The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Has Depression Taken the Joy out of Life for You?
I used to change my profile pic monthly —even weekly! It's not that I thought I had a face that people needed to see more of. By taking frequent profile pics, I displayed my creativity. In fact, it was important to me that people knew I was creative.Now I don't care in the slightest.I've been asking myself if this is because I have grown up, if it is because I've become bored, or if it is for another, more insidious reason: depression.I can trace a lot of my listlessness to my divorce. After all, I stopped playing my instruments at that time. The shrill sound of pennywhistles, recorders, and other flageolets echoing arou...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - October 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Depression Source Type: blogs

Rick Walton – Mentor, Friend & Inspiration
I'm sitting here in Salt Lake City Cemetery, discretely off to the side, while the Brownie is on a field trip to learn Pioneer history, self-reliance, and some ghost stories to boot. Her class takes the public transit to go on their field trips in order to prepare them for life. They learn how to catch a bus, pay their fare, then walk to their destination. This means that Daddy can't interfere so that she learns to rely on herself, but I am secretly here just in case she has a seizure. It's easy chaperone work. I kept myself busy in my car writing, reading news, and practicing my pennywhislte. Then I got the news my friend...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - October 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Family Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

ADHD: Living Your Life Backwards
I live my life backwards.I don ’t wake up refreshed; I wake up exhausted. There could be many reasons to explain this, from sleep apnea to mischievous imps poking me throughout the night. It might also be stress from my hectic family life at the moment. Alright, it’s probably stress, but I prefer to believe in mischievous imp s. That’s a far more exciting explanation than the horrid mundanity that is my life.The big problem with poor sleep is that I spend my day slowly ramping up until I am working at all cylinders by the end of the day, rushing around getting things done before it ’s bedtime. I would love to pop o...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - September 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Family Goodreads Source Type: blogs

A Maelstrom of Sleepy Chaos
The chaos that is the Brownie is at her mother's, finally asleep. All that remains of her is the debris left behind in her tornado's wake. Not even my latest claw acquisition remains as a cute accent on the dump I call my apartment. With her angelic absence, I was finally able to work on the business cards I intended to use later today. What a handful she has been this summer! You have no idea. After all, how could you? I have kept the drama tight to my vest. And here I am, changing the subject. Now I can at last prevent entropy from destroying my kitchen, finish the laundry before the cycle of chaos begins again Sunday ni...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - August 13, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Family Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl - Week Six
Saturday: It's about this time of the summer every year that I suddenly realize there is a very good reason why I have not accomplished even half of what I set out to do: Summer vacation.I must live in a fantasy bubble, but I forget year after year that when the kids are home over the summer, I don't get much done. Every year I set big, amazing goals, and every summer I beat myself up for failing at them. Then I remember, duh, hello? Summer vacation.You'd think with only one kid at home that I'd manage to master this conundrum, but I'm afraid the Brownie has the best of me. It could be that my brain damaged, learning disab...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - August 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Depression Family Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Falling into Depression, and Climbing Out Again
Sometimes days don't go as planned. With my tic disorder and a sudden bout of depression, Sunday started off poorly:Having a very difficult time with#depression today. Worst I ’ve had in a while. So, sunshine& a mountain hike is my prescription.— Douglas Cootey (@SplinteredMind)July 31, 2016That tweet was the turn around moment for me. Before that, I missed church because I was ticking, but I was also too depressed to get out of bed. I was wallowing!! When was the last time I did that? Since my daughter, Bri'anna Joy, was in town from Germany, we had planned a big daddy/daughter hike with me and my four girls, ...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - August 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Depression Family Goodreads Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl — Week Five
< figure > < img src="http://cootey.com/pix/2016/Writing-ina-Fishbowl-Graphic.png" id="blogsy-1469534881857.8855" class="" alt="Nifty logo of words in a fishbowl" width="463" height="430" > < /figure > < figure > < br > < /figure > < figure > Week Three and Four were total busts. So embarrassing. I became sick AND had a ticking bout that lasted days. When that happens, I default to just the bare minimum: taking care of my daughters. That's my primary responsibility. Learning to squeeze blogging and writing into my life around my responsibilities is secondary. < /figure > < figure > That doesn't mean I'm pleased with the re...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Goodreads Writing Source Type: blogs

