Nipissing Family Blog

2012-01-18T10:03:00.000-05:00

January News
and Events

· Tuesday January 24,2012 will be our MOVIE NIGHT.... from 5-7pm

· Any suggestions for upcoming groups that you would be interesting in having.

· Our next meeting will be on February 7,2012 that will be our Peer Support Evening from 5-7pm.

· Two suggestions were a presentation from the Alzheimer's/ Dementia office here in North Bay as well as the Heart and Stroke foundation does that interest everyone?

A NEW BEGINNING

2012-01-16T09:49:00.000-05:00

Peer Support Meetings 2012

February 7,2012
March 6,2012
April 3,2012
May 1,2012
June 5,2012
July 3,2012
August 7,2012
September 4,2012
October 2,2012
November 6,2012
December 4,2012

All meetings are the first Tuesday of the Month from 5:00pm-7:00pm.

Annual General Meeting 2011

2011-10-11T10:37:00.000-04:00

Tuesday October 18th, 2011

From 5:00pm-7:00pm

351 Ferguson Street 3rd Floor

At the meeting, Emily and Joel will be discussing program events, updates as well as our budget and plans for the future. There is also an exciting opportunity to become our Family Representative as one of PEP’s board of directors. During the meeting we will be accepting nominations and then voting for our new representative. Even if you are not actively involved with the program at this time, your attendance and support would be very much appreciated. The Nipissing Family Program thrives on support from its membership, as families do with one another.

2011-09-08T10:08:00.000-04:00

SOS

Mental illness affects one in five Canadians… seven million of our friends, neighbours, colleagues and loved ones will need help for mental health problems this year. Many will not get it because of the stigma attached to the illness or because the resources simply aren’t there to provide help.

The Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health was established to raise awareness about mental illness and build the capacity of front-line, grassroots organizations supporting individuals and families coping with mental illness. The Foundation is able to do this thanks to the support of Canada Post employees and thousands of Canadians.

There is a great need for better understanding of mental illness, which affects one in five Canadians, and community-based resources focused on those affected by it. Thanks to Canada Post’s employees, customers and suppliers, $4.8 million has been raised so the Foundation can help address this need.

By September 2011, more than 90 groups offering direct, front-line, community-based support to individuals and families coping with mental illnesses will have received critical funding from the Foundation to support their efforts. The Foundation’s grants are making a real difference in the quality and range of front-line services available in communities across the country, providing a direct impact for people living with mental illness by improving the quality of their lives.

Each year Canada Post issues a new Mental Health stamp. The 2011 stamp will be unveiled and launched in Montreal on Tuesday September 6, 2011. Our local North Bay Post Office has partnered with PEP to hold a local launch on Tuesday September 13, 2011Commencing at 1:30PM.

The North Bay launch will be hosted by PEP

We welcome all to attend in support of mental illness. We will have guest speakers, the unveiling of the stamp, cutting of the decorated cake and refreshments.

Bulletin!!!

It has just been confirmed that Miriane Majeau, the designer of the 2011 Canada Post Mental Health stamp, will be in attendance via a LIVE video hookup. WOW!!!!!!!

Help us Stamp Out Stigma

Summer

2011-07-06T13:20:00.000-04:00

Well I must say our pot luck dinner was amazing... I would like to thank our family member for sharing her beautiful beach home with us. Food was good company was perfect. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did, I hope we will continue to get stronger and embrace others with support we all deserve. Thank You for all of your contribution.

I am looking forward to our meeting on July 19th, 2011 were will have a presentation about our Awareness Campaign "Flying for Families". Our pilot and co pilot will recapture the event beginning to end, to allow us to see this journey with all their experiences.

Hope everyone is finding themselves enjoying their summer, one thing I don’t want anyone to forget is the importance of Self-Care here is an interesting thing I came across and wanted to share with you all that might help with your self-care.

Ways to Nurture Myself

PHYSICAL

Take a walk

Ride a bike

Soak in a hot bath, with candles and music

Exercise at the gym

Stretch and move to music

Practice Yoga postures

Take a course in Tai Chi, water aerobics, or yoga

Sit in the sun for 15 minutes

Change one thing to improve your diet

Watch birds and animals interact in nature

Go swimming

Sit in a garden or park

Take a nap

Get a massage

Eat totally healthy for one day

EMOTIONAL

Deep breath and think, “I am calm and peaceful

Share feelings about an experience with a friend

Listen to music you like

Sing or makes sounds

Hug someone, ask for a hug

Pet your dog or cat

Talk to someone by pre-tending they are facing you in an empty chair

Telephone a long distance friend or relative

Notice what you are feeling several times a day

Write a letter to someone who has hurt you, but do not send it

Feel your fear and take a positive risk for change

Smile at a stranger and send them thoughts of peace, acceptance, joy

Affirm yourself daily

Watch children play; talk to your inner child in a loving, joyful way

Acknowledge yourself for accomplishments you are proud of

MENTAL

Say an affirmation

Read a book or magazine article

Express your thoughts & feelings in a journal

Make a to do list

Write a poem

Write a letter

Listen to tapes

Email a friend

List things you will do to improve your life

Update negative beliefs that limit your life

Journal write daily about your reactions, thoughts and feelings for a month

List your traits, needs and want

Make a list of short term and long term goals

Preview your day upon awakening, Review upon retiring

Work on your family tree

Flying for Families

2011-06-06T14:52:00.000-04:00

Public Service Announcement

"On June 15th, 2011 from 6 am. to 10 pm., the first non-stop flight by aeroplane from North America to Europe will be re-enacted in its entirety in honour of the courage, sacrifices and dedication of families with loved ones having experience with mental illness.

Be a part of increasing the awareness and reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness. Join our team and watch or read about the successes and challenges of this historic joining of the old world and new by following our pilot and navigator as they fly across the stormy North Atlantic in a purpose-built cockpit with the latest cutting-edge desktop simulation hardware and software. Watch them on the big screen at the mall, follow them on their blog or twitter or combine both and have a great time supporting mental health by participating in 'Flying for Families' .

Please join us for some or all of this epic undertaking by coming in person to the North Bay Mall on Lakeshore Drive in North Bay or by Internet; following the links at http://www.pepplace.org

See the promo videos and links at:

http://neonorg.ca/NewsandEvents.aspx

Find us on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_179590388730633

View events also on YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCtQx-nnIO8

Be a part of the excitement. Call PEP at 705-494-4774 Ext: 228 for more details.

Wacky Wisdom 4 Positive Living

2011-05-09T11:10:00.000-04:00

If you find yourself facing the same fear repeatedly, you may be able to defeat it by using the "Attitude Reversal" method, as shared by Viktor E. Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning:

A young doctor consulted Frankl, a psychiatrist, because he had a fear of perspiring heavily around his patients, causing himself embarrassment. The young doctor was so afraid of perspiring that the fear itself often brought on a bout of perspiration, and he would find himself sweating excessively.

Frankl suggested that the next time he felt this anxiety coming on, rather than trying not to break out in a sweat, he should deliberately try to show people how much he could sweat.

Frankl says that even thought the doctor had suffered from his phobia for more than four years, after only one therapeutic session, he overcame his fear.

This "treatment" replaces the fear with an absurd wish,which can deflate the power of the anxiety.

Similar advice is often successful in helping insomniacs. When they tell themselves to stay awake, they often fall asleep. Why? Because they remove the anxiety they fell over "trying" to fall asleep.

Going Bonkers Magazine. Copyright 2011

Happy Easter

2011-04-21T12:08:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter to you and your family from Emily and Joel,

It means so much at Easter time

To keep in touch with friends and family

To wish them happiness and cheer

And joy that never ends.

That's why this brings a warm "hello"

Especially for you and your family

Together with best wishes

For a happy Springtime too.

A NEW YEAR BEGINS AGAIN

2011-04-13T14:21:00.000-04:00

The New Year begins on January 1st; however, for me a New Year and journey began April 1st, 2011. April is away for maternity leave and has transferred her responsibilities to me. My name is Emily Warren and I will be April’s replacement for a year. I am excited to be working with the amazing families that are involved with Nipissing Family Program and helping them through their everyday struggles, joys and frustrations.

I am really excited for the next year and look forward to meeting all of our family members. I hope to enjoy some amazing experiences with everyone this year. I bring many years experience in helping people, advocating, and lived experience.

I am available via email at fasst@bellnet.ca or telephone at (705) 494-4774 ext. 226 and I look forward to hearing from all of you at some point soon. Thank you to Joel and family members for the warm welcome.

In addition, Joel and I are happy to announce the birth of April's baby boy Miles. He arrived on April 6th, 2011 at 6:37 p.m., weighing 8 pounds. April and baby are doing great and she is really enjoying her time with the new baby. Congrats to April and her family!

2011-03-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

We have a responsibility to help the poor...

The opening sentence of a story Wednesday in the Ottawa Citizen should concern us all: "We haven't progressed very far from the 'Let them eat cake' attitude of decapitated French royalty."

The story documented the findings of a recent survey conducted for the Salvation Army that looked at the attitudes of Canadians toward those people who are impoverished. The survey's findings are alarming.

They demonstrate a type of bigotry reminiscent of the British feudal days.

Instead of classes ranging from lords and ladies to serfs, the survey demonstrated the disdain many of us feel toward those in need.

According to the survey, almost half of Canadians actually believe that if someone wants to work, they can always find a job, regardless of the unemployment rate.

More than 40% of those surveyed think that a good work ethic is all someone needs to escape poverty.

It sounds plausible until you are the person looking for work. The survey also found that nearly 25% of us believe poor people are just lazy and that 28% of Canadians actually believe poor people have lower moral values than the rest of us.

Do we really think poor people are bad? What some of the people surveyed failed to consider is that many of those apparently in the middle class are just one pay cheque away from being poor. Too many of us have credit cards that are maxed out and a layoff could lead to financial ruin, especially if interest rates rise as predicted.

Those who dismiss the circumstances poor people face should remember: "There but for the grace of God go I."

Some of the homeless and destitute people we see on city streets do have substance abuse and mental health problems but they are no less deserving of support and guidance than any other person.

We have come to rely on organizations like the Salvation Army and other charities to reinforce Canada's sagging social safety net, to try to stop people from falling through it. But even organizations like the Army face difficult times.

The fact is poor people face challenges that are different from many of us. To put all of them in the same category ignores the reality of their situations.

In Nanaimo, Salvation Army officials are worried that its thrift stores aren't receiving enough donations.

These donations are cleaned up and sold at the Army's three thrift store locations to help provide operational funding for the New Hope Centre and the organization's meal and hamper programs.

