Living through tornadoes

The morning of Good Friday in 1991, I was sitting at the kitchen table with my mom and my brother, eating breakfast. Breakfast that morning was blueberry poptarts. Dad was in the bathroom at the other end of the house taking a shower. The weather was awful at our house in Marietta, GA. There was a thunderstorm unlike anything I can remember ever seeing before that. Despite being approximately 8:30am, it was as dark as midnight outside, except for the flashes of lightning which were so bright, they lit everything up like it was high noon. It was raining. Specifically, it was raining really hard, and the wind was blowing the rain completely sideways. The thunder seemed nearly constant and shook the house on the foundation. I remember my mom going to the front door to look outside and my brother and I followed her. I remember looking over and seeing our American flag blowing wildly and asking if we should bring it in. The radio was playing in the background but I don't remember what it was saying, it seems like it was the "wah wah wah" that you hear when adults speak in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

Suddenly, Mom said we had to get down to the basement. We lived in Georgia so people actually had basements underneath the house, down in the ground and everything. I remember following her and, despite me going as fast as I could, she was dragging me and I was stumbling. The steps were so steep as they went down into darkness, down into the ground where everything was cool and still.

We sat there in the basement, listening, straining our ears, trying to hear what was going on upstairs as a tornado disrupted our lives and tore up our house. On his website, my dad describes the tornado activity across the county and in our neighborhood/over and around our house:

"We would later find out that six maximum force tornadoes (winds measured well over 250MPH) all touched down in close proximity in the county essentially simultaneously. A friend on the south side of Atlanta (we were north) called because he had seen on eyewitness news there had been a tornado near us, and wondered if we had seen it. Andre', my best friend, called. "Pray for Darlene & the boys - they were hit in the car by a tornado! They're all shaken up; I'm going to try to get to them now." We had to laugh. We'd been through so much with them - here we went again! (They turned out to be fine, other than being shaken up.)

One tornado had come through the neighborhood, straight across the street, tearing up homes left and right. Another had gone right through the woods behind us; they had crossed by our back property line (after, we found, following roughly parallel courses for over a mile). There was a 50 yard swath cut through the woods at about 5 feet off the ground. All the tree tops were laid out nicely in the same direction - like Paul Bunyan and Babe had just gone through or something."

All of this was going on while we sat in the basement, scared of not only the tornado but scared for Dad, who was still in the shower when the tornado hit (an experience described here). We were a little off to the side of the stairs. There was a wooden desk sitting there. It was older, made out of solid wood, and had a little opening for your legs with wood sides all around, totally enclosed but for the front. I remember hunching down and pressing back as hard as I could, trying to get underneath the desk, instinctively feeling that the safest place was to be surrounded by something solid, not liking all the empty cavernous space of the basement and afraid that the ceiling (aka, the rest of the house) would fall down around us. I couldn't get underneath the desk because the leg space was filled with books (that's totally normal, right?) but still pushing back with all my might. I remember what those books felt like against my back. I was terrified.

After what seemed like an eternity, my Dad opened the door to the basement and came down to tell us it was safe to come upstairs. Mom and Josiah went upstairs with Dad. They all stood at the top of the stairs, calling down to try to reassure me it was okay to come back upstairs. Eventually, I had to be carried up the stairs. I still wasn't totally convinced that the tornado wouldn't come back. As far as I was concerned, life had just gone from normal to terrifying in a split second and now, a few minutes later, everyone was trying to convince me that it wouldn't happen again? Ha!

I emerged from the basement to find a world that seemed to me, a 6 year old girl, to be turned totally upside down. Windows were out of their frames and there were broken glass, dirt, and mud everywhere.  Outside, there were trees uprooted, but the glass cake dish on the kitchen counter was untouched. My brother's bedroom was undamaged except for a little spot in the ceiling where some water was leaking (a result of the roof being in less than fantastic shape). Across the hall, my bedroom was a total mess, having been hit the hardest of all the rooms in the house. As with many tornadoes, there were examples of this kind of surreal contrast all throughout the house and the neighborhood, the entire county.

An hour after the tornado ended, I realized I was still holding onto my blueberry poptart. Holding onto it might be a rather mild way of putting it, since my grip was so tight my fingers had made holes clean through and was basically wearing the poptart like some kind of odd ring.

