Mad in America

JULY 19, 2024

D uring my first psychiatric hospitalization in 1998, I was strapped down, placed in 4-point restraints, and administered a painful catheter—apparently because I had peed on the floor during the course of my psychotic episode. Captivity By my count (with an assist from my mother) I’ve had 12 psychiatric hospitalizations in my life.

Hospitality 127

Hospitality Self-awareness Sleep and mental health Bipolar disorder 127

Mad in America

AUGUST 10, 2024

Back in 2009 I was incredibly blessed to have a couple of my fellow patients who comforted me, listened to me and took care of me. In October 2009 I was discharged after 3 very long weeks and I quickly concluded that the ‘antipsychotics’ I had been forced to take were numbing my feelings and dulling my thinking in a debilitating way.

Sleep and mental health 119

Sleep and mental health Trauma and the brain Social Services Aging and mental health 119

Mad in America

JULY 12, 2024

I speculate now about withdrawal akathisia, extreme sleep deprivation, spiritual awakening, deep awareness, empathy and sensory experiencing, an invalidating environment, defensiveness, corruption and spiritual attack. In 2009 I had exited the workforce and entered psychiatry; something I have spoken and written about previously.

Hospitality 100

Hospitality Self-awareness Childhood trauma 100

The Art of Healing Trauma

NOVEMBER 17, 2019

This short story about a train trip shows how the many symptoms of PTSD combine to have a devastating impact to one’s Sense of Self. Losing a large percent of memory of one’s past is the equivalent of losing a large percent of one’s Sense of Self, identity, personality, etc. April 2009 – I had Severe PTSD.

Trauma and the brain 52

Trauma and the brain Self-awareness Hospitality 52

Mad in America

AUGUST 5, 2024

We consider the consequences of diagnosis as a form of social identity; of neurodivergence as a form of disability; and of self-diagnosis. Some of them self-identify as disabled, a category which—like neurodivergence itself—is extremely heterogenous. The consequences of ‘diagnosis as identity.’ Both outcomes are problematic.

Trauma and the brain 144

Trauma and the brain Genetics and mental health Self-awareness Personality disorders 144