By Anna on 31 December, 2010
That’s right. And we’re tired of preaching to the converted. I mean, we’re all sitting here, all of us here are sitting in the room talking about these things that we talk to each other about all day every day. It would have been nice to have someone like Ryan Murphy sharing practices that those people, like the Breaking Bad people, sharing their best practices with those who could learn something. But, it didn’t happen.
Posted in disability activism, how to be accessible, identity, invisibility, justice, media and pop culture, mental health, movies, normality, othering, politics, race, representations, social attitudes, television
By s.e. smith on 22 December, 2010
I’m in a marathon rewatch of Six Feet Under right now because I’m working on an ongoing series over at I Fry Mine In Butter on the show’s depiction of the funeral industry1. One of the recurring themes of the show is mental illness and a number of regular characters including Billy Chenowith and George [...]
Posted in media and pop culture, mental health | Tagged Billy Chenowith, bipolar disorder, Six Feet Under
By abby jean on 17 December, 2010
When I hear people joke about cutting and self harm, I often shake my head with amazement at how little they seem to understand that behavior. I’ve always kind of assumed that if someone went to a hospital seeking help for their own self harm, they’d find people who were better informed and better equipped [...]
Posted in medical practice, mental health, policy | Tagged self harm, self injury, training, UK
By Anna on 7 December, 2010
I think that this trope, like yesterday’s one about Crazy Roommates, comes from an exaggeration of the natural fear of being forced into medical treatments you don’t want because somehow you’ve lost control. The problem with this particular trope is it’s not based on fiction: this is the real experience of thousands of psychiatric patients and survivors. This is frightening to me because it’s true, and I wish that particular truth wasn’t used as fodder for genre shows to add depth to their characters.
Posted in media and pop culture, mental health, movies
By Anna on 6 December, 2010
Don and I went to see a movie the other night, and gosh, we had fun! I mean, there’s nothing funner than going out for a nice evening with your husband and being confronted straight on with the knowledge that one of the scariest things some people can imagine is being forced to live with someone like you! Yay, fun times for everyone!
Posted in anna rants, blaming, Education, media and pop culture, mental health, movies, othering, representations, shaming
By s.e. smith on 3 December, 2010
I happened to be browsing through The American Journal of Psychiatry the other day1 when I noticed an article discussing the persistence of stigmatised social attitudes about mental illness. Researchers conducted a study using brief vignettes and asking respondents to discuss their reactions to them2. The study found two interesting things: The first was that [...]
Posted in mental health, social attitudes | Tagged pop culture, stereotypes, stigma
By Staff on 22 November, 2010
This weekend, s.e. and abby both read The Summoning, by Kelley Armstrong. Rather than fighting over which one got to review it, they decided to have a chat instead! Here’s the synopsis from the publisher, and be advised that mild spoilers lie beyond! My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the [...]
Posted in books, mental health, relationships, representations | Tagged institutionalisation, mental illness in fiction, mentally ill characters, YA Lit
By Chally on 12 November, 2010
Gentle reader, be cautioned: comments sections on mainstream media sites tend to not be safe and we here at FWD/Forward don’t necessarily endorse all the opinions in these pieces. Let’s jump right in, shall we? Sydney Morning Herald: Why I’m not in the queue for the disabled loo by Liz Ellis. There was a debate [...]
Posted in accessibility, autonomy, bodies, justice, mental health, othering, recommended reading | Tagged advocacy, australia, don't dis my ability, invisible disabilities, invisible disability, mental health courts, self-advocacy, toilets, United States
By s.e. smith on 5 November, 2010
Content note: This post contains critical plot elements from ‘Massage Therapy,’ the fourth episode of season seven of House. Watching the House episode ‘Massage Therapy’ and approaching the grand denouement, I got ready to be infuriated. The storyline involves a character, Margaret, with schizophrenia. She conceals it from her husband and when she gets sick, the [...]
Posted in media and pop culture, mental health, television | Tagged House, mental illness, relationships, schizophrenia
By s.e. smith on 29 October, 2010
There’s been a significant push towards deinstitutionalisation in the United States over the last few years, in no small part due to the Olmstead decision, a major ruling by the Supreme Court that I discussed in a bit more detail here. Short version: Unnecessary confinement of people with disabilities has been deemed a civil rights violation. [...]
Posted in mental health, policy | Tagged deinstitutionalisation, Georgia, United States
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