Author of This Hunger Is Secret: My Journeys Through Mental Illness and Wellness…A blog about writing, anorexia, my dog, running, knitting, mental illness…and home of The It Notebook
I am speaking from a hall phone in this audio post. If I recall correctly, I am using the phone near the outer “locked” door, the “way out” of the unit. For the entire sixteen days, I stayed on the unit, within the locked doors. In this brief entry, I am saying a temporary goodbye, explaining that for now, I am not allowed to blog. Future entries give further explanation as to what was going on with the whole telephone rights issue. I was discharged Feb. 24. On Feb 21, there was a huge blowout between me and staff when I found out that not only was I no longer allowed to blog, but my word was not trusted. I said I would not blog, but now, I couldn’t even make a phone call to a friend in privacy. My telephone rights were completely suspended. Not only this, my social worker didn’t even have the guts to tell me this to my face. She let the other staff tell me. That evening, they were cold and hostile to me. After several days…there were no several days. I had had it. I couldn’t tolerate the disrespect. I couldn’t tolerate being treated like a child. I was getting worse and worse. I was going to have to nurse myself back to health on my own.
My name is Julie Greene. I am the author of the memoir, This Hunger Is Secret, My Journeys Through Mental Illness and Wellness. The book will be coming out in paperback very soon from Chipmunkapublishing and will be available from Amazon and other booksellers, and from me, signed, at readings. I have written two memoirs, two novels, and one collection of my own works. I earned my BFA from Emerson College in Writing, Literature, and Publishing in 2003 and my MFA in Creative Writing in 2009 from Goddard College. I am an an activist for people with eating disorders, and have had 32 years experience living with an eating disorder and other mental diseases. I believe that people with eating disorders are a neglected population faced with ignorance and discrimination by those in the medical and mental health field. Billions of dollars in research is being poured into "brain" illnesses--schizophrenia, bipolar, major depression--while eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa remain the most potentially fatal of all mental illnesses. As an activist, I believe eating disorders care should be accessible to all. This means that eating disorders practitioners and care centers need to STOP their discrimination NOW against people who are not female. This means they need to start accepting people who are on public assistance or are uninsured and start offering free care to many, and assistance to homeless people. This means they need to open their doors to people at any age, no matter how long they have suffered. This means care centers and practitioners' offices need to be fully ADA compliant. I intend to pursue the need for more research of populations considered minority, especially men and boys of all ages. I believe there need to be more treatment options for sufferers and their families. Right now, there are pathetically few choices as far as I can see, and most see the "team" approach as the only option, which is not even an option for someone who is impoverished, and sadly, hungry.
I also believe that we, people with eating disorders, need to bring out our story, in detail and without censoring one word, to the world, and speak out on what it is like to struggle every day with eating and related issues. So much of our lives have been lived in secret and in silence. Our voices need to be heard. I hope to encourage and help people to write their stories.
You start by writing the first word.
I am available to do readings in the Boston area and to speak about eating disorders and mental illness. Please contact me at julie@juliegreene.name.
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