This page was made on Tuesday 26th February 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/21587755

Tips for getting a good night’s sleep

• Go to bed at the same time each night even on weekends. This helps your body clock get used to these times.
• Sleep in a comfortable bed.
• Create a calm bedroom environment. Sleep in a dark room and avoid turning your bedroom into an entertainment centre with televisions, computers and stereos.
• Regular exercise is a great way to improve your sleep. Just be careful not to do it close too bed time as exercise produces stimulants that stop the brain from relaxing quickly.
• A healthy diet will also help but eating a large heavy meal too close to bedtime will interfere with your sleep.

Fruits, vegetables and a handful of walnuts — The Mediterranean Diet is better than a low fat one

Tuesday Feb 26, 2013

http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Mediterranean-diet-s-benefits-confirmed-4308008.php

The Mediterranean diet has long been touted as healthy. Now a study released Monday of the effects of a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, vegetables, fruits and fish confirms that…[the Mediterranean diet is the best one--better than a low fat diet].

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the diet can reduce the risk of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases by 30 percent.

[T]he Mediterranean diet …was [better than an…] assigned a low-fat diet.

 

[O]ne of the diet’s main benefits is that it’s not only heart-healthy, but it also promotes a way of eating that people can follow for a lifetime rather than just a few months.

“You just have two fists of cooked vegetables per day; one fist – or the size of a tennis ball – serving of fruit each day,” he said. He advised people to make olive oil their primary choice of dietary oil and have about 12 nuts daily - preferably walnuts, because they are a source of the healthful omega-3 fatty acid.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Mediterranean-diet-s-benefits-confirmed-4308008.php#ixzz2M05rsbwF

Therapy Turned Into Laughing Yoga

Physical Therapy (Or Just Exercise) Turned Into Individualized Tai Chi Ending in Laughing Yoga—Therapy Turned Into Laughing Yoga

Every statistic about therapy (and a lot of other things) tells us about how many people it helps—but only if you actually do it. Therapy Turned Into Laughing Yoga is a way to interest more people who “won’t” do something about their chronic physical problems while also interesting them in doing it by helping them feel their own story about ___________ recovery (every person can fill in the “blank” of recovery). And Therapy Turned Into Laughing Yoga provides not just gentle stretching but provides a light aerobic workout through laughing. (It’s hard to hurt yourself laughing whatever the bad reputation it has for doing). Laughing Yoga is a wonderful way to feel better about yourself and bond with other yoga laughers. Follow each daily group session (or do it on your own) and walk to the store and buy  some healthy things to eat. You should try to make new friends, people who will listen without judging you or offering advise (but nobody’s perfect).

How many of us are diligent about doing our physical therapy (or sport’s rehab) work? And whatever our age, we all feel better getting regular exercise—even if it only a tiny bit.  And how many of us eat as right as we could?  Shopping with friends makes it easier to pick out the healthier things. Include a small treat, maybe a candy bar broken into little pieces and shared with the group!

We’ve all had experiences that makes us feel happy or proud. Or you can try this with what you have overcome or are overcoming in life, but if it’s very emotional for you, please do it only while talking with a therapist or at least a good friend.

Physical therapists, sport trainers or make diagrams of the exercises for us to do. they want us to do.  These show us moves which will help heal our bodies. Or approach it this way: where in your body does it hurt? If it hurts it might very well benefit from slow, gentle movement. Talk with your physical M.D. or clinic about what is OK and what is too much of a strain for you. Remember, only do a few moves at first, and if you aren’t too sore the next day, add a few more movements. Don’t overdo it the first day and end up in bed for a week rubbing the parts you hurt!

To start out, pin your diagrams on the wall (or you can in addition or all on your own make you own diagrams)  Rearrange the diagrams in a circle to fit  the actions into actions which become symbols of parts of your recovery story or visualizing your goal or dreams.  This is a narrative but may involve only feelings etc. You are going to choreograph (a fancy word for create a dance) your own recovery story. It can be recovery from anything, many things, it doesn’t  have to be the biggest thing in your life, or you could just choreography your hopes for the future. Do not choreograph yourself being victimized or abused. This is a happy dance and reliving terrible times can harm you further. This is a “recovery” story not an” illness” story—don’t wallow in troubles you found yourself earlier in life. Your story can be real, imaginative or a fantasy.  You can share your story but you don’t have to share it with anyone except your friends.