Instead of being critical of those in need, for whatever reason, Canadians should focus their concern on federal and provincial governments who wash their hands when it comes to poverty issues and decide to download them onto the backs of already financially strapped municipalities.

Attitudes continually change but the needs of people for shelter, food and respect do not. There may be a few people who try to take advantage of social services wherever they live but the vast majority of poor people are just trying to make it through their day.

Hopefully, the Salvation Army's study does not reflect the attitudes of most Canadians.

There is no evidence that poor people are stupid, have lower moral values and are lazy.

Too few of us recognize that the people we see on the streets are but for their circumstances no different than the rest of us.

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

2011-03-03T11:38:00.000-05:00

Bi-polar princess and courageous mental health advocate Victoria Maxwell

In partnership with Crest.BD, Victoria Maxwell uses her love of theatre to raise mental health awareness.

Victoria Maxwell is an award-winning actress who has worked with famous leading men like Johnny Depp, David Duchovny, and John Travolta. She's a mental health educator and playwright with over two decades of experience.
Maxwell is also mentally ill.
After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and psychosis, Maxwell became active in the promotion of mental health awareness and addressing stigma. During the past decade, she has combined her theatre background, professional knowledge, and personal experiences with mental illness to offer a unique perspective on the lived experience of mental illness.

Her critically acclaimed one-woman shows "Crazy for Life" and "Funny… You Don’t Look Crazy," debuted to sold-out audiences in England, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. Irreverently funny and charismatic, Maxwell infuses each of her performances with important messages about mental health awareness interspersed with her personal history.

Maxwell is the creative director of Crazy for Life Co., a company that aims to educate health care professionals about mental illness and workplace wellness. She also presents customized workshops for conferences, in-house training, and a range of services for individuals and families, colleges and universities, and corporations. Her latest project is a one-woman show being developed in collaboration with Crest.BD.
Crest.BD is a collaborative research team studying the psychosocial issues in bipolar disorder. Current research includes the impact of recovery narratives in bipolar illness, attitudes towards the police, and the impact of bipolar disorder on employment experiences. A central tenant of Crest.BD is fostering and promoting community based research for individuals with bipolar disorder and their family members. Crest.BD organizes a number of free events open to the public throughout the greater Vancouver area.

I recently attended a community engagement night organized by Crest.BD and was fortunate enough to sit down with Victoria Maxwell. Taken with her vivacious energy and charisma, her passion for raising mental health awareness was immediately apparent.

When asked how she became involved in mental health advocacy, Maxwell recounted her initial struggle in accepting her diagnosis. After being diagnosed in 1992, she “didn’t know what bipolar disorder was." She described her concerns about taking medication and the fear that her personality would be pathologized. She had difficulty accepting her diagnosis due to the lack of knowledge available.

One of the biggest barriers to treatment people with mental illness face, she said, is this lack of open dialogue and discussion. “I wanted to see more discussion to prevent suffering and stigma [in mental illness]," Maxwell said.

Stigma, and particularly self-stigma, is one of the biggest barriers to treatment for mental illness. Realizing that open dialogue was one of the most effective ways to disarm the prejudices associated with mental illness, she became a mental health educator and an advocate for mental health awareness. “It is important to be creative, to share stories and to listen," she said.
This direct contact can only be achieved through individuals speaking out about mental health and illness, however, she cautioned that this disclosure should be appropriate to the situation. “The onus is on us [people with a mental illness] to stand up and be counted,” Maxwell said. “I think if all of us do, then we will be stronger for it”.

When asked whether she had any suggestions for people living with a mental illness, Maxwell offered some powerful advice. “Be as compassionate towards yourself as you can. Reach out for help, and if you don’t get it, reach out again until you find someone who cares. There is help and it does get better.”

Mental illness affects an estimated one in five Canadians throughout their lifetime, the Public Health Agency states. Societal impacts of mental illness are pervasive, impacting individuals, their families, health care systems and the community at large. Research has shown that the estimated economic annual cost of mental illness in Canada is $14.4 billion. According to the World Health Organization, mental illness is the leading cause of disability in Canada.

Fortunately, there is help available for individuals with mental illness. Thanks to people like Victoria Maxwell, who has the courage to stand up and be counted, mental health awareness is being pushed to the forefront of Canadian consciousness.

Victoria Maxwell’s play will debut in May, and is open to mental health professionals and to individuals with a mental illness and their families. For more information about Maxwell, visit her website and her blog at Psychology Today.

For more information about research, team members, and knowledge exchange activities conducted by Crest.BD, visit www.crestbd.ca.

2011-02-22T14:15:00.000-05:00

CAMH launches first Research Laboratory on wheels dedicated to mental health and addictions

For immediate release – February 22, 2011 – (Toronto) – Today, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is launching Canada’s first mobile research laboratory to study mental health and addictions in communities across Ontario. The mobile lab will allow CAMH researchers to reach underserved populations in rural, remote and First Nations communities to help improve prevention and treatment services in these communities, and beyond.
“The mobile research lab fills a gap by bringing world-class research by epidemiologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists and social scientists to communities that are far from research centres,” says Dr. Bruce G. Pollock, CAMH’s Vice-President of Research. “The results will be shared with local health and social service agencies, enabling them to improve service delivery.”
CAMH scientists will embark on the lab’s first research program this spring. Researchers are targeting Ontario communities that are less advantaged due to higher unemployment or poverty rates, among other factors. Among the series of studies planned, one line of research will tease out the complex interactions between a person’s genes and problems in the community, which may put people at risk for mood and anxiety disorders, substance abuse and violence.
The lab will be used to conduct interviews and surveys, run focus groups, and take hair, saliva or blood samples to measure stress or obtain genetic information. This information will produce knowledge about communities that is often not available from large-scale telephone surveys. Over time, as information is gathered from across the province, CAMH researchers will create a powerful database that will advance our collective knowledge of mental illness, addictions and violence.
“The research lab is a major milestone of CAMH’s Research Renaissance Project, which is our largest ever scientific endeavour,” notes Dr. Pollock. “The lab reflects the project’s vision of working from the neuron to the neighbourhood level to advance our understanding, treatment and prevention of mental illness.”
The mobile research laboratory received funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The first research program, Researching Health in Ontario Communities, was supported by a team grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
“‘This mobile research lab will have a real and positive impact on the Ontario communities who need it most,” said The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the CFI.
“CIHR is pleased to support this unique project that will facilitate a partnership between individuals in rural communities and a renowned team of health researchers at CAMH committed to improving brain health through innovative research," said Dr. Anthony Phillips, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. “We hope that the mobile research laboratory approach will increase our knowledge of mental health and addiction among rural and remote communities.”

2011-02-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

Nipissing Family Art Therapy

Please join us on Tuesday March 8th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Due to the popularity of our last class, we will be doing some more painting!!

I will have water colour paper and paint available as well as canvas and acrylic paint.

Please feel free to bring any supplies you have at home and would like to share.

Please RSVP with April to reserve your supplies for the evening.

Hope to see you there!!

705 494 4774 x 226

2011-02-14T12:06:00.000-05:00

Heroes of Mental Health

Mental illness is truly invisible, but that doesn’t make it any less real for those affected by it. These Canadian Mental Health Association staffers and volunteers dedicate their lives to helping people with mental illness recover their lives—and thrive.

Below you will find a text version of the 12-page CMHA focused article entitled “Heroes of Mental Health” that appears in the December 2010 issue of Reader’s Digest (on the shelves now).
These 12 pages are filled with various stories of CMHA volunteers who work tirelessly to help improve the life-quality and potential of Canadians living with mental illness -- volunteers for community projects, one-on-one mentors, organizers of larger events, etc. Most of these volunteers have also been personally affected by mental-health issues -- be it a parent, a child, a friend, or even the volunteer him/herself, living with, struggling with, striving to overcome the daily challenges of mental illness.

Volunteers highlighted include Drew Jacques and Chris Hill, CMHA Cochrane-Timiskaming; Iman Grewal, CMHA Kitchener-Waterloo; Helen MacDonnell, CMHA, Moncton; Karen Murphy, CMHA, Ontario; Roy Muise, CMHA, Halifax; Steve Bournemann, CMHA, Haliax-Dartmouth, among others. A hearty thank you goes out to all those CMHA volunteers who took the time and effort to share their brave and precious stories with 6 million Reader’s Digest readers across this country!

ONE IN FIVE CANADIANS EXPERIENCES A MENTAL ILLNESS AT SOME POINT, AND MANY SUFFER IN SILENCE BECAUSE OF THE STIGMA.
For the full article, please pick up a December, 2010, issue of Reader's Digest which contains photos and additional information.
Drew Jacques, Chris Hill and others
New Liskeard, ONT.
By William Brown

Outside a Montreal metro station, a mentally ill man begs for change in the bitter January cold; barely a soul notices him, even after he freezes to death. That may seem shocking, but who among us hasn’t avoided the plaintive gaze of a stranger in need, or even dismissed a family member or friend who might need help? Perhaps the men and women celebrated in the following pages.
These people, and thousands like them, go the extra mile for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), a nationwide charitable organization. These heroes stop. They connect with those in need. They see beyond the stigma and misconceptions that plague the mentally ill.

How did they learn to see what many of us can’t or won’t? What makes them different? Here are their stories.
At first glance, mentalhealth support in New Liskeard, Ont., seems hard to come by: There are no fulltime psychiatrists living in the community. While this lack of mentalhealth assistance is far from ideal, it has prompted the local CMHA to find other ways of providing support. “Our responsibility is to work with people to help them move from the dire consequences of significant mental illness to recovery, which means living life to the fullest of your ability,” says Drew Jacques, 52, team lead for mentalhealth services at the CochraneTimiskaming branch of the CMHA. “Along the way, we realized there’s value in activities other than just sitting in a room, talking.”
So Jacques, his staff and his team of volunteers did more than just talk: They created a variety of group programs and outings, all in the name of offering those who live with mental illness a safe place to gather, learn, cope and give back. Activities have included communitykitchen cooking classes, yoga and sessions that allow people to express themselves through art.
Chris Hill, 34, is among the many people who have helped to shape the branch’s activities. In addition to providing weekly counselling sessions, Hill, who played university hockey, takes clients to the gym or out for hikes. “There have been times in my life,” he says, “when I’ve gone through anxious episodes or bouts of depression, and exercise has helped me.” Hill noticed the same benefits, along with improved selfesteem, in his clients.
As a result of Hill’s success, and that of two other mentalhealth clinicians focusing on physical activity, the CMHA paid for the three of them to become certified personal trainers. Last year, the branch launched a pilot project, Active Recovery, adding physical fitness to the many therapeutic activities the organization al ready offers.
For a man such as Chris Gatenby, 39, devastated in 2007 by a failed marriage and the departure of his wife and kids, Active Recovery has been a road back from an uncertain future. “I had no way of dealing with the anger,” he says of those first few months alone. “I just kept it all inside.” He worried about harming him self or others. Despite being legally blind, he started boxing and working out in a gym. This helped him channel his anger—but it was still there. One day he walked into the CMHA office in New Liskeard and asked for help. That’s when he met Hill, and his recovery began in earnest. “I’m calmer nowadays, more patient, and I’m kinder to people,” Gatenby says.
His children have since returned to the region, and he is part of their lives again. Gatenby has also found fulfillment by giving back to the CMHA branch that gave him so much. He sits on two committees and helps Hill lead exercise sessions. “It’s awesome,” says Gatenby. “People are changing—becoming stronger, more social—because of me helping them.”
For team lead Jacques, Gatenby’s experience is a great example of the office’s broader goal: to help those with mentalhealth problems help one another. “People who may have started as clients are now supporting each other afterhours,” Jacques says. “We actually have doctors phoning us, commenting on the good work we’re doing, saying, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it, because you’re having a tremendous positive impact.’”
• Reprinted with permission from the December 2010 issue of Reader’s Digest magazine. Copyright (c) 2010 by Reader’s Magazines Canada Limited.

2011-02-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Send a Valentine e-card from NAMI and honor your Valentine by providing help, hope and support to individuals and families affected by mental illness.

When you give to NAMI, we will send an e-card to your Valentine celebrating your support.

Include your name and a personal message on your e-card or, if you like, send it as a secret admirer!

Order your card at: http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=Donate&template=/customsource/Donation/GeneralForm.cfm&Type=VAL&lstid=1008

BELL supports Mental Health Awareness!! Lets Talk, February 9th...

2011-02-07T11:55:00.000-05:00

Bell Aliant, a sister company of BCE will be joining Bell in promoting Mental Health Awareness Day by participating in the Bell Let’s Talk Campaign.

The Bell Let’s Talk Campaign is a newly launched annual initiative at promoting Mental Health awareness and the effects it has in Canada’s home, workplace and school. Very often a lot of people don’t want like to talk about mental health even though it affects 1 in 5 Canadians. In fact, according to a poll completed by the Canadian Mental Health Association, only 50% of Canadians would tell someone else if they had a mental illness whereas 70% would tell another person if they were diagnosed with Cancer.

Bell hopes to promote the awareness of Mental Health by starting a conversation through its newest charitable campaign.

On February 9, 2011, Bell will donate 5 cents for every long distance call and text messages its customers make on that day to support mental health related programs across the country. It is part of a $50 million initiative Bell has for the mental health community over the next 5 years.

2011-02-07T10:35:00.000-05:00

~ Beating the Winter Blues ~

....don't forget your self care!!

Winter got you feeling down? You're not alone. Many people find the winter to be one of the most difficult times of the year and it's no wonder why. First, it's cold, there are few hours of daylight and keeping a busy schedule, or shuffling kids to and from activities can really get you stressed, or depressed. Getting over the winter time blues isn't always easy but with these tips you may find yourself getting back to normal in no time. You can beat the winter time blues and kick that grumpy, irritable self to the curb.

People get depressed for all sorts of reasons and it doesn't always have a quick fix. But, you can make yourself feel better, now. Think about the things that make you happy, good memories that you have, and of the people you love and whom love you back. That's a good start; you're just getting warmed up right now. When I'm feeling a bit run down or grouchy I try to set aside an hour or two for volunteering in the community. Giving back always makes me feel good and I can't help but smile as I think of the people I am helping. Plenty of organizations can use volunteers on a daily basis. Whenever you're starting to get the droopy feelings go down to your church, local animal shelter, or hospital to see if you can volunteer or help out in some way.
The most important thing you have to remember is not to pack your schedule to the brim. Leave time for yourself and the important things in life. If you over schedule yourself you will not enjoy any of the activities in your day and end up depressed. Remember, if you are the jack of all trades you are the master of none. It may be hard to say no at first, but be strong for yourself and the ones who love you. Don't feel bad about not volunteering on the PTA this year, or not staying that extra hour at work. Instead, use that time to freshen up, take a nap, or do whatever it is you do to recharge.
Trust me, you will feel much better once you start making time for yourself. If I am rushing around, taking care of other people all day and forgetting about myself, I wind up angry and short tempered. When that happens I just take a deep breath, close my eyes for a second, and then exhale. In my mind I always say to myself, "the task at hand is never more important than I am". That usually gets me feeling better so I can go on with the day. But, this example just shows the importance of scheduling me time.

I do lots of things during me time, it's not always volunteering. A great thing I figured out was to call up some friends for a lunch or dinner date or even just for tea. I always feel better after talking to friends about something that is bothering me. It's almost as a weight has been lifted off my body and I feel lighter as I head to my car and home. Winding down the day with a good book or a hot bath is also relaxing and can make you feel better.

For those times when I'm feeling really tired and exhausted like I head out for a walk or to the pool. Exercise always seems to help get rid of those feelings of fatigue. Using the pool at the YMCA always relaxes me and gets my heart pumping as well. After a nice swim I feel wide awake and my appetite seems to increase. Sometimes a little bit of activity can get you up and going all day.
Besides doing the obvious you also should do what might not seem so apparent. It's really important to get plenty of sleep and for most of us it seems that is the hardest part to master. We've all heard the statement "early to bed, early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise". Well, in part it is true. As winter progresses and daylight hours dwindle it is more important that ever to get good nights sleep. Because the sun goes down sooner and comes up earlier you should too. The more sun you see the better you feel.
If you're spending all day indoors under artificial lighting, go outside and get some sun. Sun helps our bodies' process vitamin D3 which in turn makes you feel better. Just a couple of minutes of direct sunlight are enough for one day. If you want to feel better sooner you should also try a balanced diet. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, eat less red meat and pork, and of course drink plenty of water. The right foods will make you feel good from the inside out. If you can't eat right take vitamins. B and C vitamins will keep you from getting sick and give you plenty of energy.

So, if you start feeling stressed or frazzled keep these tips in mind as they may help get you out of a slump. You can beat the winter time blues by focusing on what's important in life; yourself, those that love you, and others that need your help. Remember to schedule me time every day and you will start feeling better right away!

~April

2011-02-01T11:26:00.001-05:00

Did you know??

"Creating colors, effects, and artistic self-expression relieves stuffed emotions, giving expression where words cannot. Watercolor painting can bring freedom, order, and clarity to our inner thoughts and emotions. Art comes from our own unique experiences and responses to people, places, and things. This is what is so therapeutic about not just looking at art, but creating art. Art is an extremely personal experience, whether releasing emotional trauma, or creating something new, it's something beautiful to focus on and enjoy." Marilee Donivan

Our second Art Therapy class was a hit! Thank you to those of you who came to make it the experience it was. It is always great to see you all. I left feeling relaxed yet energized at the same time and I am really looking forward to our next class together.

Hope to see you at our class in March. More details to follow...

~April

2011-01-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

January's Art Therapy ~ Water Colour at Nipissing Family

Tuesday, January 25th 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Join us for a relaxing evening of Art Therapy where you will be introduced to the very basics of water colour painting. Please note that no artistic skill is required to have fun!

Please R.S.V.P with April Raftis to reserve your seat and materials by January 20th, 2011 at 494 4774 x226

2011-01-11T15:48:00.000-05:00

Happy 2011 Nipissing Family!!

Loving someone with a mental illness can really challenge us to find every ounce of compassion that we have – often it is given to them.

Today I would like to ask you to gather up some more compassion, find a quiet corner and really acknowledge yourself for the amazing accomplishments and challenges you have faced this year.

It is always so easy to focus on what we didn’t do or the things we said but never meant to.

Now, let’s take a look at ourselves during 2010 in a compassionate way.

Accomplishments

Give this some thought – you may have had a difficult conversation that you didn’t really want to have, set a new boundary or said the unspeakable or did the unthinkable. Write it down.

What did you accomplish this year?

What was your most surprising accomplishment?

What gave you that boost to do it?

What worked really well?

How did you reward yourself?

Let’s talk about rewards for a second. They are so important – share what you have done. Celebrate it in a big way or small way and if you haven’t done so – do it today. It can be just the stuff that helps you keep going during the tougher times.
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Challenges

Oh yeah – when you love someone with mental illness there are lots of these. Sometimes it’s external to you – their behavior or the finances. Other times it’s internal like isolating yourself or feeling overwhelmed because you’re just so darn sick of it all. Sometimes it’s a combination of both.

What were your biggest external challenges this year? Would it be a good idea to have an action plan in case the same type of things happen again?

What were your biggest internal challenges? Do you know what triggers them?

Can you set up a system to give you an early cue and a plan to acknowledge and tame the gremlins quicker?
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Moving Forward in 2011

Look some things were really good from last year and other things – well we can learn something from them – even when it’s really hard.

Looking over the accomplishments what do you really want to focus on this year to make life even better? Give yourself some of the compassion that you give to your ill loved one.

Compassionately look over your challenges. How could you kindly help yourself in these areas?

What support would you like to make it easier for you?

Let us know- we admire and support all those who love someone with a mental illness. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2011!

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=9r_FB&m=J4iWt2N66R4ztl&b=4iwGjDgHqI09komO_QCyig

~April

2010-12-20T14:46:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays

from

Wishing you a joy filled

holiday season with

your dearest friends and family!

Hope to see you in the New Year. Our next

monthly peer support meeting is

Tuesday, January 4th from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Please call April if you have any questions

regarding 2011 family programming 494 4774 x 226

All the best in 2011,

Joel & April

2010-12-20T14:28:00.000-05:00

It’s The Holidays, Again

The time from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day is probably the most stressful period of the year. Expectations are high; reality is low. The pressure to perform has become so great that many people are opting out.

Probably most stressful are the expected family gatherings. These events can be hard. Let’s be honest, do we really know all those cousins that we only see once a year? And, again being honest, do we sometimes just want to skip the whole affair?

If it’s tough for us, imagine for a moment what it must be like for our ill loved one. Strangers milling around, hugs and kisses from those strangers, and noise everywhere. Some of our loved ones just can’t handle so much input at once.

