Overcoming Schizophrenia

The 22nd Annual Conference: Mental Illness- Why Me? Hosted by Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS) was wonderful! The event took place on Friday, November 26, 2010 at Pier 21. The SSNS Executive Director, Dr. Stephen Ayer, gave me a warm welcome along with the Board of Directors. Dr. Ayer gave me a tour of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. I had an opportunity to dine with the Board of Directors and a couple of other speakers for the conference. The Board gave me a beautiful gift of a photograph taken by J. Ross. In addition to that, I went to dinner with another presenter from the conference, Ms. Laura Burke and her family and friends. A Photograph by J. Ross Speaking at the conference enabled me to share my testimony of living with schizophrenia, and to give suggestions to other people directly affected by the illness. I titled my speech, A Distorted Perception to Reality: My Insight Into Recovery, because for me, schizophrenia forced me to think irrationally. However, the...

Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS) will hold its 22nd Annual Conference in Halifax, Canada on Friday, November 26, 2010 at Pier 21. The theme of the 2010 conference is Mental Illness: Why Me? And SSNS has invited me to speak at the conference! The invitation is an honor, I am very excited about the opportunity to speak. More information will be posted on the site as planning develops. For sponsorship information contact Stephen Ayer at (902) 465-2601 or send an email to ssns@ns.sympatico.ca. For more information on schizophrenia visit Embracing My Mind, Inc., National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) , Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (Canada).

"People with schizophrenia are more likely to experience discrimination by those closest to them than by employers or officials, a global survey suggests...Some 47% of those asked reported discrimination when it came to making and keeping friends, while 43% found similar problems with family." (Click on the title of this post to read the article in its entirety). I found the article on the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS) blog ) This irritates me on so many levels, because the person with schizophrenia had no choice but to develop the illness as a result of genetics and environmental factors. The person living with schizophrenia must succumb to the illness's terrors. If they had a choice they wouldn't experience the harsh symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions and hallucinations. Also, family members should not deny other members of the family because everyone needs support. It's already bad enough that some people outside the family discriminate a...