Did you know September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Awareness Month?

I didn’t, and I usually stay on top of such things.

Fortunately, the kind folks at the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare informed me about it, and after telling my fellow Health & Wellness Channel bloggers here at b5media, we decided to hold a special blogging “event.”

To start things off, Mark, our resident 12 Step blogger, has presented us with September: National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Awareness Month.

Then, throughout the day, various bloggers within the Health & Wellness Channel will post either their own personal spins on one of the 12 steps or their thoughts regarding alcoholism, drug addiction, and recovery.

Finally, Liz over at Healthbolt will round them all up so you can easily peruse each post at your own leisure (you know, without having to bounce around the Channel to find them).

I’m not a recovering addict, so I can’t speak with any direct, firsthand experience with alcohol or drug addiction. In other words, I’ll be one of the bloggers giving a personal spin to the steps – the second and ninth steps, to be exact, and those spins will undoubtedly be mental health-related – so look for those later today.

In the meantime, you can learn more about alcohol and drug addiction, as well as the 12 Steps, when you visit:

• 12Step.org
• An Overview Of Self-Medication and Dual Diagnosis Resources
• Alcohol And Substance Abuse Will Not Take Away Your Fears
• Drug And Alcohol Abuse SUCKS
• Mental Health And Addiction Go Hand-In-Hand

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

National Alcohol and Drug Awareness Month

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some female celebrities who have a mental illness – or had, in the case of the deceased. We’ll look at actresses, singers, and other well-known female figures.

Please note that I am not an authority on celebrities and mental illness. For a celebrity to be on this list, either she or a spouse or reliable family member must have publicly discussed – verbally or otherwise – her mental illness, or, in the case of the deceased, professionals must have addressed it later on.

Read on.

Britney Spears, who has seemingly bowed (or been dragged) out of the spotlight, may have been suffering from bipolar disorder and postpartum depression for quite some time, according to her family and friends (and honestly, who knows you better than your momma and your best friends?). While I can’t find any other reliable source stating Spears has bipolar disorder such as her own public statement (and I may just be overlooking something – hospitalizations and Dr. Phil visits aside), you can read msnbc.com’s Sources: Spears suffering from bipolar disorder.

Drew Barrymore, actress and current Cover Girl face, reportedly attempted suicide after leaving drug rehabilitation when she was 14 years old and was hospitalized. Though I can’t find any reliable source on exactly what mental health issues she may have dealt with (or may still currently deal with), self-medication and dual diagnosis seem to play a role. Barrymore played a character with mental illness in 1995’s Mad Love.

Halle Berry also attempted suicide with carbon monoxide poisoning, as she told Parade, after her marriage to baseball star David Justice crumbled and depression set in. Berry will soon star in Frankie and Alice, an indie movie she’s also producing, as a woman with multiple personality disorder

Lorraine Bracco, my favorite therapist to my favorite Mob Boss, discussed her battles with depression with WebMD, as well as the troubled times she’s experienced and how she copes now.

Ashley Judd, actress, daughter of Naomi Judd and sister to Wynonna, talked with Glamour about how she entered rehab in 2006 for depression and co-dependency.

Brooke Shields documented her battles with postpartum depression in Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, and consequently drove my dislike for Tom Cruise home just a little bit further.

Jane Pauley, formerly of The Today Show and Dateline, is always the woman I think of when I wonder how bipolar disorder may affect my career. Check out Jane Pauley: The Sanest Person in Television.

Roseanne, in all her raunchy hysterical glory, announced publicly that she was diagnosed with depression, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and multiple personality disorder. Roseanne also documented an abusive childhood in her autobiography My Lives.

Naomi Judd, mother to Wynonna and Ashley and former one-half of The Judds, has dealt with depression, panic attacks, and separation anxiety, all of which are symptoms of the Hepatitis C she continues to fight – and win.

Alanis Morissette began to experience depression while she was on tour promoting Jagged Little Pill (one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time). To reporters, she commented that she hadn’t kept her physical and mental health as top priorities during the tour, and took time off to travel, reconnect with friends, read, and take better care of her body.

Margot Kidder, Superman’s Lois Lane, has bipolar disorder and in 1996 survived a public episode – including shaving her head long before Britney shocked you all.

Natalie Cole, singer and daughter of Nat King Cole, battled depression and substance abuse in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Princess Diana battled bulimia and may have struggled with borderline personality disorder according to Diana: In Search of Herself author Sally Bedell Smith.

Marilyn Monroe, legendary sex icon and actress on her better days, was committed to a mental institution one month after filming began for Something’s Got to Give and two months before she was found dead from an apparent drug overdose. Both Monroe’s mother and grandmother suffered from mental illness, and Monroe often worried she’d meet the same fate. Monroe’s self-medicating behavior was no secret, and I’ve read about her depression and possible bipolar disorder (and even schizophrenia) though I can’t find any reliable online documentation that clearly states what mental illness she had.

Patty Duke documented her bipolar disorder in both Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke and Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness, which she co-authored with Gloria Hochman.

Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in Star Wars, lives with manic depression (bipolar disorder). Although she struggled at first, Fisher now combines medication, therapy, writing, and comic relief to manage her mental illness.

Linda Hamilton, who played Sarah Conner in the Terminator movies, discussed her bipolar disorder, depression, and compulsive eating on AP Radio in 2004. Read the transcript at msnbc.

Vivien Leigh, star of Gone with the Wind, struggled with both bipolar disorder and alcoholism for most of her life. Anne Edwards documented Leigh’s life in Vivien Leigh: A Biography.

