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 .. .. Becaus when I was a kid, they gave me electric shock and all this stuff, because they couldn't understand why I was so different. Juliette Lewis: Oh my good lord, really? ... I would have [ended up the same way] had my parents not been who they were. I would have fallen into that trap and would have been put on drugs, which have disastrous side effects, and I think that should be known. .... ~ ~ ~ JT LeRoy: Well, you know, I've gone through all the drug stuff too, and I thought it was really cool that you were willing to risk not having a career [to get clean]. I think people need to get to that place of complete surrender [before they can get off drugs]. Juliette Lewis: But you know, for me, in that moment, it was the only thing [I could do], because I didn't have anything [left]; my passion for my creativity was gone. ... when you get so emptied, you don't know if you can revive yourself. |
It
was through taking the time [to get better], and the help I got from
other
people, and also being very disciplined and going through my own
self-discovery,
that I got back to my true self... and I became stronger, and
re-realized
my goals.
It was a really special time -- this year and a half.. when I was 22. ... and now I'm playing a whole other game that's much more productive and fun. .... I'm so proud to be where I am now. That I'm 30, and this little moment of time that we're talking about was like 8 years ago... Part of my little dark days, back when I was a youngster, was [that] I struggled with having great pride in being different, and at the same time hating it, because it could be alienating. And I think I didn't know how to communicate when I was 18, I didn't know how to connect with people. So now, it's nice.. when you can embrace the gift [of being an artist] and take it on as your own and be humbled by it and have pride in it. To me, my earlier self-destruction was so much a part of trying to knock that out of me -- that magic. .... JT LeRoy: The thing about music I love is it's so.. immediate; there's a connection right there... Juliette Lewis: For me, too; it's my own voice, and that's really important to me. .. [Her band is Juliette Lewis and the Licks] [BUST mag., Fall 2003] |
**JT LeRoy's books include his novel: Sarah and story collection The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
............< more about JT LeRoy : writing: teen/young adult
...related interview:.....Marie Friedel - Founder and Executive Director, National Foundation for Gifted and Creative Children.
"The drugging of gifted children and putting negative labels on creatively gifted children is a major issue."...related article:....Misdiagnosis of the Gifted by Lynne Azpeitia, M.A. and Mary Rocamora, M.A.
Most people don't know that what is considered normal for the gifted is most often labeled as neurosis
in the general population and as a result, the gifted are personally and emotionally vulnerable to a variety
of unique relationship difficulties at home, work, school and in the community.related pages:.......addictions.......identity.......self-esteem / self concept
~ ~ ~ ~
Taking a year off and going to school was the best thing I could have done after The Princess Diaries. It taught me that I don't need Hollywood or a job to make me happy. Anne Hathaway... [Teenpeople.com May 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
~ ~ ~ ~
Some days are good and she acts normal and then other days are her dark days. On these days, she acts like no one else is around and she is the only one existing on this earth. When she is having a dark day she feels very lost, confused, scared and helpless. Her family and teachers ignore Lisa when she tells them that she is going crazy. They just don't want to believe it. The only people that believe in her and want to help her are her friends. from reader review of Lisa, Bright and Dark : A Novel by John Neufeld
~ ~ ~ ~
Self-acceptance is not something that the religious institutions are into. They're about getting the demons out of you. I'm about inviting the demons to, you know, eggplant parmigiana. That's where wholeness comes from." Tori Amos
from cover of book:
Holy Terrors : Gargoyles
on Medieval Buildings
~ ~ ~ ~
It was a big step for me to contemplate writing a record from a place that wasn't overtly suffering... You don't have to suffer to create. You don't have to suffer to learn. I was led to believe that the only way I could evolve was if I suffered, and now I realize I can evolve - probably faster even - if I'm not suffering. Which is big. Alanis Morissette ... [VH1 profile, Nov.99]
**CD:**Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie****
~ ~ ~ ~
In later years, Wurtzel consumes drugs (ecstasy), attempts suicide, and in the remaining period, hides away
from the world, safe in her peaceful slumber.Harvard... failed to cure her malaise. The abandonment and occasional reappearance of her father,
also pushes her towards suicide again.At 19 years old, Wurtzel flees to the warmth of Dallas, Texas "home of brawny brothers and silicon sisters".
