Substance Abuse

Sharing information and stories about the horrible disease we are trying to overcome on a daily basis.

Bipolar: The role of Sleep in mental health.

/ Lori

I suffer from Bipolar. I was diagnosed in 2006, but probably suffered from it most of my life. But when I grew up Bipolar was not a word that was used or understood. So when I had a manic or depressive stage, I would just hear my family say..”that’s just Lori being Lori”. Had I been treated way back then I’m sure my life would have turned out differently. Then again I’m not really sure I would have wanted it to , because then I wouldn’t have met the wonderful, perfect man that I have now and have for 14 years. (anniversary September 24th).

I urge anyone who might read this and question themselves on this disorder to go see a mental health professional and get evaluated. If you have any questions at all I have a list of resources on my website: www.loris-song.com just click the resource button.

I welcome all of your comments, all I ask is do not solicit anything on this site, don’t be rude, or intimidating or you will be banned!

Bipolar Disorder and Sleep

Everyone has good days and bad days, and it’s natural to experience a range of emotional ups and downs. In bipolar disorder, though, moods exceed this normal range as people have periods of extreme highs (mania) and lows (depression). In the past, bipolar disorder was called manic-depressive disorder as a way of referring to a person’s moving between these two states.

Bipolar disorder is estimated to affect about 4.4% of people over the course of their lives, and this condition has significant effects on a person’s well-being. Previous research has indicated that 82% of people with bipolar disorder described having serious impairment within the past year.

Sleep has a well-established connection with bipolar disorder. During manic periods, people tend to sleep much less than normal, and during depressive periods, they tend to sleep much more. In each state, these sleep changes can amplify the symptoms of the condition.

Studies have increasingly found that sleep problems can be a predictor of bipolar episodes. Improving sleep for people with this condition may help manage symptoms and reduce the frequency of mania or depression.

In this comprehensive guide to bipolar disorder and sleep, we’ll review the basics about bipolar disorder including its types, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. The guide investigates the complex connection between bipolar disorder and sleep and identifies ways that people with this condition can improve sleep, and in so doing, improve their mental health as well.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a type of mental health condition known as a mood disorder. Mood disorders include several conditions in which a person has identifiable emotional disturbances. What distinguishes bipolar disorder from other types of mood disorders is that patients experience both extreme highs and lows.

People with bipolar disorder are not always either manic or depressed. There are times when the condition is in remission, during which a person is mostly or completely free of symptoms.

Bipolar disorder is equally common among men and women and is most often diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 30. It is rarely diagnosed among young children or the elderly.

What Are the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder?

The symptoms of bipolar disorder are different depending on whether a person is in a manic or in a depressed state.

bipolar disorder symptoms

What Are the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder During Manic Episodes?

During manic periods, people may feel extremely energetic, enthusiastic, and happy. They may have racing thoughts, quickened speech, and high levels of activity. People feel less need for sleep during episodes of mania, and they can be easily distracted. Even though they may feel elation, they can be irritable and impatient with others.

Mania brings an elevated risk of engaging in high-risk behaviors, especially because people experiencing mania usually do not realize that they are in this mental state. This lack of recognition can also lead to conflict with others and problems in social relationships.

The diagnostic definition of mania involves a person having symptoms for one week or longer. According to these criteria, mania includes elevated or irritable mood, increased energy, and three or more of the other types of symptoms described above.

Hypomania

Hypomania is a state that falls short of full-fledged mania. In a hypomanic episode, a person’s symptoms are less severe and often do not last for as long — a minimum of four days as opposed to one week for mania.

Hypomania includes feelings of energy, happiness, and creativity. In fact, many people find a hypomanic period to be enjoyable, productive, and with little impact on overall functioning. That said, they can still be easily distracted and irritable in ways that can create interpersonal conflict.

Manic Psychosis

Manic psychosis is an especially intense episode of mania. It can involve hallucinations, delusions of grandeur, paranoid delusions, and extreme increases in activity levels. Manic psychosis can resemble schizophrenia. This state can devolve to delirious mania in which a person’s speech and actions are highly unpredictable and irrational. Hospitalization is usually required during manic psychosis.

What Are the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder During Depressed Episodes?

Depressed episodes stand in stark contrast to manic ones. Depression in bipolar disorder has symptoms that are similar to unipolar depression (depression in people who do not experience mania).

These symptoms include reduced energy, worsened mood, sadness, lack of interest in activities that normally bring pleasure, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, appetite changes (including both eating more or eating less), sleep changes (including sleeping too much or too too little), social isolation, difficulty concentrating, excess guilt, indecisiveness, and thoughts of suicide.

Psychosis, in which a person loses touch with reality, including with possible hallucinations or delusions, can occur during a state of depression. This is more common in patients with bipolar disorder than in people with unipolar depression.

A depressive episode is formally diagnosed as such when a person has five or more of these symptoms, one of which must be depressed mood or loss of interest, during a two-week period.

Can Someone Have Mania and Depression at the Same Time?

Yes, and this type of episode is referred to as having mixed features. If a person has mania or hypomania along with three or more symptoms of depression, it can be categorized as a mixed episode. For example, a person may feel sad but also highly energized. Mixed episodes can be especially dangerous because the risk of suicide is elevated during these periods.

Most of the time, though, patients do not have mixed episodes. Instead, they may move between periods of mania and depression. The frequency of these episodes varies based on the person and can range from multiple episodes in a year to multiple episodes during a person’s entire life. If a person has four or more episodes within a year, it is called rapid cycling.

What Are the Health Consequences of Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder can have significant health consequences. During depressed episodes, patients suffer from major disturbances in mood and quality of life that can reduce functioning in all aspects of life. In manic episodes, risky behaviors can cause severe negative repercussions, and irritability may harm relationships with friends and family.

