Subscribe
Previous Post
Wow, May is going to be a busy month here at Mental Health Notes, huh? Not only is it Mental Health Awareness Month and my blirthday (as Angelique called it!), but it’s also the month for the This Is Why I ROCK! series, which is what we’re beginning right now!
Read on to find out why mental health cartoonist Chato B. Stewart ROCKS!
The smiling face you see to the right is 37-year-old Chato B. Stewart from Port Charlotte, Florida, and he definitely embodies the whole spirit of the This Is Why I ROCK! series. Not only is he an avid mental health advocate, but he is also a married father of four who, during some rocky times learning to not just survive – but to live with – bipolar disorder, discovered the joy of cartooning.
Chato is an inspiring man indeed, and I invite you all to read his story and check out his hilarious mental health humor!
A Massachusetts native, Chato B. Stewart and his family moved to Florida seven years ago, where he was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder (“and a few other things, to boot” he says).
Chato went through a familiarly hellish process many of us go through, whether it’s before or after the diagnosis of mental illness, which included trying medications that initially worked then fell short of effective; experiencing psychotic breaks that led to trips to the local Crisis Stabilization Unit; trying new medications; losing health insurance; deciding to make a go of it without medication; and doing it all with family members who may or may not really understand what’s going on.
So, how did Chato go from struggling with mental illness to virtually kicking its ass with artistic abilities and sense of mental health humor? I’ll let him tell you.
While on vacation in Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) in March 2008, I started to journal, but it came out like a comic book… I just drew cartoons about my stay, and when my vacation was over I had a thought. Wow, humor can really help heal! Why don’t we see cartoons about mental health from our perspective? You know, how we, as consumers see events and things might be funny or humorous in a cartoon. I searched the web and only found a few but mostly they were about the therapist, or psychiatrist or joke with someone on a couch…
So, I thought, and I will quote the kids Animated film Robots, “See a need, fill a need.” I could help fill the need by drawing cartoons about a subject that many people would want to avoid talking about… Mental Health! Maybe with the cartoons, I can help a few consumers by putting a smile on their faces using humor to heal. So, after making sure this idea was not some grandiosity symptom of my Bipolar Disorder, I set about making and drawing the cartoons.
I’m happy to say we are off to a good start; www.MentalHealthHumor.com had almost 2,000 visitors this month alone and we have posted 10 cartoons and have more on the way. We also have been contacted by a few mental health websites interested in using the cartoons for their site and maybe in some publications. Hey, I know my humor and website might not be for every one, but from the many comments I have received I can see it doing some good… So after all, maybe I don’t ROCK, but I do know, I’m a productive pebble in this ocean we call life.
Well, I disagree. I certainly think Chato ROCKS!
Because his cartoons have been published locally and are gaining attention from other mental health Web sites, Chato knows he’s “a professional cartoonist in some sense of the word,” but still considers his cartooning a hobby that he hopes to one day take to the next level.
Professional endeavor or enjoyable past time, his mental health humor cartoons have helped bring Chato successes for which we should all strive.
Not to quote James Bond, but in Tomorrow Never Dies – there was a line I liked, it goes “The distance between genius and insanity is measured only by success”. Well so far, I’m not a successful millionaire, but I measure success in other ways. One, of course, is family success, and the next would be for me, successfully using tools and coping skills to prevent my disorder from causing distress to my family.
It helps me focus and some times I just get lost in the idea and it brings a peace to an otherwise distorted mind.
For more information about Chato and his mental health humor and cartoons, visit his Web site, Mental Health Humor. And above all else, be sure to let him know he ROCKS!
This post is part of the Mental Health Notes This Is Why I ROCK! series. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter!
721 days ago
[...] Chato and his work… Blending mental health and humor is an intricate dance, and once I believe Chato performs flawlessly (and hysterically!). Naturally, I was ecstatic when he joined the Psych Central team this year! [...]
the site is something i can get addicted to.the humor puts glamor to the condition and squashes thoughts of stigma.
……………………………..
jim dunn
Florida Drug Rehab
Florida Drug Rehab/
1441 days ago
[...] Internet buddy and fellow buster of stigma Chato B. Stewart is a seriously talented mental health cartoonist, and he’s cracked me up again. Check out [...]
1447 days ago
[...] like Chato B. Stewart who uses humor as a coping skill and shares it with the world at Mental Health Humor. People like [...]
1454 days ago
[...] Chato B. Stewart? The owner of Mental Health Humor and the first participant in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here [...]
1463 days ago
[...] Thursday, Chato B. Stewart rocked our funny bones with his mental health humor. This Thursday, Ken Jensen puts us through [...]
1465 days ago
[...] Chato B. Stewart is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter! Tags: brain centers, functional magnetic resonance imaging, Japanese National Institute for Physiological Sciences, mental health blog, mental health news, mental health resources, National Institute of Mental Health, NIMHShare This [...]
1465 days ago
[...] Chato B. Stewart is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter! Tags: adolescent mental disorders, adolescent mental health, Childhood Depression Awareness Day, childhood mental health, children’s mental health, Children’s Mental Health Week, common childhood mental disorders, Health Insurance, mental disorders that affect children, Mental Health Awareness Week, mental health blog, mental health medications, mental health resouces, mental health support, National Child Traumatic Stress Network, National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH, Safe Schools Healthy Schools Initiative, SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrati, teen mental disorders, teen mental healthShare This [...]
1467 days ago
[...] Chato B. Stewart is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter! Tags: emotional contagion, friendships, fundamental attribution error, Gimundo, good news, Gretchen Rubin, improve friendships, improve relationships, newsletter subscription, psychological terms, situation evocation, subliminal touching, The Happiness Project, the mere exposure effect, triadic closureShare This [...]
1468 days ago
[...] Chato B. Stewart is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter! Tags: blog, bloggers, blogging, blogging humor, mental health blog, Mental Health Humor, Online Journalism Blog, psychological, social mediaShare This [...]
1468 days ago
[...] Chato B. Stewart is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter! Tags: Ammerican Association of Suicidology, committing suicide, D.C. madam, D.C. madam commits suicide, Dan Moldea, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, recognizing the warning signs of suicide, Suicide, suicide plans, suicide triggers, suicide warning signs, triggers for suicide, warning signs of suicideShare This [...]
@ BPD – It is definitely a breath of fresh air, isn’t it! Laughter is a great medicine, and one that I sincerely hope more people will embrace.
I really respect the owner of the mental health humor site. Most people aren’t brave enough to be funny when it comes to mental health. Everyone’s always so serious. His site is a breath of fresh air.