This year, 2014, will be 23 years since the tornado hit our house with us inside. 23 years later, I can still remember clearly what it looked and sounded and felt like when the thunder rolled, the lightning struck, and the wind rattled everything, blowing trees over in half. I didn't get much sleep that weekend, terrified that a tornado would hit again. It was a long time before rain stopped freaking me out. 5 years later, I was still conducting tornado drills and fixing up the closets and bathrooms to be as safe and comfortable as possible if we had to take shelter every time there was a tornado watch or warning (we had moved to Central Texas where the limestone makes basements all but impossible). I think it's safe to say I may have been suffering some PTSD.

Maybe you're thinking "This is a PPD blog. Why am I reading about a tornado from Esther's childhood?". People often ask "What is PPD like?" and it hit me the other day that PPD, at least for me, was exactly like living through that tornado.

One minute, I was celebrating what should have been one of the happiest times of my life, but with a nagging sensation that something was wrong. All of a sudden, there was a storm. A massive and nasty storm, that turns my mental and emotional landscape, my entire life, everything around me, into an unrecognizable and scary scene. Everything becomes total chaos. Terrifying chaos, and I have no clue whether I'll live through it, whether or not my family will come out of it complete. There's noise. Things are light then dark then light, and my whole world is shaking and shaken. I'm utterly terrified, senseless with fear and uncertainty.

But eventually, into the darkness and chaos, light begins to extend. I start to notice that things are quieter, calmer. I'm being told that everything is over, that it's ok to come out of the dark, that life is safe again. It takes some doing but slowly, I emerge from my hiding place. I come out to find that everything in a shambles, that things are broken, but people pick me up and carry me to safety, and then people, loved ones, step in to help clean up the mess that this unasked for storm has made of my life.

When it's all said and done, nothing looked the same again. Nothing has ever been the same, either since the tornado or since PPD. But it is life, and it is put back together, it is mended, and I move on. Sometimes, I still get scared. 23 years after I lived through The Good Friday That Wasn't, I still have trouble sleeping through thunderstorms. I still go into pregnancy a little apprehensive, ever watchful for the symptoms, always on guard for signs that the storm that tore my life apart for those months might be reappearing, but I lived. I SURVIVED. And now, when I look back on both experiences, I see that I have come out of both times stronger and wiser, with more compassion and understanding for others whose lives are rocked by storms, whether physical or otherwise.

For 4 years, I've been trying to figure out why PPD felt so familiar, how to describe PPD, what PPD is like. I finally know.

If you're living through PPD, hang in there. It doesn't last forever (it only feels like it does). Eventually, the storm will let up and you'll be able to come back into the light. I can't guarantee that you'll come out unscathed, you may have some scars after all is said and done, but you will still be alive, you will still be you. The storm will end and you will be ok. There are people here for you to help you, to stand by you, to support you, to offer you a place to rest your head while you fix your roof. You are not alone in this storm or in the aftermath.

*Note* Pictures of the physical aftermath of the tornado that hit our house in 1991 can be seen here. 

Dear Senator Feinstein,

I just sent this off to Sen. Feinstein. Feel free to copy and/or circulate it as you see fit. PLEASE, please please please contact Sen. Feinstein about her ignorant, incorrect, and insulting remarks about PTSD and veterans. I"m not even asking her to stop supporting gun control, I just want her to correct her remarks about PTSD and apologize.
(Not sure what I'm so upset about? Check out my blog post from earlier today)

