In character, Joe Pantoliano has led some pretty messed up lives. He betrayed humanity in The Matrix and killed for sport as the psychotic Ralph Cifaretto on The Sopranos. But it wasn’t until his role in Canvas-a movie about depression-that he came to terms with the surprisingly commonplace struggles of his off-screen life. What he discovered was that the depression he’d suffered since the eighth grade was not only treatable, but totally normal-four out of five Americans are affected in some way. No Kidding, Me Too! is the documentary he spent the last year creating, with the goal of removing the stigma surrounding mental illness in America. We talked to Pantoliano in advance of a May 8 fundraiser in Los Angeles to further the mission of the movie, and increase the understanding of mental illness in this country.GOOD: Why make this movie? JOE PANTOLIANO: I was incredibly impressed by the normalization of what I thought was crazy people. When Marcia Gay Harden and I went to interact and research the roles we were playing in Canvas, I was frustrated after a while because I thought we were being isolated from the real patients. I asked, “When are we going to see the crazy people?” And they said, “We are the crazy people!” And I innocently said to Marcy later, “Jesus, I’m crazier than they are.” So I’m really excited about this, and, instead of writing a book about it or doing articles about it, I thought, let me make a movie and show people what I know. I want America to see what I’ve seen.G: What is wrong with our present understanding of mental illness? JP: Number one, everybody has somebody in their life with mental disease. It affects four out of five Americans. There’s not a single family in America that doesn’t have someone in their life suffering from a mental disease. Secondly, if there wasn’t a stigma associated with mental disease, the person not feeling well could easily just mention it, ask for help, innocently or otherwise, and could get the help they needed. Thirdly, there’s upwards of an 80 percent recovery rate with this type of illness, which is better than any of the other illnesses out there.G: So your goal is to raise awareness but also to change the dialogue around mental disease.JP: People don’t say “I am heart disease” or “I am cancer,” but they say “I am mentally ill.” They don’t even call it what it is, which is a brain disease. It’s so different. It’s so insidious. And because of the shame and discrimination associated with it, you try to hide it. You try to suppress it. There’s no stigma or shame associated with erectile dysfunction, because there’s so much money there. They spend thousands of dollars a year advertising it. And you’ve got race car drivers and U.S. senators at prime time hours going, “We can’t get a hard-on.” Cool, you know?G: What impact do you hope the documentary will have?JP: I want the movie out there. I want it to be enjoyed. I want people to have the opportunity to say, “Why is this going on? Why can’t our children be educated in the public arena about these things so that they know that it’s okay to talk about, there’s no shame, there shouldn’t be any embarrassment?” I was embarrassed because I couldn’t feel better and I had nothing to feel bad about. You have to talk about it and don’t let what happened to me happen to you.I would love to get Governor Schwarzenegger to look at this documentary because I think it should be in every public school grades four or five. In the film, when these kids talk about these diagnoses or when it started happening for them, they say fifth or sixth grade. I was diagnosed with clinical depression in eighth grade. If any of those kids had gotten a bump on their arm with a circle around it, they would know that it was a tick bite and they know that they should go talk to their mom or their teacher. We are not taught that mental disease is an illness like any other and if you have the symptoms of that illness you should ask for help.Learn more about the film and mental health resources here. Photo courtesy of NKM2.org.
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Man’s dog suddenly becomes protective of his wife, Internet clocks the reason right away
The online community came through in a big way.
Reddit user Girlfriendhatesmefor’s three-year-old pitbull, Otis, had recently become overprotective of his wife. So he asked the online community if they knew what might be wrong with the dog.
“A week or two ago, my wife got some sort of stomach bug,” the Reddit user wrote under the subreddit /r/dogs. “She was really nauseous and ill for about a week. Otis is very in tune with her emotions (we once got in a fight and she was upset, I swear he was staring daggers at me lol) and during this time didn’t even want to leave her to go on walks. We thought it was adorable!”
His wife soon felt better, butthe dog’s behavior didn’t change.
Otis knew before they did. Canva Girlfriendhatesmefor began to fear that Otis’ behavior may be an early sign of an aggression issue or an indication that the dog was hurt or sick.
So he threw a question out to fellow Reddit users: “Has anyone else’s dog suddenly developed attachment/aggression issues? Any and all advice appreciated, even if it’s that we’re being paranoid!”
The most popular response to his thread was by ZZBC.
Any chance your wife is pregnant?
ZZBC | Reddit
The potential news hit Girlfriendhatesmefor like a ton of bricks. A few days later, Girlfriendhatesmefor posted an update and ZZBC was right!
“The wifey is pregnant!” the father-to-be wrote. “Otis is still being overprotective but it all makes sense now! Thanks for all the advice and kind words! Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn’t check back until just now!”
Redditors responded with similar experiences.
Anecdotal I know but I swear my dog knew I was pregnant before I was. He was super clingy (more than normal) and was always resting his head on my belly.
realityisworse | Reddit
So why do dogs get overprotective when someone is pregnant?
Jeff Werber, PhD, president and chief veterinarian of the Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles, told Health.com that “dogs can also smell the hormonal changes going on in a woman’s body at that time.” He added the dog may “not understand that this new scent of your skin and breath is caused by a developing baby, but they will know that something is different with you—which might cause them to be more curious or attentive.”
The big lesson here is to listen to your pets and to ask questions when their behavior abruptly changes. They may be trying to tell you something, and the news may be life-changing.
This article originally appeared last year.
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14 images of badass women who destroyed stereotypes and inspired future generations
These trailblazers redefined what a woman could be.
Throughout history, women have stood up and fought to break down barriers imposed on them from stereotypes and societal expectations. The trailblazers in these photos made history and redefined what a woman could be. In doing so, they paved the way for future generations to stand up and continue to fight for equality.
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Why mass shootings spawn conspiracy theories
Mass shootings and conspiracy theories have a long history.
While conspiracy theories are not limited to any topic, there is one type of event that seems particularly likely to spark them: mass shootings, typically defined as attacks in which a shooter kills at least four other people.
When one person kills many others in a single incident, particularly when it seems random, people naturally seek out answers for why the tragedy happened. After all, if a mass shooting is random, anyone can be a target.
Pointing to some nefarious plan by a powerful group – such as the government – can be more comforting than the idea that the attack was the result of a disturbed or mentally ill individual who obtained a firearm legally.
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