Those Old Skeletons

original art by me, April 2011

Do you have one of those in your closet? What does it mean to you? The phrase, skeleton in the closet (or cupboard if you speak the Queen's English), originated in the early 1800s, so it's been around awhile, but it is now commonly used to mean that you have something bad to hide.

Well then, let's talk secrets. One of the topics that is near and dear to my heart is mental illness. We all have mental health, and when that becomes compromised, then there is mental illness. Make sense? If you are into statistics, here you go... Mental Health Statistics and Resources. Basically, it's estimated that 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 18 suffer from a mental disorder.

Enough about statistics though.  I've been thinking and thinking about what, exactly, is my point about all of this. I guess the bottom line is that if you asked anyone, they probably know someone who has a mental illness, even if they aren't directly related to them. And I'm NOT talking about knowing about people in the news who might or might not be deemed insane.

I'll end this one here, even if it does seem a little abrupt. I just need to get it out of my head. More definitely coming... this is just kind of an introduction, if you will, so read, store it away and move along.


xoxo, Ellen