Dear Senator Feinstein,
I'd like to begin by explaining the background I come from. I am a U.S. Army veteran. I am also a survivor of Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Anxiety, and Postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and I am an advocate and blogger for women struggling with Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders. My husband is currently on Active Duty in the U.S. Army and is a combat veteran of multiple deployments in the Middle East. One of my grandfathers served in the U.S. Navy and one of my grandmothers and my other grandfather served in the U.S. Air Force. My brother is a veteran and combat veteran of the U.S. Army. My mother-in-law and father-in-law were both in the U.S. Navy. I have a sister-in-law and brother-in-law who serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. I have multiple other extended family members and close friends who have served or are serving in various branches of the U.S. Military.
I am writing to you today regarding your comments during the March 7, 2013 Judiciary Committee Hearing on S.150 The Assault Weapons Ban. Yesterday, you stated on record that "with the advent of PTSD, which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War, it's not clear how the seller transfer of a firearm covered by this bill would verify that the individual was a member or veteran and that there was no impairment of that individual with respect to having a weapon like this... I think if you're going to do this you have to find a way that veterans who are incapacitated for one reason or another mentally don't have access to this kind of weapon".
There are several problems with your comments. I'd like to address several of these problems in no particular order of importance.
1. PTSD is not a new phenomenon, nor is it a product of the Iraq War. Even if the only PTSD cases you want to consider are those of military personnel, service-members in conflicts preceding the war in Iraq were already suffering. World War 1, World War 2, Vietnam, the Korean War, and the first Persian Gulf War, just to name a few. My own grandfather was a POW in North  Korea during the Korean War and he came back with PTSD as a result of the atrocities he endured while he was a prisoner. Your statement that PTSD is a new phenomenon following the Iraq war is insulting to all these other veterans and passes them off as unimportant, saying that they don't count and don't matter, it wasn't really a problem before Iraq. It was.
2. PTSD is not specific to the military or to combat veterans. PTSD affects people who have never served a day in the military. PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and I think everyone can agree that Traumatic situations can and do affect anyone, no matter what their situation is. Postpartum PTSD affects as many as 7-16% of new moms and that has nothing to do with the military, combat, or Iraq. Rape victims, victims of tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina, survivors of 9/11, and so so many other people facing a myriad of countless types of situations face PTSD, and your comments insult them and say that if you're not a veteran during/since Iraq, you don't matter.
3. There is already too much stigma surrounding mental health. It's incredibly difficult to reach out and say "I need help" when people think and say things that either insinuate or flat out say that people with mental health issues are all violent monsters waiting for the right time to flip out and go on a murderous rampage. Comments such as yours only add to that stigma and further perpetuate the myths that I and my fellow mental health advocates are working so hard to disperse.
This is especially ironic considering that you claim to be highly involved with and supportive of veterans, working for better help and research for veterans with PTSD and TBI.
I urge you to publicly retract and apologize for your statement that I quoted at the beginning of my email. You have done great harm to veterans and to the entire mental health community; please take this opportunity to do the right thing by publicly admitting that you misspoke and apologizing for your insulting and factually incorrect remarks. As an elected official. you represent the people of the United States and you work for us; it is your duty and responsibility to correct these statements you have made that have the potential to so greatly misinform people as to the nature of mental health in general and PTSD specifically. Please do the right thing.
Sincerely,
Esther Dale

Sen. Feinstein's insulting lies about veterans and PTSD

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has managed to stick her foot in her mouth in a very big and particularly insulting way. During yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Senate Bill S.150 (The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 [1], Sen. Feinstein made the following comments:

"with the advent of PTSD, which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War, it's not clear how the seller transfer of a firearm covered by this bill would verify that the individual was a member or veteran and that there was no impairment of that individual with respect to having a weapon like this... I think if you're going to do this you have to find a way that veterans who are incapacitated for one reason or another mentally don't have access to this kind of weapon." -Sen. Dianne Feinstein"

You can hear her words at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjR-UaLl5PM

Since this is not a political blog, I won't get into my feelings about gun control, and I ask my commenters not to. What I want to talk about here is Sen. Feinstein's inaccurate and insulting comments about PTSD and mental illness.

Every time a tragedy happens and someone says "Oh, she must have Postpartum Depression" or "Oh, he must have PTSD", I object, and I say that I think that mindset further stigmatizes mental illness, as well as causing people to buy in to the idea that if you have PPD or PTSD or any other mental health issue, you're a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off in a blaze of tragedy and homicide. I get so many arguments about it that I've written blog posts to further explain my point of view (these posts can be found here and here). Today, I believe that Sen. Feinstein has just proven my point for me.

I have several very big problems with Sen. Feinstein's remarks. One problem is that what she said is so incredibly insulting to veterans, whether they have PTSD or not. To assume that all veterans are just waiting for the right nudge to go murder someone is the exact opposite of the supportive attitude we should have towards those who volunteer to serve our country and, for many of them, end up in combat as a result.

