Summer 2009 - Volume 7 - Issue 3
- STRAIGHT TALK
An eye-opening experience
By Bill MacPhee
I recently spent four days in San Francisco at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting. I was an exhibitor showcasing Magpie Publishing’s two magazines: SZ Magazine and Anchor: Conquering Depression…I was shocked at the number of people I saw who appeared to be living on the streets…
- MAILBAG
My letter is in response to the article “Family History of Violence,” which was in your online magazine Inspiration & Information…
- LIVING LIFE
Hello tomorrow
By Christina Bruni
April 1987: I traveled solo to San Francisco…where I took long walks, and wrote in
my journal as I sipped tea in the Japanese tea garden. It was my first taste of freedom before schizophrenia hit; even then all was not as it seemed…
Full Story
- CAREGIVER TIPS
What will happen when I’m gone? Planning the care of loved ones with mental illness
By Peggy Thompson
No matter how old they get, your kids are still your kids. But, when they’re adults
with mental illness, you worry all the time, particularly as you yourself age…
- NEWS UPDATE
Stories from around the world
- HOMELESS
Humble Abode: Recovery starts at home…if you have one
By Michelle Morra
When Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez asked a homeless street musician if he would consider sleeping indoors, the man said, “Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to do that.” This puzzling response is the premise of The Soloist…
Full Story
- BODY MATTERS
Horticultural therapy
By Peter Jaret
After he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1980, Bob Graham watched his life quickly unravel. “For eight years I had revolving door syndrome. I’d take my medication and feel better. Then I’d stop taking it and a few weeks later I’d land back in the psych ward,” he remembers. Finally, a sympathetic psychiatrist helped him stabilize his drug regimen and he managed to find a supportive living situation. “But it wasn’t until I found Providence Farm that I really got my life back,” he remembers…
Full Story
- POINTS OF VIEW
Should we be fighting to save the remaining psychiatric hospitals?
By Melissa Keith
Psychiatric hospitals: So few remain, and those that do face uncertain futures, despite dramatic increases in psychiatric diagnoses throughout North America. Numerous books and articles point out that the widespread closure of inpatient mental health facilities hasn’t led to the adequate
development of community supports for former patients…
- SCHIZOPHRENIA AROUND THE WORLD
By Mary Medland
As far as mental health professionals can ascertain, schizophrenia is an equal-opportunity disease. It is recorded in all nations, at all income levels, and in virtually every culture around the globe. The World Health Organization estimates that while 24 million people throughout the world suffer from schizophrenia, less than 50 percent of this population receives appropriate treatment. The situation for those in developing countries is worse: 90 percent of those with schizophrenia remain untreated…
Full Story
- LESSONS LEARNED
About poor insight and diagnosis
By Xavier Amador, PhD
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for MentalDisorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V) is in the works and will likely be published in 2012. I worked on the last two editions and was co-chair of the last revision of the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders section…
- ASK DR. BOB
Do I have anosognosia?
By Robert Liberman, MD
Dear Dr. Bob: I’ve read that people with schizophrenia lack insight and that the name for this is anosognosia. I understand that I have schizophrenia and follow my treatment religiously. Do I have anosognosia and, if I do, what can I do to get rid of it?
- RESEARCH UPDATE
New studies into schizophrenia and related illnesses
- MY VOICE
Out of the woods
By James Kindler
Having lived with schizophrenia for the past 20 years, I have learned a thing or two about recovery. Most important is realizing that in order to begin recovering from this illness, you must first accept that you have it. You have to accept it as a part of who you are and, at the same time, accept yourself as you are…
- FAITH IN LIFE
Quiet Christians
By Bill MacPhee
Recently, in addition to the “Living with Schizophrenia” workshops I present to general audiences, I’ve been leading workshops in churches on “Mental Illness and the Church.”…
- BOOKS
Books for consumers, caregivers, and mental health professionals
To purchase this issue, click here.
|
|
