S.A. eLetter (10-28-10)

[John P.]

Greetings S.A. Family on the Internet,

Here is some material on the nature of the S.A. program, its ideas and
framework plan for recovery. There will be more of this in the coming
months.

Below are the six steps for recovery for S.A. as used in S.A.
meetings.

Schizophrenics Anonymous Steps for Recovery

1. I SURRENDER…
I admit I need help. I can’t do it alone.

2. I CHOOSE…
I choose to be well. I take full responsibility for my choices and
realize the choices I make directly influence the quality of my days.

3. I BELIEVE...
I now come to believe that I have been provided with great inner
resources and I will use these resources to help myself and others.

4. I FORGIVE...
I forgive myself for all the mistakes I have made. I also forgive and
release everyone who has injured or harmed me in any way.

5. I UNDERSTAND...
I now understand that erroneous, self-defeating thinking contributes
to my problems, failures, unhappiness and fears. I am ready to have my
belief system altered so my life can be transformed.

6. I DECIDE...
I make a decision to turn my life over to the care of God, as I
understand Him, surrendering my will and false beliefs. I ask to be
changed in depth.

SOURCE: S.A. Blue Booklet (program text, first published in 1989)
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--Stress Management, part 39

Article on Men, Women, and Stress

Parade magazine recently had this neat article on how men and women
react differently to stress. Some of the work on this has been done
by researcher Mara Mather at the University of Southern California.
Here are some of the main points:

-When men get tense, the areas of their brain that relate to reading
emotions and facial expressions shut down, which results in the guys
clamming up or withdrawing.

-Also, men under stress have a situation where the part of the brain
used for social understanding become less coordinated with other parts
of the brain—and this is true especially when looking at angry faces.

-For women, the regions of the brain used for social understanding
were far more coordinated then the men’s. One thing that can happen is
that when looking at someone displaying emotion, women try to put
themselves in the other person’s shoes.

-The higher one’s testosterone level during stress, the less activity
there is in the facial expression reading region of the brain.

It sure looks like men and women have different wiring in the brain
during times of stress.

SOURCE: Parade magazine (10-24-2010)
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--Website of the Week

The Schizophrenia Homepage is a terrific resource for people with
schizophrenia and their loved ones. Its web address is:

http://www.schizophrenia.com/

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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:

Bedbugs

The physical suffering from the recent and ongoing plague of bedbugs
has been reaching the public press more and more. A few recent
statistics:

-One in five residents in Cincinnati have experienced bedbugs in the
past year.

-There have been bedbug infestations in Bloomingdales, Lincoln Center,
and the Empire State Building in New York City.

SOURCES: Time magazine (10-4-2010), p. 36--Cincinnati data; Associated
Press article circa Oct. 24, 2010


We do not suffer alone.

---------------------------------

--Quote of the Week

Most people with schizophrenia live at some level of poverty. Our
folks and others would certainly benefit from the ideas expressed
below by a former president.

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance
of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who
have too little.”

-Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd US President
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Bye for now, and everyone have a great couple of weeks.

--John P., member of S.A.
=============================================

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
----------------------
* 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)