It Finally Happened I wrote a play called Behind the Metal Doors: A Satire about twenty years ago. I worked really hard on it, and even had a play reading at my house. But unfortunately, I had no luck getting it published. Finally, I submitted the play to Off the Wall Plays where the submission guidelines stated it could take a up to a year get a response. When, after three months, I hadn’t received an acknowledgement for my submission, I emailed them and they said they hadn’t received it....
4 months ago • 3 min read
Faith and Humility Donna and I enjoy watching television and listening to a T.V. minister. He is upbeat, optimistic and inspirational. We really like his attitude about trusting God and walking in faith. However, the other night, he mentioned a couple of things that disappointed me and even made me angry. First, he mentioned how faith can affect the diagnosis diabetes. There has been a lot of home remedies on the internet put out by celebrities as well that are potentially dangerous. The...
4 months ago • 4 min read
Everything Isn’t Easier Sometimes it seems like things are easier and faster than they used to be. For example, dinner can be cooked in just a few short minutes. Email and texting has largely replaced “snail mail” and it’s possible to buy almost anything online. It’s much easier to use a computer to type rather than using a typewriter, and the remote on television sets allows the viewer to sit and control streaming, gaming and station changing without even leaving the couch. In addition,...
4 months ago • 4 min read
NAMI Presentations A number of years ago, after writing my first book called The Bipolar Challenge; I needed to find a way to market the book. I found the organization called NAMI (The National Alliance on Mental Illness) and asked them if I could sell my book there. One of the staff there asked if I’d like to do be a speaker and do presentations. Before long I was presenting with other NAMI members at a number of places. Here’s a list of some of them: medical schools, nursing schools, high...
4 months ago • 5 min read
Criticizing Others I have always seemed to need to criticize. I call it “my judging mind.” Whether it’s politicians making what I believe are wrong choices, or TV commercials about medications, I never seem to grow tired of analyzing them. This character flaw of the “judging mind,” also applies to friends and relatives. When they’re struggling, I tend to offer constructive criticism that really is only my need to feel superior. If these friends and relatives are successful, I also have...
4 months ago • 5 min read
Writer’s Block The term “writer’s block” has been described in so many ways that any real definition is in danger of being a cliché. Yet, since it is a real phenomenon, and I’ve experienced it myself, I thought it might be valid to write about it. Simply put writer’s block is the experience of not being able to write down thoughts, feelings and ideas when they are needed to compose a piece of writing. This inability to write can be apparent, for example, when attempting to write an essay for...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Tap Water Coffee Many years ago, I was haunted by a major mental illness that left me with no place to go, so I ended up in Elgin Mental Health Center. Three different times I was forced to live there for months at a time. In order for me to leave each time, I needed the discharge statement of the psychiatrist and his team. I also needed to have a place to live. Many of us ended up in a shabby residential hotel where many of us lived for a while once we had the funding. I was originally...
5 months ago • 5 min read
My Latest Published Poetry I’d like to devote this newsletter to some poems that have recently been published. Taken from a collection of personal stories, interviews, short prose and poetry called Anxiety and Depression compiled by Robin Barratt, it has one hundred and fourteen writers and poets from around the world. My personal story was included in this anthology, along with six poems. Since I shared my personal journey in a previous newsletter, I thought I might share a few poems today....
5 months ago • 3 min read
Cast in the Role of Patient In this newsletter, I would like to describe a specific state of mind. It is important to explain it because it affects everyone, I think, at times, and can be helpful to identify when it occurs. However, I need to be as objective as possible, otherwise this newsletter has the danger of being self-serving or worse, self-pitying and this would defeat the whole purpose of what I’m trying to explain. In life at different times we all are required to play different...
5 months ago • 4 min read