>>>
>>> HERE
>>> HERE WE ARE, NO MATTER YOUR SITUATION, EVERYBODY HAS UPS
AND DOWNS WHEN IT COMES TO
MENTAL HEALTH, AND THERE SHOULD
BE NO SHAME AROUND GETTING
HELP.
HELP.
HELP. ROCK STEADY IS A GRAPHIC MEMOIR
WITH A GUIDE OF TIPS AND TOOLS
OF SOMEBODY WHO HAS BEEN
THROUGH IT AND THRIVED.
AUTHOR ELLEN FORNY IS WITH ME
NOW.
NOW.
NOW. GOOD
NOW. GOOD TO SEE YOU.
>> NICE TO BE BACK.
>> WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE
ROCK STEADY AND WHY IN THIS
PARTICULAR FORM, WHICH I LOVE.
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL BOOK.
>> THANK YOU.
THANKS.
THANKS.
THANKS. WELL, AFTER MY GRAPHIC MEMOIR,
MARBLES, MANIA, DEPRESSION,
MICHELANGELO AND ME, WHICH WE
TALKED ABOUT AFTER IT CAME OUT,
I GOT A LOT OF READER FEED BACK
THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE USED IT
LIKE A MANUAL, AND I THOUGHT,
YOU KNOW, I COULD DO A MORE
COMPLETE AND A BETTER JOB WITH
A MANUAL.
A MANUAL.
A MANUAL. SO THAT'S WHERE ROCK STEADY
CAME IN.
CAME IN.
CAME IN. >> SO WHEN YOU SAY A MANUAL,
WHAT IS IT HELPING TO TEACH US?
>> WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF
COPING TOOLS AND STRATEGIES FOR
STAYING STABLE, AND REALLY I'D
HAVE TO SAY, IT'S FOR PEOPLE
WITH MOOD DISORDERS, BUT REALLY
IT'S FOR ANYONE WHO'S FEELING
KIND OF UNSTABLE IN THIS
UNSTABLE TIME, REALLY.
>> AND THAT COULD BE MENTAL
HEALTH PROBLEM OR NOT, IT
DOESN'T MATTER.
DOESN'T MATTER. IT'S ALSO, I THINK, A GOOD BOOK
FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE SOMEBODY IN
THEIR LIFE WHO'S SUFFERING FROM
SOME SORT OF INSTABILITY,
BECAUSE YOU CAN BETTER
UNDERSTAND.
UNDERSTAND. BUT THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE
GRAPHIC NOVEL APPROACH, I
THINK, THAT OPENS THIS UP TO
PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN
OPEN TO SELF-HOPE SORTS OF
TOOLS.
TOOLS.
TOOLS. >>
TOOLS. >> RIGHT, WELL THE LANGUAGE OF
COMICS REALLY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO
GET IN.
GET IN.
GET IN. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT
THINGS THAT WORDS AND PICTURES
AND THEIR COMBINATION ARE
REALLY REALLY USEFUL FOR.
AND SOME OF IT IS
APPROACHABILITY, SOME OF IT
ALLOWED ME TO GET IN A CERTAIN
SENSE OF HUMOR.
>> WHICH ALWAYS MAKES IT GOOD
AND EASIER.
AND EASIER. >> WELL, HUMOR IS VERY
DISARMING AND THERE'S A REASON
THAT A LOT OF US GET OUR NEWS
FROM SORT OF LIKE NEWS COMEDY
SHOWS.
SHOWS.
SHOWS. >>
SHOWS. >> TRUCE.
>> TRUCE.
>> TRUCE. >> BUT ALSO COMICS ALLOW PEOPLE
WHO HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF
LEARNING, LIKE CERTAIN LEARNING
ABILITIES AND DISABILITIES,
PEOPLE WHO HAVE DYSLEXIA,
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE OR
PEOPLE WHO ARE IN A CRISIS AND
ARE REALLY STRESSED OUT AND
MIGHT TURN TO A MANUAL FOR
STAYING STABLE, WHEN THEY ARE
ACTUALLY REALLY STRESSING OUT,
AND HAVE A HARD TIME LOOKING AT
TEXT ONLY.
TEXT ONLY. >> JUST READING PAGE AFTER
PAGE.
PAGE.
PAGE. >>
PAGE. >> LIKE ANTS ON A PAGE, YOU
KNOW.
KNOW.
KNOW. >>
KNOW. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. EXACTLY.
EXACTLY.
EXACTLY. AND THAT HAPPENS LOTS.
EVERYBODY HAS BEEN JANGLE AND
HAD A HARD TIME READING THROUGH
SOMETHING COMPLEX.
SOMETHING COMPLEX. YOU HAD TIPS OF SELF-CARE THAT
WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE.
THERE'S A GRAPHIC HERE, AN
ACRONYM FOR SLEEP, MEDS, EAT,
DOCTOR, MINDFULNESS, EXERCISE,
AND SUPPORT SYSTEM.
>> THE OVERRIDING IDEA IS IT
TAKES A LOT OF, WELL, AN
AWARENESS OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT
ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE AND
DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF WHAT IT
TAKES TO BE HEALTHY.
THERE'S A LOT OF FOCUS ON
MEDICATION.
MEDICATION. THAT'S REALLY FOR PEOPLE WHO
TAKE MEDICATION.
TAKE MEDICATION. IF YOU TAKE MEDS, TAKE YOUR
MEDS.
MEDS.
MEDS. >>
MEDS. >> THE WAY YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO.
RIGHT.
RIGHT.
RIGHT. EXACTLY.
EXACTLY.