People with bipolar disorder are at a much higher risk of attempting or committing suicide. Studies estimate that the incidence of suicide is 15 times higher in people with bipolar disorder than in the general public.

Rates of substance abuse are higher in people with bipolar disorder. Other mental health conditions, like anxiety and ADHD, frequently occur alongside bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder are also at a higher risk of cardiovascular problems.

For all of these reasons, bipolar disorder is considered to be one of the top 10 leading causes of disability worldwide.

What Are the Types of Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is classified into different types based on how a patient experiences the symptoms of the condition.

Bipolar I Disorder involves significant manic episodes that usually require hospitalization. Extended depressive episodes are also frequent, and some patients may have mixed episodes.

Bipolar II Disorder involves depression and hypomania but without more severe periods of mania.

Cyclothymic Disorder occurs over an extended period of time — two years or more — and includes various symptoms of depression and hypomania. While a patient with Cyclothymic Disorder has symptoms reflective of bipolar disorder, they do not meet the condition’s formal diagnostic criteria.

There is also a category, known as Other Specified and Unspecified Bipolar and Related Disorders, that is used to group together the remaining types of bipolar disorder that do not fit the definitions of Bipolar I, Bipolar II, or Cyclothymic Disorder.

The type of bipolar disorder that a person has can affect their treatment as well as their overall prognosis.

How is Bipolar Disorder Diagnosed?

A doctor or psychiatrist diagnoses bipolar disorder based on specific criteria that have to do with the type and severity of symptoms. There is no laboratory test that can diagnose bipolar disorder.

Diagnosis usually involves two steps. The first step involves an evaluation of the patient’s condition and history including a discussion of any symptoms they may have experienced. A patient’s friends and family may be involved in this process, especially for answering questions about possible manic episodes.

If this first step indicates that a patient likely has bipolar disorder, then the second step is to make sure that the symptoms are not being caused by any other condition. This can include a review of a patient’s prescription medications as well as blood tests, urinalysis, and checking thyroid function.

How is Bipolar Disorder Different From Depression?

Both bipolar disorder and depression are mood disorders. People with bipolar disorder experience symptoms of depression, but they also have episodes of mania or hypomania. People with unipolar depression do not have manic episodes.

Part of the diagnostic process is intended to determine if a patient has had symptoms of mania so that bipolar disorder can be differentiated from unipolar depression.

What Are the Causes of Bipolar Disorder?

There is no known cause of bipolar disorder. Many researchers believe it is related to brain chemistry, but there is no established scientific finding that identifies the exact elements of brain function that give rise to bipolar disorder.

There are some indications that genetics play a role in bipolar disorder, but the disease is not considered to be determined strictly by genes. A family history, such as having a parent or sibling with the condition, increases a person’s risk, but most people with a family history never develop bipolar disorder.

Similarly, there is no exact cause for what triggers manic or depressive episodes in people who have already been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Studies indicate that the risk of mania in people with bipolar disorder is heightened after childbirth (in women), when a person has insomnia, or when a person is using certain types of recreational or prescription drugs.

What are the Treatments for Bipolar Disorder?

Treatment for bipolar disorder usually includes medications to manage symptoms and often involves psychotherapy. Electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT or shock therapy, can be used when other treatments do not help. The exact therapy provided depends in large part on the type and severity of a patient’s symptoms.

If a person is in a more extreme state, including psychosis associated with mania or depression, they may be hospitalized in order to reduce the risk of harming themselves or others.

Most patients with bipolar disorder take medications as part of their treatment. The most common classes of drugs that are used include mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and antipsychotics. Doctors work to tailor pharmacotherapy to fit a patient’s state and symptoms. It is important for patients to take medications as prescribed and not to stop taking them without consulting with a doctor as this can cause a rebound in symptoms.

For patients with extreme depression that does not get better with medications, or if a patient cannot tolerate the side effects of medications, ECT can be an effective treatment. During ECT, a patient receives anesthesia and then has an electric current applied to the brain. ECT often brings rapid relief to potentially life-threatening depression. While most often used for episodes of depression, it may also be useful in treating mania.

Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, can be another useful component of treatment for bipolar disorder. It is often employed as a type of maintenance therapy once a patient’s more significant symptoms have been reduced or resolved. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) works to confront negative thinking and often helps patients with bipolar disorder. Other types of talk therapy include Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), which works to regulate daily routines, psychoeducation, which helps patients understand, monitor, and manage their mental health, and family or group counseling.

What is the Relationship Between Bipolar Disorder and Sleep?

woman stressed

Bipolar disorder and sleep have a multifaceted relationship. Changes to sleep patterns are extremely common for people with bipolar disorder and can include both insomnia and hypersomnia. In addition, mounting evidence points to sleep disturbances as being a contributing factor that can worsen symptoms of bipolar disorder or cause it to recur after a period of remission.

The following sections explain in further detail the way that bipolar disorder impacts sleep and how sleep problems influence the condition’s development.

How Does Bipolar Disorder Impact Sleep?

Disturbed or altered sleep is common in patients with bipolar disorder. Changes to sleep patterns can occur during both manic and depressed episodes.

During manic episodes, people with bipolar disorder feel a dramatic reduction in the need to sleep. With enhanced energy and mood, somewhere between 69% and 99% of patients in manic episodes indicate that they feel a decreased need for sleep.

When depressed, patients with bipolar disorder frequently sleep too much (hypersomnia). This can relate to a lack of energy and decreased interest in normally enjoyable activities, both of which are common depression symptoms. Hypersomnia is estimated to affect 38% to 78% of bipolar patients. Insomnia can also happen during episodes of depression, and in general, sleep can become disordered and inconsistent.

