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mental health perspectives : page 3........
True freedom and the end of suffering is living in such a way as if you had completely chosen whatever you feel or experience at the moment. 
..
..This inner alignment with Now is the end of suffering.
Is suffering really necessary? Yes and no. If you had not suffered as you have, there would be no depth to you as a human being, no humility, no compassion. You would not be reading this now. Suffering cracks open the shell of ego, and then comes a point when it has served its purpose.
Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary.
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My brain is so far beyond broadband, I'm surprised Cisco hasn't tried to buy me up. How can I describe it? Picture my brain as a set-top box, or, better yet, don't picture anything and you get a clearer idea of what I can do. 
..
..And I don't need cable or fiber optics either. But let's not get bogged down in molecular tech, shall we? Content-wise, of course, I must take what comes and sometimes it is not to my taste.
~ ~
'Course I don't ever want to sound negative about going crazy. 'Cause, frankly, goin' crazy was the best thing ever happened to me. I don't say it's for everybody; some people couldn't cope. But for me, it came at a time when nothing else seemed to be working. I got the kind of madness Socrates talked about: "A divine release of the soul from the yoke of custom and convention."
~ ~
I made some studies: Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it. (I could take it in small doses, but as a life style I found it too confining.)
Trudy [Lily Tomlin] - "Earth's contact person for a fact-finding committee of space aliens" - in the play by Jane Wagner - based on her book: The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
[quotes from lilytomlin.com]
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Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. Ralph Waldo Emerson ...[quoted in newsletter of Susan Dunn, Emotional Intelligence Coach www.susandunn.cc]
Call it your inner self, your spirit, or light -- however conceived, you must meet and come to know your core-essence. The source of all intuition, it is your fiercest ally and advocate against danger. By connecting with this part of yourself you'll mount confidence, feel safer in the world. Then whatever or whoever crosses your path -- even the devil incarnate -- will be no match for your resilience.
from article Keeping Ourselves Centered and Protected by Judith Orloff MD
...books: Dr. Judith Orloff's Guide to Intuitive Healing // The Power of Intuition .. [audio]
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| Macbeth:
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas'd...?
Doctor: Therein the patient must minister to himself. Macbeth: Throw physic to the dogs; I'll none of it. Macbeth, Act V, Scene III Though William Shakespeare uses the word 'brain' 66 times in his plays, his works hardly read like a neurological review article. Yet, say neurologist Paul Matthews and linguist Jeffrey McQuain, his comprehension of how the brain works is comparable to what is known to modern scientists. That's the hypothesis of their coffee table book, The Bard on the Brain: Understanding the Mind Through the Art of Shakespeare and the Science of Brain Imaging. "In some ways, Shakespeare was a scientist," says Matthews, who heads Oxford's Brain Imaging Centre. "He took down his observations on the human condition with precision. The stage was his laboratory. ... |
.. .. Yes, the book's a gimmick but it also has a serious message. Matthews says that he and McQuain are arguing that the popular conception -- that art and science are on divergent paths -- is wrong. "They are getting closer every day." -- Sam Jaffe [the-scientist.com April 2003] |
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Then just as McNichol was leaving her teens... she sensed herself falling apart. ... "It all came to a head. All the rejection, all the ups and downs of my career -- not having a childhood, coming from a broken home, not going to school, not going to the prom, all these people telling me to do this and do that and not having any say-so. People think I must have been on drugs or something. But when you're young, all of that is enough to make you crack." People magazine, April 3, 1989
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I retired from my career after 24 years. My feeling was that it was time to play my biggest part -- MYSELF! I must say that it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. So many fans are disappointed that I'm not currently acting, however some may not realize that the process I'm in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness and well-being. ........Kristy McNichol- from her official site kristymcnichol.tv
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| [And
why would it make you psychologically vulnerable to pursue highly creative
activities? Is it because it's difficult path to take in terms of society's
acceptance and expectations?]
