From Random Acts Of Reality

Halfway There

56 Comments

I woke up today to discover that I had rather rapidly become 35. Happy birthday to me. This also means that I am halfway to 70, which is the best most of us can hope for when it comes to allotted lifespans. So that gives science 35 years to discover personal immortality before it's too late.

So what is my plan for today? Well, it's to sit and answer 17 days worth of emails.

A big thanks to my mate Merys who remembered and sent me a lovely present (even though she mocks my taste in music).

If you would like to give me a present then link to me,(for I am a link whore) or maybe buy my book for someone for Christmas, it makes a nice present and mothers tend to like it.

With reference to the comments on my last post, there is a continuum between 'Mad' and 'Bad' and it all depends where you draw the line.

Mad] ———- [Bad

For example, Rebecca 'Beat your husband, but hang the criminals' Wade would probably draw the line here,

Mad] -|——– [Bad

…while a stereotypical lentil chewing social worker might draw it here,

Mad] ——-|– [Bad

…Meanwhile the rest of us may move up and down the line depending on our mood, the background of the situation or even the weather.

I believe that the professional opinion is that if pills can make them better then they are 'mad', if the pills don't work then they are 'bad'

56 thoughts on “Halfway There”

  2. Definately Happy Birthday Mate!!!Will raise a glass in your favor… you know long life, good health, crazy patients… all the good things to live for! šŸ˜‰

    Enjoy any festivities if you're gonna hvae 'em!

    Eug šŸ˜‰

    Reply

  11. Happy Birthday – have a pint of tea on me.You'll also be glad to know you've been linked a few times on my site/blog and a link to your book on Amazon.

    Reply

  12. Happy Birthday to you,I hope you have a wonderful day with all the gifts you could wish for.

    P.S Let hope your still blogging in 35 years

    Reply

  13. Oh and by the way, I've just looked at your 'Find out more about me here' link. You may want to update that sometime. Number 22 says the following:No-one knows I blog at work, and they likely won't find out.

    Reply

  14. Happy birthday to you! Have a good one.HMV do an excellent easy listening section should you now feel the need to change your questionable taste in music.

    Am not sure your line on the mad/bad scale is in the correct place for the stereotypical yoghurt knitting social workers…. somewhere around the middle is less judgemental.

    Reply

  15. LOL every time I see an ambulance pass I now check out the driver, EVERYONE knows you now!At this rate people will be travelling to Newham and sticking carrots up their bums under the moonlight, solely in hopes of getting an autograph.

    EUW – gross image… sorry, been up all night working…..

    Reply

  16. Happy Birthday to you!I bought your book three weeks ago, and read it in 4 days. Loved it, and I'm recommending it to everyone. Does this count as an advance birthday present?

    Reply

  17. Completely unrelated to the post but anyhoo…I stood chatting with Norman Lovett at the weekend and the thought running through my head head was, “Blimey, you don't half sound like Tom Reynolds”.

    Does that mean (in my head at least) you are more famous than the man himself.

    Reply

  20. GRATTIS P FDELSEDAGEN, TOM! :D”Happy birthday” in Sveeedisch………I hope you have a brilliant day!In relation to your follow-up, I just want to add something I feel is an important aspect of the debate.Pills alone will not cure any form of 'madness' (I hope by that term one wouldn't include disorders such as OCD, Aspergers, Bi-Polar, etc………”madness” itself is very hard to define – perhaps one should leave the term “madness” to conditions such as severe paranoid schizophrenia or sociopathy?).Anyone in mental health care should and hopefully will confirm that mental disorders require a carefully-considered combination of both medicine and appropriate therapy/counselling.I don't want to sound like I am on a soapbox here and I am worried now that I do – and what people will think – but that's partially symptomatic of my own “condition” ;)Anyway – have a great birthday!

    Reply

  22. ah, but you have the folks who believe that it is all 'bad brain chemistry'.I think the things that can't be cured/controlled by pills are termed 'personality disorders' and so you are completely off the Mad/Bad continuum.

    Reply

  23. *grin* – so I am neither mad nor bad! Hurrah! ;)Whereas you are both for having posted on your B I R T H D A Y !!! Now put the mac laptop away and go play, have fun, etc! šŸ˜€

    Reply

  24. Funny. I had a similar epiphany at the ridiculous age of 25. Kept wandering around, muttering to myself, “I'm a quarter of a century old. I' a quarter of a century old.”I've already linked to you, and bought the book. Nothing left, is there? Except good wishes and many happy returns!

    Reply

  32. Penblwydd hapus, Tom! Have a great day and here's hoping you get to stay away from the baddies and maddies, whichever they are.(ps have already bought second copy of book as a present – is really very good).

    Reply

  35. Happy Birthday Tom, I'm not far behind you.My take on the mad/bad argument is less to do with medication, and more to do with the level of responsibility which can be directly attributable to the individual. It gets a bit grey with personality disorders though.

    Man stabs wife because she went shopping. BAD.

    Man stabs wife because the voices told him to. MAD.

    Man stabs wife because the voices told him to because the man decided he didn't want to take his medication. MAD-BAD?

    Man stabs himself because his wife has an affair. SAD.

    Man stabs wife because he saw her look at another male in the street and this is completely unacceptable because he is the only person she can look at. This is because he is a selfish scumbag. BAD.

    Man stabs wife and male in street because he saw her look at the male and this is completely unacceptable because he is the only person she can look at. This is because he has psychopathic personality disorder. ?

    I dunno where to draw the line – PDs are untreatable and people with them are most definitely “mad” in the sense that their diagnosis is in various mental health diagnostic manuals – the question is whether or not the individual is capable of not doing those acts.

    IMHO

    Reply

  40. Happy birthday or HYV SYNTYMPIV as we say over here in Finland!!! I've been reading your blog for a while now (and it's absolutetly brilliant btw) and had to write this post today because it seems that we share our date of birth šŸ™‚ So hope you had a relaxing day today, birthdays can be extremely stressful! All the best, Maria

    Reply

  41. Happy Birthday to you,Happy Birthday to you,

    Happy Birthday Dear Brian/Tom,

    Happy Birthday to You!

    (and many more….)

    Reply

  43. I think 70 years is a bit high. didn't some scottish ambulance fella just publish research that found that 80% of A+E ambulance staff die before 65?

    Reply

  44. mmm, interesting concept this pills one, they can't cure man-flu either, does that mean that men (ok and girls sometimes) with man-flu aren't ill either?I guess that goes for all uncureable physical illnesses too…. like i say, interesting!

    Happy birthday of course too

    Reply

  49. Man-flu's not a mental illness you see. It's just proof they're the weaker sex, and therefore does not need treatment as such, just love, cuddles, and endless soup and tea….

    Reply

  50. Hi Vic, it's out of the book, there's a bit about a suction effect for anally inserted objects that I really wish I hadn't read, but since I'm now mentally scarred for life by that image, thought I'd share the joy! :o)

    Reply

  52. PDs most certainly ARE treatable in as such that one can at least learn to live with the problems they cause and, in many cases, overcome the anxieties they cause too! Sure, it requires varying degress of medicinal intervention for some, and differing proportions between that and therapy, but CBT has a proven success rate with different forms of personality disorder – apologies if I'm seeming picky or defensive – I, like Flimb, just want to try and battle against the causes of stigma associated with “mental illness” – the biggest cause is ignorance (not meant in a nasty way – just meant as “lack of sufficient knowledge”.Grouping the words “psycopathic” and “personality disorder” together is dangerous as it encourages further misconception. I would say that most people are capable of doing “bad things” – in the case of “pure-o OCD” for example, the distinction between a sufferer and non-sufferer would be that the sufferer endures

    varying degrees of anxiety relating to the guilt felt for being able to imagine the act and its consequences – whereas you, an apparently “normal” person, could easily dismiss a flash of a “bad” thought in a similar situation – it then causes you no stress. Big difference and very hard to explain to someone who doesn't experience the full effects/consequences.

    However, this does not mean the sufferer is psychopathic!

    I would recommend some people read a course 101-type book on

    mental illness…………………..a mental health diagnostic manual would cover such problems as “mild depression” and, as batsgirl quite rightly said in the previous entry's comments, there is a difference between “clinical” depression (for example) and non clinical.

    Under the definition you appear to be using, up to 67% of the UK is “mad”! Now THAT's insane……….and potentially harmful. Lecture over. Soap box away. Fancy a pint?! šŸ™‚

    Reply

  53. Hope you had a good birthday – didn't realise we shared one (or indeed all of them!) For some reason I didn't check the blog yesterday as I was busy feeling glum about being 44. Don't knock 35, matey!

    Reply

  55. Felix Natale Tibi! (and yes I know the web has different Latin versions, but that's what my Latin teacher had us sing to each other instead of happy birthday).Hope you had a great day (even if I am late in wishing you well).

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *