Notes:

We talk about several mental dissorders and mental illness in this episode. Here are a few important definitions:

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities. Mental illness is common and treatable. The vast majority of individuals with mental illness continue to function in their daily lives.

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a medical problem, just like heart disease or diabetes.

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively (compulsions). The repetitive behaviors, such as hand washing, checking on things, or cleaning, can significantly interfere with a person’s daily activities and social interactions.

The Verbivore mentions Marlene’s website that has a reference for identifying what the character Leemi is mentally struggling with as she tries to explain her experience in her own words. Here is that link: https://marlenedevose.com/mentalhealth

Books Mentioned:

Poinsettiaby Marlene Devose

Baby Alicia is Dying by Lurlene McDaniel

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)