Vacation

Hi Everyone,
I will be on vacation from tomorrow until next Saturday, then I will
be back blogging.
Take Care,
Janet :)

Are You Neurotic? Rejoice That’s Where It’s At!

Hi Everyone,
Where has this man been all my life. I am going to have to read this one.
Hope you do too and give yourself and others a break!!
Thanks for visiting my blog today.
Take care,
Janet :)

The Happy Neurotic is available at bookstores across Canada, and on amazon.com, amazon.ca and chapters.indigo.ca. For more information go to www.thehappyneurotic.com

Are You Neurotic? Rejoice That’s Where It’s At!

Forget trying to be confident, positive, and spiritually centered. You can be happy, productive, and well adjusted while remaining as neurotic as ever. That’s the premise of The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead To Happiness And Success! by counselor and stand-up comic David Granirer.

Granirer states, “Many self-help books promise us wealth, perfect health, and even to reverse the aging process if only we love ourselves, say positive affirmations, and eliminate all negativity. But most of us aren’t getting any richer, healthier or younger, and we’re starting to feel like idiots as we go around chanting, ‘I am a perfect being of love and light’ while cutting people off in traffic.

“By telling us to eradicate all negative emotions, these books set us up to fail. Negative emotions are not only impossible to eradicate, they are also keys to our happiness and success.”

Instead of wasting time and money on futile attempts to become totally confident and relentlessly positive, Granirer’s readers learn how to achieve the common sense and attainable reality of the Happy Neurotic – someone who uses negative emotions to create happiness and success and has a sense of humor about it all. The book even includes a special chapter teaching readers how to use humor as a powerful tool for accepting and even celebrating their dysfunctions.

According to Granirer, whose work teaching stand-up comedy to people with mental illness is featured in a CBC Passionate Eye documentary to be aired in early 2007, “Everyone is dysfunctional to some degree. This book helps readers make their dysfunctions work for them. By using their fear and angst as unlimited sources of motivation, Happy Neurotics are able to achieve incredible things.”

This funny and highly irreverent book also challenges many popular New Age teachings. Readers learn why they shouldn’t trust the universe, why programming themselves for success often doesn’t work, and about negative, fear-driven people who live charmed lives.
New book just released - you'll be crazy about it!

For interviews contact:
David Granirer (604) 205-9242
david@psychocomic.com

Million Dollar Bill

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well, I am doing great. I am loving Whitney's new album. I am lucky enough to agree with this song, my hubby still makes me feel like a million dollar bill. I Hope the same for all of you. Enjoy.
Have a great day,
Take Care,
Janet :)





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PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Entrecard Droppers

Stigma No More Card



Hi Everyone,
Hope you are doing well. I wanted to take the time to thank all my entrecard droppers. I have gotten behind the past few weeks and for that I apologize.I will probably not be dropping while on Vacation in Aruba from Sept 26th to Oct 3rd. I will return and catch up again. I also have a new card for my blog Stigma No More. I would appreciate some adds over there and drops. It is a cause very dear to me and I hope through entrecard I will develop more of a following.
Thanks for your understanding and support!!
Have a great weekend,
Janet :)

Jump

Hi Everyone,
Happy Friday!! My Niece reminded me this morning of this song. I loved it and I am loving it again today. Yesterday my post was about taking a stand. Today even at 45 I find myself with changes in my life and once again I need "JUMP" and move on. The only thing you can depend on is your family! I hear ya Madonna, My sisters and me that I am blessed with. I hope I can dance like her when I turn 48, but at the rate I am moving now, don't look so good. I wish I could take her hand and jump with her, she is my favorite singer, she has been inspiring me with her music for 25 yrs and I love her attitude. I got to see her here in Boston 3rd road from the stage during her Drowned World Tour, one of the best nights I ever had. DMB is my favorite band. Enjoy the song, hope you dance a little today:) The ad is very short, I could not get rid of it.
Have a great weekend,
Janet :)