After everyone has met each day (or week) and all simultaneously, at the same time, acted out or danced their stories, finish with Laughing Yoga and then walk to the store and shop together.

This is a pathway to recovery, finding laughter, making friends and eating good food. . Share the positive things that happen to you with your group and with others in your life.

They story of the history of this therapy is found at the website bedbugschool.net, where the protagonist , Carlos the Flying Bed Bug Hero, volunteers in his spare time to help other bugs encounter this Tai Chi of yoga.

Or if you want me to help you with your own story of transformation, please email me at MentalRecovery.wordpress.com.

Copyrighted with release if includes attribution to SMH  NWSeedsOfChange.org. With Special thanks to Sandy who went down all these paths before me  Feb 19, 2013. Brian Youngberg

The National Empowerment Center’s links to Top Web Sites Like Itself

I sit on local National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) board of directors with family members and professionals, and I am impressed with the very different view that people sometimes have of mental illness compared to my own peers, who have had what people are calling the “lived experience.” Of course, most of the family people of (literally) live with family members who are in early recovery, while my peers have often become what is termed (not politically correctly) “high-functioning. I guess I’m a little bit of both, because my politically connected friends, running peer-run services, can barely stand me at times. I wish I could claim I have Asperger’s Syndrome, but I have to admit that I just have personality problems from growing up in an alcoholic family. I have managed to become a peer specialist providing services to the people who come to our clinic, so I have those experiences to reflect on too.

How does this all relate to the National Empowerment Center’s website and its links?

http://www.power2u.org/links.html

We have all grown a little bit closer to each other, because we’re seeing the commonality of our experiences. So the National Empowerment Center embodies ideas which are not really so different than those of, say, NAMI

Ultimately we need to offer people things they want to do, even if society won’t always let people do everything they want.

 

 

Understanding Mental Health Recovery

Recovery means being able to have a sense of meaning and belonging, as well as security, despite the fact that some of the symptoms of mental illness don’t go away or don’t always stay away.

 Recovery starts by making the choice to discover what helps you feel better, think clearly and relate to others.It often includes taking medication, talking about your problems, sleeping regularly, eating moderately and exercising. We all face challenges at different times, and any of  these problems can be our most immediate concern. It might be medical coverage,  housing, food, employment, incarceration…or anything else. Whatever it is; a problem is a problem.

According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.

William Anthony has defined it as, “…develop(ing)…new meaning and purpose in…life as one grows beyond the catastrophic effects of mental illness.”

Recovery is not about the lack of symptoms, but instead recovery is about finding ways to live a meaningful life despite having symptoms.

Recovery, according to Mary Ellen Copeland, in her Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)—has five elements:

            Hope

            Personal Responsibility

            Education

            Self Advocacy

            Support

A WRAP includes a plan for each of the following:

Wellness Tools. Things I can do or might do to feel better.

Daily Maintenance Plan. Things I need to do to stay well (including weekly, monthly or one time).

Triggers. Events or circumstances that may make me feel uncomfortable.

Early Warning Signs. Changes in my thoughts, attitudes or behaviors.

When Things are Breaking Down: I’m still able to manage my daily activities but need extra support.

Crisis. I’m unable to handle daily activities and need others to take responsibility for my care.

A WRAP includes making a list of the people you can call if you need to talk or would like more support.

There are at least 14 paths to recovery, and no doubt, many more. Dr. Mark Ragins’ Paths to Recovery include:

Talk to other people instead of isolating.

Actually feel feelings and emotions instead of deadening, medicating or avoiding them, or getting high.

Learn some emotional coping skills.

Learn to “use” medications instead of just “taking” medications.

Engage (or re-engage) in activities that make you more fun and interesting.

Take responsibility for your own life and make some changes in yourself.

Go to work even when you’re not feeling well.

Do things outside of being a mental patient and outside the mental health system.

Improve physical health and wellness.

Love other people—family, partners, kids.

