Spring 2010 - Volume 8 - Issue 2
- STRAIGHT TALK
Keeping informed
By Bill MacPhee
Whether this is the first time you’re seeing SZ Magazine or you’re a long-time reader, I want to welcome you. Many of you are familiar with my story: I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 23 years ago. I was hospitalized six times, lived in three group homes, and once attempted suicide. I was very sick and very depressed…
- MAILBAG
I was privileged to attend a psychiatric symposium where the keynote speaker was Bill MacPhee. I have been a psychiatric nurse for two years; my background is your typical classroom setting. The knowledge about schizophrenia is limited to textbooks, and never actually client-based…
- LIVING LIFE
The value of friendships
By Christina Bruni
Yaffa Café: 7:15 on a Friday night. Leopard print furniture, clouds on the ceiling, and boudoir red walls—it’s the perfect atmosphere for dinner with my eclectic friends…
- Changing the rules
The dawn of a new decade signaled the start of a new parity law in the United States
By Jennifer Pellegrini
In 2008, Barack Obama was a junior senator from Illinois—a dynamic idealist who had yet to coin the phrases “Yes We Can” or “Audacity of Hope,” but who himself had the audacity to hope that a man of mixed race could hold the highest office in his nation…Full Story
- ASK DR. BOB
The cause of post-traumatic stress, and other questions
By Robert Liberman, MD
Dear Dr. Bob: What causes post-traumatic stress disorder, and what are the best methods to help people open up about their traumatic experiences and overcome them?
- Parenting a Mentally Ill Child
The challenges, the stigma, the strength to cope
By Melissa Churly
His rages were ugly. Fits of yelling, shrieking, hitting, swearing, kicking, and slamming had become daily occurrences. These weren’t the normal tantrums of a young boy. His mother, Monica Kriese, was certain of that…
Full Story
- Necessary precautions
Learning the dangers of drug-to-drug interactions
By Caitlin Crawshaw
For some people with a mental illness, talk therapy, exercise, and nutritional improvements can make a world of difference. And while all of these things can also help people living with schizophrenia, they do not erase the hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking that define the illness. Since schizophrenia is first and foremost a neurological issue, the first line of defense is antipsychotic medication.
Full Story
- POINTS OF VIEW
Disclosure in the workplace
By Melissa Keith
As many individuals with psychiatric diagnoses enter the workforce, they must face the issue of whether or not to disclose their “invisible disability.” It isn’t a simple matter, because present (or potential) employers and coworkers may have preexisting ideas about what a certain medical condition implies. They may presume the worst about an employee or job applicant based on news or anecdotal stories about people “going crazy” in the workplace, or assume that a
certain diagnosis means that a well-qualified person can’t handle certain types of work. There may be worries about what it means to accommodate someone with a mental health condition…
Full Story
- NEWS UPDATE
Stories from around the world
- Sharing coping strategies...
10 Tips for people diagnosed with depression
By Gord Howard
Karl Shallowhorn, Wendy Danford and Ron Simmons* all know the torment of depression.
Shallowhorn, 47, of Amherst, New York, has had bipolar disorder for 29 years and been symptom-free for the past 15. At 65, Simmons, of Oakville, Ontario, has a lifelong history of depression. And Danford, 52, from Belleville, Ontario, has dealt with depression for the past two decades…
- BODY MATTERS
Psyching yourself up to get fit
By Peter Jaret
We’ve all heard the experts urging us to live healthier lifestyles. And most of us have told ourselves that we really should get a little more exercise and make smarter food choices. What’s holding us back?...
- FOOD
Recipes and tips to simplify your kitchen
- LESSONS LEARNED
Lessons learned about denial
By Xavier Amador, PhD
When I first started writing this column more than three years ago, I wrote about denial and the tools available to help people with mental illness who do not understand they are ill. That first column was my most popular, possibly because poor insight and nonadherence to treatment are widespread. Therefore, I’ve decided to slightly revise and once again share my views expressed in my very first column…
- RESEARCH UPDATE
New studies into schizophrenia and related illnesses
To purchase this issue, click here.
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