Then there’s the lack of understanding. Distant relatives often don’t understand what mental illness is. A holiday party is usually not the place to try and explain what it means for our son, daughter, brother, or sister to hear voices or to have unusual fears of people. Even the famous Monk has a hard time explaining to those closest to him why he must touch every parking meter.

One way you can help your loved one is by not forcing attendance at these events. At the last minute, our son decided not to attend the family Thanksgiving dinner at his brother’s house. He said that he just couldn’t “deal with it.” So be it. He was more comfortable, and there was no holiday incident.

Allow your loved one to leave anytime during the party. Maybe a short visit with everyone will be o.k., but to sit down at the table with 20 strangers may be just too much to ask for.

Sometimes our loved one wants to be part of the preparation, but not part of the main event. This is a good way to be a part of the celebration without having the stress of the family gathering or high expectations of the day.

Remember your loved one’s mental well-being is more important than a possible offense to a third cousin.

Expectations

Holidays are hard. Crowded schedules, family expectations, self expectations, and physical and emotional drain.

For our loved ones who suffer with brain disorders that cause emotional distress, all the stress of the holidays is even worse. While we are planning joyous celebrations, our ill family member may be just trying to deal with the daily struggles of the illness.

One of the definitions of struggle is “make great physical effort.” It is great effort for someone suffering with a mental illness. Trying to maintain a sense of normalcy is hard. Often they give up because the struggle is too hard.

Unwittingly we have expectations for our loved ones during the holidays. This year, maybe this year, nothing will happen. Maybe this year, there won’t be an “incident.” Maybe this year, everyone will enjoy the holiday gathering. Maybe this year, it will be a Hallmark® holiday.

Expectations from extended family can even be higher. Those who aren’t with our loved one all year don’t understand the struggle. Often they are overcome by the stigma of mental illness. Or, they fall victim to misinformation.

Whatever your holiday celebration, it can be anything but holly, jolly. During this month, I’ll be sharing some tips to help you and help our loved one survive the struggle of the holidays.

Take care of yourself

With so much to do and so much on your mind, you can forget about yourself. After all self-care isn’t on your to-do list. And, for too many of us – especially moms – self care seems, well, selfish.

Even if the gang isn’t coming to your house, you are making plans just the same. Part of those plans may be helping your ill loved one, navigate the stress of holidays with no relapse. But, if you are walking a tightrope with your own physical and emotional needs, you can’t reach out and help someone else without risking both of you falling.

Here are some ideas to care for yourself, so you can care for your loved one. And, both of you can enjoy friends and family during the holiday season.

1. Get plenty of rest.

Even if you have overnight guests, don’t feel like you have to stay up all night. Having guests is hard work. Get some rest so you can enjoy the visit; rather than looking forward to the day they leave.

You can’t make it through that to-do list if you don’t have the energy to do so.

No one appreciates a tired, crabby you.

2. Cut down that to-do list

Determine what is essential and important. Everything else goes to the hope list. (I hope we have time for this, but if not we’ll enjoy Christmas anyway.)

To cut down the list: 1) Put it in order of priority. What is important to you and your family? 2) Draw a line in the middle of the list. 3) Cross off everything in the bottom half of the list. Transfer those items to your hope list if you’d like.

Look at what’s left. Decide what you must do, and what others can do. Your ill family member may want to be involved with some of the holiday task and traditions. This is one way to be involved without having to meet other’s expectations.

3. Watch your diet.

Be careful with all the holiday treats – candy, pies, cookies. Just the over indulgence in this area can make you physically tired and have less energy to cope.

Don’t over eat at the wonderful holiday dinner. Limit portions and slowly enjoy what’s on your plate.

Limit alcohol intake. Go ahead; toast the New Year with a glass of wine. After that drink non-alcoholic beverages. Alcohol can dehydrate your system, deplete other nutrients, and you’ll feel worse and have less energy.

http://family-4-family.com/holiday-survival/

2010-12-20T13:23:00.000-05:00

TORONTO, Dec. 6 /CNW/ - A campaign to help psychiatric patients over the holidays got a big boost this weekend with a mention in a Huffington Post column on great gift-giving ideas.

HuffPost columnist Julia Moulden, author of The New Radicals, puts together an annual list of gifts to "stir the hearts, minds, and souls of the ones you love" - and this year she included CAMH Foundation's Gifts of Light campaign to engage the city in donating gifts to 1,000 patients in treatment over the holidays.

"My head hurts just thinking about the number of people in treatment who don't get visits - or gifts - at this time of year," says Moulden, whose work explores the ways people can make a difference. Her new book, RIPE: Rich, Rewarding Work After 50, is due out in January. "I'm thrilled to learn that there's a practical way we can help."

Now in its third year, Gifts of Light was launched by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation to encourage the public to send practical and meaningful gifts to patients during the holidays. Because of the stigma surrounding mental illness and addiction, many patients receive few visits, cards or gifts from their loved ones, which makes the holidays especially difficult and isolating.

And with the holiday season now in full swing, Torontonians are responding generously.

Last year, 600 Gifts of Light were distributed to every CAMH inpatient. This year's campaign has been expanded to include some patients undergoing outpatient treatment and more than $65,000 has been raised with a month remaining before the December 31 deadline.

"Everyone has the power to make a positive difference in someone else's life. Sending a Gift of Light is about telling a CAMH patient that you're thinking about them this holiday and that you're supporting them on their road to recovery," said Valerie Pringle, broadcaster and Gifts of Light ambassador.

Nancy Lockhart, Chief Administrative Officer with The Frum Development Group and a member of the CAMH Foundation Board of Directors, understands the devastating impact of losing a loved one due to mental illness:

"Mental illness and addiction has no boundaries. It can affect anyone and at any point in a person's lifetime. Through programs like Gifts of Light, we can encourage frank and open discussions about mental illness and addiction and the importance of supporting individuals during a very difficult period in their lives," said Lockhart, who made a generous donation towards this year's campaign.

Among the items - priced from $10 upward - in this year's Gifts of Light catalogue:

Cozy and warm pyjamas and robes for inpatients

Educational grants to support a patient's educational pursuits

Healthy breakfasts for patients receiving outpatient treatments

Family supports (e.g. public transit fare, child care) to enable family members to participate in treatment.

Every donor who purchases a Gift of Light item before December 10 receives a special card to send to their loved one, explaining how their gift has made a meaningful difference to a CAMH patient. The deadline to purchase a Gift of Light is December 31, 2010

2010-12-06T16:33:00.001-05:00

Christmas Traditions

When was the first Christmas card sent? Why do we kiss under the mistletoe? Learn the origins of Christmas and fun facts about some of our favorite christmas traditions and symbols.
There are lots of Christmas traditions that are practiced by a number of countries all over the world during the holiday season. These traditions can be as diverse as the culture and religious practices of each and every country in the world.

Origins of Christmas

From the Old English 'Cristes Mæsse' ~ meaning the 'mass of Christ' ~ the story of Christmas begins with the birth of a babe in Bethlehem.

It is believed that Christ was born on the 25th, although the exact month is unknown. December was likely chosen so the Catholic Church could compete with rival pagan rituals held at that time of year and because of its closeness with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, a traditional time of celebration among many ancient cultures.

Luke, Chapter Two

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Santa Claus

The origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in present day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children. After his death around 340 A.D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas' popularity throughout Europe.

His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre.

In Greece, he is the patron saint of sailors, in France he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium the patron of children and travellers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated to him and some time around the 12th century an official church holiday was created in his honor. The Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated December 6 and the day was marked by gift-giving and charity.

After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas dwindled, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolaas was eventually transformed to Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace, and Sinterklaas would reward good children by placing treats in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and here the Anglican name of Santa Claus emerged.

In 1822 Clement C. Moore composed the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, published as The Night Before Christmas as a gift for his children. In it, he portrays Santa Claus:

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly,

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

Other countries feature different gift-bearers for the Christmas or Advent season: La Befana in Italy ~ The Three Kings in Spain, Puerto Rico, and Mexico ~ Christkindl or the Christ Child in Switzerland and Austria ~ Father Christmas in England ~ and Pere Noël, Father Christmas or the Christ Child in France. Still, the figure of Santa Claus as a jolly, benevolent, plump man in a red suit described in Moore's poem remains with us today and is recognized by children and adults alike around the world.

Christmas Trees

In 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper. In the Middle Ages, a popular religous play depicted the story of Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

A fir tree hung with apples was used to symbolize the Garden of Eden -- the Paradise Tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a saviour coming, and so was often performed during the Advent season.

It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home

The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family of Victoria, Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. Brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans, the Christmas tree became by the late 19th century.
Christmas Stockings
According to legend, a kindly nobleman grew despondent over the death of his beloved wife and foolishly squandered his fortune. This left his three young daughters without dowries and thus facing a life of spinsterhood.

The generous St. Nicholas, hearing of the girls' plight, set forth to help. Wishing to remain anonymous, he rode his white horse by the nobleman's house and threw three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were fortuitously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry. Read more about christmas stockings.
Mistletoe

Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter.

The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace.
Scandanavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.
Holly, Ivy and Greenery

In Northern Europe Christmas occurred during the middle of winter, when ghosts and demons could be heard howling in the winter winds. Boughs of holly, believed to have magical powers since they remained green through the harsh winter, were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away. Greenery was also brought indoors to freshen the air and brighten the mood during the long, dreary winter.
Legend also has it that holly sprang from the footsteps of Christ as he walked the earth. The pointed leaves were said to represent the crown of thorns Christ wore while on the cross and the red berries symbolized the blood he shed.
Poinsettias
A native Mexican plant, poinsettias were named after Joel R. Poinsett, U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828. Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations. One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ child. He gathered pretty green branches from along the road and brought them to the church. Though the other children mocked him, when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower appeared on each branch. The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant.
The Candy cane
It was not long after Europeans began using Christmas trees that special decorations were used to adorn them. Food items, such as candies and cookies, were used predominately and straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used as ornamentation. Legend has it that during the 17th century, craftsmen created the white sticks of candy in the shape of shephreds' crooks at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.
The candy treats were given to children to keep them quiet during ceremonies at the living creche, or Nativity scene, and the custom of passing out the candy crooks at such ceremonies soon spread throughout Europe.
According to the National Confectioner's Association, in 1847 German immigrant August Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. More than 50 years later, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made candy canes as treats for family, friends and local shopkeepers. McCormack's brother-in-law, Catholic priest Gregory Keller, invented a machine in the 1950s that automated the production of candy canes, thus eliminating the usual laborious process of creating the treats and the popularity of the candy cane grew.
More recent explanations of the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white represents Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity. While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become increasingly common and at times are even represented as fact. Regardless, the candy cane remains a favorite holiday treat and decoration.
Christmas cards
A form of Christmas card began in England first when young boys practiced their writing skills by creating Christmas greetings for their parents, but it is Sir Henry Cole who is credited with creating the first real Christmas card. The first director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry found himself too busy in the Christmas season of 1843 to compose individual Christmas greetings for his friends.
He commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley for the illustration. The card featured three panels, with the center panel depicting a family enjoying Christmas festivities and the card was inscribed with the message "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

The Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company, department store operators, had been purchasing and distributing children's coloring books as Christmas gifts for their customers for several years. In 1939, Montgomery Ward tapped one of their own employees to create a book for them, thus saving money. 34-year old copywriter Robert L. May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in 1939, and 2.4 million copies were handed out that year. Despite the wartime paper shortage, over 6 million copies had been distributed by 1946.

May drew in part on the story "The Ugly Duckling" and in part from his own experiences as an often taunted, small, frail youth to create the story of the misfit reindeer. Though Rollo and Reginald were considered, May settled on Rudolph as his reindeer's name.

Writing in verse as a series of rhyming couplets, May tested the story as he went along on his 4-year old daughter Barbara, who loved the story

Sadly, Robert Mays wife died around the time he was creating Rudolph, leaving Mays deeply in debt due to medical bills. However, he was able to persuade Sewell Avery, Montgomery Ward's corporate president, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947, thus ensuring May's financial security.

May's story "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was printed commercially in 1947 and in 1948 a nine-minute cartoon of the story was shown in theaters. When May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, wrote the lyrics and melody for the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", the Rudolph phenomenon was born. Turned down by many musical artists afraid to contend with the legend of Santa Claus, the song was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 at the urging of Autry's wife. The song sold two million copies that year, going on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time, second only to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". The 1964 television special about Rudolph, narrated by Burl Ives, remains a holiday favorite to this day and Rudolph himself has become a much-loved Christmas icon.

Hanukkah

Commencing on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev, Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the Syrians.

In 168 BC, members of the Jewish family Maccabee led a revolt against the Greek Syrians due to the policies of Syrian King Antiochus IV which were aimed at nullifying the Jewish faith. Part of this strategem included changing the Beit HaMikdash - the Holy Temple in Jerusalem - to a Greek temple complete with idolatry. Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jews won victory over the Syrians in 165 BC and reclaimed their temple.

After cleansing the temple and preparing for its rededication, it was found there was not enough oil to light the N'er Tamid, an oil lamp present in Jewish houses of worship which represents eternal light. Once lit, the lamp should never be extinguished.

A search of the temple produced a small vial of undefiled oil -- enough for only one day. Miraculously, the Temple lights burned for eight days until a new supply of oil was brought. In remembrance of this miracle, one candle of the Menorah - an eight branched candelabra - is lit each of the eight days of Hanukkah. Hanukkah, which means dedication, is a Hebrew word when translated is commonly spelled Hanukah, Chanukah, and Hannukah due to different translations and customs.

The tradition of receiving gifts on each of the eight days of Hanukkah is relatively new and due in part to the celebration's proximity to the Christmas season.

Kwanzaa

Doctor Maulana Karenga, a Professor at California State University in Long Beach, California, created Kwanzaa in 1966. It is a holiday celebrated by millions of African-Americans around the world, encouraging them to remember their African heritage and consider their current place in America today. Kwanzaa is celebrated fom December 26 to January 1 and involves seven principles called Nguzo Saba: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).

In the Kwanzaa ritual, seven candles called Mishumaa Saba are placed in a Kinara, or candleholder, which is then set upon the Mikeka, a mat usually made of straw.

Three green candles are placed on the left, three red candles on the right and a black candle in the center, each candle representing one of the seven principles of the celebration. One candle is lit each day of the Kwanzaa celebration, beginning from left to right The colors of Kwanzaa ~ black, red and green ~ also have a special significance. Black symbolizes the faces of the African people, Red symbolizes the blood they have shed, and Green represents hope and the color of the motherland. The name itself - Kwanzaa - is a Swahili word meaning "fruits of the harvest."

2010-12-03T11:23:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays!!

It’s December so I am allowed to say it now! : ) I am gearing up for Art Therapy next week and am really looking forward to spending a relaxing evening together. It will fun to get into the festive spirit together and make Christmas cards for our dearest family and friends. Also, please don’t forget to RSVP for our dinner and a documentary evening on the 13th. It is already looking like we will have quite the full house, and the more the merrier! Joel and I having been discussing some delicious menu options that are sure to please a crowd.

Looking ahead into the New Year, we were hoping that we could get some feedback from you all on what educational opportunities you would like to see here at Nipissing Family. Joel and I have been brainstorming about possible guest speakers to come and speak with us. Anything from specific topics to general themes on what you are interested would be great. So please share your ideas with us as we would love to hear them! I will have a suggestion box available for those of you who have ideas to put forward.

Thanks for your continued support.

~ April

2010-12-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

3 Touching family quotes we came across in our class discussions during NAMI, Family-to-Family....

1. “Mental illness is a social disorder not an individual disease. The affected family member is the touchstone that modulates the society around them.”

2. “Learn to enjoy the gift of patience and love of the little things of life.”

3. “Without the depths of sadness we would never enjoy the highs of happiness.”

~April

2010-11-16T15:38:00.002-05:00

Good day!

I received an e-mail today which reminded me that Christmas is only 39 days away! Time has been flying by during the last few months. Our NAMI Family-to-Family course is already wrapping up next week. It has been a good run and I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience as a teacher and have taken so much out of the course personally.

What amazed me the most was the strength and love present at each and every class. Even though many of these families and their loved ones have been routinely disappointed by the mental health system, there was a unified understanding of support and acceptance with each other. They realized for the first time that they were not alone and could relate to the feeling of loss, pain, fear and the constant worry of supporting their loved one. Over the course of the last few months, many stories were shared, many tears were shed, but at the end of the day we all became aware that our strength and love conquers all. Every evening ended with smiles, laughter, warm embraces, but most importantly, they ended with hope. I believe many of our students will move forward with what they have taken from the course and the friendships that have developed during this time will continue to prosper.

I would personally like to thank everyone who made this course possible, students and teachers alike, it was a memorable experience that would not have occurred without you all. So, thank for your presence, your spirit and your strength, it truly was an honour to go through it will you all.

I would also like to remind everyone about a few special dates coming up over the next couple of months.

Tuesday December 7th, 2010 Art Therapy for Families 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Please join us for a relaxing night of Christmas card making. The class will be facilitated by Nipissing University Fine Art students who will guide us through fun and easy card making just in time for Christmas. Please reserve your seat by calling the office.

Monday December 13th, 2010 Dinner and a Documentary 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Please join us for a festive evening of information and food! We will be showing David Suzuki’s A Brain That Changes Itself from the series, The Nature of Things. The film is based on the best-selling book by Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Norman Doidge, who presents a strong case for reconsidering how we view the human mind.

**Please reserve your seat by Dec. 10th***

In other news, we will be continuing Art Therapy, Yoga and Tai Chi in the new year. Thank you to everyone who came to the AGM. It was great to see so many of you!! We appreciate your continued support.

~ April

2010-10-28T10:57:00.000-04:00

EMPATHETIC GUIDELINES

For Families and Friends dealing with loved one with a Mental Illness

1. Don’t criticize. People struggling with any sort of mental illness are very vulnerable, and cannot defend themselves against direct personal attach. Try to be supportive, and keep negative or nagging remarks to an absolute minimum. If there is one single standard to work for in your relationship with an individual with a brain disorder, it is to respect, and protect, their shattered self-esteem.

2. Don’t press; don’t fight; don’t punish: Perhaps the best statement along these lines comes form a wise parent, Joe Talbot, quoted in Patricia Backlar’s superb book, The Family Face of Schizophrenia:

“With this disease there is no fighting. You may not fight. You just have to take it and take it calmly. And remember to keep your voice down. . . (Also) punishment doesn’t work with this disease. Now that I have lived with a person with schizophrenia, it makes me very upset when I see mental health workers try to correct their clients’ adverse behavior by punishment, because I know it doesn’t work”.

3. If you want to influence behavior effectively, the best thing to do is ignore negative behavior as much as you can, and praise positive behavior every chance you get. Study after study shows that if you “accentuate the positive” people will want to perform the behaviors that earn them recognition and approval. Many reliable studies indicate that criticism, conflict and emotional pressure are most highly related to relapse.

4. Learn to recognize and accept the primary symptoms, and the residual symptoms, of a person’s brain disorder. Don’t try to “jump start” someone in a depression, or “shoot down” a person with mania, or argue with schizophrenic delusions. Help them learn which of their behaviors are caused by their illness. Tell them it’s not their fault if they cannot get out of depression, that they are not “terrible” for the things they did when they were manic, etc. This kind of support relieves a lot of guilt and anxiety, even when someone is still in denial.

5. Don’t buy into the stigma all around you. People with mental illness are not “bad”, or ill because of some failure of character. Our family member is not willfully trying to disgrace us, frustrate us and embarrass us. Their behavior is not a reflection on our relationship, or our parenting. They are not dedicated to undermining our dignity, or ruining our prestige and standing in the community. They are simply ill. Stigma is awfully hard for us to bear in mental illness, but we certainly don’t have to go along with it!

6. Lessen your demand for support form your ill relative. People with mental illness become very “self” involved when so much of their identity and self-respect is at stake. They often cannot fulfill normal family roles. We are all well advised to seek additional sources of emotional support for ourselves when there is mental illness in the family. Then our loved ones can be who they are, and they well feel less guilty for letting us down.

7. Having made these necessary allowances, treat people with mental illness, day-to-day, just like anybody else. Expect the “basics” we all require to get along together, and set the same limits and expectations for reasonable order that would exist if the werre3 well. It is very reassuring to people with mental illness when we make a clear distinction between them as a person, and them as someone who has a problem with a disordered behavior. All persons require rules of conduct and cooperative standards to live by.

8. It is important to encourage independent behavior. Ask your ill family member what they feel they are ready to do. Plan for progress in small steps that have a better chance for success. Make short-term plans and goals and be prepared for changes in directions, and retreats. Progress in mental illness requires flexibility; it means giving up our zeal for progress measured by normal standards. There is lots more danger in pushing than there is in waiting. When they are ready, they move.

9. It doesn’t help us to cling to the past, or dwell on “what might have been.” The best gift we can offer is to accept that mental illness is a fact in the life of someone we love, and look ahead with hope to the future. It is important to tell our family members that mental illness makes life difficult, but not impossible. This is only the way it is now; things can be better. People come out of these illnesses; people get better. Family members can help keep the future alive; most people with mental illness do struggle on and rebuild their lives.