Work on acceptance and forgiveness instead of blaming and vengeance.

Give back by helping others

Find meaning and blessings in suffering and reconnect with God and spirituality.

Once you start traveling down your road to recovery, you might want to write your recovery story. It can help you and others stay on course. These stories often begin with a description of the way it was, what happened to bring you to the point of making a decision to change, and what it is like now.

“It is the greatest secret of our modern world that inside the people we label as psychiatric cases live ordinary people with the same feelings, hopes and dreams as everyone else. It can take a great deal of patience and care to discover who we really are and help us connect to society, so that we can live decent lives. The history of civilization has always been to bring the “others” who we treat unfairly or unjustly into our sense of community, so we are all one community of equals with rights and meaningful roles to play. The last frontier of our evolution as a society may be to understand and find a place for people laboring under psychiatric difficulties. Some of these difficulties can be avoided if we protect people from trauma. And what can’t be avoided, we need to learn to accept and love, despite the differences we present to the world.”

Brian Youngberg / Seattle 02/17/12 permission to use with attribution.

Getting Better from Mental Illness

You can get better from mental illness. You can have a life worth living. First, medications can bring symptoms down to where they are tolerable. You can further lessen your symptoms by learning lifestyle skills. And you can learn to tolerate what can’t be reduced further. Hoping for a better future is realistic.

Recovery is not really about the lack of symptoms, but instead recovery is about finding ways to live a meaningful life despite having symptoms.

The “consumer movement” is the name for people who have mental illness and are involved in making treatment better and reforming the system. We are working to de-stigmatize mental illness, so it is seen in the same light as other medical conditions. The consumer movement is making  great contributions to advances in treatment. They are fond of saying that, ” ‘Normal’ is only a setting on a dryer.” What this means is that you don’t have to feel ashamed that you have mental illness. It does not mean that it’s OK to be messed up or at odds with society. And it’s not OK to disengage from society and imagine that the problems you face aren’t problems after all. Our vision should be to recover
and not to simply exist. People can and do recover to a remarkable extent.

Some meds take effect very quickly, within hours or days. Others build up in your bloodstream over weeks or longer. All medications have direct effects, but indirectly they may also help you make more or less of your own natural brain chemicals, so you stabilize. This stability can take a long time to become fully complete, so give your medications time to work. That also means giving your prescriber lots of time to adjust your meds. Be patient and hopeful. Medications often have other effects than the ones which are desirable. These side effects can sometimes be more tolerable using a lower dose. They also sometimes lessen as time goes by. Or we just get used to them as a trade-off for the benefit which we grow to see as most important for your lives.

Always ask if a change of meds might help. If you don’t speak up, your prescriber won’t think about making changes.

Your lifestyle and attitude are as important as your medications in dealing with what you face, whether it is schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or brain trauma, to name a few. Or you may have a combination of more than one of these conditions. At times you likely have depression, anxiety or difficulty concentrating and remembering etc. You also are likely to feel fear, shame, hopelessness, helplessness or feel suicidal. Treatment including your own efforts to get well can make these feelings go away, at least most of the time. Never give up trying new ways to get better!

If you use alcohol or street drugs, you may never really get better, at least until you stop. But, mental health treatment will help stabilize you, even if you do continue to use. Get alcohol/drug treatment and cooperate. Figure out a way to like going to Alcoholics Anonymous and absorb AA’s teachings, which is easier for some people than others.

The main battle for better mental health is often waged over sleep. If you’re sleeping on a regular schedule, then all your symptoms will likely improve. As long as you can’t sleep well, everything will be the same or worse. See the article on sleep for help with this.

Generally, besides sleep, the paths to reduce your symptoms and lead a better life include one or more of the following:

Follow a daily schedule to increase your physical health. This includes some exercise, even if it’s only walking. Eat healthy instead of junk food. Reduce or stop smoking. If you have medical problems, see a doctor ( if you can) and follow his or her treatment plan. Brush and floss your teeth twice a day, and, if you can, see a dentist. There is a saying, “Only floss the teeth you want to keep”, and it is true.