Even during periods of remission, when a person is not in a manic or depressed condition, sleep disturbances are common. One study found that 70% of people with bipolar disorder still have significant sleep disturbances during this period.

Sleeping problems are not just limited to too much or too little sleep. People with bipolar disorder frequently have low-quality sleep, inconsistency in their sleep from one night to the next, and problems getting to sleep. The nature of a person’s sleeping difficulties can shift significantly with time, the patient’s mood, and their response to medications.

A possible underlying cause for sleep disruptions in people with bipolar disorder is a disordered circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is part of the body’s natural system for managing and balancing wakefulness and sleep. In most people, that rhythm is closely aligned with external cues, most specifically the day-night cycle in their local area. However, when the circadian rhythm gets thrown off, it can create a range of sleep disorders. Studies have found circadian rhythm irregularities in people with bipolar disorder, and these may be contributing to the diversity of sleeping problems that these patients can experience.

Another cause of sleep disruption is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition in which a person’s breathing stops temporarily at different points through the night. One study has found that nearly 25% of people with bipolar disorder have OSA, which can cause marked reductions in sleep quantity and quality. OSA has been linked to a host of other health problems as well, including depression and cardiovascular problems.

How Does Sleep Impact Bipolar Disorder?

Quality sleep is known to play a role in regulating mood, and that effect appears to be heightened in mood disorders. In multiple ways, poor sleep can lead to a worsening of bipolar disorder.

Numerous studies have found that sleeping problems, especially insomnia, play a role in bipolar disorder. This research has demonstrated that lack of sleep can exacerbate symptoms of both mania and depression. The impact has been found in studies examining patient reports over periods of seven days, eight weeks, and 12 months, indicating that sleep affects mood from the short through the long-term.

For patients who are in remission, sleep deprivation is associated with recurrence of symptoms. Research has found that sleep disturbances were the most frequent predictor of manic episodes and the sixth most common predictor of depressed episodes. Studies in which patients have been deprived of sleep have shown that this can induce mania or hypomania. Lack of sleep caused by sleep apnea may be a contributor to the recurrence of manic symptoms as well.

If poor sleep worsens bipolar disorder, the logical follow-up is to ask whether improving sleep can help reduce the symptoms. Early evidence indicates that a focus on sleep may have this potential. For example, one study that used a talk therapy intervention tailored for treating insomnia found that on average patients receiving this therapy got better sleep and were at a lower risk of relapse. Because of the way that sleep bolsters the ability to manage mood, a focus on sleep may serve as part of a valuable preventive mental health approach.

Have a GREAT DAY! Lori

May Day, History, Facts and Phallic secrets :) :)

/ Lori / 3 Comments

The following was posted on Micki Peluso’s blog.  I found it so interesting and informative I had to post it for all of you that are following me.

Micki has written a book about her daughter being killed by a drunk driver and I strongly urge you to buy it or read it on Kindle, and then kindly leave her a good review.  She is a great writer and FRIEND.

http://www.amazon.com/Whippoorwill-Sang-Micki-Peluso/dp/097920304X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328234109&sr=8-1  

 

 

 

Thank you Micki.

Saturday, April 30, 2016

The Merry Month of May

May Day is usually, but not always, celebrated on the first of May, although in recent years enthusiasm for the holiday has waned considerably. Many Staten Islanders in New York can recall festivities in the past several decades which included springtime sports, and May Poles decorated with bright ribbons streaming from the top of the pole. Young children were traditionally garbed the ribbons and danced around the pole, reveling in the warmth of spring. Older girls crowned a May Queen, and young girls often made baskets which they filled with flowers and hung on the doors of their friends. Many parts of the country still participate in these activities although my borough of Staten Island does not seem to be among them.

The month of May has always been a favorite month, with spring in full bloom and summer close behind. On the original Roman calendar, May was the third month of the year but the revised calendar moved it to the fifth month. The origin of the name, researchers say, most likely comes from Maia, a mother of Mercury. In Roman times and throughout history May has been considered an unlucky month for marriages, stemming back to the days when both the festival of the dead and the festival of the goddess of chastity were celebrated in May. This may explain the popularity of June weddings.

Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, has held May Day celebrations with field sports, dancing around the May Poll and crowning a May Queen with a headdress of fresh flowers. On some occasions college records in sports were broken on that day, possibly due to the enthusiasm for the holiday. The California State Norma School in San José originated May Day festivities in 1902, with games for their kindergarten students. By 1910, the popularity of this holiday had grown to such proportion that 6000 spectators gathered to watch the celebration.

These observances have little to do with the ritualistic and symbolic fetes of olden days. Historians of folk customs have traced the May Day ritual back to the Floralia of the Romans, the festival of Flora, goddess of flowers. This festival was instituted in 238 BC and was celebrated from April 23 until May 3rd.

During the four or five centuries that Rome occupied Britain, the May Day Festival was introduced and flourished. One theory states that the May Day was initially a phallic festival in India and Egypt, marking the renewal of the fertility of nature at springtime. Researchers claim that the Romans considered the May Poll to be a phallic symbol, and their merrymaking included quite a few licentious acts which were the focus of May Day celebrations in England for some time.

The Morris Dance was a pagan dance which consisted of male dancers in fantastic costumes dancing about the May Poll. The name Morris, a word of Moorish origin, is associated with mummers, who acted out the ritual of the pagan god who celebrated his revival after death. Another custom was the May Day procession of a Man-horse, in Cornwall, where the central figure, “Oss Oss”, was a witch doctor disguised as a horse and wearing a mask. Dancers acted as attendants, sang May Day songs and beat on drums.