Scooping the Rolling Stone College Journalism award for an essay she wrote on Lou Reed and roaming
through the Deep Ellum Warehouse District watching Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians perform live,
she appears on the mend, but it is only a matter of time before the darkness of depression takes hold once again.A stint at the Morning News only results in her mainlining speed, amphetamines and alcohol, and a trip to London
is only a precursor for further suicide attempts.Elizabeth Wurtzel is courage incarnate, and for anybody who is searching for an answer to a nation's dependency
on Prozac, and its continuing battle with depression, Prozac Nation will be an emblematic torch to light their way.from review by Jayne Margetts of book:
Elizabeth Wurtzel. Prozac Nation : Young and Depressed in America : A Memoir
~ ~ ~
related page:.....depression:: teen/young adult
<< also see quotes by Wurtzel on Ritalin addiction on the page: addictions
<< quotes by Christina Ricci on starring as Wurtzel in the film on page: depression
~ ~ ~ ~
I take classes on my days off, when I can. I do jazz, ballet, hip hop, modern, contemporary... that's still my passion, and always will be. That's how I sort of heal myself; if I have any problems, I just go to a class. Neve Campbell from interview on making "The Craft"
~ ~ ~ ~
"Throughout her school years, she also concealed her inability to read due to dyslexia." --------
from a PBS TV bio of Lindsay Wagner
> related page: learning differences
~ ~ ~ ~
| I
said something really bad back. My dad got up and threw me off the
chair...
I was always writing, keeping a journal, drawing, and doing schoolwork. I read a lot of books. I always had to document my existence. I needed a physical record of it. If I was really experiencing some crazy emotions, it wasn't enough to tell someone about it. I wanted to document it, to bring it to life. ... I got suicidal at times... I used to keep cutting myself... But I would always stop... I was meant to live.. really really deep down I knew I was meant for something. ... What advice would I give to other kids who are living through a crazy existence? No matter how insane and intense it seems, you can't forget that it is just a moment. ... Wanda |
**from
book: My
Crazy Life
Compiled by two experienced Canadian social workers, this book contains 10 personal narratives of teens who found ways to survive their dysfunctional families. ... Narratives include a "Look Back" section, in which teens reflect on their pasts and offer survival tips that worked with their family situations. ... the stories speak frankly about abuse, divorce, homosexuality, illness, and addictions. An earnest afterword offers advice on where to find help for family problems. A few helpful Web sites for Canadians and Americans round things out. [Jean Franklin review for American Library Association.] |
~ ~ ~ ~
 .. .. Then they put me on an antipsychotic called Risperdal. Then they gave me ReVia, this stuff they give heroin addicts. I hadn't ever done heroin, but it was to keep me from cutting and stuff. That was messed up. I was a zombie for a while. Over the years, they've put me on and taken me off of different medicines. I won't let them put me on Risperdal and ReVia anymore, because I know how they f*** with me and how tired I get from them. I'm just not myself. I definitely think prescription drugs have helped me. I get upset about it sometimes, because it is another addiction. When I miss my medication, I get withdrawal symptoms and feel sick. But all in all, they really just balance me out. They keep me from feeling the only answer to everything is to kill myself or, you know, spend money I don't have. ... It upsets me when people say prescription drugs keep you from being who you really are, because I don't feel who I really am is someone who's crying all the time. I think I'm really who I am when I have the drugs. |
The
good thing about having female friendships is that there isn't any of
that
sexual tension involved. I mean, I have guys who I can cry to and have
fun with, but it's not the same bond.
A lot of the time, girls and guys become friends because one of them thought the other one was attractive. And there's none of that involved with being friends with girls. You can just be real. Having female friends who you can have fun with and run around with and act all giddy with and then share your most embarrassing, real moments with is worth so much. And just being able to have people who can support your choices or, even when you f*** up in your choices, still love you through anything. There's tons of drama in the relationships between girls. Girls have catfights and girls hold grudges. But when you have your best girlfriends who you've been through thick and thin with, you get past who looks better when and who gets what guy. With a boyfriend, you don't necessarily know if you're going to be with them in a certain amount of time. But you can be sure that your girlfriends will be there. - Alison, 17 years old photo:
Joyce, 15, Elysia, 14, and Alison, 14, at their friend's sixteenth
birthday
party, Arlington, Virginia.
|
|
related pages:.......cutting / self-injury.......depression:: teen/young adult.......relationships: teen/young adult
~ ~ ~ ~
| I grew up in New York
City. I was
adopted at birth by two wonderful, hard working, highly influential
parents.
... I knew I was loved.
