Just For Laughs

We all need to just laugh sometimes, it can make life seem a little less serious. Saw this & just had to share. Don't hold back, just enjoy for the sake of enjoying.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Music - At Times Life Can Feel Like A Prison

At times life for those suffering from any mental illness can feel like a prison. Often it can be almost in a literal sense with, locked inside their own world, their own home. The following song by a great Australian band sort of describes how I feel at times.

Cold Chisel with 'Four Walls', enjoy.

Take care until next time.

Mark

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Is There Anybody Out There?

I came across this song on YouTube, Is There Anybody Out There? by Secondhand Serenade. It just seemed to click with me, describing how I've felt at times when in a deep depression. You just seem to wonder - is there anybody out there?

A bit of a 'down' sort of song, but one I'm sure to listen too in my blue times.

Cheers

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

New Hope For Depression

Another sleepless night for me but making good use of it. I don't watch much television at all, news & current affairs programs in particular. I just find them generally too depressing so half the time I don't know really what's going on in the outside world - not always a bad thing I think.

Was chatting on the phone with a friend earlier and they mentioned a report on a local current affairs program Today Tonight about a medical procedure now being used to treat deep depression here in Australia. It appears a treatment for Tourette syndrome & Parkinsons disease is proving successful in treating deep depression.

The procedure involves inserting 2 electrodes into the brain connected to a pace-maker type battery to stimulate the brain. The operation takes about 6 hours & you remain awake through-out it. Now that sounds fun. It appears the operation is available in all states except NSW where it has been banned.

The procedure is performed by Precision Neurosurgery.

You can view the full story on the Today Tonight website.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

SANE UK: Blue Mood Month

As part of its 25th anniversary, SANE UK has launched it's Black Dog Campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues during its Year of the Black Dog. To kick it off they announced Blue Mood Month where celebrities such as Stephen Fry were asked to contribute playlists 'of their favourite sad songs that make you happy'.

Sounds like a bit of a contradiction, sad songs making you happy, but I understand what they mean, at least to me anyway. When I get depressed I attach a lot of emotion to music and a good sad song can get me crying. But this is a release of emotional tension & stress for me and the end result is I can feel better after letting it out. And many songs can make you feel you're not alone, there are others out there who feel like you do - it's not the end of the world, it can get better.

Now, I am far from a celebrity so I will never be asked to contribute a list & can't access Spotify to add my list to their public ones. So I'll list mine here, with links to YouTube. So these are my 'sad songs that make me happy' in no particular order:

You'll Never Walk Alone - Jerry & The Pacemakers
Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.

Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues - Elton John

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - George Michael & Elton John

Travelling Soldier - Dixie Chicks

Gravity - John Meyer

Never Gonna Be Alone - Nickelback

Key Largo - Bertie Higgins

True Colours - Cyndi Lauper

He Ain't Heavy - The Hollies

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

Lullaby - Nickelback

Every Rose Has A Thorn - Poison

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

Yesterday - The Beatles

Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton
The Living Years - Mike & The Mechanics

That will do for now - could list many more. Next time maybe I'll just do a list of 'good time songs' that can lift my emotions.

So what are your 'sad songs that make you happy'?


Cheers

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

A Motto To Live By?

Always liked Monty Python, maybe I'll adopt this as my theme song...

Cheers