No Mouse Ears for Us

Authored by Kristi and Olivia

     Olivia and I are observationalists of our life events and of other people's life events. Our story will never appear on Disney Channel. We aren't going to clean up the stories for the readers because that is exactly the point of being unhinged. 

Here's a little background on the website's and podcast's title, which seeks to represent two different generations that are working hard to remove the stigma of mental illness.

• Privately. One of the "privately" definitions is information that belongs or is concerning an individual.
• What kind of things were you taught should be kept private? What truths about yourself or others do you hold? Are you the kind of person who lives a very private life or do you "put it all out there" for the world to see?
• People who suffer from the chronic disease of mental illness learn right away that when people act differently after hearing of your mental illness. The worst way for them to hear about this is through the grapevine because the gossip almost never reflects the truth. 
• Unhinged. The definition of "unhinged" is someone who is highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught. 
• Have you experienced life events that made you feel disconnected from almost everyone? In your lifetime, have had hardship? Sometimes hardship that interfered with your relationships or work?
• Unhinged can feel like a helium balloon that is tethered by a string instead of a ribbon. The balloon is full of air and holding on with string. If the string breaks the balloon is untethered. The balloon had just been waiting for that to happen.
• Unhinged for Olivia and me is a status update that says, "WE UNDERSTAND UNHINGED--AND UNHINGED FOLKS CANNOT GET HELP IF YOU PRIVATELY CARRY YOUR PAIN." 

Friend, you are only as sick as your secrets. We are only as sick as our secrets. We don't plan to share everything in our lives--but the stories we do share are snapshots or vignettes of a family pathology the required the chain-breaking of batshit crazy living.