Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

I am not my diagnosis.  I could state it but it does not matter.  I am a man who loves all kinds of music, writes poetry, letters and other things.  I love nature particularly the birds I attract with all my feeders.  I am married to a woman I love who is not quite the same but loves a lot of the same things particularly music from the same era.  She is not perfect but close.  We both love to read and I have more books in my house that I ever had before.  She loves mysteries.  I don’t.  But our tastes in books and music is very eclectic.  Music and books are all over the house.  She usually lets me be.  I am not as good as her in that regard and sometimes have to learn to be quiet.  We have our own space in our house.  I love the mountains, the lakes and ocean.  So does she.  We live on the edge of country.  I am all these things and more.  I am not my diagnosis I have to state again.  That is just an artificial artifact.  The doctors need that and my insurance.  That is the only purpose of my diagnosis.  It is not me.

Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, books, doctors, eclectic music tastes, edge of country, I am not my diagnosis, insurance, lakes, love music, love to read, marriage, mental health, mountains, music, nature, ocean, poems, write letters, write poetry, writing
Posted in balance, beauty, God, knowledge&learning, life, local, love, marriage, mental health, music, nature, relationships, seasons, time, wisdom | No Comments »

I am one of the lucky ones.  My medication helps.  The medication, though, is an aide.  I take it and then forget about it.  For many medication does not help.  And doctors keep wanting to put others who are diagnosed mentally ill on them.  And the medications just mess up their patients.  There is definitely an over emphasis on medication to treat mental illness.  For many the side effects are intolerable.  Or the medication does not really help.

I remember one doctor telling me he could eliminate all my symptoms with medication but then I would be a zombie.  And too many doctors keep trying to do that.  Often you can’t function.  And the side effects are worse than the symptoms the doctor is treating.  If you are a patient and your doctor puts you on a new med or increases the dose of one, you need to question the doctor about everything–the side effects, how long it takes to work, whether or not it works (the time frame), everything.  After all, you are putting the drug in your body.  You need to question everything.  The doctor relies on your feedback.

Tags: ask questions, doctors, give feedback, medication, mentally ill, patient, psychiatry, question the doctor, side effects, symptoms
Posted in balance, health, knowledge&learning, mental health, time | 2 Comments »

My world is interconnected.  There are so many people I owe thanks to.  And I am sure I will leave somebody out.  A thanks to my primary doctor who takes goood care of me.

A thank you to our retired electrician who did some work in our house this year.  My wife still loves that lamp you installed over the sink.  And we have three new electric radiators and two new thermostats.  There is nothing like heat in the winter.

Thanks, to Bob, who willingly answers my questions about “ailing” cars.  Thank God I have not needed you too much this year and our 2006 SUV is behaving well.

Thank God to all my listeners at the Open Mikes.  Their comments encouraged me and kept me writing.

A thanks to Mike whose comments in his letter to me I have picked up occasionally when my spirit dropped.  I am sorry your best friend died unexpectedly.

There is Sonya, our postmaster, who always asks how I am doing, everytime I drop by our post office.

A thanks to the team of doctors that takes care of me–my nephrologist, etc.  There are so many people I appreciate.

A thanks to the small church I go to–its pastor Pete and the many people I have become friendly with from there.

I know I have left out people.  My sisters who had an hand in making my trip to San Francisco by train a reality and who both support me and care about me.

Philhaven, a thanks to for helping get me past a rough patch.  You all know who you are.

And all my pets, particular my dogs:  Pax who always comes to me when he wants something.  And Tilla whose tail never refuses to wag when he see me.  And Coco is a real sweetheart.  And don’t let me forget Sweetie, who is just that a sweetie.

And that is just the dogs.  Thanks Cool Hand Luke, the last pet still alive from my Duncannon days, a black cat, who often keeps me company on the bed.

And most of all my wife who is always there and gives me a reason to get up each morning.

Tags: car repair man, cats, church, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, doctors, dogs, electrician, friends' letter, give thanks, God, my sisters, my wife, open mikes, outpatient, pastor, Pax, pets, poetry, postmaster, reading poetry aloud, Sweetie, thank God, Tilla, writing
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I do not have to know everything.  Of course, no one can.  There are few Renaissance people any more.  Yet it is so easy to feel shame if you can not do simple things and envy the knowledge others possess.  It is so hard to know what you know and know what you do not.  This knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.  Ignorance is bliss.  You can relax in the fact this world is interdependent.  We all need one another.

Money can provide the illusion this is not so.  It is truly an illusion.  All you have to do is think of all the services provided for you.  Someone keeps the roads paved.  Someone is raising the crops that provide the food you buy in supermarkets.  The Army and the police assure your safety.  There are scientists, engineers working on solutions to improve your life further.  There are hospitals, doctors, teachers, the list is endless of people out there providing for you and your children.  Are you beginning to get the point?  We are dependent on one another.

In fact the bad economic state we are in even more so forces us to rely on each other.  That is really a good thing.  One does not have to do it alone and can relax.  Still you have to do your part.  Nevertheless, we are interdependent with one another.  We can rely on each other.  That is really the way the world is designed.  In the words of John Donne, ‘No man is an island.’  If we can hold on to that idea, the world becomes a much smaller place and we can relax further.  No one has to do it alone.  We are in this world together.  It is okay to ask for help when you need it and certainly it is okay to reach out to the needs of people around you.  All that can be very comforting.

Tags: balance, comforting, do not have to do it alone, do your part, doctors, economic state, God, hospitals, interdependence, John Donne, knowledge, learning, money, no man is an island, okay to ask for help, raising crops, reach out to others, relationships, rely on each other, Renaissance people, roads paved, services provided, teachers, we all need one another, we can relax, wisdom, world is interdependent
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