On top of that, there's the fact that she has just assumed that PTSD means that you're a violent person. Sen. Feinstein's remarks are indicative of the problematic attitudes and stigmas towards mental health that make it so hard for people to speak up and say "Hey, I need help.". I mean really, who wants to seek help if it's just going to make people treat them like monsters, or mean that they get things taken away from them?

That doesn't even touch on the fact that her comments are factually inaccurate. PTSD is not a new phenomenon. Veterans of the Iraq War were not the first servicemembers to come home with PTSD. ALL wars have left servicemembers struggling to make sense of their experiences and left them with PTSD. I'd love to see Sen. Feinstein go tell the veterans of World War 2, Vietnam, Korea, the first Persian Gulf War, and every other conflict our country has been involved in that PTSD wasn't a problem for them. Please Sen. Feinstein, go ahead. Say that to their faces. I'll go along and hold the camera to record the reactions you get.

The other issue is that PTSD is not specific to the military or to combat. PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I will agree that a large amount of the awareness that the American public has towards PTSD now is due to the servicemembers who have come home with PTSD, but people who have never served a day in the military end up with it too. Rape victims, people whose houses burned down, people who survived 9-11, first responders who help at scenes of accidents, crimes, etc., survivors of Hurricane Katrina, people who lose a loved one unexpectedly, women who have a traumatic childbirth (Postpartum PTSD is a real thing), and so many other scenarios. Any traumatic situation can cause PTSD.

I worry that Sen. Feinstein's remarks may have done irreparable damage not only to the men and women who struggle with PTSD (or any other mental health issue) but to the very cause of fighting for awareness, education, and the destigmatization of mental illness.

I will be calling, tweeting, and emailing Sen. Feinstein to ask her to please apologize for her troubling and factually incorrect comments about PTSD and mental illness. Will you join me in contacting her? Here's her contact information.

Senator Dianne FeinsteinUnited States Senate331 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510

Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954
TTY/TDD: (202) 224-2501

Sen. Feinstein's website: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
To email Sen. Feinstein: https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-meTwitter: https://twitter.com/senfeinstein

Let's speak up and let Capitol Hill know that we won't stand for this type of blatant lying and misrepresentation. Let's speak up for the veterans who volunteer to serve our country, as well as for people suffering from all manner of mental health issues.

[1] Title of S.150 crafted by the bill's author, Senator Feinstein.

Sometimes people just do bad things.

Over the last few days, two news stories in particular have been coming across my news feed a lot. One is about Terrence Tyler, a 23 year old Marine (no longer in the Corps) who shot and killed two fellow store employees before killing himself at a New Jersey supermarket. According to the news story, 

"Tyler, formerly of Brooklyn but living in Old Ridge, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2008 to 2010, a Marines spokesman said. Tyler was a lance corporal and rifleman, who received two medals and never served overseas, the spokesman said.". 

I have not been able to find any information as to what kind of discharge he received (Honorable or otherwise). The news story also states that, according to a law enforcement source, 

"Tyler may have had a history of depression or mental illness".

Naturally, plenty of reactions seem to be "He must have had PTSD". Another opinion I've seen floating around is that "He couldn't have had PTSD, he never deployed". These are both inaccurate. As to the first, no, he does NOT have to have had PTSD. For one thing, if it's true that he had a past history of depression//mental illness, why could it have been that instead? Are we assuming that since he served in the military any mental issues that caused something like this have to automatically be PTSD?

As to the second, PTSD is not something that is reserved specifically for troops who deploy to combat, it's not something exclusive to overseas military service. PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We usually hear about it in the news most often in relation to servicemembers and veterans but it is hardly exclusive to the military community. PTSD can come about as a result of any traumatic event. Rape and abuse survivors, vehicle accident survivors, someone who was caught in a fire, people who are onlookers witnessing an event that is traumatic to them, people who have lost a loved one, anyone who experiences anything that is traumatic to them can suffer from PTSD. PTSD can occur after a woman has a childbirth that was traumatic to her. Someone living with a spouse or loved one with PTSD can develop their own PTSD. According to PostPartum Support International,

"Approximately 1-6% of women experience postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following childbirth. Most often, this illness is caused by a real or perceived trauma during delivery or postpartum. "

Women who have survived a PostPartum Mood Disorder can struggle with PTSD as a part of the aftermath. 911 personnel can develop PTSD due to the situations they may be put in as part of their work. PTSD is not exclusive to any one community, nor is it limited to a specific type of situation. If Terrence Tyler experienced something that was traumatic to him during boot camp or any part of his time in the U. S. Marine Corps, he could most certainly have developed PTSD and it is certainly possible that that could have been linked to his actions in shooting and killing two others in addition to himself. The thing is, we just don't know.

