Web design co does not get paid. Replaces website with angry letter.

[link]

Illinois Senate Passes Marriage Equality Legislation: [link]

The Illinois House sounds like it will be more difficult.

[crosses fingers]

Illinois Senate Passes Marriage Equality Legislation

Nice Valentines Day activity. Go Illinois! (come on House!)

Nice Valentines Day activity.

The plan is (was?) to get it signed into law on Valentines Day. Dunno if that's still possible, but our Governor said he'd sign the bill.

When I was hypomanic (at least I think that's when) I would sometimes hear my Mom calling my name. It was like she was in the other room. I knew she wasn't there but I could hear her outside of my head.

Also one of the times I was in the hospital there was a patient who hallucinated cats. She knew they weren't there but she'd see them on the street or in her house and in the hospital. All kinds of cats.

I don't agree with the last civil rights struggle comment but there's still such a huge stigma to mental illness. There's a forum I've been reading lately for bipolar disorder and the majority of the people say they don't tell anyone because they are afraid of what will happen or because of past experiences. Including family members disbelief, harassment, or cutting the person wtih bipolar disorder out of their lives. I can only imagine it's worse for someone who has schizophrenia considering the perception.

Heck I read an editorial in the paper back home in the case of a well known person (locally) acting erractic - the person writing the editorial said it would be better for him and his family if he had a drug addiction rather than having a mental illness.

I once saw a chart that showed how the most feared illnesses have varied over time. More than 100 years ago it was common for people to lock up their relatives who had cancer and keep it secret. Also, AIDS was often kept secret, especially in the early days of the epidemic.

One thing that didn't change over time was people's fears of mental illness--that's always been high.

I rarely tell people I suffer from depression, FWIW.

I freely tell people I was diagnosed with PTSD. Let them work out their issues for what that means, I'll be over here being awesome and shit, F them.

I would dispute the word "last." Because there are, no doubt, civil rights issues that we haven't even considered yet. But mental illness generally has a stigma.

I'm trying to be more open. But to most people, I leave early on Tuesdays for "a doctor's appointment." And they can figure out on their own what's going on that I see a doctor each week.

I wish my Spanish were better: Telemundo has exceptional programming on during the day. I would love to better understand what is going on.