Don’t isolate but drag yourself up and out. Make sure you keep your appointments. Follow a routine each day and have one for every day of the week. Gracefully carry yourself from place to place and a better state of mind, moment by moment. Stay in a meditative state of mind, banishing your negative thoughts and feelings (and actions), and your life will improve. We think, we feel, we act, and then we act what we think, we feel what we act, and we think what we feel. All the theories about human behavior and brain chemicals are only that –theories–which have rapidly been rolled over repeatedly for a generation. Do they have all the answers yet? They admit that they don’t. What doesn’t change is the benefits from thinking and feeling positive and doing constructive things. You will feel better and people will like you more.

Recovery happens much more easily and meaningfully when you are in healthy relationships. This can mean things as simple as smiling and being pleasant to the grocery clerk or things as serious as romantic relationships –and everything in between. Make friends or at least friendly acquaintances. Remember that to have a friend, you have to be a friend.

Not all people with mental illness exhibit the next trait I bring up, but we are generally known for it, which is that we do not get along with others. To a certain extent, this difficulty with other people could almost be one of the definitions of mental illness. In order to recover more, you may need to learn how to get along with everybody. Go to groups, read books, listen to positive songs, choose some movies which are upbeat. Talk about it, and seek out people who do get along.  In Alcoholics Anonymous we have a saying, “Go with the Winners”. It means to seek out people and spend time with people who are in recovery—these will be individuals and groups who get along with other people. Destructive relationships or interactions are a major cause of stress and increased symptoms. Avoid conflict.

Discover how you can understand yourself and others in your own unique spiritual way. To do this learn how others have found morals and values, inspiration and meaning. Life without values is drudgery. Get a better life by finding meaning –perhaps you can find a way that your suffering can give you insight on how to help others.

Do everything you can to look nice and be clean. You will get an entirely different response from society this way, because to a certain extent, the “stigma” or discrimination against the mentally ill is an aversion to people who are poor and dirty. Don’t look poor and dirty if you can help it, and the world will treat you differently. You will feel better about yourself.

Volunteer or work. You will respect yourself more and so will the world.

Create a home of order and beauty, no matter how simple or sparse –even if you only carry it in your backpack or just in your back pocket. Try to recreate and save your memories of the past, your pictures, your diplomas or whatever–maybe it’s a certificate of successful completion of parole. Save these pieces of your life, if you can. Carry the paper records of your life and also scan them electronically and put them on a computer CD, which is waterproof. So often, we lose our past, which contains real accomplishments. Try to hang onto the parts of your past life which you cherish.

We have a past, but we also have a future. Often our past is burdened with trauma, abuse, shame, failure, rejection, fear, pain–even terror or horror. Get treatment for going through these events, but don’t dwell on the past. Come to terms with it but don’t let it control your future. Learn to live a life of peace and joy. An important part of this might be to find someone who will listen without shock or judgment. Maybe you can be that friend who listens to someone else, or you can listen to each other. Just listen,  people do not want advice, just a friendly ear to tell their story to.

Recovery often takes years, but you can start feeling dramatic effects right away. And even while you may continue to be disabled from working, you can live with dignity, respect and joy. You can have a real life, have fun, love and learn, despite your symptoms or your poverty (which often comes along with having mental illness).

Plan for a future which will be better. Dream of the day we will be treated with respect and not contempt by our society. Make moves which will bring about a better world for the mentally ill. Become involved with society and help it to change so we can all live in a better place.

Here are the 13 paths to recovery from mental illness of Dr. Ragin

Dr. Mark Ragins has years of on-hands experience helping people go into recovery. He is part of The Village inLos Angeles, which serves the homeless and others seeking help. The best way to go into recovery from mental illness is not to simply take your medicine and do what you’re told. People recovery with medication, but they need to do something more. He recommends that people start down at least one of the 13 paths he has found have worked for others. These paths can lead into each other, until the person is using many of them and many more which they find on their own.

