Are you in a unhealthy relationship or an healthy relationship? Here's a 60-second test that may help you find out.

A new documentary, "Kidnapped for Christ", was recently released. Although I haven't seen anything other than the promo, the movie made my must-see list. The movie is about a dysfunctional Christian behavioral modification school and the teenagers who were sent there involuntarily. It brought back memories. While my parents thankfully never sent me off to the Dominican Republic because of my psychiatric disorder, I feared that they would. Some kids, including a high school friend of mine, weren't that lucky. I was, however, abused in the name of God, just like these folks were, as a form of mental health treatment.

Some say that art can be therapeutic. Music is no exception. Recently, I've discovered three songs that are, as far as I know, not about borderline personality disorder (BPD), but do a remarkable job describing it. The songs are Meredith Brooks's Bitch, Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman to Me, and Natalie Merchant's My Skin.

When I was in Richmond State Hospital, I heard from multiple patients on different units that they had trouble getting painkillers that had been prescribed. In the case of Vicky, this was true even though the painkillers were not narcotics. And in Eric's case, when another doctor administered painkillers, staff were furious. It raises an interesting question, "Do psychiatric patients have a right to prescribed painkillers?"

Yesterday, I was evacuated from my apartment due to problems with the power, the heat, the roof, and the water. I spent the night at a shelter and returned home today. It was not a fun experience, but it made me think about what people with a mental health condition should do to keep their sanity in the event of a natural disaster.

The rights of people with mental illness are a developing field. Sometimes court decisions have made things better than us--for example, the law that if in crisis, only the least restrictive means can be used to restrain us. Sometimes, however, court decisions have made things worse. What is in our best interests is not always what the court has ruled is right.

Recently a hospital in Indianapolis cut its number of beds for psychiatric patients, despite the fact it was already running at 98 percent capacity. More Than Borderline blog author, Becky Oberg, argues that psychiatric care, although expensive and unprofitable, should not be a budget casualty.

I'll be honest, I'm not in the proverbial "Christmas Spirit". Things have been rough lately. I got challenged to a fistfight (When Violence Accompanies Mental Illness), my 2-year-old niece had surgery, my neighbor died and I lost one of my jobs. That's a lot to get hit with during an ordinary time of year, but around Christmas... Well, it taught me that Christmas is not always a joyous time of year for everyone. And that's okay.

On a normal day, I could have walked away. Very few of my neighbors in this mental illness treatment facility are violent. That said, one of my neighbors, who has a history of aggression, recently started cussing me out with a mix of b-words and f-bombs, then challenged me to a fistfight. I took off my glasses and said I was fine with that as long as she threw the first punch. She told me ""#$%!, you throw the first punch, I ain't crazy!" and a social worker came and broke it up. I went to my apartment and immediately had an asthma attack (Physical Disorders with Panic-Like Symptoms). I also punched a wall, bruising three knuckles. Not my finest moment, and not normal for me. But afterwards, I thought about what should happen when violence in mental illness treatment facilities becomes a problem.

Mental health professionals often say to never ignore suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts. Unfortunately, suicidal thoughts and behaviors are one of the symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD). It gives rise to the question "Should I always take suicidal thoughts and gestures seriously when the person has BPD?"