Aye, there's the rub!

Buried in the depths of my psyche, is a feeling that I will be able to cope increasingly well with my various symptoms. The paranoia, the delusions of both grandiosity and of causality, the mania, the depression, the guilt and the various other dualities of the disease. For 'tis a disease of the brain, but I am not alone. There are many other people out there not as well suited to face similar challenges, and their rational mind betrays them often. Juxtaposed to that, my rational mind rarely ever fails me, and my insight into the illness is at a very high level. That is why it upsets me more than I can think right now to explain, I think--because upon the onset of symptoms, my rational mind is at a constant battle with the monster that infects the other side. Such is the life of a person suffering from schizophrenia. And although other folks with no mental illness have their other vices and conflicts as well, we have it the worst, and are often treated as society's leper's leper. Shea D

iOS Developer

Along with many drawbacks, the fact of being mentally ill, has its pros as well. Although there are some definite deficits in mental illness as compared with the human condition as a whole, there are some incredible things that just click and make sense to me that wouldn't necessarily for someone that didn't suffer from schizophrenia. I am taking an iOS coding course offered through Stamford University (the Harvard of the West Coast), and I am learning quite a bit throughout the various stages of the lectures/homework. Coding is definitely not for everyone, and certainly may possibly turn out not to be for me, but I just registered as an iOS developer on Apple's Website. Registration is free, and the end result is that I can now develop applications for iOS devices, such as iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, etc to submit to Apple for approval and thus sale through the App Store. Well, I certainly am excited about the prospects that lay ahead of me in this venture. Have a great long weekend! ~Shea D.

Lego is creating lifelong fans!

By Mike Krumboltz

Seven-year-old Luka Apps spent his Christmas money on the LEGO Ninjago Ultra Sonic Raider set. A sound investment, if you ask us. But the thing about LEGOs -- those small pieces are easy to lose. They don't call 'em minifigures for nothing.

Against his father's recommendation, young Luka took his newly procured Jay ZX shopping. And then, wouldn't you know it, the figure went missing, never to be seen again.

Luka, not one to admit defeat, decided to write a letter to the good people at LEGO seeking a replacement.

ITV News has Luka's letter:

Hello.
My name is Luka Apps and I am seven years old.
With all my money I got for Christmas I bought the Ninjago kit of the Ultrasonic Raider. The number is 9449. It is really good.
My Daddy just took me to Sainsburys and told me to leave the people at home but I took them and I lost Jay ZX at the shop as it fell out of my coat.
I am really upset I have lost him. Daddy said to send you a email to see if you will send me another one.
I promise I won't take him to the shop again if you can.
– Luka
A short time later, Luka received a reply from Richard, a LEGO customer service representative. Richard wrote that he had spoken to Sensei Wu, a master from the  Ninjago line.

Luka, I told Sensei Wu that losing your Jay minifigure was purely an accident and that you would never ever ever let it happen ever again.
He told me to tell you, "Luka, your father seems like a very wise man. You must always protect your Ninjago minifigures like the dragons protect the Weapons of Spinjitzu!"
Sensei Wu also told me it was okay if I sent you a new Jay and told me it would be okay if I included something extra for you because anyone that saves their Christmas money to buy the Ultrasonic Raider must be a really big Ninjago fan.
So, I hope you enjoy your Jay minifigure with all his weapons. You will actually have the only Jay minifigure that combines 3 different Jays into one! I am also going to send you a bad guy for him to fight!
Just remember, what Sensei Wu said: keep your minifigures protected like the Weapons of Spinjitzu! And of course, always listen to your dad.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how companies score lifelong customers.

For game news, free codes and more, Lik

Addicted to technology

Every time a new device comes out, I feel an urge to go and buy it. I think that it is part and parcel of the disorder from which I suffer, but it certainly is annoying that when I see a commercial, I feel a familiar itch to go out and purchase the thing. Oh well, I have all the technology that I need or could possibly use at any given time. For now, I just need to be content with what I have--a tough mental pill to swallow these days.

On Bullying in Schools

They say it starts in First Grade. FIRST GRADE! Bullying in schools is still a real problem. That being said, I have read quite a bit on the subject and am currently have my head deep into "Bullied," by Carrie Goldman. The subtitle states, "What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know about Ending the Cycle of Fear." Eventually, it comes down to this: how do we as a society end the vicious cycle of fear and bullying inside and outside of school to reduce poor mental illness onset and eventual suicide attempts and ideation by the victims? Read my next blog post to find out more on this topic. SD

Just like everything else

I guess that just like everything else in life, illnesses come with their pro's and con's. Although you can look at the negative side a lot of times, and there are a lot of things that stink about haveing schizophrenia, there are also a few things that wouldn't be quite as great about someone, had they not had the mental illness to start with. For instance, although it's not fun having paraniod delusions, overstimulation, hearing voices, etc; these things also mean that I excel in some other areas of my life, such as my musicality, writing ability, and intelectual prowess. In other words, even though my social skills suffer as a direct result of my illness, I have some other areas where the schizophrenia actually heightens the experience.

Those that think that we choose to live in a constant state of dismay are those that are too stupid, or ignorant, or unwilling to understand the fact that mental illness is real. It is a biological and chronic disease of the brain, just as Cancer affects the body. If people tell you that you have a choice to feel this way or not to, just dismiss them and go on your way, because, as mentioned above, they are ignorant. They just do not understand the gravity of the disorder. If you were to tell someone that they shouldn't choose to have diabetes, that would just be ignorant too. I will not stop until the stigma of mental illness has been shifted into one of understanding.