Question:
Doctor Bob Bob, Some times I wish I could have a super power like my favorite super hero, Wonder Woman.  With my lasso of Truth I’d make my therapist tell me what she really thinks about me. I could then use my indestructible bracelets to deflect any thing I did not want to hear her say.  What about you Dov. What kind of super hero would you be?
Signed WW

Answer:
Dear WW, There is only one HERO I would be, with speed of lighting and roar of thunder, fighting all who rob or plunder… UnderDog!

Hope you had a good weekend! I initially posted this first cartoon on August 11, 2008. I think this “Bob Bob” is appropriate. It’s a good fit for today — the day after the long weekend! Hope you enjoy the others as well.

“Vacation Of The Mind”… what I’m thinking about during these long days of Summer is for us to be able to say, “you know what… I’m going to take a day off from my own insanity!”  A day where we don’t have to be reminded that we are sick or plagued by mental illnesses.  Yes, truly a day for us.

Some of us might not be able to go to the beach. That is why it is important to develop visualization techniques. What is this? Visualization is the art of creating a mental picture.  It can be from a real photo; you just look at it and picture it in your “minds eye.”  But it’s also much more.  It’s a technique used to build self-awareness and positive thinking!  You envision yourself doing something, say winning a race or getting the job… But, here is the trick, you visualize it in the first person as if you’re looking out your own eyes, and not watching as a by-stander.  It takes some practice but it is a great tool to help focus and give ourselves a “Vacation Of The Mind”…

Originally posted August 25, 2008, this cartoon was considered a bit harsh, but, that’s kind of the point with Dr. Bob Bob…being off the wall of reason, making you think a little about this subject.  Once again, the doctor was changing his look too… Here we see his head shaped more like a pear to fit the gag of a Peer to Peer group.  Yet, again Doc Bob Bob mangles up his perception of a peer group to convey his twisted ideals.

I posted this from the hotel in Tampa where I was able to bring my family to a much needed “working” or “studying” vacation.  I was just starting the first day of Recovery Peer Specialist training.

A study, reported on back in 2006, showed:

“more than half of all prison and jail inmates have mental health problems, including 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent of local jail inmates, were found to have a mental health problem, according to a new study published today by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).“

The findings are from 2006.  This makes me wonder how this report would look for 2010!  It is no secret that our prisons are filled with the mentally ill.  My question: how many would not have to be there if there was adequate treatment?!

Chato B. Stewart says,”Recovery is not a cure, rather the ability to live our lives with balance and dignity. To be able see and have real hope.”

This might be hard to conceptualize since not long ago, the only hope was in our hopelessness.  It takes real work, and there will always be bumps in the road, but we can do it!! We can have recovery!!  We just need to watch out for uninformed and uneducated friends/caregivers that just DON’T have a clue to what we need… Today’s example of Doc Bob Bob really hits this point home.