Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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About Me
- John McManamy
- I am an award-winning author and mental health journalist. I have been writing about mood disorders since being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1999, ranging from a website, an email newsletter, a book, articles for HealthCentral, and this blog. More recently, I have been producing videos. Writing about my illness has played a very strong role in my healing and recovery. Writing allows me to come to terms with my past, gives meaning to my present, and gives me the courage to face the future with hope.
John, I'd like to contact you regarding my experiences with recovery. I started Touchstone for Men in 2005 and am currently working to help men start depression support groups across the country with my site at www.touchstoneformen.org and a guidebook in progress. Thanks for your informative blog and keep up the good work. Stephen Newton
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the Depression-Proofing your Home article. My husband is suffering from depression/anhedonia and works at night from home secluded in his messy, dark office, then sleeps during the day into the guest room with one window, curtains drawn, clothes all over the floor. Even when working during the day, he's in the same messy home office with the one window blind closed. He says it puts glare on the computer screen. He eats all his meals in his office and leaves trash, dirty dishes and mail/bills all over. Every few days he'll bring a load of dishes out to the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteOver the last few years that he's lived like this I've made offers (before the depression set in) to clean his office up for him, paint it a color he likes, put some art he likes on the walls, a more comfortable desk chair, get him to address the frequency of his night-work... He basically told me to butt out: he likes his office messy, likes working at night, doesn't want to spend the money on 'useless stuff' for his office. He's a highly-logical, highly-intelligent, frugal, no-nonsense type man (and he married me, an artist???) Look what his self-neglect and frugality has gotten him (and us, his family). I'm not saying his environment has caused his depression, but it certainly couldn't have helped.
This article has inspired me to very slowly and minimally sneak trash and dishes out of his office, pick up his laundry for him, clean the guest bathroom for him. I'm beyond pride at this point and just want to help him. If he doesn't like it and gets angry...well, at least he'll be feeling something!
I'm sharing this article with everyone I know! I was recently diagnosed Bipolar I and am trying to come up with things I can do before I start treatment... this exact issue has been a HUGE source of strife between my boyfriend and I, and I just can't get him to understand what a big deal it is for me and how much it makes me crazy.
ReplyDeleteOn top of being a TOTAL adolescent slob, he has a terrible schedule. I've had a severe circadian sleep disorder for most of my life, so living with him is basically the worse possible thing I could do, unless I can get him to change his ways. I am facing a very difficult time; leaving will be hard for obvious reasons, but teaching him how to develop clean habits and take care of things seems like more than I can handle! I really wish more people were aware of this and took it as seriously as it needs to be taken... thanks again for writing!
I love a home that is just as you explained it, and I use to have a lovely home. Then I had an accident that caused me to take meds...I can't get to that point in my life, I made my home lovely from yard sale stuff, give aways, home-made things...but I just can't seem to get there again. I have crap everywhere-well in 1 room, topped on top of other things. I think in my mind, when I have a home again, I will use those things to make it the way I want again. I'm not a hoarder,except for just 1 room, that I don't use holds all the things(I lost the home I had due to a divorce after my accident). So, I decided to just live simple, do what I have to, clean what I have to, and try to let time heal me...although I've been told, I'm disabiled for life, it's the pain , not the disability that stops me. Is this to simple?
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