Moody Blogs Again

Posted on March 4, 2005 in Anxiety Depression Mania OCD PTSD

This is a reposting.

There’s no need to be alone or to hide.

Moody Blogs is

A ring for those bloggers who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, chronic pain, or any other condition which affects their moods. Family members (including domestic partners) are also welcome. Not necessarily gloomy.

Here are the rules:

1. You must suffer from a mood disorder or chronic anxiety or be a blood relative, spouse, or domestic partner of a person suffering from a mood disorder.
2. The ring code must appear on your main page and remain there.
3. No hatred against any nationality, religion, sexual preference, persons suffering from any disease, or gender is allowed. This includes advocacy of violence.
4. No advocacy of suicide or violence is allowed. Our aim is to help people vent feelings and heal their pain. Providing information for others about how to kill themselves runs counter to this purpose.
5. Your blog need not focus on your condition. Just show others that they are not alone and need not hide.

To join, send email to gazissax@best.com with the subject line “Moody Blogs Enrollment”. Include your name, blog URL, blog title, year of birth, and a short description of your blog. I will create the ring code for your page and a password.

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FAQ

What is a web ring?

A web ring is an affiliation of web sites on similar themes which have pledged to place a bit of navigation code on their page. Visitors to these sites who clink on the webring link may travel between the websites which have elected to join the ring.

What is a web log/blog?

A blog is an online diary or journal. Some like to call them “ongoing letters to the world”. Though a few professional writers pretend to share intimacies through national venues such as Salon Magazine, most blogs are the work of unknown individuals. They require that you have web space and an engine for making your entries. Blogger is a very popular vehicle for those who lack web space and/or access to cgi or php clients. For those who have web space and cgi capability, I heartily recommend MovableType or WordPress.

Are you a therapist or something?

No. I suffer from Bipolar Disorder. I take Effexor™, Lithium, and Lamictal for my condition and xanax for occasional panic attacks and anxiety. I’m doing this because I don’t like feeling alone in the world and I want to help others “come out of the closet” so that they can get the treatment they need to start feeling better.

What are you trying to do? Encourage people to be weird?

No. We exist to encourage people to be open about the fact that they suffer from these particular diseases as a step towards encouraging others who have them and towards our own wellness. Not a single one of us would say that these things are fun to have. Nor do we enjoy the states we enter from time to time. We hope that our experiences will encourage others to seek treatment despite the absurd stigma against mental illness in our society. We also hope that our participation will lead to making ourselves feel better about ourselves and better able to cope with the illness from which we suffer.