S.A. eLetter (9-27-11)
John P.
Greetings S.A. Family on the Internet,
The S.A. Blue Booklet has a description of the format of a regular S.A. meeting. This format generally follows the format of the orginal meeting of S.A. in Southfield, Michigan (called the home group), as well as other S.A. meetings that existed in Southeast Michigan. Says the Blue Booklet:
Elements of a S.A. Regular Meeting
The Moment Of Silence
Affirmation
Welcome, Announcements and Introductions
Standard Readings from the "Blue Booklet":
Schizophrenics Anonymous: A Peer Support/Self-Help Group
Welcome Statement to Newcomers
SA Statement of Purpose
SA Mission Statement
SA Six Steps for Recovery
SA Guiding Principles
Optional readings: At this point, the leader may choose a part of the Blue Booklet for the group members to take turns reading aloud, or they listen to the recorded version. Other options are to read aloud from the SARDAA newsletter or other SA sanctioned writings (i.e. Choose Life Project chapter and For People in Recovery, By People in Recovery).
"Working the Steps" and open supportive sharing of experience, strength and hope. These phrases are most commonly heard at 12-Step meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous. In SA, there is no specific order or set progression to growth in our program, but the SA meeting is where we learn how the Steps can aid us in our ongoing recovery. How does one "work" a Step? As an example: At a meeting, we may hear an older member say, "Well, today I just had to choose Step One and Surrender to the reality of my illness. I went to the drug store to get my meds—you know how expensive they are. And I just wanted to save money and try going without the pills for a few days. But in SA, we learn about what medicines do and we know about the dangers of setbacks and relapse. So I just "Surrendered" and admitted my need for the medicine." Someone else might then add, "Surrender of our misconceptions can help all of us."
Alternative ways to share your trials and triumphs in SA are to simply talk about a problem and ask the group for their insights on what Step work can do. In crisis times, like September 11, 2001, many SA group members just got together to share their fear and the national trauma we felt. If you are upset and your own words won’t come, just read the brief version of a Step aloud to the group. This sharing lessens the pain so we can sort it out together and get relief.
Stand and say the Serenity Prayer
Alternatives or Additions to the above Format--
Open the meeting with the Serenity Prayer, standing together.
Choose a step and share what it means to you.
Share a challenge you are dealing with and ask for positive, helpful comments.
Discuss current-event topics related to Schizophrenics Anonymous issues.
Note: These are only some suggestions and many other worthwhile possibilities exist. The group determines the actual content of the meeting, though the Six Steps remain the "heart and soul" of the meeting.
SOURCE: S.A. Blue Booklet (program text, first published in 1989)
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--Stress Management, part #57
Dr. Oz on Stress Management
Felt Stressed Lately?
Check out these data--
-40 percent of Americans say they lie awake at night because of stress.
-70 percent of Americans are stressed about work.
-$300 billion is the annual cost to businesses due to employee stress.
-76 percent of baby boomers are worried about money.
-56 percent of Americans are worried about their health.
Looks like a whole lot of people around you are stressed too.
The well known TV doctor--Dr. Oz-- recently published an article on stress. He admitted that he still had "pre-game jitters" before the taping of every program show. Dr. Oz reports that stressors around us lead to a rush in our bodies of the stress hormone adreneline. This adreneline then leads to the overproduction of another stress hormone cortisol. Chronic stress, with the onslsught of massive amounts of cortisol, go on to put an enormous starin on the heart.
There's more. Cortisol can make havoc with the brain. Recearch recently pointed to the likelihood that cortisol negatively impacts of the brain area called the hippocampus. This makes things particularly difficult in that the hippocampus helps us respond to anxiety-filled situations. And too, it appears that cortisol may supress neurogenisis, the brain's capacity to generate and sustain new brain cells.
So how do you turn off the cortisol?
Dr. Oz suggests a couple of methods, and one of them is exercise. The exercise results in a short term increase on cortisol, but over time it goes down and decreases anxiety and boosts neurogenesis.
People with exercise plans sometimes say "I need to get out and exercise so that my endorphins will kick in." This works to get them motivated on days they'd rather not exercise. Maybe they can also say now--"I need to get out and exercise to shut down the cortisol that all the stressful stuff is causing me; I don't want to deal with all the lousy effects of the cortisol, so I'll break it up by jogging."
SOURCE: AARP Magazine (Sept. 2011), article by Dr. Mehmet Oz; publication of the American Association of Retired Persons.
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:
Hunger in America
With the economic crisis still part of reality, people near the margin are at risk for not getting enough food in America. Food banks are serving 50 percent more people now than they did in 2006. Every day, 50 million Americans are unsure where their next meal will come from.
We do not suffer alone.
SOURCES: Time magazine (Sept. 12, 2011)
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--Website of the Week
Schizophrenia Research Journal.
An international journal that publishes research that contributes to the understanding of schizophrenic disorders.
Its website address:
http://www.schres-journal.com/
For other helpful links to websites related to mental illness, check out our SARDAA webpage at this address:
http://www.sardaa.org/resources.html
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--Quote of the Week
"Don't mistake pleasure for happiness. They're a different breed of dog."
-Josh Billings (1818-1885), American columnist and humorist
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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)