May 2012 Peer Talk Part I & Part II Workshop

I am excited to announce the Embracing My Mind, Inc. Atlanta area workshop Peer Talk: Past, Present, Future Part I & Part II! The workshop is in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month and will take place on Sundays, May 13th and May 27th at the East Point Branch Library located on 2757 Main Street, East Point, Georgia 30344 from 4-5:30PM.

These discussions will be facilitated by myself, and the topics will be selected by the community, vote your selection by April 15th 5PM on this blog in upper right hand corner.

Click on the title of this blog entry to see the flyer! Show your support by printing and distributing the flyer to friends and interested parties, and becoming a Facebook fan for future updates at www.facebook.com/emminc

This event is free, open to the public, and is MARTA accessible. Light refreshments will be served. For additional info go to info@embracingmymind.org or call 1.888.839.3191. The month of May became "Mental Health Awareness Month" by the nation-wide organization: Mental Health America.

A Recipe for Acceptance and Well-being with Schizophrenia

I wrote this article for NAMI- Athens Ohio. To listen to the radio interview hosted by Tom Walker click here.

For me, understanding of my mental health condition enables me to move forward in my recovery. A combination of acceptance, support, and treatment; and faith, motivates me to strive for well-being, which is a sense of normalcy in spite of my preexisting medical concern.

How am I overcoming schizophrenia? My journey is an ongoing process that I will continue to thrive on not only for myself, but for my family, peers, and community. Now, I will share with you how I've mastered my recovery of mental health and am living a normal life.

Since my diagnosis of a serious mental illness- schizophrenia- in 2007, I've learned to cope with my condition and to keep a good attitude no matter how individuals living with or without a mental health challenge view the concern. Getting to this level of comfort was not easy. In short, I've battled housing discrimination, social judgment, and self-stigma, among misconceptions of the community made known through uneducated comments and beliefs in response to my recovery experience, and the illness in general.

Although acceptance of schizophrenia came early for me, in the initial stages of diagnosis and treatment, I could not have overcome so much in a speedy manner without the support of my treatment team, mother and family, peers, and faith, that I will manage my life once again. For me, getting support required an open mind, willingness to share personal experiences, and offer support to peers and other individuals effected by mental illness. Support from a range of connections was crucial to me because I needed a cheerleader (medial staff, family, peers, and supporter, etc.) on my side to keep hope alive and to also let me know that recovery is possible.

Although I am on medication to help treat my mental illness, among other treatments including therapy and support groups, I understand there are alternative treatments available and unique ways to reach peace and well-being living with mental health. I am an advocate for whatever healthy coping mechanism works for my peer.

The underlying factor that helped me accept my schizophrenia was faith in a higher power and a purpose in my life to assist others in recognizing there is life after a difficult challenge such as a medical concern like mental illness. In fact, when I was diagnosed and in the hospital a few years ago my mother told me that I will be an evangelist and share my experience with the community. Back then I did not know how I would share my recovery story, but my faith has always led me in each avenue I took to help benefit individuals by sharing my life dealing with this medical condition.

I was featured in a documentary, along with two individuals living with schizophrenia, that was produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. called, Living with Schizophrenia: A Call for Hope and Recovery. I've personally traveled to and spoke to communities in Canada and across the United States. My story was also presented on CNN and BET.com among several other media channels. Now, I share my recovery experience with law enforcement and facilitate workshops to support peers and family members effected by mental health.

My hope is schizophrenia will be viewed as a manageable medical condition and that understanding will flourish and ultimately reduce widespread misconceptions and myths. It is an honor to share my life with schizophrenia in our community and abroad. I plan to write a book about my experiences and to manage a wellness center for individuals effected by mental health.

To learn more about schizophrenia visit Embracing My Mind, Inc., National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Choices in Recovery, and Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (Canada).

Religion a Symptom?

I presented my recovery story to law enforcement earlier this week as part of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training program. During the presentation one of the participants asked me if religion was a symptom of schizophrenia. I did not go into depth with my answer then, but I want to elaborate on how religion impacted my symptoms during the most difficult time of my life, five years ago.

