R.I.P

This is a short post because not many words need to be said. Only this:

Curt Cobain (Nirvana) - 1967-1994
Michael Hutchence (INXS) - 1960-1997
Heath Ledger - 1979-2008
Amy Winehouse - 1983-2011

Thousand of unknown to us (me) people who chose to die

Many speculations, many judgements, many evil words, much love, much compassion. All those were said and felt about these people.

I feel they died because they had fires of hell raging in their heads that could be explained to no one nor could they be exorcised. I feel great sorrow for them.

Rest in peace in Heaven because you couldn't find one here on Earth.

How the things are going here

Well, two months have passed since the birth of my youngest treasure, Olivia Ann and the road has been rocky to say the least. Mostly, even though I knew that raising three children, 12-year-old, one-year old and an infant would be difficult, I really had no idea how hard it would turn out to be. The household seems to be in a total state of chaos and to top it off, I have been going through what I feared the most: Postpartum Depression. Since I struggled with depression for most of my life, I should have expected this to happen. Just deep down I hoped it wouldn't.

 

But there is a silver lining to every cloud and I have been blessed with great people who had my best interest in heart. Especially my midwife who finally made me go and see a psychiatrist, my sister who has been a great support and my wonderful husband, who's been through hell and back with me but still stays by me and is very understanding (I love you very much hon, if you're reading it).

So far, it's working great and I have much hope for getting this awful depression under control.

All this is not to say that I don't enjoy the angels I have now to love and who love me. Aleksander is being such a good little brother (even though he has his moments of naughtiness), he gives Olivia kisses and helps me throw the diapers away and really is just a bundle of love. The funniest thing is when he tries to do things Olivia does, such as climbing into her bassinet.

My oldest girl, Karolina, is really a trooper and doesn't complain a thing about the mess, the noise and her little brother being a tiny pain in the butt :)

On the reading front, my depression problems understandably slowed everything down and my plans for reading and reviewing certain books have to be pushed to a further date. I am however in process of reading Miss Timmins' School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy, courtesy of NetGalley and I'm really liking it. It's a mixture of coming-of-age and murder mystery and I think it would appeal to a wide range of readers. Full review will be hopefully coming soon.

Another thing that will be coming soon is my rant about a recent article from The New York Review of Books (June 23rd edition), 'The Epidemic of Mental Illness' by Marcia Angell. All I have to say right now, the books mentioned in there and a somewhat vague opinion of the article author are FULL OF CRAP. Stay tuned for what will probably be a post with a few expletives, I just have to read it again to make sure I got it right.

I swear, this girl can put a smile on even the grumpiest person's face.

Understand My Sorrow Challenge

Depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder. 

I could go on and on. These are very real and very painful illnesses, and yet they are one of the most neglected, misunderstood, ignored and stigmatized ones as well. These are demons that destroy lives, break human spirits and annihilate happiness. Millions of people struggle with them, fight daily battles. Some are lost and some are won. I hope that one day none will be lost and that's why I decided to host this reading challenge. The purpose of it is to increase awareness and understanding of a mental illness. In my small way I wish to help people see through the stereotypes and the fog of ignorance surrounding the serious medical conditions under an umbrella of mental illness. These conditions are deadly when untreated and more often than not still pose a risk of death after a person receives proper medical treatment. The statistics are frightening and below I am providing you with a couple of links so you can read for yourselves.

Anyway, the rules for the challenge are pretty easy.

It starts today but I would like to make it an ongoing process, therefore there will not be a deadline in the nearest future. If I decide that the no deadline rule somehow doesn't work, I will let you know at least six months in advance. The only requirement is that you read a minimum of one book on the subjects provided below.

• Depression
• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

There are of course many more disorders that we could talk about but for now I'd like to focus on the four.

So, you have to read a minimum of four (4) books, one on each subject, either fiction or non-fiction (any format is fine: graphic novel, e-book, audio, etc.).

I am including a button on the side on my blog that you can grab just for this challenge and put it on your blog.

Also, when you write an introductory post about this challenge, please come back and sign up under McLinky.

Optimally, I would love for this to spark discussion. I'd like to talk with all and any of you. If you read a book or two, or more and they evoke strong emotions withing you, I'd love to invite you to write a guest post sharing them with me and other readers.  If you have a story to tell, that's even better. I would be happy to read your story and invite others to do it as well. It doesn't matter if it's on my blog as a guest post or your own blog, as long as it's under the Understand My Sorrow banner.

Another important thing: you do not have to be a blogger to join in. If you don't have a blog, you can leave me a comment letting me know that you're joining and when you decide which books to read, when you read any of them and want to talk about them, email me and I will, with your permission spotlight your thoughts, stories, even book reviews on my blog.

List of some books you might find interesting:

1. Depression:

a) Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon

b) Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression by Nell Casey

c) Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel

d) Jesus Wept:When Faith and Depression Meet by Barbara C. Crafton

2. Schizophrenia:

a) The Day the Voices Stopped by Ken Steele and Claire Berman

b) The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks

c) I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg

d) The Quiet Room by Lori Schiller and Amanda Bennett

e) Welcome Silence by Carol North, M.D.

Bipolar Disorder:

a) An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison

b) Madness: A Bipolar Life by Marya Hornbacher

c) Manic by Terri Cheney

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

a) Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals by Ian Osborn

b) The Imp of the Mind by Lee Baer, Ph.D.

c) Rewind, Replay, Repeat by Jeff Bell

Once again, the above titles are just some suggestions in case you feel a little lost, not a required reading at all. If you know of books that you'd like to recommend to others, please include them in your post. Thank you all for joining.

I'm not going to lie, it is very, very important to me that as many people join me as possible.

Statistics' Sources:
National Institute of Mental Health
Suicide.org
Schizophrenia.com
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

BUTTON:



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