Sick And/Or Twisted...?

One of the biggest controversial topics in our legal system is not something we should take lightly, nor has it been.  What I'm referring to ladies and gentlemen is the insanity plea.  I want to think by now that what goes on in courtrooms today is mostly common knowledge.  We have our guily plea, our innocent plea (Casey Anthony's fav), we have our one, two, three, four, fifffffftthhhh plea, and lastly we have our serial killers favorite plea, Insanity.

So heres the deal.... mentally insane is defined as "a mental defect or disorder sufficient to prevent a person from knowing the difference between right and wrong conduct or from understanding the nature of his or her actions."  Now with that being said I want to point out that I think that would make all criminals mentally koo-koo, but thankfully the justice system isn't in my hands.  Moving on... So I guess the dilemma here is how do we prove someone is just plain and simply a criminal or bat shit cray? (Well duh, a doctor...) But, regardless of how we answer that question I think the area that society has an issue with is how these proven "criminally ill" folks are punished.  Majority of society looks at the insanity plea as an "out" or "getting off easy" situ... but from what I've gathered by reading up on this is that this is not the case at all.  I mean, If you plead insanity and you're not insane and they send you to the koo-koo bin that is going to be a traumatic experience.  I feel like the whole point of our punishment system is to protect society, punish the bad, and hopefully fix their issues. 

 Helllllooo, thats why it's called a correctional facility.... to correct those fools.  And if someone is mentally ill or not capable of being in the here and now of reality then I don't see it appropriate to throw them into a shark tank prison.  Thats not only asking for trouble, but also setting them up for a failure of a "recovery".  If someone is "sick" you send them to the hospital.... well that should ring true for mentally sick patients as well right?  Look guys... I'm not saying that these people who are whacked in the head and commit heinous crimes should get the martha stewart prison experience, all I'm saying is that the criminally insane SHOULD serve their time (after all they broke the rules of life), but they shouldn't serve it the tradition way with all the regular criminals. 

Ew. Did I just say regular criminals as if that exists? 

Creep cityyyy

HOARDERRSSSS

This week I want to talk about something that has become so popular and such a problem that  reality television has picked it up.... I'm talking about Compulsive Hoarding, or if you want to be pc, "pathologcial collecting".  I watch some of these shows (Hoarders, Buried Alive, etc..) and each time I am so shocked.  I find myself sitting there yelling at the t.v. like, "Whatttt is wrong with you people!?". How can these people live like this, everyday, 365...?  I'll admit I'm a bit of a sentimentalist.  I've been known to hold on to things that I consider important or special.  However, I definitely don't stack this shit in the hallways and kitchen and don't clean my bathroom  until theres like black mold creeping in the cracks.   I am not the cleanest person always, but I feel like I can be messy only up to a point; a breaking point.  I'll have papers on the ground, on my desk... clothes I've tried on, or multiples at that, from nights out....shoes EVERYWHERE lol.... and then it's like something comes over me and I'm like OKKKKAAYYYY enough is enough.  Then follows a deep clean.  And then I start the cycle all over again.  I watch these crazy hoarders on theses shows and their families are trying so desperately to help clean out their houses and they are like "No don't take that broken leaf! It still works".  Like......What the *&$@?  It's trash!! Ew...

LOL

So my question to you guys out there is do you know any Hoarders?  Are their any in your family, your friends, maybe a co-worker? Do you think there are different levels or phases or hoarding?

Also, if you do know someone who has a compulsive hoarding problem, how does it make YOU feel? Frustrated...? Angry.....? Sad....? 

Comment dow below and share your stories! Over annnnnnddddddd Out!

America, M.D.

Let me pose a question to begin with. What's the first thing that comes to mind when I tell you I'm "OCD"? Think about it... Do you roll your eyes and say oohhh goddd. Do you think of me in a different light? Does that light have a positive or negative connotation? Or do you maybe start thinking medically?  Are you mentally listing symptoms I might have?  I'm asking you these questions to see what YOUR take is on obsessive compulsive disorder.  I feel like lately the term OCD is so overly used these days, everyone and their dog is OCD.  But do people know what exactly this disorder entails?  It's certainly not limited to being organized, wanting things your own way, or having a desire to clean a dirty space.  Obsessive compulsive disorder is an anxiety ridden disorder in which the person suffers from repeated thoughts, feelings, or ideas often carried out in unwanted behaviors for temporary relief.  More commonly know symptoms of OCD are: excessive fear of germs, excessive counting, checking and rechecking actions ( locking of doors, lights turned on or off...)  The person affected usually recognized that the behavior is excessive or unreasonable.

My point for boring you guys with all this information is for you to know the different between a medically diagnosed problem versus you being anal retentive at work.  We live in a society where everyone is ADD, ADHD, or OCD... and along with all these self (faux) diagnoses comes the "there's a pill for that!" phenomenon.  Don't even get me started on that.... that's a whole 'nother blog people.  But heres the bottom line folks: If you're being obnoxious, anal, or my way or the highway at work or anywhere else where working with others is involved check yourself yo.  Either you have a medical disorder or you don't.  Stop walking around giving everyone the same excuse that your "OCD" because of your annoying behavior... If you seriously think your suffering check it out, do some research, go talk to someone... otherwise get over it, and thank your mom for sending you to a Montessori preschool...