When my symptoms of schizophrenia started affecting my emotions, outlook on life, and my ability to function, I did not understand what was happening to me. Consequently, I relied on my religion for understanding of myself and for the strange experiences I had.

I am able to discuss the many symptoms I endured now, because it happened in my past, and I am coping with my illness well through medication, support, and faith. Some of my symptoms I experienced included: seeing and hearing things that others did not experience, having false beliefs, extreme suspiciousness and distrust in people I usually trusted, short-term memory loss, confusion, isolation, etc.

Religion interfered with my illness through its dominance and extremity. My religion demanded routines, several hours of study, and rationalization of my bizarre symptoms. At one point, my strange beliefs took over my mind, I thought God was communicating the actual date through milk cartons, and I did not believe other people when they told me the date. On the flip side I believed the devil communicated with me through the television and radio to commit suicide, even though I never attempted suicide.

My false beliefs went to the extent that I once believed I was a prophet of God on His mission, and then eventually Jesus Christ being persecuted all over again. Though I thought these beliefs were strange, I justified them through my faith. Schizophrenia caused me to think I could communicate with others by reading their mind, and sometimes they could read my mind too, it was all very weird, but possible through my faith.

I think religion can be a symptom for many of my peers with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. The extreme examples of my experience with religion and my symptoms is my personal account, religion may affect my peers differently and sometimes not at all.

Now, I label my faith as my spirituality and not as religious practices. I still hold my faith with the understanding that the impossible is possible, however, my personal encounters were a byproduct of my undiagnosed/untreated mental illness.

* I appreciate your insight and sharing personal stories, please continue to comment to let me and our peers know what you think about this topic- thank you!

To learn more about schizophrenia visit the following websites: Embracing My Mind, Inc, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Choices in Recovery, and Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (Canada).

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The following blog entry was written by a guest blogger:

My name is Christina Bruni and I want to thank Ashley for allowing me to be a guest blogger at Overcoming Schizophrenia. I'm the Living Life columnist for SZ magazine and the community leader and expert blogger at HealthCentral's schizophrenia community Web site.

Life is not easy-it is not always, and sometimes it is not often-golden for those of us with SZ or another MI. The respect and compassion seemingly so freely given from one so-called normal to another is not routinely given to the neediest of us in society, who do our bravest and our best to manage our schizophrenia, to manage whatever life chose to give us.

I propose-as I have in my own blog, Left of the Dial-that we fight hate with love, we send those ignorant and fearful people a healing vibe, and wish them well. More than this, I submit we cannot afford to treat each other, as peers, with less than respect, dignity, compassion and AWE. Awe for what a great job each of us does to soldier on every day with varying levels of symptoms.

We each of us will have good days and not-so-good days, and this is how it goes for all of us, so-called normal or not. I choose optimism as a response; I want to keep up a positive spirit in the face of so much resistance, because certainly hope heals.

We can choose how we respond to stigma. It carries no weight with me. Every day I come in contact with so-called normal people who, without any known or verifiable diagnnosis, act like the worst stereotype of those of us who were locked up. While they do their thing, I tell no one I was once branded as having schizophrenia because I have been in the real back wards.

I admire how quickly Ashley committed to a life of advocacy so soon after her diagnosis. My own rocky road in recovery was long and winding, yet in 2002 I decided to become a mental health activist too. We can no longer afford to feel guilty and ashamed for having SZ when we have the best role models to inspire us in the recovery movement.

My buried secret-no longer a shame-will be revealed when my memoir, Left of the Dial, is published in the fall of this year by Vantage Point Books. I wrote the book-which focuses on recovery, not illness, to uplift and inspire all of you walking this road of recovery.

There is hope and there can be happiness and there can be harmony in your head-living with schizophrenia. I take my medication every day as prescribed and I credit this as the key to unlocking the door to my success. I share my story to encourage you to look on the bright side, to always be hopeful, to not be sad or upset when others in the world are not kind to you.

I understand how hard it is living with this diagnosis; it isn't easy.

We're all in this together-let's extend a hand to each other. Together we can win.

To go to Christina's blog click here.