However, over the years, that high-powered environment took a toll on my sense of self. It wasn't my parents fault. I simply never felt like I really fit into the life that was chosen for me. As a result of this "identity crisis," I began making very poor choices as a teenager -- decisions that not only hurt me, but my family as well. I tested life in many ways that could have easily lead to the end of my life. Thankfully, my parents enrolled me in a wilderness program much like New Horizons. Jacqueline Danforth Founder,
Executive Director, New
Horizons Wilderness Program, Brewer, Maine. Danforth is the
daughter
of Barbara Walters and Broadway theatrical producer Lee Guber. [above
quotes from site] |
 At 13, Jackie was sneaking out in fishnet stockings and miniskirts to party at Manhattan's infamous Studio 54 -- where even adults misbehaved. "And then I'd go home at four o'clock in the morning," [Jackie says] ... "I never felt like I fit into [my mother's] world. Because everybody else around me at that time when I was growing up wanted to get ahead and achieve.." .... Jackie had been running
headlong toward
trouble for years before she actually ran away. "I did marijuana," she
says. "Quaaludes were all over the place. Valium. And the drugs numbed
all the other feelings. But it didn’t take away the issues that I had.
They got bigger and bigger. ... I thought running would solve all my
problems." |
~ ~ ~ ~
Winona Ryder.. checked herself into a psychiatric clinic for five days after shooting the torture scenes for her 1993 drama, The House Of The Spirits. She was 20 at the time when that movie was shot in 1992.
..
..Ryder remembers having had a rough time, especially at 19. She was working hard, sleeping little, and it culminated in severe stress...
"I was actually in for five days," she says of her clinic stay. "I think all of you guys, in your hearts, can back me up in saying that 19 was a tough year -- for anybody, whether you're an actress or cramming for exams or your parents are driving you crazy or you're breaking up with your first love. Whatever you're going through, it's a tough year."
In her case, work caught up. "I was playing a political prisoner and I was doing torture scenes in Portugal. I came back and I was so tired -- I've always been a terrible insomniac -- and I was so exhausted and I checked myself in for sleep deprivation. Into a clinic, but it was a psychiatric ward.
"I really got nothing from it. It didn't help me at all. But the thing that I did 'get' is that those places don't really help. You don't go to a place and get a pill that fixes you. They don't give you a sheet of secret answers. "You can't pay enough money to have a place fix you. Which is incredibly upsetting when you think that you can.
"I thought: 'I have money and, if I pay them enough, they're going to have to give me some sort of cure for just feeling broken and confused and just way too sensitive for this insane world.' But it didn't work like that. I left there feeling just the same, pretty much, and just as tired."
Ryder seems to have reached inside of herself to learn what she needed to survive, thrive and perform as the true-life heroine of Girl, Interrupted. ...
"What she learns in the film," Ryder says, agreeing with her character, "is that there are no answers, that it's okay not to have answers for everything, that it's okay not to be perfect, that it's okay just to be a human being and be confused, that actually feeling crazy is normal, and that, if you were sitting there feeling that you actually understood the world with war and disease and famine and violence and assassinations and Vietnam, you'd be weird. ...
"So feeling that way (feeling crazy) is just actually feeling like a human being."
...[Toronto Sun, December 20, 1999]
related pages : ............intensity / sensitivity............perfectionism*related article: ............Existential Depression in Gifted Individuals
~ ~ ~ ~
Sixteen years later I was in New York with my new, rich boyfriend... "Let's go to the Frick," he said... "Oh," I said. "There's a painting I love here."...
..
..[The girl in it].. was no longer urgent. In fact, she was sad. She was young and distracted, and her teacher was bearing down on her, trying to get her to pay attention. But she was looking out, looking for someone who would see her.
This time I read the title of the painting: Girl Interrupted at Her Music [by Vermeer]. Interrupted at her music: as my life had been, interrupted in the music of being seventeen, as her life had been, snatched and fixed on canvas: one moment made to stand still and to stand for all the other moments, whatever they would be or might have been. What life can recover from that? I had something to tell her now. "I see you," I said.
~ ~ ~ ~
Harold N. Levinson, Addie Sanders The Upside-Down Kids :
Helping Dyslexic Children Understand Themselves and Their DisorderJonathan Mooney. Learning Outside the Lines:
Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD
[Amazon.com:] "A practical guide to assist ADHD and LD teens
in achieving their college goals. Especially for discouraged adolescents."Jay Neugeboren. Imagining Robert : My Brother, Madness and Survival : A Memoir
"...an account of Robert Neugeboren's 30-year history of mental illness. In this moving memoir,
his brother Jay describes the tragedy of psychosis and illustrates the redemptive power of writing.