10. Every time our relatives “get better” and show improvement, for them it means that they are moving back into a risk position. Being well signals that they might be required to participate in the real world, and this is a frightening prospect for the “shaky self”. So it’s important for us to be very patient in wellness, just as we are in illness. People recovering from mental illness still have the awesome task of accepting what has happened to them, finding new meaning in life and constructing a way to living that protects them from becoming ill again.

11. Empathy must also extend to each of us, who struggle to under stand and encourage those we love who have mental illness. Remember: We can only try to do our best. We cannot do any better than that. Some illness processes get “stuck” no matter what we do to help. Brain disorders go through hard, intractable periods where helping those who suffer them is often very difficult to do. We can hope, we can assist, we can keep on trying, but we can’t produce miracles.

12. Families tell us that the most important “grace” one learns in the process of caring for people wit mental illness is forbearance, synonymous with tolerance, charity, endurance and self-restraint. Do not criticize yourself if you sometimes cannot muster up these graces when you are feeling frightened or frustrated. For all of us, coming to terms with changed life circumstances in serious illness is a huge adjustment. We do know that empathetic understanding will deepen and enrich our relationships with our relative suffering from a mental illness.

2010-10-20T11:06:00.000-04:00

Yale researchers identify gene as possible cause for depression

Finding could prove target for future antidepressant

latimes.com

Sunday, October 17

Yale researchers have identified a gene as a possible culprit for depression and a possible target in the future for a new antidepressant.

A study published Sunday in the journal Nature identifies the gene MKP-1 as playing a significant role in depression. The study's lead author, Ronald Duman, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale, says that it could be a "primary cause" of the debilitating condition.

The research team arrived at their findings after conducting genome scans on tissue samples of 21 deceased people who had been diagnosed with depression. Comparing those to the genome scans of 18 people who did not have depression, the researchers saw that the presence of MKP-1 was more than twice as strong in the samples of those who had been diagnosed with depression.

"This one gene, MKP-1, was one of the most highly abnormal genes that we identified," Duman says.

These findings led to experiments on mice. In one experiment, they used gene transfer technology to give mice a greater expression of the gene —- equal to the levels found in the humans with depression. These mice then displayed typical depressive behavior seen in animals suffering from chronic stress —- for instance, failing to escape from its confines when given the opportunity. Another set of mice were bred with the MKP-1 gene deleted. These mice showed resilience to stress.

What the MKP-1 gene does, Duman says, is shut down a pathway in the brain necessary for neurons to function properly. The breakdown of the pathway has previously been shown to be a factor in depression. Duman was involved in a study earlier this year on the effects of the drug ketamine and its role in repairing damaged pathways.

Douglas Meineke, program chief at the National Institute of Mental Health, says the Yale study helps shed some light on the role that certain changes in the brain play in the development of depression.

"This paper contributes a new and potential target for therapies," Meineke says. "I would describe it as an important, small piece in a slowly emerging jigsaw puzzle."

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, such as Prozac and Zoloft) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants and work by regulating serotonin in the brain. However, up to 40 percent of patients don't respond to SSRIs. The exact cause of depression has been elusive; it's widely believed that multiple factors are at work.

The next step, Duman says, is to see if these findings can lead to a medication that can inhibit the MKP-1 gene. For research of this nature, screening for the drug's tests can take a few years. The actual development of the drug can take an additional several years.

2010-10-07T16:15:00.000-04:00

Suicide: The forgotten patients

The mental health industry ignores the 35,000 people a year who commit suicide. A few researchers are trying to change that.

forbes.com

September, 2010

Alexsandra Wixom started experiencing uncontrollable bouts of sadness when she was 15. "I was emotionally off. I cried all the time," recalls the Seattle-area resident, who is now 25. Her mood swings eventually became so wild the former honors student had to quit going to high school. Over the next eight years she saw a psychiatrist every other week. Her doctors tried everything from Zoloft to mood stabilizers to heavy-duty antipsychotics, but none of them helped for long.

By her late teens visions of suicide started floating through her mind. In one nightmare she was a character in a videogame and lay bleeding at the top of a castle and wanted to die. On her 21st birthday in December 2005 the urges became so intense that Wixom checked herself into a hospital for a week. Her second hospitalization came in early 2007, when, while grocery shopping, she was struck with a desire to die. A month later she ended up in the hospital a third time after tripling her daily cocktail of psychiatric drugs in hopes of poisoning herself.

Her behavior might have escalated until it reached a tragic end. But after her last hospitalization Wixom was referred to University of Washington psychologist Marsha Linehan, one of a handful of researchers who specialize in suicidal patients. Linehan diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder, an extreme inability to regulate moods, and prescribed a type of counseling called dialectical behavior therapy.

Wixom spent the next year in group and individual sessions learning practical skills to manage her emotions so that they didn't spiral out of control. They included distress tolerance techniques like plunging her head into ice water, devising ways to distract herself when bad thoughts arose and learning not to leap to the conclusion that one bad day implies a life of misery. She has not been hospitalized since. "DBT is the best thing in the world. It changed my life," says Wixom, who got married halfway through therapy and is raising two daughters, ages 10 months and 2 years. Now with a high school diploma and an associate's degree, she is pursuing a career in online marketing. "Nobody in my boat should be without this."

Few suicidal patients get such good treatment. Roughly 35,000 Americans commit suicide each year--more than die from prostate cancer or Parkinson's disease. Another 1.1 million make attempts, while 8 million have suicidal thoughts. Among those aged 15 to 25 it is the third leading cause of death. Yet researchers know astonishingly little about how to treat people who contemplate killing themselves. The subject has been so roundly ignored that the 900-page bible of U.S. psychiatry, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, offers no advice for doctors on how to assess suicide risk.

Fear, logistics, low research funding and more risk than reward for drug companies all conspire to make suicide the neglected disease. The National Institutes of Health is spending a paltry $40 million in 2010 studying suicide, versus $3.1 billion for research on aids, which kills half the number of Americans. (Another government agency spends $48 million on hotlines and prevention.) Therapists often don't want to treat suicidal patients, and university clinical study review boards are skittish about studying them, says the University of Washington's Linehan.

Big pharma routinely excludes suicidal patients from their tests of antidepressants and other drugs. There's no commercial imperative to crawl out on that limb. Trials in at-risk patients would cost millions of dollars and could take years to perform; they might yield murky results--or worse. A suicide in the drug group could be used by competitors to destroy even a promising drug. The legal overhang is real. GlaxoSmithKline has paid $390 million to settle lawsuits related to patients who attempted or completed suicide while on Paxil, Bloomberg News estimates.

As a result, mental health experts have little data on which treatments work in those prone to suicide. In younger patients antidepressants sometimes backfire. Suicidal patients end up in the emergency room, where there is no clear standard besides hospitalization. One unproved method is to make people sign pacts promising not to harm themselves before the next appointment.

"You would think it would be bread and butter for psychiatry," says Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Ross Baldessarini, whose studies have shown that the old drug lithium may be especially effective at quelling suicidal impulses. "But the therapeutic research has been very limited." When he organized a conference on the subject in the 1990s, "nobody had anything to say," he recalls. Columbia University psychologist Barbara Stanley says, "It is one of the most underresearched areas in all of psychiatry."

A handful of researchers are fighting to change this. They argue that it's not enough to throw antidepressants at suicidal patients. Doctors need to treat suicidal thoughts and impulses directly and teach patients coping techniques. They should test drugs specifically for antisuicidal effects and not assume that drugs that help nonsuicidal patients will have the same effects in suicidal ones.

"There is a very smart group of people who think that suicide is simply a symptom of a mental health disorder: Treat the disorder and you will eliminate the symptom," says Catholic University of America psychologist David Jobes, who counsels suicidal patients. "But there is little data to support that. So far the best data we have shows that going after the suicidal [thoughts] and behavior has the biggest impact." Some patients can be depressed for years but not have suicidal thoughts, he says, while others are plagued with suicidal thoughts, yet have only mild depression. Says Vanderbilt University psychiatrist Herbert Meltzer, who has studied schizophrenia patients who are at high risk of suicide: "You need a specifically targeted antisuicide effect."

The research is beginning to show results. Two rigorous trials have demonstrated that therapy that targets the distorted thinking patterns in suicidal patients and teaches coping techniques can reduce the rate of suicide attempts by half. Other studies have shown that something as simple as periodic "caring letters" or checking in on patients, say, once a month can help prevent suicides. Researchers are evaluating safety plans, written documents that patients carry in their pockets to help cope when suicidal urges strike. Studies suggest two drugs--clozapine for schizophrenia and lithium in bipolar disorder--are particularly good at preventing suicide attempts, but both have side effects that limit their use.

The suicide treatment push is gaining support from an unlikely source: the military. It has been stung by suicides in the wake of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. In 2009 a record 244 soldiers (active and reserves) killed themselves. This year there have been 156 so far. Among other projects the U.S. Army is spending $50 million on an epidemiological study that will search for risk factors that predict which patients are likely to attempt suicide.

Mary Cesare-Murphy, who heads the behavioral health program at the Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits hospitals, says health workers are becoming more aware of the role they can play in preventing suicide. In the past "you would hear people saying, 'Well, that's the natural course of the illness,'" she says. Now, she says, workers are much more inclined to believe "interventions can reduce people's drive to kill themselves."

But will early leads in suicide prevention be followed up with breakthrough therapies? It took decades to translate early findings for heart risk factors into lifesaving cholesterol drugs. The logistics of suicide are far more daunting, given the relative rarity of actual suicides among the millions of troubled souls.

Risk factors for suicide are myriad and confusing. As many as 90% of patients who kill themselves are depressed or have other psychiatric problems. The biggest risk factor is a previous attempt. Alcohol abuse, insomnia and anxiety put people at risk, says University of New Mexico psychiatrist Jan Fawcett, who is pushing to get suicide risk assessment into the next DSM edition. External stressors such as joblessness play a role. (U.S. figures on whether suicides increased in the 2008 recession are not in yet, but suicides generally go up in bad economic times.) The very elderly once had the highest suicide rate, but middle-aged men and women in the U.S., 45 to 54 (see graph, below), have surged recently and surpassed them. Why? It's unclear.

