Health & Wellness

Glenn Close Speaks Out on Sister's Mental Illness

batch — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:15:08 -0500

Actress Glenn Close is sharing her family's experiences with mental illness as a way of challenging stereotypes and lessening the stigma associated with psychological illness.

Close has recorded a new public service announcement that shows her alongside her sister Jessie, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Jessie's son Caleb, who suffers from schizoaffective disorder, is also featured in the PSA.

Voices

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:37:33 -0600

One of the most frightening signs that there was something seriously wrong with me were the voices I began hearing in 1974.

At first they were just stray, nagging worries that dogged me through the day, self-doubts that we all have from time to time. They seemed to rise up out of nowhere—vague thoughts with an accusing edge: You really don't work very hard, do you? Or I'd be alone in my car and it was as if I overheard someone whisper, Everyone knows Lionel Aldridge doesn't care about his job.

Doctor in Waiting

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:57:13 -0500

The empty armchair in a public library in Raleigh, North Carolina, beckoned invitingly. I'll just rest here for a few minutes, I thought. But the warmth of the building made me drowsy, and I fell into a fitful sleep.

Facts About Tourette

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:39:44 -0600

According to the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA), about 200,000 people in the United States are known to have the disorder, which was first reported in 1825 by a French neurologist, Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette. An estimated two million cases remain undiagnosed.

The Answer

admin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:36:39 -0600

Standing on the doorstep of a decaying inner-city apartment building one windy morning several winters ago, I considered how my adolescent career dreams of starched white caps, crisp uniforms, and clean, efficient Ben Casey hospitals bore little resemblance to the often harsh reality of my work. I was a psychiatric admissions nurse for a Kansas City mental health program. Many of my patients fought heartbreaking battles against chronic mental illness, and some were left helpless by their struggles.

You Bet Your Life

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:44:44 -0600

Think it's harmless to drop some change in a slot machine or put a few bucks on your favorite team? It's not, if you're the one American in 20 who is a problem gambler. Gambling can be as addictive and its effects as devastating as alcohol or drugs. In its most serious form, the gambler's life is completely taken over by the addiction. With the number of legal gambling venues on the rise, the incidence of problem gambling can also be expected to increase, says Joanna Franklin, executive vice president of the National Council on Problem Gambling.

Amazing Grace

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:37:55 -0600

Her muscles grew tense, her posture rigid. Her eyes widened in terror. "Those people are after me—they're going to kill me! I'm going to die! I don't want to die!" Then she turned to me. "You hate me. I'm going to kill you and I'm going to kill myself!"

My wife, Bernice, whom I have loved for almost half a century, was having delusions and hallucinations that were so real they were chilling.

The Power of Love

admin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:18:54 -0500

By the time I was 10, I'd known so much difficulty in my life that the taunts of the other kids at school shouldn't have stung. But their cruelty cut me deeply, leaving a hurt that wouldn't go away.

"Jingle Bells, Yolanda smells!" "That's 'cause she doesn't wash her hair." One autumn afternoon the insults got to be too much, maybe because I knew there was some truth to them. I ran from the playground, my ratty old sneakers slap-slapping on the pavement. "That's right," one boy yelled, "go home to the crazy lady!"

Just Once

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:10:09 -0500

Long before I was old enough to understand why, I knew something was wrong with my mother. Momma had a dark, exotic beauty and a regal glamour, like Jackie Kennedy, but when I looked into her eyes, what I saw scared me. Depending on which extreme of her moods held sway, there was either a strange, yawning emptiness in her eyes or a madness that was even more frightening because it was so intense it threatened to draw me right into it.

When OCD Takes Over Your Life

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:34:39 -0500

Most of us have recurring worries, habits and superstitions, but when they interfere with our ability to function normally, the condition is called obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). One in 50 adults in the U.S. has OCD, and twice that have had it at some point in their lives.

• Obsessions are irrational thoughts or impulses that occur frequently. People who have OCD are anxious, fearful and need to have things "just so." They are often afraid of dirt, contamination and germs, and behave in a specific ritualized way.