The other story I've been hearing a lot about it that of Tiffany Klapheke, a woman arrested after her 22 month old daughter died, apparently from extreme neglect. Her other two children, a 3 year old and a 6 month old, are currently in the hospital, apparently also suffering from the same. And of course, as is the norm when a mother is responsible for the death of her child, many people are jumping straight to "Oh, well, since it's a mom who killed her child, it must be PostPartum Depression".

NO. It does NOT have to be PostPartum Depression. Again, it could be another mental illness. It could be totally unrelated to mental health altogether and be the result of bad parenting or other factors. Just because a mother is responsible for the death and/or injury of her children does not mean it's automatically a PPMD. This isn't even getting deep into the fact that most of the time, when people refer to "PPD" as the reason a mother kills her child (usually citing the cases of Andrea Yates and/or Otty Sanchez), they are actually referring to PostPartum Psychosis, another PPMD but a separate and different illness than PostPartum Depression. PPD and PPP are not the same and can not/should not be used interchangeably. If you're going to toss around "So-and-so must have *insert mental health problem*, please, at least know what it is you're actually talking about.

But beyond that, it is injurious and unfair to automatically assume that someone who does something bad must be suffering from a mental illness. It makes it harder for people who are suffering to ask for help. To focus specifically on servicemembers who are dealing with PTSD, it's already incredibly difficult for them to go talk to someone about it. Among other things, they fear being seen as weak, as not being able to do their job, as not being good Soldiers/Airmen/Marines/Sailors/Coasties. They worry that if they speak up about their problems, they will automatically lose their security clearance, be reclassed to a different job, be discharged from the military altogether. They worry about being mocked and made fun of by their coworkers, about being looked down on and told to "Suck it up and stop being a pansy" and of being seen as malingerers by their Chain of Command. They already fight these stigmas, concerns, and myths. People automatically jumping to the conclusion that servicemembers who do bad things must be the result of PTSD add another layer of fear to it: the fear that they may be immediately seen as a threat and a potential monster. This is all aside from whatever internal pain and traumatic events are causing them to suffer in the first place.

Assault/abuse survivors may already be wrestling with unnecessary guilt over "Was this my fault? Could I have done something different to prevent this?", or with people being suspicious that they somehow brought it on themselves or are lying about what happened to them. People who are dealing with PTSD as a result of anything other than military service may not even be aware that PTSD could be something they face, or they may worry that people will laugh and bring the exact attitude of "You're not military, you weren't deployed, you don't have PTSD". Women who are struggling with PTSD after childbirth face those who have the attitude that "Childbirth couldn't possibly be traumatic" (and yes, I have personally heard/seen that said and that attitude thrown around).

With regards to a PPMD, I can't stress enough how terrifying it was to be suffering from PPD. To feel like I wasn't in control of my emotions and, to some extent, my actions and reactions, to have thoughts that popped unbidden into my head of hurting/killing myself, to constantly feel numb and dulled and in a fog and not even know why, to feel those waves of anger and sadness, to know deep down inside that something was wrong but not know what or why, and to feel like it must have been something I was doing wrong. It was beyond scary. Once I realized that I had all the symptoms of PostPartum Depression and NEEDED to get help, that was a whole new dimension of fear. Fear that it meant I was a horrible mom and a failure as a wife and mother, fear that it meant I was a monster, worry that when I went in and said "I need help, here's what I'm dealing with" CPS would be called in to take my baby girl away so that I couldn't try to kill her. After I was released from the hospital I dealt with the concern that if I told anyone what was going on, they would look down on me, mock me, laugh at me, judge me, criticize me, not trust me, and assume that I must be like Andrea Yates, that I must be on the verge of killing my child in some horrific manner.

