self-injury and suicidal ideation.

One Bipolar Life is written by “Preciousrock,” a single mother who is managing bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and who also runs OneBipolarLife.com.

Advocate Support Blog is a very thorough blog that covers mental health resources, interesting links, mental health news, and other information related to mental health. The writer, James Crosson, is also affiliated with Advocate Support Services, Inc.

PsyBlog is by no means new (I think it’s been around since 2004), but I just recently stumbled across it. Its owner, freelance writer Jeremy Dean, has various degrees in the mental health field and he keeps the site packed with mental health information.

Mental Health – Able Mart is a sort of Web site/blog duo, where you can find articles/blog posts about everything from managing stress as a caregiver to bipolar disorder.

I’ve added each of these blogs to the blogroll here at Mental Health Notes, and if you know of any others you think I should feature, feel free to drop me a line in the comments.

In the meantime, happy reading!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Check Out These New Mental Health Blogs

If you’ll look to the right and scroll down a bit, you’ll see the Mental Health Notes blogroll. (Ignore the sections called “Helpful Websites” and “Other Great Blogs” – those are going to vanish soon.)

Pretty pathetic, huh? Especially given that there are several Mental Health Notes readers who have mental health-related blogs of their own. That list should be much longer, but, unfortunately, I’m not aware of everyone’s mental health-related Web sites and blogs.

That’s why I’ve decided to conduct a “call for entries” of sorts. Intrigued? Of course you are. Read on for details.

The details are simple, really. I’m interested in knowing about – and linking to – your mental health-related Web site or blog. More specifically, I’m interested in the mental health-related Web sites and blogs of Mental Health Notes readers and commenters. I have a number of faithful (and even semi-faithful) readers who deserve to be recognized and linked to, so, naturally, I want to recognize and link to them.

See? Simple.

There is a catch, however; if you’re a random person who just happened to find this post and/or are just looking for a way to promote your own Web site or blog, move along. I’m not interested in you.

So, what do you do? Ah, simplicity continues to abound. Just email me – or leave a comment in this post, whichever you prefer – with the address to and a brief description of your mental health-related Web site or blog. I’ll then add you to the blogroll.

Note that this isn’t some manipulative plan to increase links, traffic, page views, or anything of that nature. I just honestly want to recognize the mental health-related Web sites and blogs of my readers. You read mine, so why shouldn’t I read and help support yours?

Post from: Blisstree

A Mental Health Notes Call For Entries