Some of the ideas about it are that it has to do with the cognitive processes involved in writing and the visual arts, as opposed to those involved in doing science or mathematics. Researchers speculate that the kind of cognitive tasks that are involved in the pursuit of some creative areas are distinctly different from that involved in others, and may be similar to the cognitive processes of manic states - in terms of the fluency and fluidity of ideas and the intensity of the experience. Others suggest that there are also similarities between the cognitive processes of people who are psychotic and those of people who are highly creative. |
.. .. Psychologist Maureen Neihart - from article: The Social-Emotional Health of Gifted Children > book: ..The
Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: |
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What's wrong in your shrink's office is what's wrong on the set. Nine times out of ten, the thing that makes a film suffer is the thing that the director really needs to deal with psychologically. It's usually issues of authority -- not only how you handle other people's authority but how you are as a leader. How you feel about yourself and how you project that onto other people
or just the environment you set into play.Jodie Foster **.....[Los Angeles mag. March 2002]
"It does a person no good to be incredibly bright if at the same time she is also
incredibly miserable or has such emotional impairment that she functions destructively."from book: Guiding the Gifted Child
~ ~ ~ ~"The traditional stereotypcial view is, 'Oh, my neuroses cause my writing, so if I cure my neuroses,
I won't write anymore.'But my experience is: There is no cure. It's a mistake to think that there is some perfectable you
in the future freed of conflict and problems. And if that happens, you won't write anymore.The conflicts and sensitivities that drive a person to write are with us forever.
They're what make us who we are, and they're what make us writers."Psychotherapist and writer Dennis Palumbo [from Writers Guild interview] -
author of Writing from the Inside Out
~ ~ ~ ~
"There are 10,000 ways to get to originality. Some people just have incredible imaginations.
That doesn't mean they have a mental disorder."from article: Moods and the muse~ ~ ~ ~
The propensity for changing one's internal environment and the ability to influence positively the external environment indicate the capacity of the individual to develop. Almost as a rule, these factors are related to increased mental excitability, depressions, dissatisfaction with oneself, feelings of inferiority and guilt, states of anxiety, inhibitions, and ambivalences - all symptoms which the psychiatrist tends to label psychoneurotic.
Given a definition of mental health as the development of the personality, we can say that all individuals who present active development in the direction of a higher level of personality (including most psychoneurotic patients) are mentally healthy. ....Psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski-- in his book Positive Disintegration (1964)
related pages:**Dabrowski on advanced development**intensity / sensitivity*
related article:**Misdiagnosis of the Gifted
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 |
In the last stage of making
this record I sort of had a re-energizing experience that culminated from
crashing in the middle of it. I had a couple of really down experiences
that were not related to anything other than the fact that I had just been
so overworked for the last few years. ....
Chrissie Hynde.. [told me] you have to realize that music is something that you do, it is not your life. And at that point I realized, if I didn't do it anymore, it would be okay, and life would still hold meaning. And with the freedom of knowing that, the record came together and really, weirdly enough, it was like having a rocket engine lit beneath it. Sheryl Crow- about working on her album C'mon, C'mon *****quotes and photo from her site sherylcrow.com *bio:*Sheryl Crow: No Fool to This Game by Richard Buskin (October 2002) |
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I have a hundred insecurities and a hundred fears. My greatest fear is living up to what I expect of myself... my standards are really high, so my fear is that I'll fail in my own eyes -- rather than in anyone else's. The other thing I truly believe is that everything that happens happens for a reason, so if people don't like the movie ["Blue Crush"], or if they love it, that's what was meant to be. That's how I stay sane.
****Kate Bosworth****[Interview magazine, July 2002] ****>> as Anne Marie in "Blue Crush"
So now I am reading D. Patrick Miller's book, A Little Book of Forgiveness.
Turns out that there's nothing little about it. We went on vacation to vacate
and it turns out that there's no escaping this kind of bliss that hunts me down.
Dammit. Beats other stuff that used to run after me.Brett Butler - from January 7, 2002 Missive on her website: brettbutler.com
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 |
[interviewer:
The risks you take are remarkable. Where does this courage come from?]