These activities greatly offended the Puritans, who coerced the Parliament of 1644 to ban the erection of May Polls. The Restoration repealed the prohibition, and in 1661, to celebrate the revival of the old custom, a May Poll, 134 feet high was raised. Sir Isaac Newton purchased the pole in 1717 and used it as a support for his telescope in Essex.

The New England Puritans also voiced objections to May Day festivities, which incited Gov. Endicott of Massachusetts in 1660, to lead a group of men to Merrymont, where the dreaded May Poll had been erected. The men chopped the pole down and named the place Mount Dragon, after the Idol of the Philistines that fell before the Ark.

May Day was said to have magical rites, such as those of Halloween. Samuel Pepys, the English diarist, related how his wife went to the country each May Day to wash her face in dew, a magic ritual ensuring a good complexion. Poetess Ann May Lawler, put the custom to verse: “Ever on the first of May did magic walk — the legends say. Maidens rose at early dawn to find a dew-en-sequinned lawn, and she who humbly bathed her face in dewdrops, in the magic place, she, they say, may never fear the curse of freckles for one year.”

When Labor Day was established in this country, the workers of Europe decided to hold a similar celebration, which they observed on May 1st. Due to lively labor politics, the date became better known for riots, bombings and burned cities. Radicals in the U.S. followed the European example and held demonstrations on May 1st. Later many U.S. cities, particularly New York City, demonstrated on May Day with parades of radical, labor, and other organizations, followed by mass meetings.

The beginning of May, whether celebrated with May Polls and flower festivals, or labor demonstrations, or no celebrations at all, introduces a month with few surprises. While March “comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,” and April teases with balmy weather one day and pseudo-winter the next, the month of May brings a stable promise of ever better days to come.

 

Our supposed “WAR ON TERRORISM”…..really a WAR ON US!!

/ Lori

 

 

 

 

I just watched American Sniper and OMG, there are such blatant issues that ANYONE SHOULD SEE.
1. First- WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET INVOLVED with other countries problems and think we have to send OUR BOYS/MEN IN to get killed in wars we even aren’t involved in the first place.
2. We send our people in to fight wars, they come back disabled, and PTSD and they act in ways never before seen to them or their families. We destroy people,, kids, and lives of families all FOR NOTHING!!!
I’m sorry I was in the Middle East and unless you’re a child that WAS JUST BORN that day, you’re not innocent. These children are being trained as soon as their able to walk and their trained to kill AMERICANS!!! There are no innocent bystanders. This movie will show you just that. There are mothers who give their children bombs to go and become a suicide bomber and their goal is to kill Americans!
3. WHY THE HELL don’t we just BOMB the fricking areas that these so called insurgents were congregated in. Instead we send in our troops in to walk around in these towns where there are snipers kids with RPG’s, and IED’s to blow up our Hummers that have disabled so many vets if not killed them., so our troops get killed and disabled one at a time, when we could have just put in an airstrike and bombed the entire town.
It would save our guys/gals lives.
4. People bitch about money that it costs to go to war, well people it also cost money for health care and mental health care for our soldiers when they return from these wars and usually the treatment is for life, not just for a set amount of time. And what’s worse are some Vets are being turned away for treatment due to funding. How DARE WE TREAT the people who are willing to die for us like that!!!
5. We know exact locations of these clusters of terrorist/insurgents why don’t we just BOMB these areas or screw it bomb the whole fricking country to save our people. If you can’t do this then either STAY OUT OF other countries wars and take care of our own. We were not involved personally in Viet Nam, Korea or the Middle East, our country was not threatened, yet our presidents seem to think that we need to be the ultimate “SAVIORS” for others.
6. We are not a land of freedom but rather a CONTROLLED DEMOCRACY. This country’s leaders don’t listen to the people or take care of their own. There are WAY TOO MANY HUMAN rights issues that are preventing us from just going in and ending a war within a few months by bombing places and taking out those that threaten us. Or better yet why don’t our government just keep their noses out of other countries businesses.

Sure we just got “same sex marriages approved” WHAT WAS THIS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KEEPING OUR SOLDIERS SAFE. A lot of money was put into this issue and I wonder where the hell the priorities in this government are.
We have hundreds of soldiers dying monthly and we put our priority into this. I’m sorry this sounds so caustic and overbearing on behalf of some peoples ideals but it’s my opinion and I’m allowed to express it……Wait Mr. President and others in government “AM I ALLOWED to EXPRESS THIS???? God knows I was supposedly NOT allowed to come back to the USA and tell my story of what happened to me and others in Iran, since they made me sign a non-disclosure agreement. So I was just checking? Oh HELL I’m SAYING IT ANYWAY!!
If anyone is interested in what happened to me in Iran they can go tohttp://www.loris-song.com ALL PROFITS go to CHARITY! So this is not a promotional post, but it is a READ THIS AND SHARE THE INFORMATION POST! TYVM for listening and hopefully commenting.

 

9-11-2014 A time for US to reflect and for US to be GREATFUL, PROUD, and THANKFUL to live in “OUR COUNTRY!!!”.

/ Lori / 3 Comments

9/11-  A TIME TO REMEMBER, LEARN, and say THANK YOU!

On this 9/11, I am writing to compare how I felt then with now, and what has changed or changed me from that experience.

Now I want you all to write down how you felt back in 2001 compared to now, and what or if you do anything differently due to that event.  This within itself will show you how you’ve either changed or took it in stride. (9/11).

I feel this is cathartic for me and maybe it can be something like that for you.  I know most of America experienced a horror that they thought would never be seen in their life.

9-11-2001:  THEN

I was living in Iran at this time and had been since 1998. Prior to 9/11 I had been teaching English to Persian (Iranian) girls and women.  These girls became my best friends and could ask me questions after class that they wouldn’t dare ask their parents or anyone else.  These were simple questions like when do girls & boys start dating, and etal.  I kept their secret and we shared each others cultural differences and what we thought about them.