EXACTLY. REGULARLY AND WITH THE CARE OF
A DOCTOR, BUT FIRST AND
FOREMOST, IT'S SLEEP, FOR
EXAMPLE, FIRST AND FOREMOST,
YOU HAVE TO GET ENOUGH SLEEP,
REGULAR SLEEP AND THAT NEEDS A
LOT MORE ATTENTION, AS WELL AS
THE OTHER THINGS.
EAT IN A WAY THAT NOURISHES
YOU, AND I WOULD SAY
MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION IS A
REALLY IMPORTANT WAY TO GET
SOME PERSPECTIVE, WHEN YOU'RE
GETTING REALLY KIND OF LOST IN
THE SNARLS OF LIFE.
>> GET SOME PERSPECTIVE AND
CALM DOWN.
CALM DOWN. SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SURE WE'RE
HEARING ABOUT REACHING OUT:
REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE FOR
SUPPORT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S
OVERWHELMING YOURSELF.
OVERWHELMING YOURSELF. >> AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE A
FAMILY OR FRIEND, THERE ARE
HELP LINES, GROUPS, BUT JUST
KNOWING THAT WE CAN'T, NONE OF
US CAN DO THIS ALONE.
WE ARE SELF-SUFFICIENT, PULLING
OURSELVES UP BY THE BOOT
STRAPS.
STRAPS.
STRAPS. MY THEORY IS THERE ARE 7
BILLION OF US ON THE PLANET
BECAUSE WE NEED EACH OTHER.
AND THE SUPPORT SYSTEM IS
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. >> IF I CAN ADD TO THAT.
SUPPORT SYSTEM AS A WAY OF
MAINTAINING, SO THERE'S A LOT
OF EMPHASIS RIGHT NOW ON
REACHING OUT WHEN YOU'RE IN A
CRISIS, BUT IT'S ABOUT
MAINTAINING THAT KIND OF
SUPPORT SYSTEM ALL THE TIME.
>> AND DEVELOPING ONE IF YOU
DON'T HAVE ONE.
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. >> WHICH WE CAN.
I LOVE THAT IDEA AND I THINK
THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT, AND
ANYBODY CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY
NOT HAVE IT IN YOUR FAMILY, BUT
THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T
FIND IT IN YOUR FRIENDS OR
ELSEWHERE IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. EXACTLY.
EXACTLY.
EXACTLY. >> WHICH IS JUST SOMETHING THAT
I THINK WE'VE ALL KIND OF GROWN
UP WITH THIS IDEA, THAT OUR
FAMILY HAS TO BE PERFECT.
IT'S A FAMILY THAT YOU CAN
MAKE.
MAKE.
MAKE. >>
MAKE. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. EXACTLY.
EXACTLY.
EXACTLY. >> IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE YOUR
FAMILY OF ORIGIN.
YOU HAVE A TRAVELING EXHIBITION
GOING ON.
GOING ON.
GOING ON. TELL ME ABOUT THAT.
>> THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF
MEDICINE ASKED ME TOO CURE RATE
ON GRAPHIC MEDICINE.
MY WORK FITS SQUARELY INTO
GRAPHIC MEDICINE.
GRAPHIC MEDICINE. >> TELL ME WHAT THAT MEANS.
>> IT'S COMICS ABOUT HEALTH.
FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S GRAPHIC
MEMOIRS, BUT THERE ARE ALSO A
LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF
EDUCATING AND COMMUNICATING
USING COMICS.
USING COMICS. THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF
MEDICINE ASKED ME TO CURE RATE
THIS EXHIBIT FOR THEIR
TRAVELING EXHIBITION PROGRAM.
>> THAT'S AMAZING.
REALLY AMAZING.
REALLY AMAZING. >> RIGHT NOW, IT'S IN SEATTLE
AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY,
TRAVELING AROUND, BOOKED FOR
THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
IT WAS IMMEDIATELY BOOKED FOR
THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
>> THAT'S PRETTY GOOD.
>> AND JUST TO CONCLUDE, TELL
ME A BIT ABOUT HOW YOUR
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, LIVING
WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER HELPED
YOU TO KIND OF SHAPE THESE
IDEAS AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO
HELP OTHER PEOPLE NAVIGATE.
>> I HAVE CERTAINLY HAD A BIG
FOCUS ON STAYING STABLE.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME TO
BE HEALTHY.
BE HEALTHY. AND I HAVE BEEN STABLE SINCE
2002.
2002.
2002. I
2002. I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY CYCLED SINCE
THEN, AND I'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I DO, AND
THAT'S WHY.
THAT'S WHY. I MEAN, EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN
STORY, AND I'M NOT SAYING IF
YOU DO WHAT I DO, AND I'M
SPECIAL THAT WAY, BUT I'VE
LEARNED OVER THE YEARS, THE
DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE
REALLY HELPED ME A LOT, AND
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME TO
TAKE THIS EXPERIENCE THAT HAS
HAD A LOT OF PAIN AND
NEGATIVITY, AND MAKE IT INTO
SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR MYSELF
AND FOR SURE FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
>> WELL, IT DOES GIVE PEOPLE
IDEAS, BUT IT GIVES THEM HOPE
AND ALSO KEEPS THAT
CONVERSATION OPEN BECAUSE WE
HAVE ALL BEEN THROUGH
SOMETHING.
SOMETHING. THIS DOESN'T NEED TO BE A
SHAMEFUL THING.
SHAMEFUL THING. IT SHOULDN'T BE.
IT CAN'T BE.
IT'S PART OF BEING HUMAN.
WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. DEFINITELY, I AGREE.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING
ME.
ME.
ME. >>
ME. >> I'M IN GREAT ADMIRATION OF
THE BOOK AND EXHIBITION AND I
APPRECIATE IT.
APPRECIATE IT. >>> UP NEXT, A NEW BOOK HELPING
PEOPLE