Lyrics | Jump lyrics

Stand Up For Mental Health

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. I am so happy to have come
across this great cause to end the Stigma of Mental Illness from Andrew at http://www.bipolarporch.com/Bipolar_Porch/Home.html. I am going to try to do a show here in my local town. I think it is the greatest way to point out to people how stupid society has been about their perception about Mental Illness. I hope you will click on the link below to do your own show, donate or support them in any way shape or form. To Jane from http://writerjanedoe.blogspot.com/ I know you would do great at this. I wish my mom had gotten to see this, she would have had herself a good laugh!!. I contacted David about doing a show possibly in Plymouth Ma, at the Memorial Hall. He got back to me within two hours!! I am so excited now, Thanks David. I Look forward to talking with you more about it when you have the time. I have been looking for so long for a way to shout out about this issue. Growing up I will never forget the way people looked at and treated my mother. I always starred right back at them like WTF are you looking at you ignorant person F#%k Off, well that felt good to get off my chest LOL! Please donate what you can for this great cause. I sure am I have wasted my money on less important things. Thanks for visiting my blog.Take Care, Janet :)
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)



http://www.standupformentalhealth.com/

Spark Your Happiness

Hi Everyone I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. I wanted to let anyone of you who listened to my video in the last post, there is a certain line in the song that Whitney sings that I feel sounds like she is saying someone to violate my love? But I looked up the lyrics and this is what is really say's "Had some angels to guide me, someone to lay on all my love" Just wanted to share that in case you heard that line like I did. Have you ever noticed that when you see a friend or family member glowing with happiness because they are going on a dream cruise, or they got a job that they truly love, Do you get a twinge of envy instead of true happiness for them. How is that we have learned to feel our own happiness is diminished by others happiness? It could be because we feel that happiness is limited within the world live which is not true. There is unlimitedness of happiness in our surroundings, our world in which we live. We probably are conditioned to turn a blind eye to the bliss we project onto others. So the next time you find yourself with that twinge because of your friends vacation or job let yourself feel the envy within you. Then let yourself bask in their happiness. Acknowledging this you will realize that your happiness is not diminished by their accomplishments or joy. Say to yourself, "May your joy spark the joy of others". Consider this as Breaking News to really let it sink in. Happiness in not a limited commodity! There is enough happiness to go around. We all have access to a deep well of happiness within.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Nothin' But Love For Ya!!

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all doing well, I am doing great. Two weeks from tonight I will be cuddling with Pete while we watch the sunset in Aruba. Not to make anyone jealous, but it is well deserved, we have not been away alone in 26 years. It is funny how thoughts just flow through your mind and sometimes they give you inspiration or insight. On Thursday I took Scott to the Dentist and while he was being treated I was by myself, which I don't mind but it was without a computer in front of me LOL! I went outside and enjoyed the fresh air and then I got thinking about my life. It is so great right now I don't know how to put it into words, but here goes! Since my childhood I watched my Mother suffer and struggle with her Mental Illness,but in the end she was my best friend, then my father suffered from Heart Disease and died when I was only 23, which still hurts. When I moved out with Pete and had Christa I thought I was all set, but then Anxiety Disorder took over me. To all my followers I know you know my story, so when I was sitting outside the Dentist Office the other day, I felt like I had a spiritual awakening like Oprah LOL!, I am free of the pain from the past and especially the past two years. My Mom and Elsie and Dad and Wendy and Sue are resting in Peace together. I realized how excited I am about my future, going back to school, enjoying my grandchild and the one's to come and how grateful I am to wake up happy everyday. I have raised two great kids and now I have time to get back to me, me and Pete and anything or anyone else I want to. I also thought about how lucky I have been to have had the friends that stood by my side as miserable events unfolded around me. To all of you who supported me through these tough times,especially my friends from the village who are in my book the best of the best. People who go above and beyond caring for the disabled. A cause that is a priority in my life. Thank you to each and every one of you. You are the reason I feel this happiness now and I have nothin but love for ya,:) To Nikki C and Gina B and my ex co workers at the Village that I thought were my friends you showed me that you were never a friend as you kicked me when I was down and needed you the most, talked shit about me, called me a liar when I told the truth, I have got nothin but love for ya as well.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Remembrance

Hi Everyone,
In Remembrance
God Bless the victims and their loved ones. May they all have peace now in their lives.



Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Ginni Pigs

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all doing well, I am doing good. I get a newsletter everyday from NAMI. This is a really important one. I had to share it with you here. As some of you know my mother's story, for the first time today I am going to share my personal story with you. I don't think I have even talked about this with anyone but Pete and his family. It is hard for me, but now I am free of the shame, so here I go, taking a deep breath. When I graduated High School I wanted to go off to College like all my friends and my older brother Albert. I tried to save money but I worked part time at South Shore Hospital and made pretty good money, but I used it to pay for my first leather jacket, my car etc. When I applied for student loans to go to college they told me that my Dad made too much money, something must of changed in three years because my brother Albert was able to get student loans and then a scholarship. So again I saved some money for a semester at Massasoit College, then my brakes went on my car, I had to use that money instead of paying for College. Eventually I gave up on myself and my dreams to be a writer, Journalist. Before I knew it I met Pete and I moved out of my parents house to live with him and have Christa. Things were all well with me until about the time Christa was 2 years old. I started having anxiety attacks to the point that I could not leave the house. My biggest fear had come to life. I am going to suffer the rest of my life like my mother. This was 5 yrs before her new treatment proved to me that she was bipolar with hallucinations, because if she was truly a Paranoid Schizophrenic as first diagnosed I don't think lithium would have worked on her the way it did. I was a full time Mom with Christa and one day I saw a commercial for a Anxiety Clinic at Mass General and it was for free. I had no health insurance at time. So I called, had a huge attack as I entered the Doctor's Office. They gave me many big pills in a big bottle, I went home took one, and immediately felt better, I couldn't function without them. To make a long story short, I became addicted. There I was with no one to turn to for help, I wanted to go to detox, I was a mess. So I decided to withdraw myself at home. Bad idea, don't ever do it. After a few ambulance rides to the hospital. I eventually had a seizure in front of Christa and I could have died from a heart attack. I then turned to Alcohol to help ease the withdrawals. Even a stupider Idea, but being young and scared with no support system, you do what you have to do to survive. I was such a Party Girl in High School, it helped me escape the pain of my childhood. I did experiment with drugs, like Pot and anything else. But I could only handle Alcohol. When I knew I was to become a mother, I did calm down while pregnant and after she was born until the Anxiety took over me, it was the only way I could leave the house I just needed one drink and I could go to family functions and to the store. God finally intervened and I went to Highpoint in Plymouth Ma. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced. I will never take a narcotic again in my life unless I truly have to. A social worker and a counselor reassured me that I did not have any signs of Schizophrenia and I was put on Prozac. I started my life over and it has been good since then. Today I realized when posting this information that both my mother and I were Ginni pigs in a way as treatment for mental illness progressed. I have always physically been her clone, now I know why I felt that bond and love for her. We were one in the same. Just a generation apart. Thanks for reading my story and visiting my blog. Take Care, Janet :)


Schizophrenia Linked to Over-expression of Gene in Fetal Brain Excess of Shortened Forms Could Lead to Abnormal Brain Development Gene over-expressed in fetal brain

A gene called DISC1, (for "disrupted in schizophrenia") has been a leading contender among possible genetic causes since it was implicated in a large Scottish clan two decades ago. The DISC1 gene codes for a protein important for brain development, as well as for mood and memory - functions that are disturbed in schizophrenia. However, until now there have been few clues as to how DISC1 might increase risk for the chronic mental disorder.

A new study suggests how impaired expression of DISC1 might wreak havoc during early critical periods as the developing brain gets wired up. NIMH researchers have discovered that previously unknown shortened forms of the gene were expressed 2.5 times more in the fetal brain than after birth. By contrast, other forms were expressed more evenly across development. The shortened forms were also over-expressed in brains of adults who had schizophrenia.

"These shortened forms may result in a functionally aberrant and truncated protein that is more highly expressed in the brains of people with schizophrenia" explained NIMH's Dr. Joel Kleinman, who led the research.

Drs. Kleinman, Barbara Lipska, Kenji Nakata, Daniel Weinberger and colleagues, report on their discoveries in postmortem brain tissue online, during the week of August 24, 2009 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).
Background

The new findings may help explain the molecular roots of the illness in the Scottish clan, in which more than half of the members developed schizophrenia or other serious mental disorders. Previous studies had traced their disease, in part, to a different aberration, a mismatch called a translocation, in which a chunk of genetic material from one chromosome gets attached to another chromosome. But this has never been seen in other families. A translocation, like the shorter messenger RNA forms, would result in shortened forms of DISC1 protein. So other affected families and the Scottish clan could in fact share a similar illness process, say the researchers.
Results of This Study

The researchers linked several illness-implicated variations in the DISC1 gene to the shorter forms of DISC1 products, called messenger RNAs, that transform the gene into protein. The results suggest that variations in the DISC1 gene boost risk for schizophrenia by producing shortened messenger RNAs that are predominantly expressed during the formative period when the fetal brain is taking shape.
Significance

"Our results cast a new light on apparent failures to replicate findings that have long plagued psychiatric genetics" said Kleinman. "We discovered that different genetic variations can result in the same or similar messenger RNAs and protein. That means that different studies could turn up different variations and still be pointing to the same underlying disease process. So some findings thought to be non-replications may ultimately prove to be replications."