The author imagines his brother as two people--one hospitalized, the other communicative and lucid--
and crafts a story of his brother's thoughts by weaving together Robert's exquisitely written letters
about this unfolding family tragedy." [Amazon.com review]Jerilyn Ross Triumph over Fear: A Book of Help and Hope for People With Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Phobias
Martin Seligman Learned Optimism: What You Can Change... and What You Can't
"We can control our thoughts as we can our muscles... One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think."James Webb, Stephanie Tolan Guiding the Gifted Child: A Practical Source for Parents and Teachers
"This book has the intent to increase the awareness of parents, teachers and others working with gifted children
particularly to recognize that these children and their families have special emotional needs and opportunities
that are quite often overlooked and, thus, neglected. Most often this neglect results "only" in unfulfilled potential
and missed enjoyments -- but sometimes it leads blatantly to misery and depression."Elizabeth Wurtzel. Prozac Nation : Young and Depressed in America : A Memoir
more books: mental health *****books: nurturing mental health****---
*-
*-
*--sites:
Face the Issue
"emotional and health issues faced by young people: abuse; alcoholism; drug abuse; self-esteem issues; anorexia; bulimia.."Teen Line
"Abuse, AIDS, alcoholism, depression, divorce, drugs, gangs, homlessness, questions about sexuality, pregnancy, violence.. suicide. Teen Line.. does not offer therapy or advice or ongoing relationships. It does provide a caring relationship within which to consider the next step. It offers HOPE. ... mental health professionals provide on-site supervision, consultation and support to the teen listeners. [associated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center]TeenScreen
"The Columbia University TeenScreen Program.. has been rigorously researched and evaluated for more than ten years and successfully implemented across the country. Research conducted on the program reveals it is extremely effective at identifying youth at risk for depression, suicide, and other mental disorders."
articles:
Bad Seed - antecedents of teen violence
The Emotional Journey of the Gifted and Talented Adolescent Female by Suzanne Blakeley
Sarah rolled her eyes then laughed as half a dozen waiters gathered around the table to sing "Happy Birthday." Turning 16, our daughter recently celebrated a rite of passage that will soon bring car keys, added responsibilities, and long-awaited freedoms. It was a bittersweet moment for me: Sarah was still healing from an intense, yet brief depression, she battled during ninth grade. At 14, our daughter lost a hard fought struggle. Her slow descent into depression began during fourth grade after our family's relocation to the East. Once self-confident and happy, she became filled with anxiety and frustration by the end of middle school. In ninth grade Sarah was haunted by rapid thoughts, and sleepless nights. Her tremendous mental energies eventually spiraled inward, settling into a looping, repetitive chant: I'm unacceptable.Existential Depression in Gifted Individuals by James T. Webb, Ph.D.
'Existential depression is a depression that arises when an individual confronts certain basic issues
of existence. Yalom (1980) describes four such issues (or "ultimate concerns")--death, freedom,
isolation and meaninglessness. ... Because gifted children are able to consider the possibilities of
how things might be, they tend to be idealists. However, they are simultaneously able to see that
the world is falling short of how it might be. Because they are intense, gifted children feel keenly
the disappointment and frustration which occurs when ideals are not reached."Mis-Diagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children: Gifted and LD, ADHD, OCD,
Oppositional Defiant Disorder - by James T. Webb, Ph.D.
"Many gifted and talented children (and adults) are being mis-diagnosed by psychologists, psychiatrists,
pediatricians, and other health care professionals. The most common mis-diagnoses are: Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (OD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD),
and Mood Disorders such as Cyclothymic Disorder, Dysthyinic Disorder, Depression, and Bi-Polar Disorder.
These common mis-diagnoses stem from an ignorance among professionals about specific social and emotional
characteristics of gifted children which are then mistakenly assumed by these professionals to be signs of pathology."~ ~
<< articles from Counseling the Gifted site - by Counselor and family therapist Andrew Mahoney:
It's All About Identity; In Search of the Gifted Identity; Coping Through Awareness;
Giftedness and Academic Underachievement; An Overview: Understanding and Assessing Suicide in the Gifted
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**more :**mental health : teen/young adult: page 1******
**related pages:......mental health: main page........depression:: teen/young adult.......cutting/self-injury
..............mental health : brief quotes/perspectives.......mental fitness****positive psychology
..............books : nurturing mental health****nurturing mental health: resources
**
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