On 9/11/2001 I was being told by Mohammad that we needed to get out of IRAN in case America wanted to retaliate against the Middle East.  I asked why they would, he didn’t answer fully, just gave me some silly remark about Osama Bin Laden was going to increase the price of tobacco to get even with the US.  That sounded ridiculous but I was ecstatic as hell to be on our way home  i.e. USA!!!  When I arrived in Iran I was told I would need my husbands written permission to leave the country of Iran.  That was never going to happen.  Mohammad was your proverbial Muslim, wife is nothing but a slave, and he can do whatever he wants and get away with it.  E.G. beat her in the street, sell her to his friends for sex or drugs amongst other things.

I was also aware that something was going to happen today (9/11/2001) because I had heard rumors and gossip while Mohammad was speaking with all his friends in these nightly meetings.  I knew SOMETHING BAD was going to happen, I didn’t know where or what, but something.  I tried to call home on the 9th, 10th and 11th and was told that NO INTERNATIONAL CALLS WERE BEING ALLOWED THROUGH AT THAT TIME.  This recording every single day I tried to call the states.

9-12-2001:

We packed and went to the bus terminal to take a bus to Istanbul and then catch a plane from there home.  I still had NO IDEA of what really happened.  Five to ten minutes after showing our passports and paying for our tickets, these two troop type carrier trucks pulled up and blindfolded and handcuffed me and took me into one of the trucks, and Mohammad supposedly went into another.  (when you read my book you will see why he didn’t).

The events that took place for the next six weeks was total brutality of rape, starvation, beatings,  and many mind games.  I won’t use too many descriptions so that I don’t give the book away.  But I can say this these are actual event, not exaggerated and totally true.

  • GOD spoke to me in that camp and told me I was going home!
  • I didn’t really do any thinking or praying in the camp because when your faced with the thought of death every minute of everyday then your mind is always in high gear and all you can do is try to survive the moment that your in right then.
  • Upon arriving back in the USA on 11-14-2001, I kissed the ground after getting out of the terminal.  I at that time weighed in at around 70 pounds, most of my teeth were knocked out.  I had been beaten, raped and starved.  BUT I WAS SO EXCITED to be in my home country again, where I KNEW the rules and culture and didn’t need my husbands written permission to leave the country!
  • I appreciate the USA more than anyone I think because I lived in a country full of false type prophets who beat, robbed and tortured people yet claimed to be doing all of it in the name of GOD/ ALLAH;   and these people were RUNNING THE COUNTRY!
  • I have read the Qur’an and NO WHERE in it does it say to treat your wives and women the way they do.  It does not say to murder or torture those of a different religion or country.  The Qur’an dictates peace and to only kill in Allah’s name when absolutely necessary.  It denotes peace of all mankind, and the Muslims interpret it the way they WANT TO so that they can have a justified means to take out their anger, violence and murderous tendencies on others.
  • A lot of religions will interpret their Holy Book to the means necessary for which they desire to achieve.  The Muslims are not the only ones.    I still have many questions about those six weeks in that camp.  I was never interrogated, just raped, beaten and starved with so many others.

WE HAVE TO REALIZE HOW THANKFUL WE SHOULD BE ON A DAILY BASIS, to live in this beautiful country, although not flawless, we have our freedom, our ability to say no to men, we have life in our country that most countries around the world will not ever achieve or experience in their lifetime.

This country brings a lot of hope and promise to people!  Sure the Democrats and Republicans will never agree, but at least we are not  forced to abide by some type of dictatorship.  We will always have our freedoms that are spelled out in the constitution.

I hope that if you read my book you will see the atrocious acts that were carried out in Iran and WOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED to happen in the USA.   The profits from the book go to Amnesty Intl. and HSUS, and HFH neurology division, and the Brighton Rehab hospital.

I think once you experience a country like Iran and then return to the USA …if your lucky, you will develop a whole new desire to be thankful and grateful everyday of your life here, because you will never have to experience:

  • People getting executed due to not being a Muslim in a Muslim dictated country such as Iran, Iraq, etal.
  • An honor killing of a daughter who gets drowned in her father’s swimming pool for not being a virgin on her wedding night.  (Happened to my student, Layla).
  • Women and young girls being beaten or having machine guns held to their heads because they have too much HAIR showing out of their head coverings.
  • Women and young girls being beaten out on the street and everyone just watches and agrees that they are getting what they deserve for their disobedience.
  • You will never be beat for asking a question about American girls and boys.
  • You will never see women getting hung in a town square in front of everyone even children, and then what they think is compassionate is to ALLOW the mother to go spend five minutes with her daughter at the noose before she is hung by a construction crane.

I am almost glad to a degree that I did witness these things because you really never know until you see it first hand that it truly is REAL!   We are entitled Americans and none of us will ever change until something like what happened to me happens to them; And GOD I PRAY IT NEVER DOES!!!   Then they will understand the who’s, whys, and what’s.

The reason I wrote this was to compare how I felt then with now,  and to somehow get out of this apathetic depression I’m in.

9-11-2014

I still to this day sleep a lot of the time sitting up, because for six weeks I was handcuffed to Faresh ( a girl from Bahrain). And we couldn’t lie down or we’d be kicked or hit in the head, so we had to “REST” and supposedly “SLEEP” sitting with our backs to each other.  We had a lot of chain between the cuffs so we had room to just sit back to back to support each other.  So now I sleep sitting up, go figure.  Not only that I’m in the middle of getting more dental implants to replace all the teeth that were knocked out in the camp.  And I’m going through the worst pain in my back and hip due to needing spinal fusion in several different places but the doctor refusing to do it, due to my history of blood clots in my lungs on two occasions.

