Mental Health Monday–Dissociation

Young Adult writer, Erin Danzer, asked me about DID–Dissociative Identity Disorder. She’s hard at work on her WIP, so why don’t you pop over to her blog, say “Hi!” and give her some encouraging words. Here’s a reprise of one of my earlier posts highlighting DID: The DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV) categories various [...]

Read Full Post »

Mental Health Monday: You Can’t Judge A Character By His Diagnosis

In inpatient work, the constant stream of patients being admitted and discharged creates a hectic pace that’s both exhilarating and overwhelming. Before meeting a new patient, we review the chart (to get some idea of what’s been going on) and we also get report from the nurse to see how the patient has been on [...]

Read Full Post »

Mental Health Monday–Othello Syndrome

photo credit There are several psychiatric syndromes with some, well, intriguing names. Today, I’d like to comment on Othello Syndrome. Aptly named after Shakespeare’s Othello (where Othello murders his wife because he believed she cheated on him), Othello Syndrome is a delusional (fixed, false belief) disorder whereby the sufferer believes their spouse or partner is [...]

Read Full Post »

Mental Health Monday–Imaginary Friends…Normal Or Not???

I often hear writers liken their characters to imaginary friends. Heck I do it too. What’s interesting to me is that imaginary friends during childhood are quite normal. It’s a phase of development where the child is learning creativity and how to integrate their personality. But what about imaginary friends in adults? I’m not talking about [...]

Read Full Post »

Mental Health Monday–Support Matters

So, part of good mental health includes having a strong support network. Lemme tell you, writers KNOW how to support one another. Elizabeth Mueller proposed that we writers spread our support of Bethany Wiggins and her debut novel SHIFTING by posting this post on our blogs. SHIFTING goes on sale tomorrow and it’s DEFINITELY on [...]

Read Full Post »

Balancing Act

On Monday, I blogged about maintaining good mental health by treating yourself well. We discussed various things we do to feel better, destress, and practice wellness. One thing that I didn’t highlight enough was finding BALANCE. I fully believe that balance means different things to different people. Some people are naturally more active while others are [...]

Read Full Post »

Mental Health Monday–Practicing Good Mental Health

So, I’ve worked 24 out of the past 26 days and let me tell you, I’m bushed! Not only am I juggling multiple roles within my job, I’m also trying to juggle writing, querying, blogging, reading, and renovating my house. I can manage this burst of activity for a few weeks, sure, but after almost [...]

Read Full Post »

Mental Health Monday–Running Amok

*****Don’t forget to enter my 300/500 followers contest to win a crit and book of your choice! The deadline is July 31, 2011 Midnight EST, so please spread the word!***** Amok is a culture-bound syndrome (defined as a constellation of psychiatric symptoms found only in a specific culture) that originated in Malaysia. It means the sufferer goes [...]

Read Full Post »