Curing Depression with Pokemon Go
< div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;" > < a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dE0jv0hqH0A/V5cJYfxEF2I/AAAAAAAADas/npIv2NgAUMc/s1773/Photo%25252020160726005521905.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" > < img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dE0jv0hqH0A/V5cJYfxEF2I/AAAAAAAADas/npIv2NgAUMc/s500/Photo%25252020160726005521905.jpg" id="blogsy-1469516134685.694" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="500" > < /a > < /div > < p > Just like almost everybody else on Earth, I have been enjoying the augmented reality game, < a href="http://www.pokemongo.com"...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Depression Goodreads Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl – Week Three
Two things of note today:On Thieves & Lowlifes Last month I moved all the boxes in my rented garage space into my living room. I’m moving in two months, so I figured I’d save money while pruning the boxes down to fit into a smaller space. The detritus of my half of twenty-three years of marriage still awaits my sad, pruning heart. If there weren’t so many precious things mixed in, I’d dump the lot. Instead, it’s like I just got a messy new roommate. The only problem I had was what to do with my mountain bike and disabled daughter’s adult trike. I refer to her as the Brownie on social...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Family Goodreads Writing Source Type: blogs

Insensitive Mental Health Advice People Give, Misquoted
I woke up this morning to discover I had been quoted! Finally! Somebody noticed my insightful commentary on the world and felt it noteworthy to share. I could expect to see a boost in page hits, maybe some social media traction, and dare I hope, more sales of my book, “Saying ‘NO!’ to Suicide”. Then I noticed a tiny problem. As much as I appreciated the signal boost from Healthy Minds on Facebook and Twitter, I wasn’t actually quoted. In fact, I hadn’t said any of the comments attributed to me. The cited quotes were the cheeky bullet points and summaries of the article author, Sabrina Ro...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 9, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Depression Goodreads Writing Source Type: blogs

Suicide Prevention: The Sun Always Rises
My friend, Paul Tuck, died three years ago today. I’ve been thinking about him lately. I miss his zany and quick humor. I miss his smile and his laugh. To be honest, though, I didn’t like him much when I first met him. He delighted in playing devil’s advocate on any issue that was opposite of where you stood at that moment. My first introduction to Paul was when I was giving him and my friend, Nathan, a ride from some event in Salt Lake City, and he was arguing about the superior quality of 8-bit Nintendo music over the Sega Master System or something, and I couldn’t get him home fast enough. He was...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 8, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Depression Goodreads Journaling Suicide Source Type: blogs

#22pushups a Day for #22KILL – Week One
Update: I did it! Please visit Part Two to see the completion of this challenge. I was challenged to post a video of myself doing twenty-two push-ups a day for twenty-two days by my friend, Matt Coombs, on Facebook. The “22Kill Challenge” is intended to bring awareness to the estimated twenty-two veterans every day who take their own lives. As somebody who has struggled with suicidism since I was fifteen years old, I know how hard it can be to carry this burden on your own. I believe #22Kill's plan to bring awareness to this veteran plight is a noble one.I never served in the military, but my brother, Ryan, di...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Depression Suicide Source Type: blogs

What ‽ It's Wednesday already?
< p > I & #8217;m not sure what I was thinking last month, but I scheduled an enormous amount of appointments for this week. Independence Day was busy enough as it was, but I & #8217;m fairly certain my future self went back in time to punish myself by trapping me inside a hot car and sending me all over Salt Lake Valley. Then he hid my keys. < /p > < p > Future me is a real jerk. < /p > < p > At least important doctors appointments and therapy sessions for my kids are being met, but my work schedule has been left on the side of a hot, Utah highway somewhere. If I envision ravens circling my work schedule to feed on its di...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Family Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

What‽ It's Wednesday already?
I’m not sure what I was thinking last month, but I scheduled an enormous amount of appointments for this week. Independence Day was busy enough as it was, but I’m fairly certain my future self went back in time to punish myself by trapping me inside a hot car and sending me all over Salt Lake Valley. Then he hid my keys. Future me is a real jerk. At least important doctors appointments and therapy sessions for my kids are being met, but my work schedule has been left on the side of a hot, Utah highway somewhere. If I envision ravens circling my work schedule to feed on its disorganized corpse, that’s mo...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Family Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Best Depression Blog of 2016? When Did That Happen?
Healthline I have this amazing article planned about the power of Inbox Zero for ADHD people. It was inspired by a sarcastic article written by somebody who took pleasure in her unread mail. I thought it was batty as well as catty, but then I never wrote my article in response. I forgot all about it until I started typing this blog entry. THAT, my friends, is the power of ADHD. Yes, you, too, can completely forget about amazing articles because the neighbor’s dog barks between the moment of Brilliant Idea Genesis and you finding something to write it down on. It may not have been the neighbor’s dog. It could ha...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - July 2, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Depression Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs