A “Passion for Change”: The (Shrink) Rap ™ on Mental Illness.

Over the last few months I’ve had the pleasure to get to know a woman very passionate about the field of mental illness.  Marilyn Mongeon Quill, M.S., APR, President & CEO of “Passion for Change” (PfC).  Passion for Change is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), which serves as a catalyst in breaking the stigma of mental illness by shedding light, challenging misperception and driving change through research, advocacy and education.  PfC is also a “proud member of the Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition.”  The organization is especially interested in enlightening the media about the realities of mental illness.  PfC desires to expose mass and social media misrepresentations that foster stereotypical views and assumptions about mental illness in the general populace.  Marilyn and I are discussing ways Passion for Change and the Stress Doc ™ might partner on an educational program for both professionals and the community-at-large.

During one of our recent get the word out brainstorms, I suddenly blurted out, “Hey I might be able to write a “Shrink Rap” ™ anthem for Passion for Change.  Of course, the last time I wrote a song for a group resulted in “The Electrifying Lady,” a hot bluesy ballad for a Black Beauty contest.  (Don’t ask…but if interested in the lyrics, email stressdoc@aol.com.)  With the aid of some bullet points from Marilyn, I went to work.  This is the kind of puzzle-challenge that sets my slightly manic mind on fire.  Actually, with so many psychiatric diagnostic labels on my family tree, I was calling up a path vividly articulated by the 20^th century, acclaimed English author, John Fowles.  Fowles believed emotional memories were his electric current.  He needed to be plugged into this power source to maximize his creative output.

So just below is the result of my electric currency, A “Passion for Change”:  The (Shrink) Rap ™ on Mental Illness.

BTW, if you’d like more information on Passion for Change, 28263 Center Ridge Road, Suite E-12, Westlake, OH  44145-3846, email Marilyn at mquill@passionforchange.org or call 216.496.3295.

Visit us on the web at: http://www.passionforchange.org

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynmongeonquill

 

Hopefully, this will touch some heads and hearts!  Peace, Mark

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A “Passion for Change”:  The (Shrink) Rap ™ on Mental Illness

 

You say you're ready to "change for passion."

Sure, you’re hip to the latest fashion.

But will you really rearrange your brain...
Ready to work with a "Passion for Change"?

Passion, oh passion
Not just mindless action
Passion, our passion
Higher purpose compassion

Can mental illness be a deviancy?
When one out of two, says the CDC
One day’ll show symptoms, predictably.
Now think about that…it might be you or me!

Passion, oh passion
From angst or depression
Passion, my passion
Sowing seeds of compassion

With mental illness most play a blame game
“Get it together, stop being so lame.”
Or we shake our heads: “It’s such a shame”
Now you’re only a diagnostic name.

Passion, oh passion
"Touched with Fire" ** interaction
Passion, our passion
The blazing pain of compassion

MI – Myocardial Infarction
A disease worthy of all our attention.
But MI – the Mental Illness version
It’s only an “in your head” perversion.

With a heart attack, you don’t get no flack
We rally troops and fight the no good plaque.
With a mind setback; wrong side of the tracks.
For the mentally ill there is no slack!

Passion, oh passion
Drives human evolution
Passion, my passion
Moral compass of compassion

This mental health rap is not meant to scare
But we still need to play “Truth and Dare”
Especially when a family affair
That touches all whether distant or near
And it touches all for whom we care.

Passion, oh passion
Past time for indignation
On beyond compassion
It's time for a decision!

Mental illness breeds when slighting human needs!
With meds and counseling we can stop the bleed
With jobs and housing – a mind-body is freed.
To change heads and hearts takes both word and deed…
Join Passion for Change; now help take the lead!

Passion, oh passion
A mind’s sacred mission
Passion, my passion
Finding passion in compassion

Passion, my passion
A mind’s determination
Passion, our passion
Will YOU commit to action?
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** Touched with Fire" – The title of Kay Redfield Jamison's book, Touched with Fire:  Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament; Jamison, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University Dept. of Psychiatry, also authored the best-selling autobiography, An Unquiet Mind.


© Mark Gorkin  2014
Shrink Rap ™ Productions


Mark Gorkin, the Stress Doc ™, www.stressdoc.com, acclaimed Keynote and Kickoff Speaker, Webinar Presenter, Retreat Leader and Motivational Humorist, is the author of Practice Safe Stress and The Four Faces of Anger. A former Stress & Violence Prevention consultant for the US Postal Service, the Stress Doc leads one-day "Stress Resiliency" workshops for "METRO" Managers and Supervisors of the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA).  "The Doc" is also a Team Building and Organizational Development Consultant as well as a Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Expert for Business Health Services, a National Wellness/EAP/OD Company.  Mark leads highly interactive, innovative, and inspiring programs for corporations and government agencies, including the US Military, on stress and brain resiliency/burnout prevention through humor, change and conflict management, generational communication, and 3 "R" -- Responsible, Resilient & Risk-Taking -- leadership-partnership team building.

Email stressdoc@aol.com for his popular free newsletter & info on speaking programs and phone coaching sessions.  And click https://vimeo.com/69053828 for the Stress Doc's wildly pioneering "Shrink Rap" video.

Stress Doc Mantra: "Think out of the box, perform outside the curve (the Bell Curve) and be out-rage-ous!"