S.A eLetter (9-20-11)
John P.
Greetings S.A. family on the Internet,
The S.A. Blue Booklet gives some sample guidelines that an S.A. group can set up for itself to enable the group to be more helpful and more orderly. Some of these guidelines can be very specific to the venue and circumstances of the S.A. meeting. Below are the Blue Booklet examples for group guidelines.
Schizophrenics Anonymous Group Guidelines
Responses to others must be non-judgmental.
One person should speak at a time.
Members who are disruptive or too ill to behave in an appropriate manner will be asked to leave the meeting until they can control themselves.
Confidentiality will be maintained – what is shared in the group, stays in the group.
NOTE: This is a set of sample guidelines. These should be used as a guide, either in whole or in part.
SOURCE: S.A. Blue Booklet (program text, first published in 1989)
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--Stress Management, part #56
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, part three
There is a new treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that shows promise. It's a combination of a medication called prazosin plus a talk therapy called "dream revision."
The logic goes like this: Recurrent nightmares are very common in PTSD, often related in some way with the traumatic event that spawned the disorder. The idea is that if one can take away the nightmares, the symptoms go away also.
The medication used, prazosin (Minipress), is an antihypertensive medication. One of the things the medication can do is eliminate all nightmares, even recurrent nightmares. The talk therapy component is called dream revision or imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT). The dream revison technique has four parts:
1. Write down the nightmare, as text.
2. Rescript the nightmare--give it a new script with a happy or satisfying outcome or conclusion. Keep revising the script of the nightmare until a happy outcome seems to work in a satisfactory way.
3. Memorize the revised nightmare script until it is fully in place in your memory.
4. Go to sleep and see what happens. According to the expert named below, one can usually find a dream revision that works.
One advantage of this technique is that a PTSD patient does not have to be in direct contact with the trauma source, as is often the case in the desensitization methods often used.
It is not stated in the article whether this technique is widely available or if any peer-reviewed scientific research has been done on the technique. One wonders though if it might help some folks with this disorder, which experts admit is hard to treat. The medication used is apparently affordable in its generic form.
SOURCE: Info and some wording from NAMI Advocate (Fall 2011), publication of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; article by Bruce Dow, M.D.
Stress Management Series Prior Editions
Below are links to the first 40 parts of the Stress Management Series to
date. The more recent parts are at the S.A. eLetter site at Google.
Stress Management Series I (Parts #1 to #16):
http://groups.google.com/group/choose-life-project/browse_thread/thread/584aa4af7b45c502
Stress Management Series II (Parts #17 to #29):
http://groups.google.com/group/choose-life-project/browse_thread/thread/f240f7bad9902a81#
Stress Management Series III (Parts #30 to #40):
http://groups.google.com/group/choose-life-project/browse_thread/thread/e0f98e3ce6dafc7f
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--Our Suffering in Perspective
The suffering of schizophrenia patients is real. And other people
suffer too. We wish to also recognize the struggles of other
suffering people. For instance:
Government Anarchy
We live in a country where our government is operational. We can't imagine a country that does not have an operating government. But they do exist, even today. Officially they are called "failed states." They exist in a situation of anarchy where might makes right. An example of a current failed state is Somalia at the horn of Africa. The suffering the situation creates is staggering. Pirates operate freely in Somalia. Huge segments of the population are at the mercy of any warlord or militia that rolls in and conquers. There is no central government. Now an al-Qaeda power group is creating havoc in the southern half of Somalia. They have kicked out world relief organizations like the World Food Program and the United Nations. The problem has been multiplied by the recent drought in this part of Africa. The U.N and the World Food Program has had difficulty getting help to the relief effort to prevent the ensuing famine. The current estimates are that perhaps 750,000 people could die from starvation and its related problems.
The last time such a drought/famine happened in Somalia was in the early 1990s. America tried to intervene to halt the anarchy and set up a strong relief chain. One of the results of that effort is depicted in the movie "Black Hawk Down." Nevertheless, one estimate is that 100,000 Somalis were saved from starvation due to the American effort then. American intervention is unlikely to occur again as of now.
We do not suffer alone.
SOURCES: New York Times, Sept. 16, 2011
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--Website of the Week
NARSAD
The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression is the world's leading charity dedicated to mental health research.
Its website address:
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--Quote of the Week
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so
long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been
opened for us."
-Helen Keller (1880-1968), American author and lecturer--who was profoundly disabled
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Bye for now, and everyone have a great couple of weeks.
--John P., member of S.A.
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For more information about
Schizophrenics Anonymous.:
The new S.A. website is at:
http://www.sardaa.org
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For the Google information group for S.A.:
http://groups.google.com/group/schizophrenics-anonymous
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For the Yahoo discussion group for S.A.:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/schizophrenics-anonymous
NOTE: Earlier editions of the S.A. eLettter and the Schizophrenia News
Links are posted at the Google information group for S.A. (link given
above). Also, the S.A. eLetter will come
to your e-mail inbox when published by signing up at the S.A.
Information Group at Google.
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Fact Sheet Information about Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective
Disorder--
* National Institute of Mental Health--description of schizophrenia:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml
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* Mental Health America ( formerly the National Mental Health
Association):
--description of schizophrenia:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/schizophrenia
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* National Alliance for the Mentally Il
--description of schizophrenia:
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/TaggedP...
--description of schizoaffective disorder:
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/TaggedP...
(Organization now called National Alliance on Mental Illness)