Kitt O’Malley

Category: Mental Health

  • Sick on My Birthday

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    Today is my birthday. I am 51 years old. Unfortunately, I have a cold. Nothing serious, but being sick annoys me. Not sure if I will be going to group later this afternoon. Do not want to get anyone else sick and want to heal myself. Last night our son said that he, too, felt…

  • Beautiful Blogger Award

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    Thank you so much, Just Plain Ol’ Vic at justplainolvic.wordpress.com, for nominating me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Just Plain Ol’ Vic started blogging for support regarding his wife’s bipolar disorder. Spouses and families of those of us with mental illness need support, too. In the US resources include NAMI Family-to-Family which is an educational course for family, caregivers and friends of individuals living with…

  • As a Child

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    As a child I wanted to be a doctor To cure people of disease As a teen I wanted to be a neurosurgeon To fix brains with a scalpel As a young woman I became a psychotherapist To fix troubled youth with broken lives With the exchange of spoken words I kept falling apart My…

  • Prevent Suicide

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    National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 Everything below is directly quoted from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/: Why call? No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in…

  • NAMI Week Four

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    Today was week four of NAMI Peer-to-Peer classes. In week four, we shared our personal stories. I am taking the opportunity to copy and paste my story here: My Story As a freshman at UCLA, I fell into a deep depression, believing that my parents, my sister, the whole world would be better off without…

  • Am I Bipolar or Do I Have Bipolar?

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    Do I have bipolar disorder or am I bipolar? I know many in the mental health community feel strongly about the meaning of this linguistic distinction. Can I honestly claim that I am not defined by my illness? My brain disorder influences my personality and the way I think. Bipolar disorder defines and limits me in ways I wish it didn’t. My…

  • NAMI Week Three

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    Yesterday afternoon I attended NAMI‘s third week Peer-to-Peer class. The curriculum we covered was: Mental illnesses are no-blame disorders Brain biology and research about mental illness Challenges and benefits of medications Relapse prevention Creative visualization Mindfulness I feel I need to learn far more about relapse prevention. No doubt we will continue to cover that topic. As someone…

  • Thought Wisps

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    F*ck what was I thinking? Cannot recall. Had a thought or perhaps even more than one. Something to write for my blog. Now I’m drawing a blank. My mind cannot hold onto thoughts for very long. They slip away. Slip away. Wisps. The thought had to do with removing my MFT license from my description for…

  • Dragging My Knuckles

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    Yesterday saw my nephew off at the airport. Now I’m dragging my knuckles on the ground. Head aches. Fatigued. Basically, I’m drained. Have group later this afternoon. Psychiatrist’s psychotherapy group members decided to take July off. Not sure how many will actually show up this afternoon. So now I have group therapy on Tuesday afternoon and…

  • Shout Out to MHA

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    Forgot to mention and thank Mental Health Association of Orange County (MHAOC) the organization partnering with and hosting NAMI’s Peer-to-Peer course. Value and Philosophy of MHAOC The Mental Health Association of Orange County provides all of its services within the context of a psychosocial rehabilitation philosophy. Our philosophy holds as its primary goal the elimination of…