Since at least a half-dozen genes implicated in schizophrenia by the NIMH group interact with DISC1, the downstream adverse effects of impaired DISC1 on brain systems are likely considerable, said Kleinman.
What's Next

One of the suspect gene variants associated with a shortened messenger RNAs is detectable in white blood cells, raising the possibility that it could someday be used as a genetic marker for the illness.

NIMH's Dr. Joel Kleinman explained how the DISC1 gene may increase risk for schizophrenia at a recent NIMH seminar.
Reference

Nakata K, Lipska BL, Hyde TM, Ye T, Fink E, Morita Y, Vakkalanka R, Bareboim M, Sei Y, Weinberger DR, Kleinman JE. DISC1 splice variants are upregulated in schizophrenia and associated with risk polymorphisms. Aug 24, 2009 PNAS.

Break Old Habits

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. This is a good loving kindness practice that I personally can appreciate. We all find it hard some days to accept ourselves unconditionally without wanting to change or fix a shortcoming. I often find myself not accepting life on life's terms. The world is just not the way we want it, our bosses, you know what I mean! Our bills, our siblings etc. Most of us are conditioned not react to pain by closing down our hearts. The common response is to react with unkindfullness, aggression and hatred. These eventually as we learn time and time again are nonconstructive and never change anything. Try these loving kindness phrases instead and it will help you to bring up positive feelings and help break old habits. "May I be held in compassion", "May I free from pain and sorrow." "May I be at peace". And to those who challenge you to abandon your heart and turn to anger simply say the the same phrases to them, "May you be held in compassion" along with the other phrases. I know it may take a while to truly break these habits, myself included. Even at 45 yrs of age my self development is like the saying, "Progress, Not Perfection". When I think of that saying in my head it allows me to take a deep breath and start over.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Dance Moves

Happy Friday Everyone, I felt like sharing this video I found at videojug. I am loving there website of how to videos. I hope you get a laugh out of it and have a good Labor Day Weekend.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Day Weekend.
Take Care,
Janet :)


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Will You Be There??

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well, I am doing good, I had to post this video because today Michael Jackson is being laid to rest. I usually don't post so many videos, but between Whitneys come back and music Monday they added up this week LOL!. You will love the ending. I hope you enjoy this video, it gives me gooosebumps as he ask's us to be there for him as he was there for us. I will forever remember him as such a genius, ahead of his time, and misjudged by many including myself who listened to the media, I knew he had issues, but now I think they were less than what was presented to us with exception to the drug use, that was a serious issue. I wish he had his come back before he passed away like Whitney.
A fan for life,
Rest in Peace,
God Bless,
Janet :)

I Still Look To You Mom

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are doing well, I am doing good. Even though I posted this over at Stigma No More, I decided to post it here as well, for those who don't visit my other blog. I have to change the words around so google doesn't consider me a copy cat I learned that from my friend Kat LOL! This morning I was inspired by watching Whitney Houston make her comeback on on Good Morning America. I wish her all the best and I was so touched by this song she sang to her mother. I can't explain it but this song really hits home for me. I hit that point many times when my mother was dying, and a few other loved ones were at the same time. Many times at night when I could not take the pain anymore I just wanted to check myself in Pembroke Hospital and Lay in a bed and be drugged up for a couple of weeks so I did not have to feel the pain anymore. It brings tears to my eyes to think of that time again. But it feels good to open up about it. I never went because I could not leave my mother and mother in law. Whitney's words speak to me as if she knew how I was feeling at the time, my levee's have broken, my walls have come coming down on me crumbling down on me,all the rain is falling the rain is falling, defeat is calling, set me free. The road often led to regrets as well. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, I just felt today that I wanted to share with you a time and place in my life. I have carried on and the day's are much brighter and at night I sleep with peace. I still look to you Mom, when I talk to you I know you hear me and I will never forget the time you came to me in my dream, and hugged me it felt so real and said to me it is goodbye for now, not forever. Sometimes when I am really missing her I picture her smiling face next to me in Angel form. It may sound silly to some, but to others they will understand what I mean. I hope you all have that someone you can look to. I like this album some people are saying it is a disappointment. People set expectations to high, how could Whitney ever sound bad??? I read this afternoon that she apologized for her performance on GMA, she has been talking alot to Oprah and others. I still thought she sounded great, looking forward to hearing her at her best LOL!

Thanks for visiting my blog,

Take Care,

Janet:)