http://www.mentalhealthcamp.org/normal/ Erasing Stigma and Exploring Possibilities with Social Media - Second Annnual Mental Health Camp (July 10, 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:11:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.mentalhealthcamp.org/normal/comment-page-1/#comment-4272 Lifelonglori Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:22:58 +0000 http://www.mentalhealthcamp.org/?p=153#comment-4272 The word normal gets used in so many places that we often find our perspectives rather skewed on its true meaning! As crazy as I am because of my mental illness, I have never wanted to be normal. I have wanted to fit it, be accepted, and supported for who I am. I am one of those people who like the fact that I broke the mold! To me, normal is best used as a setting on a dryer. I would much rather have a healthy life! By thinking this way, I find that life is much more interesting, and productive. Being me is much better than being the person others want me to be, which is "normal." The word normal gets used in so many places that we often find our perspectives rather skewed on its true meaning! As crazy as I am because of my mental illness, I have never wanted to be normal. I have wanted to fit it, be accepted, and supported for who I am. I am one of those people who like the fact that I broke the mold! To me, normal is best used as a setting on a dryer. I would much rather have a healthy life! By thinking this way, I find that life is much more interesting, and productive. Being me is much better than being the person others want me to be, which is “normal.”

]]> http://www.mentalhealthcamp.org/normal/comment-page-1/#comment-4082 Sonyas World Thu, 22 Apr 2010 06:30:34 +0000 http://www.mentalhealthcamp.org/?p=153#comment-4082 Thanks a lot for taking the time to write back to me. I think in many ways we're actually on the same level here. The whole thing is a matter of semantics, mostly focusing on the word "normal." It sounds like from your experience in your own life and as a professional, you've seen some pretty acute situations, and I've certainly experienced my own. I guess my beef with the Psych Central argument was that it was cute and catchy but didn't seem relevant for my wife, and I'm frustrated by not finding stuff that can reach out to her. Take, for example, Overeaters Anonymous. My wife has attended that for years, and continued to do so after her hospitalization. But after a few months, it felt so trivial. People talking about food just didn't seem to matter that much to her. She had a sponsor who tried to work the steps with her, but her sponsor pretty accurately pointed out that stepwork isn't what is needed right now...survival is. Like you say, you can't fight a tornado with an umbrella. However, to go back to my previous point, tornadoes are the exception, and not the rule. Rain is the rule. And so for most people, most of the time, umbrellas are sufficient. And if my house got plowed over by a tornado, I'd love some good old fashioned rain. .-= Sonyas World´s last blog ..<a href="http://sonyasworld.wordpress.com/2010/04/20/normal/" rel="nofollow">normal.</a> =-. Thanks a lot for taking the time to write back to me. I think in many ways we’re actually on the same level here. The whole thing is a matter of semantics, mostly focusing on the word “normal.” It sounds like from your experience in your own life and as a professional, you’ve seen some pretty acute situations, and I’ve certainly experienced my own. I guess my beef with the Psych Central argument was that it was cute and catchy but didn’t seem relevant for my wife, and I’m frustrated by not finding stuff that can reach out to her.
Take, for example, Overeaters Anonymous. My wife has attended that for years, and continued to do so after her hospitalization. But after a few months, it felt so trivial. People talking about food just didn’t seem to matter that much to her. She had a sponsor who tried to work the steps with her, but her sponsor pretty accurately pointed out that stepwork isn’t what is needed right now…survival is. Like you say, you can’t fight a tornado with an umbrella. However, to go back to my previous point, tornadoes are the exception, and not the rule. Rain is the rule. And so for most people, most of the time, umbrellas are sufficient. And if my house got plowed over by a tornado, I’d love some good old fashioned rain.
Sonyas World´s last blog ..normal.

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