Many suicide treatment researchers stumbled into the field. In the 1990s Columbia University's Stanley wanted to offer state-of-the-art treatment to suicidal patients participating in a brain neurochemistry study. "I went into the literature and found nothing--zip," she recalls. "It was a huge shock." When she spoke up about the problem at scientific meetings, she got a frosty reception. Psychiatrists were all too familiar with the state of affairs, she says, but were pessimistic anything could be done. "I was astounded. If you don't study it, how do you ever have hope of making progress?"

The University of Washington's Linehan deserves much of the credit for demonstrating that suicidal patients can be treated. Now 67, she almost became a nun but realized she was too nonconformist. She got into the therapy business in the 1970s after deciding there was too little evidence backing psychiatry. "She started decades ago and has paved the way for others to treat high-risk patients," says psychologist David Rudd, dean of the University of Utah's college of social and behavioral science.

After getting a doctorate in psychology from Loyola University in 1971, Linehan wanted to devote her career to helping the most miserable people in the world. She got hands-on experience as an intern at a suicide crisis center in Buffalo, New York, learned behavior therapy at SUNY Stony Brook and eventually landed at the University of Washington. "I called up all the hospitals and said, 'Give me your worst.' They were only too happy to send them," she recalls. Her patients had suffered horrifying past traumas and were prone to crises. She had to convince the university human subjects board that it was possible to treat suicidal patients outside of the hospital. Her argument: "There's no evidence hospitalization has kept anyone alive five minutes."

Reading the literature, she realized that many patients suffered something called borderline personality disorder, in which people lack any ability to control everyday emotions. Their feelings spiral out of control at the slightest push, like a car parked on a steep hill without an emergency brake. It has a 10% lifetime suicide rate. "My fundamental theory is that highly suicidal people don't have the skills to regulate their behavior and emotions. ... You have to teach those skills," Linehan says.

She spent years coming up with a combination of techniques to help. Her DBT is a cousin of cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on correcting distorted thought patterns that can make people depressed. Her treatment focuses much more on behavioral methods, including Zen acceptance techniques she learned from living one summer in a Buddhist monastery in California and from a Zen master in Germany. DBT teaches patients to tolerate the stresses of the moment, accept that imperfect lives are worth living and gain the skills to cope with raging emotions. The therapy often starts with crisis control. Over the years her group has had a doctor who played Russian roulette with a loaded gun, patients who kicked in walls and one who threatened to kill the President. Some patients come in using so many psychiatric meds they can barely stay awake. Linehan tapers them down to the essential ones. Sometimes she practices tough love. When one patient had her stomach pumped in the er after an attempted antidepressant overdose, Linehan told her parents not to come and had her take a cab home and report for work the next day. "That was the best thing that ever happened to me," says the woman, who recovered, got married and is raising a 2-year-old boy.

Linehan's first small study (1991) showing that DBT reduced suicide attempts was criticized because the patients got intensive treatment by experts like her, which might have accounted for the improvement. But in 2006 Linehan assigned 111 suicidal patients to receive either DBT or intensive treatment using other techniques. Patients on DBT had half the rate of attempted suicides over the next two years and were hospitalized less often for suicidal thoughts, according to the results in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

DBT usually requires six months or a year of twice-weekly sessions, but shorter courses of therapy can also help. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that ten weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy reduced the rate of repeat suicide attempts by half in patients who reported to the emergency room after an attempt. One key was logistics: A huge effort had to be made in tracking the patients and making sure they came to the sessions, says University of Pennsylvania psychologist Gregory Brown.

For frontline docs, Brown and Columbia University's Stanley are testing a safety plan that patients write out with a clinician and keep with them at all times. Essentially a list of distracting things to do and people to call when suicidal urges arise, "it is the equivalent of 'stop, drop, and roll,'" says Stanley. One patient, she says, "went to a bridge, reached into his pocket, realized the safety plan was there--and didn't do it."

Research into how drugs affect suicidal behavior is less advanced. Only one psychiatric drug--Novartis' clozapine, long used to treat schizophrenia--has been shown to prevent suicide attempts in a large trial, published in 2003, in which it beat Eli Lilly's schizophrenia drug Zyprexa by 25%. That result has had little impact on everyday practice because the drug's side effects (especially a rare but life-threatening blood disorder) complicate its use. A Finnish study last year found that clozapine's antisuicide effects outweigh its risk. Numerous factors work against testing psychiatric medicines on suicidal patients, says Novartis Chairman Daniel Vasella. (Vasella, a doctor, insisted on the trial over the objections of some underlings.) So little is known about the biology of suicide that the outcome is unpredictable.

Antidepressants, amazingly, have basically not been tested on suicidal patients. The lack of good data makes it almost impossible to resolve the ancient controversy over whether antidepressants prevent suicide. Eli Lilly, maker of Prozac and Cymbalta, says in an e-mail it would be "neither safe nor ethical" to enter suicidal patients into a trial where they might get a placebo or unproved treatment. GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer also say studies on at-risk patients would be unethical.

Nonsense, says psychiatrist Arif Khan, who runs the Northwest Clinical Research Center in Bellevue, Washington. He has spent years lobbying drug companies to test their psychiatric drugs on suicidal patients but gotten nowhere. "They say it is too risky, we don't know how, we don't have the money--lots of excuses," he says. The real reason, he suspects: drug companies "think that if you exclude patients with suicidal thoughts you will make the drug look better. ... It is cover your ass and hope for the best." The FDA says it supports studies in patients at high risk of suicide and is not holding things up. "We have never stopped any studies from going forward," says Thomas Laughren, director of the psychiatry products division.

One drug that shows promise in suicidal patients is lithium, which has been used for decades to treat bipolar disorder and has been largely displaced by heavily marketed new agents. Bipolar disorder has a very high correlation with suicide; as many as 20% of such patients will kill themselves. Numerous studies by Harvard's Baldessarini and others have gathered medical records of patients on lithium and found an 80% reduction in suicide rates, compared with those taking other drugs. No one is sure why, he says, but lithium may be good at suppressing aggressive and impulsive behaviors.

If the findings hold up, putting more people on lithium could save thousands of lives, especially among those with severe garden-variety depression. But lithium is a tricky drug--small overdoses can be toxic--so doctors are unlikely to change their practice without definitive evidence. Because the drug is not patented, "there is very little commercial interest" in doing a rigorous trial to prove it, says Baldessarini.

Fed up, Khan is spending $2 million of his own to study a combination of lithium and Forest Laboratories' old antidepressant Celexa in 80 at-risk patients, aiming to show this reduces suicidal thoughts and impulses. Khan has applied for a patent on the combo and formed a company hoping that positive results will convince someone to fund a larger trial. Says he: "I am hoping we can shed some light into this darkness."

2010-10-07T15:02:00.002-04:00

Focused on their dream jobs: Photography exhibit kicks off mental health awareness week

Local News

By DAVE DALE The Nugget

The barriers to employment for people battling mental illness are illustrated in a new exhibit at Discovery North Bay.

Photovoice: My Dream Job, a collection of photographs and comments focusing on real-life career aspirations, was introduced Monday to kick of Mental Illness Awareness Week.

"It seems like a lot of people are pulling for me," said Shane, 30, a patient at the Northeast Mental Health Centre who took part in the grassroots initiative looking at how they can improve social integration.

Shane started experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia when he was 19 years old and missed the time in life when his peers went off to school and started building careers.

The stigma of mental illness isn't the only barrier for him and others with similar challenges. Not having a driver's licence and the side-effects of medication require flexible work arrangements. Both are impediments to finding work.

"Lack of education is one," he said, explaining he'd like to take graphic arts in college, and become a professional cartoonist and musician.

Shane said it's hard to look for work when he knows many people have a prejudice.

"Sometimes I feel a bit down about it . . . I don't think they see past my mental illness," he said, adding that he'll take any job in the meantime to give him a "sense of responsibility."

Other patients involved in the project hope to work on farms, be mechanics, hairstylists or disc jockeys.

Tamara Dube, a co-facilitator for the Photovoice group, said she works with the HOPE team that concentrates on Healing Opportunities Promoting Empowerment and the project has taught valuable lessons to many.

Local photographer Ed Regan was brought in to show the participants how to use a digital camera and how to frame their photos.

Dube said it's not easy for some people to explain in words what they feel and experience, and by helping them use a camera they were better able to express those emotions.

"They can see something that brings light to their life and say, 'That's what I want to do,'" she said.

"I learned many, many things," Dube said, including how important employment can be as the foundation of someone's self esteem and sense of belonging to the community.

"We shouldn't take our jobs for granted . . . we get to do what we love and get paid for it. We're lucky."

Having a job, she said, is an important step in the recovery journey but it's hard to reach that next level when 93% of people with mental illness are unemployed.

Those with mental health issues are often not good at projecting confidence in interviews, Dube said.

Maryline Pillet of the North Bay and District Multicultural Centre dropped into the gallery to see what the exhibit was all about.

"It's very impressive, and I think it's true, it's very difficult to exist without a job and they showed that very well," Pillet said.

An immigrant from France, she was hired to help expand their French services and work with the North Bay Newcomer Network which assists people settling in this area of Northern Ontario.

Pillet said the exhibit gave her the idea to perhaps find a way to incorporate someone with mental health issues into their team.

ddale@nugget.ca

Article ID# 2785356

2010-09-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

In the news.....

Studies say mental illness causes more than a billion of lost work days a year in the United States.

statejournal.com
Thursday, September 23

Mental health issues may not be a subject employees speak about as openly as heart problems or coming down with the flu, but research suggests they are using as much sick leave to address mental problems as any physical ailments.

A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health concluded mental illness resulted in more sick days among Canadians than any other chronic illness, costing the country's economy $51 billion annually in lost productivity.

Closer to home, a 2007 study appearing in the Archives of General Psychiatry found mental disorders account for more than 1.3 billion lost productivity days a year in the U.S., whether they mean taking time off from work, school or unable to perform functions at home. Major depression was the second leading cause of lost productivity, eclipsed only by back pain.

Psychologists say society is more open to talking about mental health problems than it used to be. But a stigma still is attached to the health issue.

People who admit to suffering from some sort of mental disorder may face significantly higher insurance rates even if they present relatively little risk, and there always is the concern they could be passed up for promotions or important tasks because employers believe they can't handle the stress.

"I think it is a lot easier for someone to come back and say I got the flu, I have headache ... than 'Hi, I'm just really depressed today,'" said Dr. David Clayman of Clayman & Associates in Charleston.

Employers have made progress in recent years in addressing mental health in the workplace, he said. Many companies have started employee assistance programs to provide counseling and other services to workers facing personal problems.

And there is a growing acceptance to talk about mental health ailments thanks in part to drug companies, which is both a blessing and a curse, according to Clayman.