I WILL GET THRU my downfalls, and I will always be thankful for my GOD and country, and I know that most of my friends on FB, are very enlightened, intelligent individuals who will understand my way of TRYING TO WRITE this as a tribute while allowing others to see into my emotions and another country. 🙂 :).

Please write a list today of the top five things you love about this country, and share them in the comments section if you would.  Then for each one THANK GOD for allowing you the privilege of living in this country, where your rights and individual beliefs are not only allowed, but to be looked upon without prejudice or bias.

I would GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK.  I don’t think this day ever gets totally “OK” or “BETTER” for us, it just gets to be tolerable and a time to think back.  Don’t ever let this be a time to FORGET!

Those 2750 victims should not have died in vain.

Their families and loved ones should not suffer in vain.  We need to remember them and the tragedies they suffered that day.

I don’t allow myself to forget, I use my experience to help others.  I am speaking once a month at Brighton Rehab hospital about my book and experience.  I was so speechless the first time I spoke and got not only a standing ovation but a line of about 50 people waiting to hug me.  These guys with tattoos all over their necks and arms would come up to me with tears in their eyes and tell me that if I could get thru that then they could survive getting clean.  That was one of the most emotional times of my life to know that what I’m doing is truly ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING FOR OTHERS!

Please visit my website and be sure to buy my book on Amazon,  All profits from my book go to Amnesty International, HSUS, Henry Ford Hospital, Brighton Rehab hospital.

http://www.loris-song.com

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1432738291/?tag=viewbookat0e-20

Thank you for reading this and leaving your comments.  God Bless, Lori

To rehab or not!

/ Lori / 5 Comments

Hi all!!

A very special friend of mine (I can’t say the name) is on their way to rehab today for a long stay at getting sober.  I can’t tell you how happy I am.  This person was highly addicted to narcotics (the stronger the better) and it ruined their family, almost to the point of no return.  This step, agreeing to go to rehab was a very hard decision for them.  I only wish this person the BEST LIFE HAS TO OFFER, and when you return you will have a loving supporting family to return to, and they will have saved your life, so be well, get well and get home and START LIFE!!! 🙂 🙂
The reason I’m posting this is I know all too well about being addicted.  I’ve been addicted to everything you can imagine, and if you’ve read my book you will know.  At one point I was taking 60 vicodin a day.  In 2008 I’m very happy to say I became clean in the SAME rehab facility my friend went to.
I can’t express enough that if you have an addiction, no MATTER WHAT IT IS, GET HELP.  Your family will be more supportive and loving if you “COME CLEAN” and tell them the truth.  People think they can keep using, or the next time they buy they will get it under a more controlled routine so they can start getting off whatever it is.  They think cutting back and slowly going off it will work.  IT DOES’NT!!!

I had been addicted to “SOMETHING” since I was 12yrs. old, I’m sure a lot of you my age know what “BLACK BEAUTIES” and “YELLOW JACKETS” are 🙂  Back then that was the drug of choice and it was REAL SPEED!  But then I graduated to other uppers then downers to counteract the uppers.  So I’m posting this in the hopes that if someone reads this it might NUDGE them or make them see themselves and go get HELP.
If you do you can always come to me for support.

I speak once a month at this rehab hospital on my book’s story (which involves my addiction throughout my life and how it contributed to me ending up in a POW camp in Iran right after 9/11).  And so many people come to me after the talk and are crying saying I changed their life and you have NO IDEA HOW GREAT THAT MAKES ME FEEL!!! The sales of my books in the gift shop doesn’t excite me, although the profits go to this rehab place.  What excites me is that maybe my story actually motivated someone who wasn’t 100% into getting clean to reach that level where they became that dedicated.  Speaking at that hospital (I don’t get paid I’m a volunteer) is one of the most cathartic times that I have when dealing with what happened to me in Iran.

Sorry so long, but in a synopsis GET HELP, GET CLEAN love yourself and love your family.   It couldn’t get any worse than it is for you right now at this moment if you decide to try this. The only way up is directly to rehab .
GOD BLESS! Lori

****PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORIES (IF YOUR COMFORTABLE DOING IT) WITH OUR READERS.  I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HOW YOU HAVE DEALT WITH GETTING AND STAYING CLEAN.  DO YOU CONSTANTLY HAVE URGES OR HAS IT SUBSIDED, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR THAT TO HAPPEN?  I WOULD APPRECIATE THOSE THAT ARE WILLING TO SHARE THEIR STORY AND IT MIGHT EVEN HELP ANOTHER MAKE A DECISION THAT WOULD ONLY IMPROVE THEIR LIFE!!!

 

My book “Lori’s Song” is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1432738291/?tag=viewbookat0e-20  

Sharing my day, life and issues, now it’s YOUR TURN!!

/ Lori / 4 Comments

This is to encourage those that think their life is meaningless or boring to share a day or a week with me and maybe by sharing we can all laugh and maybe help each other cope.

Hi all,

I just want to share with you how my life goes dealing with the “issues” that I suffer from.  You all should know by now that I have “BIPOLAR”, “DRUG ABUSE”, “PTSD”, “DEPRESSION”, and if I’ve missed one let me know.

On a daily basis I have to deal with the past.  No matter how much therapy I’ve endured I still suffer with nightmares on Iran, and constant dreams of Mohammad.  Almost EVERY night I wake up at some point sitting up with my hands balancing me (which I’m sure is causing my carpal tunnel).  The reason for this is, in the POW camp I was handcuffed to a girl named Faresh and the only way we could “rest” was when we sat back to back.  If I got ANY SLEEP in that camp it was sitting up like that.  We were not allowed to lay down, and generally if they saw us with our eyes closed they would nudge us with their gun butts.   So despite the time period that has elapsed since that incident, I STILL SUFFER FROM THIS.