Edited with the help of Silvia S. 10/29/11

The 13 Paths to Recovery of Dr. Mark Ragins:

1. Talk to other people instead of isolating.
2. Actually feel feelings and emotions instead
   of deadening them, medicating them, avoiding them, or getting high.
3. Learn some emotional coping skills.
4. Learn to “use” medications instead of just
   “taking” medications.
5. Engage (or re-engage) in activities that
   make you more fun and interesting.
6. Take responsibility for your own life and
   make some changes in yourself.
7. Go to work even when you’re not feeling well.
8. Do things outside of being a mental patient
   and outside the mental health system.
9. Improve physical health and wellness.
10. Love other people—family, partners, kids.
11. Work on acceptance and forgiveness instead
    of blaming and vengeance.
12. Give back by helping others
13. Find meaning and blessings in suffering and
    reconnect with God and spirituality.

Mark Ragins, MD, Medical Director for the
MHA Village Integrated Service Agency, Mental Health America of Greater Los
Angeleswww.mhavillage.org
margins@mhala.org

You can view Dr. Ragins writings online or
order it at MHAVillage.org

Print Out a Flyer “There’s Always a Way to Get Medications”

Ways to get medications if you’ve left an old provider, never had one in the first place –There’s always a way to get medicatiions whether you have medical coverage or not.

If You Can’t Get or Lose Prescription Coverage,keep a list of all medicines and their dosages!

To obtain a new provider or source of medications, take one of the steps below

[1] If you lost Medicaid coverage but still have Medicare, you need to find a providerwho will take your Medicare as payment for services and write you prescriptions AND either A. pay your Medicare Part D premium to a qualified plan, OR B. meet a state DSHS Medicaid Spendown OR C. qualify for a Healthcare for Worker’s with Disabilities (HWD) with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

[ A] Medicare Part D premiums vary and have complicated rules—Call the State Health Insurance Benefit Advisors (SHIBA) volunteers at 1-800-562-6900. SHIBA will provide you with answers on how Medicare clients can obtain medication. Have a complete list of all your medications and dosages both for regular medical and for mental health medications. Or [B] Do a Medicaid Spend Down. Go to your local state DSHS (welfare) office and apply (you can also apply online). Or [C] Get Healthcare for Workers with Disabilities (HWD) which is an inexpensive Medicaid Buy-In. Make a regular DSHS Application for Benefits –it is best to apply online. HWD is one of the options in the application. After you have made an application, if you have questions, callHWD at ___________ and leave your name, social security number, telephone number and mailing address. If they send you an application, fill it out and mail it in. You must be employed at least one hour a month (this may be increased and for SSDIers past the end of their Extended Period of Eligibiliy, it is 10 hours a week) – O if you have income from a steady source of self employment in services or sales, you may qualify.

[I2]If you have Medicare and also have Medicaid, follow the instructions below for those with Medicaid.

[3] If you have Medicaid, you have medical insurance and full prescription coverage. Contact the DSHS or CSO or Welfare office and ask what provider you can go to and get prescriptions written and filled—or go to urgent care at a publically funded hospital and ask for meds with your Medicaid.

[4] If you have Disablity Lifeline (DLX or the old GLX), ADATSA or are in another program, like housing, street outreach, prison re-entry, or drug or mental health court, or if the DSHS, CSO or welfare office said “you get a check” or you get “medical” use your Provider One card (get a new one from DSHS if necessary) and ask the welfare office what to go to and get prescriptions written and filled.

[5] If You Have No Insurance:

[a] Always go back to the DSHS ( CSO or welfare) office and ask for help even if you were turned down in the past. If that doesn’t work, then try one of the following: [b] Call 211 and ask for a Community Health Clinic (which may go by some other name). They will always help you, and they should be able to get you your medicationsfree from the manufacturer. –or at low cost. Or [c] Ifyou can get someone to write your prescription, go directly to the manufacturers web site and find the form to download and print for free meds. Fill out that form and take it to whoever might agree to write your meds. Or [d] A doctor, nurse, physician’s assistant medical office or clinic where went in the past may write prescriptions for you or give you free “samples” (given to them by factory representatives)

If Nothing Else Works, and you are out of meds and your symptoms are returning, call the crisis line at 1-866-427-4747 or go to a local hospital (in the Seattle area, Harborview Urgent Care at 9^th and Jefferson). (TheresAlwaysAWayToGetMeds.doc/mentalrecovery.wordpress.com)