Thats all for today friends... Over and out.

Bryan's Story...

On a beautiful spring day, almost 22 years ago a very special boy was born.  He had a normal life, an older sister, and a beautiful mother.  He was loved and loved back.  He grew up in the valley of the sun where he flourished academically and socially.  His first love was a girl named chess, and he played her exceptionally well.  He was a handsome young man and I recall the moment I met him making a deal for an arranged marriage when we grew older.  His name was Bryan Rowan, and this is his story.

The funny thing about bipolar disorder is that it shows up like puberty to a preteen; unannounced and completely unprepared.  Textbook tells us that if genetically disposed, something like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia usually manifest's itself between the ages of 18 to 21... and Bryan was, unfortunately, a textbook case.

Bryan at his home in Sedona, AZ

Bryan was a senior at Saguaro High School, had been taking college courses since his freshman year, was given a scholarship in Lacrosse and was on his way to Arizona State University.  Bryan was a total gamer.  He initiated paintball tournaments, Halo parties... ohh and then there was online gambling.  From such a young age he was addicted to online poker, and from an outsiders perspective, this was the first noticeable manifestation of his mental illness.  He started noticing that his hands would tremble as if he couldn't control them, his palms would sweat and he noticed himself having a hard time talking to people.  He finally opened up, telling his mother he constantly felt "anxious".  As any mother would she assured him what he was going through was normal, some form of "senioritis".

Bryan & his mother 

Time flys by and now Bryan is a freshman in college.  His mother realizes maybe he should be screened to see what's going on here and comes out diagnosed with type 2 bipolar disorder.  Being the strong soul that he is he pushed through the freshman year successfully.  I think the climactic point of his story starts here.  The last year and a half of Bryan's life was a struggle he had never had to deal with before. Having a moment of clarity he utters to his mother "Mom, I can't believe this is happening to me", neither could she.  Bryan rolls through medication after medication, pretty much trying everything under the sun.  His body reacts only temporarily before becoming immune to all these new substances.  Out of the blue Bryan makes a crucial choice to experiment with a good friend and smokes a synthetic marijuana substance referred to as "spice".  His mom references this moment as the catalyst for the downward spiral that is about to occur.  He was never brought back to reality since that moment.

Flash forward several months... Bryan is now out of school due to the fact that his learning ability has be adversely affected, not to mention his confidence. He started spending a lot of alone time at a near by mall and meet a real nutjob named Emma.  Emma introduced Bryan to a world of drama, drugs, and eventually death.  On one occasion she brought him over to her fathers house, who was recently released from rehab, and he gave them both bath salts to experiment with. Great idea right? Ends up losing his job due to a wild night of near death drug abuse. Of course as in typical drugie fashion, Emma leaves Bryan for a significantly older man who is supposably a film producer.  Bryan hits rock bottom in a depression over the loss of his phenomenal girlfriend, (hope you're catching my sarcasm), and stops taking his current medication. Obviously that move, in my opinion, is what leads Bryan down his next path.  He slowly starts giving away valuables, and things with sentimental value. Bryan begins  isolating himself the next couple weeks and then his mother gets the call that is every mothers nightmare.  Bryan is found dead in an ally.  It kills me to write this entire post, especially to end it with that last statement, but I just wanted to share his story.  I want whoever reads it to take whatever they can out of it, I don't have a specific point I'm trying to convey... I just want people to be more aware of what's going with the people close to them.  It's so unfortunate that most of his "good" friends were truly shocked and had no idea anything was wrong with Bryan.  I really hope Bryan knows how much he was adorned and how much he will truly be missed... I just wish I had the chance to tell him now....

I Love You Bry xo
RIP

"Depression Hurts, But You Don't Have To."

As we near World Mental Health Day on October 10th 2012, I want to talk a little bit about this years main theme: Depression. I think it's safe to say by now that the term depression is a common household word. Depression can strike anyone at any time and is very rapidly becoming a globally widespread disease.  A great prevention tool is to be alert to the early signs of depressive disorder both within yourself and/or others.  Fatigue, lack of energy, insomnia, changes in appetite, and even physical pain are some indicators of early depression.  Some people describe depression as “living in a black hole” or having a feeling of impending doom. However, some depressed people don't feel sad at all—they may feel lifeless, empty, and apathetic, or men in particular may even feel angry, aggressive, and restless.  Whatever the symptoms, depression is different from normal sadness in that it engulfs your day-to-day life, interfering with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and have fun. The feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and worthlessness are intense and unrelenting, with little, if any, relief. The hopes of the World Federation of Mental Health is to send out the message that depression IS a treatable illness and recovery is possible.  On Oct. 10th they aim to reach across globally to adress depression to those individuially affected, their families and their peers.  The president of WFMH, Deborah Wan, states... "...It is now estimated that 350 million people globally are affected by depression, and this alarming figure is a wakeup call for us to address this global non-communicable disease."  I definitely agree that it is a wakeup call for all of us.  If you'd like more information on depression or other mental illnesses or to get involved with World Mental Health Day please visit their website listed below.   http://www.wfmh.org/00WorldMentalHealthDay.htm