I think it's about telling the truth... my mentality is, if your'e going to do something, do it completely. ... If I'm going to do a film, I will do the film to the best of my emotional ability, while making sure that I can come back alive [from acting] mentally, without being damaged -- I think a lot of actors play these challenging roles, but they don't look after whoever they are. ****Samantha Morton****[Interview mag. July 2002] image at left: with Tom Cruise in Minority Report - based on book by Philip K. Dick |
 |
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 |
Spontaneous and positive,
kids are naturally high. They will go out of their way to enhance this,
too, by swinging on swings, or spinning in circles till they collapse.
Even their crying and angry outbursts are an essential part of this spontaneity.
As we approach adolescence, we become 'socialized' and lose some of this
seemingly innate capacity for fun and pleasure.
When reduced to repetitive and rote behaviors, we surrender and become numb to life. We forget to smell the flowers (sensory awareness), appreciate our beloved (keeping our heart open), and forget the excitement of finding new ways of doing things (mental flexibility). But are these losses inevitable? Is it possible for us to experience the open, spontaneous, and energetic joy we once had? In the following chapters we discuss how we can once more embrace this more childlike state. Our vital key to sustaining mood, energy and connection is by being aware, present, and open to new ideas, behaviors, and perceptions. *from book:*Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, M.D. and Patrick Holford / photo from hylacass.com |
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In the South, people don't ask if you have any crazy people in your family; they ask which side they're on. Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker in TV series "Designing Women"~ ~ ~ ~When someone acts insane, they are offering you the chance to bless them. Their need is yours.
You need the blessing you can offer them. There is no way for you to have it except by giving it...What you deny, you lack, not because it is lacking, but because you have denied it in another and are
therefore not aware of it in yourself. Every response you make is determined by what you think you are,
and what you want to be is what you think you are.What you want to be, then, must determine every response you make.
**Course in Miracles - quoted in Jan Phillips' Museletter janphillips.com
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I'm ecstatic about where I am. But I also have demons
and troubles and nightmares.Gwyneth Paltrow**[September 2001 issue of W magazine]
~ ~ ~ ~
I've often wished that I was crazy. I think all actors are fascinated with the idea. Angelina Jolie [ananova.com 25th April 2002]
~ ~ ~ ~
Don't turn your head. Keep looking at the bandaged place.
That's where the light enters you. And don't believe for a moment
that you're healing yourself. Rumi
~ ~ ~ ~
Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead. from book: The Movie: Barfly by Charles Bukowski [1920 - 1994]
another title by Bukowski: Tales of Ordinary Madness
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| In this computerized and
generally mechanized age I think many people have a feeling of total loss
and we must probably settle down to believing in some kind of determinism.
And I think that a feeling about determinism, whether overt or not, does
lie behind a sort of despair, which I think many people have.
The notion that there is some kind of higher demand, something that makes some people better than others or leads to a better path, has disappeared with Christianity. I think that mechanization, the age of machines, has much to do with this. Iris Murdoch Interview magazine, Mar. 2002, reprinted from Nov. 1992 **Metaphysics As a Guide to Morals by Iris Murdoch |
 |
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I wrote this book as a way of describing mental illness without the romanticisation that it underwent in the sixties and seventies when people were taking LSD to simulate what they thought was a liberating experience. During those days, people often confused creativity with insanity. There is no creativity in madness; madness is the opposite of creativity, although people may be creative IN SPITE of being mentally ill.
Joanne Greenberg - her book: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
"Supernova burnout is that time when a high flier feels chronic trepidation, distress,
despondency or depression attributable to the belief that he is trapped in a job, or
on a career path, from which he can neither escape nor derive psychological gratification."Psychologist Steven Berglas - from article When Having It All Isn't Everything by Patricia Kitchen
*Reclaiming the Fire: How Successful People Overcome Burnout - by Steven Berglas, PhD
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"When we fight a block it grows stronger. When we acknowledge, experience, and accept it,
it begins to melt."Nathaniel Branden - author: The Art of Living Consciously
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...Eckhart
Tolle. Stillness Speaks [
