Episode 27
The SP Care Project on a balanced, healthy life
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HOPE on the Other Side Episode 27 Program Notes:
Mr. Terry Peterson is a humanist and a person with lived experience. He is enjoying life & work. Terry resides in Southern California.
He is here to help the listening audience. We talked about the possibilities for supportive recovery in the mental health system.
Terry’s personal mental health history was reviewed. During acute episode many folks experience unintended trauma at the hands of the standard mental health system. Fortunately, he was hospitalized inpatient only once. For Terry, there was only the initial emotional shock of a schizophrenia diagnosis. After the hospital, he later attended Day Treatment in 1983 and 1985. There were several types of therapy, Group therapy, recreational and occupational therapy. Later, in 2007 his mother passed. At that time he entered an Intensive Outpatient Treatment.
From1996 until 1999 he worked part time while on disability. Life stresses can make symptoms worse. In 1981 there was a traumatic event during college. Terry’s father was killed in an auto accident. Trauma was discussed.
The hearing voices network, HVN was mentioned. This group teaches that trauma can start symptoms for a large number of people who experience hearing voices or other unusual experiences. Mainstream psychiatry call hearing voices hallucinations. The HVN folks use other words, other language, and avoid diagnosis words. We talked about recovery and living in the solution. They allow the person to use his own “framework” to explain the psychosis. This makes life meaningful to him.
Terry is a role model for getting back to a balanced, healthful, meaningful and respectful life. He had strong family support. He got into good lifestyle activities, diet and exercise, sleep. He was able to finish college. Next he struggled with work at first. Later he was able to work part-time only and also get disability funding.
Nurturing and self-caring is really important. We talked about diet, exercise and sleep. He shared some of his personal experience in this area of self-care. A low meat diet was discussed, but Terry is not vegetarian. Anti-oxidants are recommended. Sleep while on the medications can be a big issue. Budgeting time in the day for adequate sleep is important. He talked about proactive self-care. He is a good model for that, too.
Terry kept his status as an employee. He does not work full time however. The job counselors and Department of Rehab helped find a job. For more than 10 years he has worked in a hospital. Terry entered this career with help from a government job counselor.
Moving to equality in the way people are treated in our culture and society is important. Terry has a very understanding employer. I believe in the goal for social reform and empowerment of people who hear voices. There were some accomodations from a very understanding employer. He is treated as equal to others when at work, and he gets to take days off. If it seems his speech and thinking get off track, then others at work alert him. He appreciates this activity and feedback from peers. He works part time. In America, someone is seen as either having pre-symptoms or active symptoms. There is also social isolation for many. When his symptoms start up again, his speech that is hard to understand. At those time, Terry, will take the day off and / or rest and sleep more than usual. Moving toward equal opportunity for work is an important goal for society.
He has a few final words of hope and encouragement for family and caregivers. He talked about exercise, rest , eat, and sleep. He emphasized having a “sense of purpose.” His life is seen as a wonderful example for others. His main symptoms are some distractions of thought, and anxiety. Employment equality is a part of Terry’s life. Being part of the community gives him self-esteem and enjoyment. Terry is both a stigma and a stereotype buster. He models the balanced, healthful, meaningful and respectful life while he benefits from medications.
Links Mentioned in Episode 27
Life Change Units
Holmes and Rhae
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_82.htm
HVN
https://www.hearingvoicesusa.org/
See free pdf article on psychosis at the website:
www.DrKenCampos.com
Treatment Advocacy Center
Founded by e. Fuller Torrey MD
https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/
PsychOdyssey Services
https://www.psychodyssey.net/
NAMI list of 5 common myths about suicide:
https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/September-2018/5-Common-Myths-About-Suicide-Debunked
NIMH National Institute of Mental Health on suicide :
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention/index.shtml
Schizophrenia Care Project Foundation
www.SchizophreniaCareProject.org
Dr Ken’s support and accountability Face Book Group to assist mom/dad/caregivers grow into and embody the “new normal” attitudes and behaviors while living with and supporting their loved one living with schizophrenia, an open public group
https://www.facebook.com/SchizophreniaCareProject/?eid=ARAmD-RtedB0eorhDHFXFeasvKTMMQm8v20eG8Ib-Z0Rppi8RiApN8-GZ5xUVYEBzt_sI0EEi21Zg7di
The Foundation and Project website:
www.SchizophreniaCareProject.org
and open public group:
3-Project
https://www.facebook.com/groups/140778123234472/