I still get nightmares about my brother sexually abusing me at age 11.  Once in a great while I will get a good dream where he has died, and if I’m LUCKY I will get a double feature five star dream where he and Mohammad are BOTH killed! 🙂

Now the bipolar that is a tricky issue to deal with.  I’ve been on pills now since 2007 which have helped ALOT!  But the anti-depressants that I take with them usually reach a toleration level in 2-3 years so I have to try another one.  But I don’t suffer from the constant mania that would appear twice or more a week causing me to take my hubby’s credit cards and go buy something, buy what you ask, it didn’t matter as long as I bought something, and that’s the truth.  I still have moodiness that is hard to control, one day I will be best friends with someone and the next day they won’t talk to me due to the conversation we had the night before.  My poor hubby goes through most of my ups and downs.  Whenever I tell him I love him and that he’s the best man I’ve ever had the chance in knowing, he will say, “RIGHT NOW I AM, but tomorrow I could be the OGRE of your nightmares”, and he’s kind of right.  He knows by now not to take me seriously when I’m upset so he just “rides” the storm.  But for the most part the bipolar is under control.

The one thing that upset me is how they portray the bipolar individuals in tv shows or movies.  These people always seem to be OFF THE CHARTS mentally ill.  That is not bipolar.  Bipolar really isn’t a mental condition it’s a MOOD DISORDER.  But the way these shows depict us people get scared and get all kinds of false ideas when they meet someone who is bipolar.  Another thing that needs to be addressed is when a bipolar person gets upset, mad or happy, our loved ones and those close to us ALWAYS attribute it to the BIPOLAR.  It’s like we can’t have these emotions just NORMALLY, it always has to be the bipolar, thus we are not taken seriously.  They assume these emotions will change tomorrow or in some cases like mine in the next ten minutes; (I have rapid cycling bipolar).  We can’t just be mad at someone because they did something we didn’t like, noooo it was because we were just moody and tomorrow we will be fine with what they upset us about.   Or if we get very happy (warning: don’t smile too broadly or laugh too loudly) they will think were manic and start looking at us strange like will she fly the cuckoos nest sometime soon, or will she break down crying.  This just ISN’T RIGHT!

What I don’t like is how apathetic these bipolar meds can make you.  They can make you so apathetic that you don’t have emotions.  I feel bad for the person who is getting their medication adjusted because the doctor feels that if your sedated it’s better than being manic and you could wind up on a drug like Seroquel and sleep all day.  Most of these drugs make you gain weight and then they wonder why Brittney Spears is having trouble keeping her stick thin figure.  She’s lucky she has any energy at all.  Some people who take these drugs take a stimulant or are so hooked on caffeine to counteract the tiredness that causes problems in their behavior too.  I liked my manic episodes at times, they made me feel alive and passionate about things.  Sure I did take them too far and not all my behavior was appropriate but I still enjoyed them.  One time I was getting my hair done at home and had all these tin foils in my hair waiting for my color to take, I told my friend who was doing it to get in the car we had to go to the store and get lottery tickets and cigarettes.  She couldn’t believe it, my hubby told her to please go with me and drive so I wouldn’t get in trouble.  (he knew when I was like that to just deal with it the most tactful way possible).  The people at the store knew me so it didn’t shock them (at least they didn’t show it facially).  My poor hairdresser didn’t come over and do my hair again for a long time.  Until she understood what it was I suffered from.

Well in a short synopsis, I drive an hour and a half every Tuesday to therapy at Henry Ford Hospital, for my PTSD of Iran, childhood sexual abuse, and my life in a nutshell.  I also now have a benign brain tumor that is now 10% into my brain and growing.  I also suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, I’ve had my hip replaced already, and am on a blood thinner due to suffering from 4 lung embolisms after I snorted some Soma and Ritalin *(back in 2007).  But on the bright side I went thru rehab in 2008 and now speak at the rehab hospital once a month on my book, my experiences and my recovery.  This talk motivates, inspires and gives hope to those that think their lives are in dire straits.  (well they tell me it does this and the patients share with me how much these talks help them) I love talking with them and the first time I did, I kept thinking I was narcissistic for standing up in front of a group of people to tell them about my life.  But when they started lining up to hug me and tell me how much hope it gave them as well as inspiration to quit, and some even had tears in their eyes, well that made me the happiest that I’d been in a LONNNGGGG time!  My book is sold in their gift shop and profits go to the rehab hospital.  But that is ALL I have going in my life right now.  I sit home, live on the computer, talk to my cats all day, and exercise everyday (MAYBE) for 30 minutes.  Then I wait for the SIMPSONS to come on, and then I know it’s evening.  I get up every night at 330am and eat ice cream and watch “BEWITCHED”, “I DREAM OF JEANNIE” and if I really stay up long , “THE JACK BENNY SHOW”  I’m on permanent disability so I have NOTHING TO DO.

So if there is anyone out there that has suggestions for me on doing something, not gardening or crocheting, but something they know of for sure that I could help someone with either from my home pc or other, PLEASE let me know.

NOW I WANT TO HEAR YOUR LIFE STORY, or at least a day in the life of SOMEONE WITH ISSUES! 🙂

The reason I wrote this was because I was sick of playing Candy Crush Saga, and other FB games and wanted to do something that MIGHT be productive for other people too.  They say if you talk about things its the first step in helping your mind deal with them.  So I’m dealing with a boring existence that therapy has numbed by severe PTSD to a minimum level, but due to the disability I’m going NUTS AT HOME with NOTHING TO DO!

PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORIES!

*** For those of you who haven’t read my book or know me, the links below should help you out in that aspect.  I also have had a mini-documentary done on the Discover Channel and am looking for more opportunities like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se-NTRWCJIU (Discovery Channel documentary-THIRD STORY in a series of three)
My current promotion to raise money for the charities I support.

Inspiring, touching, and UNDERSTANDING those who want SOBRIETY!

/ Lori / 4 Comments

Hi all,

I just wanted to share this with you today, as most of you know I speak at a rehab hospital every month about my book and experience with drugs as well as what happened to me in Iran.  I usually get one or two war vets and last month one came to me with tears in his eyes.  He had lost his buddy in Iraq and suffered from PTSD *which I do too.  And he told me my talk was so inspiring and helpful that it motivated him to definitely get out of this slouch and take his life back.  That made me feel better than any book profits.  I sell my book at this rehab clinic but all the money goes to the clinic to help support long term rehab.  This is a letter I got from the supervisor at the clinic about last months talk.

Hi Lori,

I just have to tell you the your name is all over our patient surveys,  They loved your talk!!  With that being said I would like to put you down as a regular speaker in the rehab building.  One reason is you will get to talk to more people and the other is I am not scheduling very many at Partial anymore.  So can I put you down for the first Saturday of every month to speak in rehab?  We will be sure to have your book displayed on our front display the next time you come in.

Thank you

 

THIS MEANT SO MUCH TO ME, MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE AND I WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE.  THANK YOU, LORI

Women of Iran

/ Lori / 1 Comment

Hello all!  I posted this article a few months back and forgot to share it with my blogger buds.  This is really important to me because it gives insight as to how “ALL” women and “MOTHERS, SISTERS, AUNTS…etal” are the same at the core.  We forget to see this in our NEGATIVE society.  We only dwell on the bad and totally overlook the good.

I hope this article helps you understand why I loved my Iranian girl students, who also happened to be mothers, sisters, aunts etal…but most of all STRONG WOMEN!

Thank you and your comments would be welcome!

 

 

 

Crossing the lines of culture – My experience in Iran by Lori Foroozandeh

                       

 

If you write a book about something that is little known, you have to be prepared for questions. Some will be silly and trivial, some will be deeper: but there will be questions. I wrote about Iran. Immediately I learned that many Americans know little about that country and its culture. Many of the questions I have been asked have been about the women of Iran. They seem so different from the women of America, so different and so very hard to comprehend.

The mere mention of Iran invokes suspicion. Backwardness, fundamentalism, and terrorism were some of the words that seemed to immediately spring to American minds.  Iranian men are seen as bearded, militant, hostile, and chauvinistic. The women are assumed to be veiled, oppressed, and submissive. Shrouded in their traditional black chadors (the ultimate symbol of their oppression), Iranian women shown on television appear angry. Holding their hands in the air and chanting anti-American slogans, they are more than willing to join the men in a fight against the United States.

Is the anger and anti-Americanism of the Iranian woman real? Are these so-called truths only media propaganda? Are these mass images a reflection of “the people,” or are they just manufactured collages that deprive the individual Iranian woman of her personal humanity? Exactly who is the Iranian woman?

While her appearance seems to typify inferiority and the oppression of the “second sex” that is so prevalent in that part of the world, I beg to differ with the stereotype. Having lived in Iran and having been in day-to-day contact with many of these women, I know them to be wise, proud, and highly intelligent. They are also tactful if not downright manipulative as they deal with the male dominated society around them. They are in many ways truly heroes.

The true Iranian woman may be oppressed, but underneath she is rebellious. She is subjugated but unruly. She is controlled and at the same time defiant. She may seem hushed and subservient, but she is strong in her faith—a true believer—and ready to fight for it. However segregated and oppressed she may be, the Iranian woman is a revolutionary, a fighter, and willing to die for her nation. Yes, she is a loving mother and a dutiful wife, but she has the heart of a warrior and the soul of Persia beats within her.

In short, there is a contradiction between the submissive and the fierce sides of these women. Westerners tend to see only the passive and subservient side. Perhaps that is because Western observers have been so fascinated by what they have seen as so different from their own cultures. Certainly the conflict with Western values has highlighted the anti-feminist aspects of Iranian culture and Islam. In part the revivalism of modern Islam has fortified these traditional values and appearances.

However, having lived in Iran for three and a half years, I have seen the other side of Iranian women. Oriented very much in the here-and-now, Iranian women are pragmatic and are often looked to for advice. Most Iranian men were closer to their mothers than their fathers.  Of course, older sons have a sense of responsibility for their mothers and sisters should anything happen to their fathers. Also, because women are removed from men in the common run of things, they may seem somehow more enigmatic, some one who has to be understood—especially after an arranged marriage, when the man is suddenly expected to take on the role of husband, a role for which he has had so little training.

It is interesting to see how greatly Iranian women change when they come to the United States, especially those women who come by themselves. Without the pressures of family, Iranian women who immigrate to the U.S. frequently give up the chador. They wait to marry. And perhaps most importantly, they continue their educations.

While the women who come here with their families and husbands continue the traditional ways (or perhaps are pressured into doing so), the women who are on their own quickly adapt to this land of new opportunities. Perhaps the most immediate sign of that adaptation is the change in their clothing. The drabness of traditional dress is suddenly replaced with color. But underneath that exuberant change, they are still some of the kindest people you will ever meet.

To read more of my experiences in Iran, visit http://www.loris-song.com/

My book is on Amazon at:  http://www.amazon.com/Loris-Song-Story-American-Captive/dp/1432738291/ref=tmm_pap_title_0