OF TWO MINDS

    In April, I got to go to the Film Festival here in Cleveland.  My friend Paul had tickets to a documentary called, “Of Two Minds”, about bi-polar disorder.  His freshman roommate from Yale was featured in this, and was coming in from California.  I didn’t know what to expect at all.  I have a few friends with this disorder and learned a little just by being with them.  This documentary followed very closely four people over three years.  At the very opening of the film, you see the director’s wife and pictures of her sister who had bi polar disorder and passed away in 1994.  As they followed these people, they were so honest about themselves. The film captured them at their lowest points and at their highest.  Carlton, Paul’s roommate, even had another person he became at one particular time. He is an artist and showed a painting of this woman that he did.  I didn’t realize he actually dressed up as her and went out in the world.  He also showed the bridge where he was going to jump off and kill himself and what stopped him was realizing that he might cause an accident in the ongoing traffic below.  He had some wonderful art that we get to see in the movie.  One young woman is a makeup artist.  Beautiful, young makeup artist in Los Angeles.  She looks like she has everything going for her.  While they were filming, she said that she had been reading alot lately on how best to kill herself with pills.  At the end of the movie she has very methodically gotten herself off medication and was doing yoga, acupuncture, and lots of therapy.  She truly changed her diet completely. We see her shopping at the Farmer’s Market, getting fresh vegetables.   We were invited to the Ritz after the movie and talked to the cast and crew.  I spoke with the director.  A sweet young man.  I talked to Carlton’s wife and got a glimpse of what she has gone through in her marriage.   I also spoke with a young man they featured.  Young as in late 30’s.  He told me one of the most important things to do was to get enough sleep.  He was very charming and cute.  One young woman, Liz was very funny.  Only in that she was so very honest.  I think what I got from this is I haven’t a clue.  These people live a nightmare and work very hard to keep themselves healthy.  They all work and are a productive part of society.  They can’t all afford their meds because getting health insurance is tough and the meds are expensive.  Carlton said that they finally tweeked his medication to a point where he feels “normal”.  Just within the last couple of years.  He is in his late sixties. That means he went sixty some years carrying this craziness.  He is able to continue being an artist.  I enjoyed talking to him and his wife.   When a close friend of mine came out of the hospital for the second time with this disease, we had lunch and she said, “If I could just stop these voices in my head.”  How do you do that, if not with medication?  I hope everyone sees this movie at some point.  It definitely opened my heart a little and the phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I.”,  comes to mind.  Here is the link below to see the trailer.

http://www.oftwomindsmovie.com/trailer/