These stigmas and fears are perfectly normal for anyone who is dealing with PTSD, PPD, or any other mental illness. These stigmas are exactly what I and so many others are trying to fight, why we work so hard to educate people, why public discussion, education, and advocacy are so vital. Steps in the right direction are being taken and forward progress is being made. However, sadly, when people hear about stories like this and start talking about what mental illness must have caused the person in question to have done whatever they did, it is a step in the wrong direction, movement backwards, and adds to those stigmas and myths we all work to combat and dispell. It's not harmless to toss around these attitudes and assumptions, it hurts people who are dealing with these issues and makes people who need treatment more afraid to ask for help. It hurts the loved ones who are tying to support them and see the pain they're going through. It hurts everyone who has suffered, is suffering, and will suffer.

It also does a disservice to those who are doing the spreading. You don't deserve to believe false things, you deserve to be educated and knowledgeable about these issues that society is dealing with. You deserve to know what the symptoms of PostPartum Depression is and exactly how many women suffer. You deserve to have the confidence to be able to ask for help if you need it someday instead of ignoring your own problems because you believe the stigmas you've helped to perpetuate and spread.

Today, you're the one saying that Terrence Tyler must have had PTSD or Tiffany Klapheke must have had PostPartum Depression. But remember, one day you could be the one dealing with your own inner demons and not wanting to reach out for help because you don't want to be seen as the monster you have labeled Andrea Yates and Otty Sanchez as. It could be your son who comes back from combat with more wounds on the inside than the outside or your daughter who can't find her way out of the darkness after she has a baby. It could be you who suddenly has to fight the very attitudes you've helped foster. Why not do yourself and your loved ones a favor and take some time to educate yourself about the causes, symptoms, victims, and survivors of the various mental illnesses you think you know so much about? Educate yourself, educate your loved ones, educate the world, and maybe as that happens you'll help someone who is suffering to get help before they become a news story.

It's just a game, a joke, right?

If you're on Facebook, I feel pretty safe in saying it's a sure thing that you've seen the various FB status games where there's a circumstance and you tag people from your friends list as certain characters in the situation. I didn't paticipate in most of tem, although I did do the Zombie Apocalypse one b/c, well, it's Zombies. Most of them I just ignored, unless I was tagged in one and then I laughed at being the sniper or whatever. However, there is one that I've seen that bothers me a little


You're in a mental hospital use the first six people on your list on your profile.
1. Person who drove you crazy:
2. Person who signed you in:
3. Your doctor:
4. Person in the corner drooling on themselves:
5. Your roommate:
6. Person who helps you break out:


I think my first problem with this is that there's still such a big stigma associated with mental health problems and being admitted to a psychiatric facility that I don't think it's something that should be made light of and used as a joke. And I think it was Number 4 that bothered me the most: "Person in the corner drooling on themselves". In both my stays at Laurel Ridge, there wasn't anyone drooling on themselves. And if there were, it wouldn't be something to laugh at and make fun of.


I'm sure I'm taking this one personally because I've BTDT. I've been admitted to a hospital twice. I've struggled with the shame, guilt, and fear of telling anyone that I had PosPartum Depression. I've struggled with the shame, guilt, and fear of even asking for help. When I did ask for help, I was terrified that they were going to take my daughter away or get CPS involved and say that until I was "over" the PPD I had to move out of the house and not be around her. I dealt with being upset that I had to stop breastfeeding my daughter at 3 months old because the meds they put me on weren't something I could take and safely nurse her. I've dealt with the people who say "Just make up your mind to get over it". With this last pregnancy, I struggled with deciding whether or not to take Zoloft at 38 weeks as a preventative measure. I'm sure that most people who are posting this aren't trying to mock those who have dealt with mental health problems, but the fact is that things like this do make light of it, and they can be very hurtful to those who have struggled with PPD, BiPolar, PTSD, MPD, etc. I doubt that people even realize that this type of thing can help perpetuate the stereotypes that need to be dealt a death blow: It's something to be laughed at, it's not serious, it's a joke.


Please know that I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad, I just want to try to shed some light on it from another perspective.