If It's Not Broken (Op Ed)

If it's not broken, - Viewpoint

Came across this, it's from an Illinois State University student newspaper. It rankled me. You would think college journalists would be a little less "simplistic". Someone who didn't give a shit had a deadline to meet.

Church response to the mentally ill

An excellent article I found via Liz Spikol's blog.

Church response to the mentally ill

By Peter Andres

Are people of faith with a mental illness different from those who have a physical illness? Much about mental illness still remains a mystery. That's one of the reasons people are tempted to spiritualize the problem. They hope that the person with mental illness would be able to gain spiritual strength and thus gain victory over the illness.

What remains hard for many to understand is that having a mental illness and being a strong person of faith is no different than having a serious physical illness and being a strong person of faith.

How can church leaders encourage support of people with a mental illness? What does a person with a mental illness need to help him or her feel accepted and part of the congregation? How does the Christian message and experience take on meaning under these circumstances? What exactly is mental illness, anyway?

Marja Bergen, in her book Riding the Roller Coaster (Northstone, 1999), describes her experiences living with bipolar disorder. She talks about the many important factors that helped make her life with this illness tolerable and manageable. Having a supportive husband, friends, and service systems were critical, but she also acknowledges the importance of a spiritual home.

Her church friends learned to understand her illness and provided spiritual nurture, especially during difficult times. She speaks about friendships which include a common belief as being the most valuable ones she'll have. But she also admits that she was fortunate in this regard.

Sadly, many people with mental illness who look for spiritual help during difficult times face ignorance, stigma, avoidance, and judgment. The spiritual counsel and prayer these people receive frankly do more harm than good.

Understanding mental illness, even from the professional, scientific perspective, is still very much a work in progress. Schizophrenia and its related disorders, bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression), major depression, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders, are all considered mental illnesses. It is estimated that between 15 percent to 20 percent of North Americans will, at some time in their lives, experience a mental illness. Most of these will suffer debilitating depression.

Evidence suggests there are probably organic (biochemical) reasons for the illness, or psycho-social origins -- or a combination of the two. Treatments that deal with the symptoms include medications, psychotherapy or a blend of both.

What is clear to people working in the field is that the experience of the illness goes far beyond living with the symptoms. While a person who has a physical illness -- even cancer -- suffers discomfort and anxiety related to the illness, those who have a mental illness suffer from a constellation of additional issues. These all affect their ability to return to wellness. One of them is stigma, both internally and externally imposed. There's also the loss of self-worth and self-efficacy that might come with a loss of job, friends, marriage and the feelings of being separated from God.

How can the church assist someone in a situation as devastating as this?

1. Church leaders and church members need to know that a mental illness is not the same as a spiritual crisis. Nor is the absence of healing, especially after fervent prayer, a sign of judgment or lack of faith.

2. There should be no judgment about the use of mood altering medications. Medications are commonly needed to treat the bio-chemical causes for the disorder and radically help many keep their symptoms under control.

3. Quality of life for a person suffering from mental illness does not depend on a complete remission from the illness.

What church members need to know is that many experience a recovery which allows them to return to an active and fulfilling life -- but still continue to experience times that are difficult. Recovery from mental illness means: the return of a positive sense of self, usually through meaningful endeavour (work, vocation), a circle of meaningful relationships, a place to live that the person can call his or her own, and a spiritual life that feels a reconnection with God.

The recovering person can be experiencing personal brokenness and limitations, yet have valuable gifts to offer to the church community.

Peter Andres is a regional director for MCC Supportive Care Services, a non-profit charitable organization which supports people with disabilities -- including people with mental health issues. He can be contacted at peter@mccscs.com.

Damn War

My 19 year old son’s best friend joined the Air Force right out of high school. He was promised a mechanic’s slot, which is his career goal. He made a choice between trade school and the service, feeling the education he got in the service would be superior to trade school. The sonsabitches yanked his mechanic job and made him an MP. He just got orders – while he can’t officially acknowledge it, he’ll be accompanying truck convoys from Kuwait to Iraq.

Fuckers.

Death Penalty for Schizophrenic Murderer Blocked

Death Penalty for Delusional Murderer Blocked - New York Times

HOUSTON, June 28 — Enforcing its edict against execution of the insane, a split United States Supreme Court today overturned the death sentence of a delusional Texas murderer who insisted he was being punished for preaching the gospel.

