Blog - Page 3 of 5 - KARTAR DIAMOND

What is NIMBYISM? by Kartar Diamond

Simply put, the acronym N.I.M.B.Y. stands for “Not In My Back Yard.” It refers to an attitude or stance taken by many people in that they will protest or campaign to keep anything or anyone deemed objectionable out of their neighborhood or community. The objectionable situation or person can cover a wide variety of demographics, but sometimes the objections people have are understandable and not just a case of prejudice or elitism. In the case of mental illness and homelessness, which are often [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-05-16T14:54:25+00:00March 18, 2021|Advocacy, Mental Illness, Treatment|0 Comments

The Twinkie Defense and Mental Health by Kartar Diamond

In 1978, a former San Francisco elected official named Dan White killed then-Mayor George Mascone and former fellow Supervisor Harvey Milk. The whole story was quite sensational and if you are not familiar with it, you can get the Cliff Notes on a Dan White Wikipedia page. Part of the defense, which resulted in murder charges being reduced to manslaughter, was the evidence that Dan White was severely depressed. Most depressed people don’t go on a killing spree, and any violent actions usually [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-03-15T21:25:43+00:00March 15, 2021|Mental Illness, Treatment|0 Comments

Speaking of Britney Spears and Mental Health by Kartar Diamond

The long-standing conservatorship over Britney Spears has been in the News lately and her ardent fans assume it is an injustice against her civil liberties. The general public does not know all the details of her conservatorship or even her mental health diagnosis. What is most obvious, is that Britney Spears is not a typical conservatee within the mental healthcare system. Whatever happens with her case should not be construed as a blueprint for others who need to be conserved or those disputing [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-05-16T14:59:48+00:00March 15, 2021|Advocacy, Family, Mental Illness|0 Comments

The Schizophrenogenic Mother by Kartar Diamond

What is the “schizo-phreno-genic” mother? This is a term that was used many decades ago to describe the personality disorder, attitude and detrimental actions of the mother who produced a child with schizophrenia. Supposedly, this was a cold, unaffectionate mother, who also micro-managed her child and the result somehow blamed for the severe mental illness in her offspring. This notion about how and why people develop schizophrenia was eventually retired since it was proven not to be true. It caused needless harm within [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-05-16T15:03:53+00:00March 7, 2021|Advocacy, Family, Mental Illness|0 Comments

Suspended Sentence: A Memoir by Janice Morgan

What Morgan’s book manages to do, is tell a very personal, compelling story about her relationship with her son, while at the same time giving the reader a glimpse into what it is like to have a mentally ill loved one, in this case her son Dylan, and to have everything about the illness affect everything else in your life. Once her son’s mental illness emerges, and at a heart-breaking young age, thus begins the journey, the Holy Grail, of trying to understand [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-05-16T15:07:48+00:00February 20, 2021|Book Reviews, Family, Mental Illness|0 Comments

Sober Living Houses and Mental Illness by Kartar Diamond

Sober Living Houses fulfill a need and help people with drug or alcohol problems become sober. The people who move into a Sober Living house voluntarily are likely to be more successful than those who are court-ordered to live there, but each person has their own unique history with addiction and their own time table and their own resolve to change. Sober Living houses are often located in residential neighborhoods, indistinguishable from surrounding private homes. In order to maintain good standing in the [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-05-16T15:10:46+00:00February 16, 2021|Advocacy, Mental Illness, Treatment|0 Comments

Siblings of Those With Mental Illness by Kartar Diamond

Each family member has a unique relationship with their loved one who has mental illness. When I was frequently attending NAMI Family Support meetings, the vast majority of people in attendance were mothers. Second to that we would see fathers and once in a blue moon a person would attend who was struggling with a mentally ill parent. This is always very sad to witness, when the parent-child roles are reversed, but of course this also happens with elderly parents and their grown [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-01-28T20:35:17+00:00January 28, 2021|Family, Mental Illness|0 Comments

Schizophrenia and Capgras Syndrome by Kartar Diamond

Because schizophrenia is a cluster of symptoms and brain function anomalies, not everyone with schizophrenia has the same beliefs, perceptions or experiences. One phenomenon experienced by a few people I know with schizophrenia is called Capgras syndrome. Capgras syndrome causes a person to have the irrational belief that someone they know is not who they really are, replaced by an imposter. Capgras syndrome can also be experienced by people with Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Even anxiety could bring on an [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2021-01-12T23:06:01+00:00January 12, 2021|Mental Illness|0 Comments

Ben Behind His Voices: One Family’s Journey From the Chaos of Schizophrenia to Hope

Ben Behind His Voices: One Family’s Journey From the Chaos of Schizophrenia to Hope By Randye Kaye This book was published in 2011, but unfortunately it is what the literary world calls an “evergreen.” This means the information in it is always timely and is not outdated. The unfortunate part includes the fact that so many families, like Randye Kaye and her son, continue to suffer the pervasive emotional trauma and societal stigma for having serious mental illness. Worse yet, there is still [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2020-12-19T19:36:10+00:00December 19, 2020|Book Reviews, Family, Mental Illness|0 Comments

When Your Mentally Ill Loved One Lives At Home by Kartar Diamond

In my parents’ era, kids were often out of the house and working at age eighteen or away in college. As the decades have rolled forward, more and more young adults live at home, usually for financial reasons. There is also a phrase, “failure to launch” which is mostly ascribed to young men who have a difficult time gaining independence. With economic downturns, such as in 2008, multi-generational households have become quite common. With the COVID-19/ Economic Lock Down, for sure we will [...]

By Kartar Diamond|2020-12-18T03:30:42+00:00December 18, 2020|Advocacy, Family, Mental Illness|0 Comments