‘Ello Guys, Gals, & Critters

I must admit, I am experiencing feelings of guilt for enjoying my unintentional leave of absence from the blogosphere. Other than brief clicks on the app logo, from my phone, I have avoided the internet all together. I haven’t even scrolled here on WordPress in quite some time and if I had, it were only a few thumb pushes up, however, I was lucky enough to catch Ashley’s book launch (a few days late :/) long enough to comment on my admiration for the new Mental Health @ Home website. Ash is mov’n and shak’n 🙂 Make sure you check out her new digital store full of premium mental health content and purchase Making Sense of Psychiatric Diagnosis, her newest release.

“With the fusion of diagnostic information, clinical experience, and lived experience, this book offers a unique, well-rounded perspective on the reality of mental illness.“

Ashley Peterson

Myself and other mental health bloggers contributed our personal experiences with mental illness diagnosis to coincide or collide with the information written as criteria in the DSM-5. A brilliant idea, if you ask me. Ashley is offering a digital version ( link above) from the MH@H store but a paperback version is available for purchase on Amazon. This post is in support of my blogging buddy but more so I am bragging on my friends continued growth and dedication to helping others understand their own diagnosis through translating medical terminology into digestible bits of information. Her doing so helps the mental health community with empowering information for one to be oneself advocate and if you ask me, that’s huge!!

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In other news…

Speaking of huge… Google has launched a new website in support of those with substance abuse disorders called Recover Together!! The initiative promotes changing the terminology we use in accordance with substance abuse to further assist in destigmatizing. It doesn’t stop there, nooooo…Recover Together provides resources, community, and an interactive map highlighting recovery groups throughout each state in the United States. Among these resources, a link to Recovery Research Institute is provided to support the change in the way we speak. The website must employ a genius who has coined and provided an Addictionary; trademarked as an “addictionary” defining terms associated with addiction and recovery.

“If we want addiction destigmatized,
we need a language that’s unified.

The words we use matter. Caution needs to be taken, especially when the disorders concerned are heavily stigmatized as substance use disorders are”

Recovery Research Institute

How amazing is all of this, y’all???!!!!

An article written on The Verge claims that, “Even if the site is partially (or even mostly) meant as a PR move to make up for how badly it let itself get gamed by scammers in 2017, it still seems like a good starting point for people looking for help with addiction. It’s certainly more useful than a Google search for “rehab,” which as of this writing puts three or four ads at the top before the actual search results.”. The article writer also suggests, “Google’s new launch is in honor of the 30th annual National Recovery Month“.

Whatever the motivation, I am in full support of the initiative behind Google’s Recover Together website and I believe that targeting the way we speak as the perfect start toward monumental change.

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In Local News

Many of you can attest that the exact conversation has been cycling through our very own WordPress mental health community for some time but to see the giant, that is Google, endorsing a similar campaign, gives me hope. Hope as a mother, who struggles daily with symptoms associated with co-occurring disorders, of a society equipped with knowledge. Not media headline grabbing misinformation. And with that, I bring this to a close but…not without getting to this posts’ purpose..!!… What’s that, you ask?

The purpose of this post is to acknowledge our the mental health community. Despite adversity, stigma, personal set backs, and media misinformation, WE show up, encourage and support one another using whatever means necessary. We expose ourselves and share our shortcomings. We share our darkest of thought and deepest of pain and we do so with ONE purpose …

So others know they are not alone.

We have emerged from the outskirts of normal to the front lines of battle and we have done so together. That my #fellowfighter deserves an explosive ball of gold glitter accompanied by annoying sound mechanisms and of course, cupcakes.

Because of us, individually and collectively, the march has begun. Give yourself a little credit and splurge on yourself today ~ from me to you, a virtual tight squeeze but not before I personally thank each of you for being strong during the storms life has thrown at you. Your resilience is motivating. But I say now its time to hold on tight because a #mentalmovement is underway and you my friend have contributed to laying the foundation. Thank You. Thank You for all of your efforts. They do not go unseen.

Please keep shining your light.

Hey, pppsssstttt! Down here…use the hashtags #fellowfighter and #mentalmovement when you are sharing your story or daily experience with all that is associated with mental health, on all of your platforms. What does doing so do?…This allows us to reserve a nook in the spacious world-wide web where we can be found by simply entering the hashtag into Googles search engine. What began as a Twitter trend actually morphed into an pretty amazing tool. Let our army be found 🙂 #mentalmovement #fellowfighter #unitedwestandproud

#alcoholic #awareness #community #love #mentalhealth #mentalmovement #movingforward #support #WordPress