Thinking Blogger Awards

I was nominated by Sadgirl over at her blog, Blue Funk Blues, for a Thinking Blogger Award. I was quite surprised by this mainly because I didn't know she read my blog until she nominated me. Another anonymous reader revealed. Thanks for the vote.

Being in the state of mind I am at the moment, I can only feel that my blog makes other people think things like "damn, that's one screwy in the head bitch" or "thank gawd my life isn't as messed up as hers" or even, "does she have a clue just how stupid and contradictory all the things she writes about really are?" Not exactly the thoughts that I think should generate a nomination for a "thinking blog" award, but again...I'm not in a very good place mentally and everything being churned around inside my head is negative.

So now that I've been nominated, the rules are that I'm supposed to post links for the '5 Blogs That Make Me Think'. I promise, these aren't blogs that make me think the same thoughts I posted above. These are blogs that make me see things from perspectives I hadn't considered before, make me think about things that rarely seem to cross my mind or just in general get my brain activity flowing. So here are my 5 picks (in no particular order other than alphabetically cuz I'm anal like that)...

1) Beyond the Psychiatric Box - By far one of the best blogs I've stumbled across that questions the field of psychiatry. She's not trying to completely discredit it and deny its usefulness a la Tom Cruise, but instead raises valid points about the treatment of those diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and how the mental health system itself needs to think outside what they've been programmed to believe about mental illnesses.

2) Fork in the Road - The trials and tribulations of a man who describes himself as: "a philosopher, critic, liberal, geek, environmentalist, explorer, photographer, writer, traveler, musician, worrywart, couch potato, baseball fan, weather fan, survivor, pessimist, hiker, slob, observer, scholar, asshole, fly on the wall. I am enigmatic, difficult, caring, restless, indecisive, complex, stubborn, tired, intelligent, neurotic, guarded, invisible, insecure, compassionate, lazy, nervous, impatient, burned out."

3) Goes Round and Round - A psychology graduate who is currently career confused and now working as a Vet Receptionist. A big leap in fields, but it's an interesting journey and an interesting read.

4) Letters From the Sanitarium - A blog I've followed for quite some time. He can make me laugh, he can make me cry and he almost always gets me thinking. He also offers the best advice on which movies are worth spending your money on.

5) My Shoebox - A newer addition to the list of blogs I must read regularly. He's an aspiring writer who I believe has a very special talent and will one day have a novel on the New York Times best seller list. Articulate and thought provoking.

There is one other rule to doing this award thingy and that is I need to link everyone back to the original site where this whole idea began, so here it is: The Thinking Blog. My work here is done, back to my regularly scheduled bout of depression, rage and self-loathing which I'll be sure to post about tomorrow.

One positive note before I go...I found the $50 gift card I thought I'd lost! It apparently fell out of my wallet at home and I found it wedged between my desk and a box containing the tripod for my daughter's digital camera (a tripod she never uses, which thankfully I didn't pay for). I'll be headed over to Best Buy in the next day or two to use it for what I had originally intended, just so long as the stressors that are currently suffocating me don't kill me first.