Connie Francis, well-known singer in the 1950s and 1960s (go on, ask your mom about her – I almost guarantee you’ll get a rendition of “Who’s Sorry Now?” – maybe even “Where The Boys Are”) was diagnosed with manic depression (bipolar disorder), suffered nervous breakdowns, and was involuntarily confined to mental hospitals.

Audrey Hepburn reportedly battled depression but lived a full life of acting and activism (she became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF in 1988).

Note that this is not a comprehensive list of female celebrities with mental illnesses; it’s merely a list of the female celebrities for whom I’ve found information. If you know of any others – and can provide credible sources – feel free to leave them in the comments.

And, if you’re wondering where all the Sylvia Plaths and Virginia Woolfs are, well, stick around. On Friday I’ll cover all the writers and artists who have (or had) mental illnesses.

Images: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Female Celebrities And Mental Illness

Stop wondering about that, and enjoy this week’s Saturday Sanity!

This week at Mental Health Notes, I provided a very brief overview of self-medication and dual diagnosis resources, updated you on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s brain surgery and future plans, shared a funny video on herd behavior and one on refocusing your mental energy, directed you to a PETA resource for grieving and feeling guilty over your pets, participated in the first ever Healthbolt Carnival, griped about one man’s predictions on how we’ll be learning in the future, and offered some encouraging words from Joel Osteen.

In the world of mental health advocacy and fellow mental health bloggers, Chato B. Stewart’s Mental Health Humor blog won Today.com’s Editor’s Choice Award for Enthusiasm and Effort, Jerry at ADHDFamilies gave the site a serious overhaul (and it looks great!), and Dr. Robin Altman’s new book, An Irreverent Take On Child Psychiatry, is available for sale. everyminute.org is increasing the number of signatures on its Online Declaration and offers a list of ways to help spread the word, the DBSA has made available an online transcript of the genetics and bipolar disorder chat with Dr. Melvin G. McInnis, and finally, Mental Health America has announced the winners of the Mental Health America 2008 Media Award and has honored Congressman Jim Ramstad with the Career Achievement Award.

Recent mental health news tells us that military records indicate post-traumatic stress disorder cases among Afghanistan- and Iraq-stationed soldiers has increased 46.4 percent from 2006 to 2007, while one new report suggests exposure-based therapy may help prevent cases of acute stress disorder from progressing to post-traumatic stress disorder. Researchers are connecting asthma with suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, Harvard Medical School researchers report children who experience better foster care may be less likely to physical and mental illnesses as adults, and surveys show students who admitted to having eating problems were more likely to also admit to having psychological problems.

In the rest of b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel contests abound! Pink Ribbon Review’s Karen Lynch is holding a contest for a Fujifilm One-Time-Use Camera, Ruth at Eating Fabulous is holding a contest for a wet of Wish-Bone Bountifuls, Grace at Kids Health Notes is giving away three Scholastic books for children, Lively Women’s Kristen is offering a chance to win three copies of High Heels to Hormones: A Woman’s Guide to Spine Care, and Womb Within’s Marijke is holding a contest for a Seventh Generation Living Home Starter Kit.

Do you have something going on you’d like announced in Saturday Sanity? An accomplishment, a contest, or a news report, for example? Send it my way!

First 3 Images: Newscom

b5media Image: b5media

Do you want to tell the world why you ROCK? If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter This Is Why I ROCK! today!

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: When Your RSS Feed Just Isn’t Enough

Yesterday evening’s NAMI meeting was a complete success!

The evening was filled with useful information about self-medication and dual diagnosis thanks to the information I gathered, talks from my state’s NAMI Outreach Coordinator and a case manager from our local community mental health center, and of course the guest speaker who’d lived it all.

I learned so much.

My only wish is that more people attended, because this is such a prevalent issue in my area. (I was once told that attendance would pick up even more in the summer months because people are more willing to leave their houses in warm weather, but it’s starting to look like people would rather be doing other things to take advantage of the warmth, ha!)

Based on all the information I gathered for – and everything I learned during – the meeting, I’ll be doing a light series of posts here at Mental Health Notes regarding self-medication and dual diagnosis – perhaps Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, or, if there’s more information than will fit in three posts, I’ll run the series next week.

In any event, it’s good stuff to know and I’ll keep you updated.

Image: Newscom

Air is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. 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

Update: Self-Medication And Dual Diagnosis NAMI Meeting A Success!

Preparation for June’s NAMI meeting this evening has kept me pretty busy for the past couple of days.

The topic is self-medication and dual diagnosis, and it’s a topic I chose because it’s so rampant in this area.

I’ve gathered up information for and compiled a list of all facilities, services, and other resources for individuals with both mental health and substance abuse problems, as well as comprehensive lists of all Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting times, dates, and locations as well as

None of that information would be relevant to any of you (unless you’re a reader from my area, in which case you can email me, visit my county’s NAMI Web site later this week, or come to the meeting!), but if you’re interested, you can visit:

• Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as their page that lists General Service Conference Areas’ Web sites to find your state’s AA Web site and meeting information.
• Narcotics Anonymous, as well as their page on Regional and Area Links to find meeting information for your area.
• Dual Recovery Anonymous and their Index of Registered DRA 12-Step Meetings.
• The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locater, or you can search for your State’s Department of Health, Department of Health and Human Resources, Department of Health Services, etc. – the name tends to vary from state to state – to find facilities in your area that specialize in mental health and self-medication or substance abuse.

Later on this week I plan to post more information about self-medication and dual diagnosis, so be sure to stay tuned!

Image: Newscom

Air is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. 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

An Overview Of Self-Medication and Dual Diagnosis Resources