Schneider Counseling & Corporate Solutions

In the final chapter of our interview series with Dr. Jennifer Gibson, you will read how people with disability can cope better with loneliness and anger. Read till the end, where we are honored to feature a synopsis for Dr. Gibson’s upcoming memoir on her own life with cerebral palsy - Finding Me. http://ow.ly/8j6B50xXIWG

Dr. Jennifer Gibson in part three of our interview series on disability: "Today, most people either know of a person living with or, they themselves have a disability. One in five people has a disability. Twenty percent of our population. Disability is a part of life. If one lives long enough and escapes injury and disease, more than likely they will age into disability. I refer to people without disabilities as TABs Temporarily Able-Bodied. This term can bring to consciousness the unconscious thoughts and feelings people have regarding disability. A new and welcome perspective. Read on: http://ow.ly/jL1X50xXIW9

We learned so much from Dr. Gibson about how to support and respect those with disabilities. In Part I of our interview she shared her groundbreaking model of disability development, and how it can help. In Part II we learned new and exciting ways to cope with anger and disability. In Part III she shares how the disabled can cope better with anger and loneliness. She also offers some sober advice to us able-bodied folks to keep us from feeling too cocky about our abilities. Read on here: http://ow.ly/dNMZ50xXIVK

Dr. Gibson shared her personal story of living with disability in Part I of this interview series. Please click on the link to read the first part of this informative interview on managing anger while living with disability. Here, in Part II, Dr. Gibson offers help for those struggling with strong feelings of anger and resentment. There are special gems of insight for able-bodied folks and those living with disability too. Enjoy! http://ow.ly/n61950uIyEt

When writing on mental health, it is important to avoid stigma and shameful language. Everyone suffers, and those who meet diagnostic criteria suffer more. Yet we are all more than the sum of our symptoms. So write respectfully, and you will connect with the reader. Good examples of non-fiction books that connect respectfully include: The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Neurologist Oliver Sachs. He writes with compassion about rare disorders and broadens our view of the... fascinating human mind. An Unquiet Mind, by clinical psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison. This memoir of her struggle with bi-polar disorder, includes accurate medical information to help readers. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson. The irreverent tone of this book connects with those tired of self-help books urging readers to be positive. It shares a truth that there is no pain-free life. Instead, it invites readers to choose what they value, and what provides meaning. Read more in our blog post: http://www.manageangerdaily.com//writing-about-mental-hea/

Our latest blog post touches on how to write about mental health issues. Here is a snippet: Non-fiction writers of self-help like myself, seek to connect with those struggling with mental health issues, by offering solutions. Like the fiction writer, connection comes from showing the common human struggle, the suffering. One universal human truth is that we all feel pain. When you write to connect, it helps to pay attention to that pain. Think about the emotions your reader... might feel looking at a list of symptoms, or the results of a quiz. Offer them solutions based on evidence. Respect your readers intelligence. Just because someone suffers from a mental illness doesn’t mean they are stupid. In fact some of the most intellectually gifted among us suffer from some form of mental illness. In a 40 year study of creative people, writers were more than twice as likely to suffer from suicidal depression. Bi-polar disorder gifts writers with a flood of creative ideas generating superior inventiveness and productivity. Yet the disorder brings with it an avalanche of pain requiring treatment to prevent self-destructive behavior. All of us can count among our favorite authors, those who took their own life. The suffering is real. Strive to write with care and do no harm. British mystery writer, Margaret Chittenden quipped, Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing. It might help to consider that any one of us might appear mad to someone watching us without understanding. Read the rest here: http://www.manageangerdaily.com//writing-about-mental-hea/

Mentally ill characters stir excitement. Tight, vivid portrayals of characters struggling with mental illness foster empathy. The major depression of Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar, the bi-polar suffering of Patrick Peoples in The Silver Linings Playbook, and the anxiety ridden Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, reveal the common human drama of suffering. These books connect with readers because: They portray the symptoms of mental illness honestly. The characters ...appear as fully fleshed-out individuals not stereotypical misfits. They invite readers to empathize by employing beautiful, poetic language, humor, and sensitivity. These characters can inspire and uplift us. If the character endures, we feel that we can too. When a writer connects we feel encouraged to accept the difficult parts of ourselves and the people we know. Read more about writing on mental health in our latest blog post: http://www.manageangerdaily.com//writing-about-mental-hea/

We had a wonderful time at the San Diego Writers Festival. Gina moderated the panel on Writing about Mental Health. To hear some of her tips about this topic check out our latest blog post! http://www.manageangerdaily.com//writing-about-mental-hea/

Tomorrow Gina will be moderating a panel on Writing about Mental Health for the San Diego Writers Festival. This festival is free and open to the public! Piper Kerman, the author of Orange is the New Black, will be the keynote speaker. We cannot wait for this festival! Activities begin at 10 am at the San Diego Central Library. https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/

So excited to be moderating the Writing about Mental Health Issues panel at the San Diego Writers Festival! Check out this free festival on April 13th, open to the public, at the San Diego Central Library. Activities begin at 10 am. Hope to see you there! #writersfestival #sandiego #sandiegowritersink #marnifreedman #piperkerman

Check out our post on the art of writing about mental health issues.