In a sharp rebuke to lower courts, the justices ruled 5 to 4 that the defendant, Scott Louis Panetti, was not shown to possess sufficient understanding of why he was to be put to death for gunning down his wife’s parents in 1992...

In a harsh dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas called the ruling "a half-baked holding that leaves the details of the insanity standard for the District Court to work out." He was joined in the minority by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, and Samuel A. Alito Jr...

In an interview with The New York Times last November, Mr. Panetti, clutching verses from scripture, declared, "The devil has been trying to rub me out to keep me from preaching." Until restrained by a guard, he started to strip off his prison uniform to show scars from burns he said were inflicted by demons and healed by President John F. Kennedy with coconut milk after the sinking of his torpedo boat in World War II.

Folks, this is scary. Even for Texas it's obvious this guy shouldn't be executed. Look at the vote - a 5 to 4 vote with the dissents coming entirely from the conservative side.

We often don't fully realize the long-term impact a president can have. The nominations of radically conservative justices almost allowed this man to die. It would have been a criminal act, and as Americans in our system we would all have been complicit in his death.

Get active. Be an advocate. Demand compassion and tolerance in our elected officials and their appointees. As individuals we CAN make a difference.

The Right Stuff

I don't usually get political, but couldn't resist this. This next generation seems to have the "Right Stuff".

From the Omaha World Herald:

When a group of the country's brightest young people visited the White House this week, President Bush talked about how important it is to make hard choices, to step up and lead.

The young scholars couldn't have agreed more.

One stepped right up and handed the president a folded piece of paper.

It was a handwritten letter signed by 50 of the scholars, urging the president to stop human rights violations relating to detainees such as those held at Guantánamo Bay.

"If nothing else, it was an opportunity to show the president that we had taken to heart what he said about conviction and making the tough decisions," said one of the presidential scholars who signed the letter.

From MSNBC:

The handwritten letter said the students "believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions."

"We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions, and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants," the letter said.

In The News

I don’t like to get political on this blog, but today's headlines are just too inviting. I’m not going to publish a stance one way or another, but I may comment:

Obama’s My Space Controversy

US Soldiers Can’t Blog or Email Without Approval
"Mother Hen, this is the rooster. I am in the sandbox. I repeat..."

Joan Baez Banned By Walter Reed Hospital
Who says the public has a short memory?

FDA Seeks Anti Depressant Warning
We’ve known it was coming…

Vatican Calls Comedian's Verbal Attack On Pope 'Terrorism'
This Italian comedian will REALLY be heckled.

Rally Ends With Clash Between Marchers, Police

"There is evidence that officers knocked reporters to the ground, used batons on photographers and damaged cameras, possibly motivated by anger over journalists photographing efforts by officers to control the movements of marchers," an RTNA (Radio and Television News Association of Southern California) statement said.

And video.

HD-DVD Key Posted - Digg Readers in Full Riot Over Pulled Story

"Digg deleted my hard drive for posting the HD-DVD KEY! Now my hard drive refuses to write in binary. I get Error Code: 09-F9-11-02-9D-74-E3-5B-D8-41-56-C5-63-56-88-C0 . Oh, noz."

Reaction To Coulter's Slur Hints At Shift In View Of Gays

Reaction to Coulter's slur hints at shift in view of gays

Coulter's recent labeling of presidential candidate John Edwards as a "faggot," however, has triggered a huge response, including a campaign initiated today by a gay rights group and media watchdog to persuade mainstream media outlets to dump her for good.

At least four newspapers have dropped Coulter's syndicated column, and 40,000 people signed an online petition to Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes her column, demanding that it release her. Three corporations, including Verizon, stopped advertising on Coulter's Web site after she made the comment.

I normally don't like to get political on this blog, but I really can't stand Ann Coulter. If I wanted to stoop to that level there's a few labels I'd hang on her.

Friday Shorts

Not much to say today. Physically and mentally I feel great – as good as I have for years. But emotionally I’m a little shell-shocked. So pardon me if I don’t make it around to read and comment all your blogs for a day or 2, I’m worried about triggering something I’d rather not live with.

I haven’t heard from Kyle for over a week, but I’m not particularly worried. We’d hear if he was in trouble, and I think he’s feeling self-conscious about not working. This is too bad, because I REALLY enjoy his company, working or not.

It’s boring for everyone when I keep talking about working out, but I can’t say enough about the HUGE benefit it’s bringing to my mental health and frame of mind. I knew there would be a difference, but I never imagined it would be this significant.

Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, was recently arrested for trying to smuggle marijuana through airport security. Here is an SNL video that is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a football fan to appreciate it:
SNL Michael Vick clip.

I have a new post up on my Bipolar Connect blog. It’s one of those "you know you have bipolar disorder if…" type of things. It’s all original, I didn’t steal it off the internet, knowingly anyway. If you like it, leave a comment.

I’m a HUGE NPR fan, and Juan Williams from NPR did an excellent interview with President Bush. Whenever Bush opens his mouth you want to cringe, but take a look at this paragraph:

The Iranian people have got to know that this government and the United States bears no hostility to them. We're just deeply concerned about a government that is insisting upon having a nuclear weapon, and at the same time, rewriting history – the history of the past, and regards, for example, the Holocaust. It troubles a lot of people in this world, and I'll continue to work with, you know, friends and allies to send a clear message.

It’s just so typical, you can understand what he’s trying to convey, but he’s just not making it happen. How about this "Bushism" from above: "…rewriting history – the history of the past…"
Find the complete transcript of the interview here.

Did anyone catch the Law and Order episode from a while back? It dealt, none too sympathetically, with bipolar disorder. They talked about someone overdosing on "Depaquel".
Update: Due to all those landing on this post by Googling "Depaquel", it should be pointed out that Depaquel is a TV invention. Thus, my tongue-in-cheek reference. The name most likely comes from a contraction of the words Seroquel and Depakote, both legitimate medications used to treat bipolar disorder.

Well, for having little to write about, I managed to stretch this out. Everyone have a GREAT weekend!

You Gotta Be Kidding

I admit to a certain amount of skepticism when it comes to many things. I belong to an online "group" called K12 Academics-Bipolar. A post was made to this group, the complete text is below:

News Release
November 3, 2005
Bipolar Disorder is not Forever
Edgewood, WA/

New scientific evidence proves that hypnosis, mediation, and affirmations raise energy in a person changing their DNA. Russian biophysicist and molecular biologist Pjotr Garjajev now has scientifically proven that affirmations along with meditation/ hypnosis (another term for meditation) will raise consciousness, increase well-being, and balance chemistry in individuals.

In the past, most people were under the impression that Bipolar Disorder would be a life long ailment. Often Bipolar Disorder is destructive to relationships, careers, can wreak havoc on family life, and is a potentially fatal disease. According to Edgar Cayce, the Father of Holistic Health, "There are in truth no incurable conditions."

Over time working with a holistic therapist that uses therapeutic hypnosis and other energy raising tools suggested by Pjotr Garjajev, people are finding a new life free of their past debilitating illness. With the help of an appropriate counselor, changes in emotions, attitudes, and a new life style release the root causes and conditions of this disease. Marilyn Redmond says, " With new life skills and a spiritual daily program, the old mood swings minimized into reality, after discontinuing medication. My psychiatrist declared that I was sane, four years ago ".

In addition, it may be necessary to release past trauma and fear, called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This supports a healthy recovering body and experience. The individual needs to stay vigilant in his or her new structure, balance, and focus. Centeredness and groundedness in present thoughts, existing communication, and current activities alter mood swings producing a sane and rational existence. Bipolar Disorder is no longer a lifetime sentence.

Marilyn Redmond, BA, CHT, IBRT. Registered Counselor, ordained minister, and Included in Who's Who.
Contact her at 253-845-4907, visit angelicasgifts.com, or e-mail her at marilyn@angelicasgifts.com

She is a member of the American Board of Hypnotherapy, International Board of Regression Therapy, American Counseling Association, and National Speakers Association. She has taught in colleges, wellness centers, speaks, writes, and counsels people to find their inner strength and consciousness for health, healing, and empowerment. Her radio show, "Marilyn's Solutions", and her radio and TV appearances are big successes.###

If you go to her website, you'll find that she lists herself also as an "intuitive" and "medium".

Is this not the most hilarious load of crap you've ever seen? Consider again this sentence:

Russian biophysicist and molecular biologist Pjotr Garjajev now has scientifically proven that affirmations along with meditation/ hypnosis (another term for meditation) will raise consciousness, increase well-being, and balance chemistry in individuals.

A biophysicist and molecular biologist is scientifically proving ANYTHING about affirmation, meditation, and hypnosis? But sadly, stuff like this will influence the "normies", or those with the disorder that don't know enough yet to see this for what it is.