The positive is people are more willing now to admit they have mental health issues, even if they are still embarrassed to talk about it, he said. The negative is drug companies perpetuate the misperception that all ailments can be cured with a pill.

Mental illness can have serious implications for employee performance, he noted. Mental health is closely linked to physical health, and a study of health care professionals with mental illness showed they had difficulty with cognitive functions -- such as paying attention to detail or solving complex problems -- during some of their worst episodes.

"There are people who are depressed and/or anxious and, because of that, not capable of performing their job functions," he said.

Still, overcoming the stigma surrounding mental health problems isn't easy. Dr. C. David Blair of the Center for Health Psychology in Charleston said he has dealt with veterans returning from combat with post-traumatic stress disorder who prefer to believe they were dealing with some sort of head injury. He said they view having a physical injury as more honorable than acknowledging a mental ailment.

But it's just not pride that causes people to stay silent about mental health issues. Often insurance doesn't cover mental illness to the same extent as physical illness, meaning premiums can be higher. Rates for life insurance and other forms of insurance may be higher for people with a background of mental illness, even if they pose little risk.

And Blair said employees have legitimate fears about getting passed up for promotions or being turned down for security clearances if they acknowledge they've suffered from some sort of mental ailment.

"We don't like it," he said about society's perception of mental illness. "... It is some sort of weakness."

Of course, one way for employees to justify they need time off is to have a primary care physician or some other doctor write an excuse saying just that. Blair he has done that before, writing that the patient needs time off but not specifying what the illness was for privacy reasons.

2010-09-23T12:32:00.000-04:00

Nipissing Family Program Fall Update

As we say good-bye to summer and welcome to fall, there are many changes happening all around us. The Nipissing Family Program has begun its 3th year of NAMI Family-to-Family. With 16 class participants this year, it’s our largest NAMI group yet. We can definitely see the demand for this amazing educational opportunity for families. We are going into our 4rd week of the 12 week course and are looking forward to each class.

The North Bay Nugget did a story for us on the NAMI Family-to-Family Program. A past Participant was interviewed and she shared her story about the trials and tribulations with her daughter, the battle to get an accurate diagnosis and her issues navigating the mental health system. Her words were beautiful. It was hard for her to share her story because of the painful memories but we are all so glad she did. This was the story that reached out to other parents and family members in our community who connected with her story and are now here with us today. In honour of this mother’s strength and perseverance, The Nipissing family program would like to show our thanks and respect by recognizing her efforts.

Joel and I are gearing up for our annual AGM which will be held at The Nipissing Family Program Tuesday October 26th, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. We will have our business meeting, review our achievements in the past year as well as discuss where we would like to move forward with the program. (with snacks and refreshments of course!!) With many new family members joining us this is an exciting time and we would be much appreciative of your support at this event.

At our AGM, we will also be voting in our new Family Program Board Representative. This is a great opportunity for any of you family members who have been waiting for an opportunity to get involved and make your difference!!

Please remember these requirements:

1. You must be present at Oct. 26th’s AGM

2. You must have a nominator present at October 26th’s AGM to nominate you as a candidate. You will then tell us about yourself and your passions as well as why you would like to be a representative for The Family Program on PEP’s board.

3. This is a 2 year commitment. The board meets a minimum of 8 times per year, no more than once per month. The board meetings take place during a convenient evening time and a dinner is always provided. The meetings are no longer than 2-3 hours.

4. Once voted in, your presence would be required at PEP business portion of their AGM on November 5th at 5:00 p.m.

*If you are interested in becoming Nipissing Family’s Board Representative and require further information please contact April Raftis.

Don't forget, fall is a great time of year for being active. It's cool but still sunny. Go for a walk and take in fresh air as well as all of the beautiful colours around you!!
~ APRIL

2010-09-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

I came across this very powerful article in an e-mail sent to me that was orgiginally posted on Dave Hingsburger’s blog and written by Dave Hingsburger. I would like to share it with everyone and was hoping that you would take a minute to read it and think about the people Dave is referring to the next time you either hear or use the ‘R’ word. Dave’s blog can be found by searching “Rolling Around In My Head” in Google

The People Who 'ARE'

It's in the press again. I search to find out the context of the word. I see debates all over the web, people bemoaning the 'politically correct' and the 'word police' and making ridiculous claims about having to ban the concept of a 'fire retardant'. Last I looked there's never been a protest about products that protect from fire. Last I looked there's only ever been protests about the use of a word that demeans a group of people.

No matter what the fearless defenders of freedom of speech say, there is a huge difference between a word to describe something that slows fire and someone who learns differently. There's a huge difference between a thing and a person - but, no, maybe not. After reading their diatribes regarding their freedom to spit out hurtful words, they may, really, not see people with disabilities as fully human with a human heart capable human hurt.

People mock the concept of respectful language regarding disability. People make odd arguments about the latest gaffe by ... no, I won't say her name here ... they say 'she was saying that of herself not anyone else' - um, so? The word she used was one referring, not to a commercial product, but to an oppressed minority. Yet the debate rages on and the fierceness of the attack by those who are proponents of the use of hate language are both hysterical and who often purposely miss the point. One wonders what's at stake - their personal liberty to hurt others?

It's time to recognize that the 'R' word is an attack against who people with with intellectual disabilities 'are', it is an attack against the group that they belong to. It is like other words that exist to slur an entire people, unacceptable. The fact that people do not see the seriousness of the word and the attack it represents is simply a result of the fact that they do not take the 'people' who wear that label seriously. The concerns of those with intellectual disabilities have always been diminished and trivialized. There is a sneaking suspicion that they 'don't understand, poor dears', that they 'miss the point, little lambs' so therefore their anger need not be feared as justified.

The people who 'ARE' what the 'R' word refers to have a long history.

They have been torn from families and cast into institutions.

They have been beaten, hosed down, over medicated, under nourished, sterilized, brutalized, victimized.

They have been held captive, have been enslaved, have had their being given over to the state.

They are the group in society most likely to be physically, sexually and financially abused.

They are the group least likely to see justice, experience fair play, receive accommodation or support within the justice system.

They are the group most likely to be bullied, most likely to be tyrannized, most likely to be the target of taunts.

They are the least likely to have their hurt taken seriously, physical hurt, emotional hurt, spiritual hurt.

They are most likely to be ignored when they speak of pain, have their words diminished by an assumption of diminished capacity.

They are the least likely to ever be seen as equal, as equivalent and entirely whole.

They are the victim of some of the most widespread and pervasive prejudices imaginable.

They are those that the Nazi's thought unworthy of life, they are those targeted by geneticists for non-existence, they need fear those who wear black hats and those who wear white coats.

They are educated only under protest, they are included as a concession rather than a right, they are neighbours only because petitions failed to keep them out.

They are kept from the leadership of their own movement, they are ignored by the media, their stories are told to glorify Gods that they do not worship.

That they are a 'people' is questioned even though they have a unique history, a unique voice, a unique perception of the world.

That they are a 'community' is questioned even though they have commonality, they have mutual goals, they have a collective vision of the future.

That they are have a legitimate place at the table is questioned simply because no one's ever offered a seat.

They are a people.

They ask for respect and receive pity.

They ask for fair play and are offered charity.

They ask for justice and wipe spittle off their face.

They ask to silence words that brutalize them and their concerns are trivialized.

They ask to walk safely through their communities and yet bullies go unpunished.

They ask to participate fully and they are denied access and accommodation and acceptance.

And this is NOW.

This is the people who have walked the land of the long corridor, who have waited at the frontier of our bias to finally be here, now. They have survived. They have come home. They have continued, silently and without fanfare, to take hold of freedom and live with dignity. They have given everything they have for what others take for granted. Their civil liberties are perceived as 'gifts' as 'tokens' and as 'charity'. Their rights are seen as privileges. Their movement is, as of yet, unacknowledged. They are a people recently emancipated, new citizens, who are tentatively discovering their voice.

It is a voice not yet heard.

It is a voice not yet respected.

It is a voice not yet understood.

But it is speaking.

And when it is finally heard. The world will change.

The 'R' word is an attack on a people who know discrimination. Tremble when you say it. Because those who should know better will be held accountable to those who know best.

Posted by Dave Hingsburger

2010-09-23T11:52:00.000-04:00

The Power of Lived Experience: NAMI’s Stories of Recovery

The New York Times (NYT) Patient Voices series offers intimate glimpses into the lives of NAMI members living with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Through compelling vignettes and an interactive website, visitors learn how these illnesses can impact every facet of a person’s life, from relationships and stigma to work and faith.

NAMI’s In Our Own Voice program (IOOV) brings these kinds of personal stories to life. IOOV is a national, public education program in which trained speakers share their stories of mental health recovery with students, law enforcement officials, educators, health care providers, faith community members and other audiences.

Personal stories are uniquely powerful. They illustrate how one can manage his or her illness and live a full, rewarding life. They put a face to mental illness and remind us that mental illness affects all of our communities. They show us that recovery is possible and encourage others traveling along their own paths to wellness.

Speakers not only educate others, but also find great fulfillment in sharing their experiences.

NAMI members have many inspiring stories to share through IOOV, NAMI.org and our many publications. If you have a story you'd like to share, please e-mail yourstory@nami.org.

With your help, NAMI can continue to educate communities across the country about mental illness one story at a time.

2010-08-17T15:09:00.000-04:00

How To Be Kind To Yourself

By: April Raftis

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness” – Seneca

A couple of days ago someone said to me: “Be kind to yourself!” Ever since hearing these words they have been stuck in my head. I have always understood the importance of kindness, but I have always focused on kindness to others. I had never thought about kindness towards myself. It really got me thinking.

I started with how it feels to have someone be kind to you. I know that feeling. It’s warm and cozy and bonding. But I am not the one to evoke that type of feeling in myself. I thought about how it feels to be kind – the type of emotions that surge within you when you are considering another person; care and gentleness. I do not often feel these types of emotions when dealing with myself. This leads me to question whether I am ever pointedly kind to myself and how my life would be different if I specifically paid myself some kind attention.

I’ve been thinking about how you can be kind to yourself and benefits of doing so. Here are some of my suggestions.

Be Patient

It is important to be patient with yourself if you are battling with a task. The other night I was in a yoga class, it was hot and sticky, and I was repeatedly falling out of a balance because my hands kept on slipping. I was highly irritated with myself. My teacher reminded me that some days I would be better at it than others, some days my practice would be stronger than on others and that it was not a competition with myself.

Now I think: “What if I had said that to myself and not relied on the teacher to divert me from unkind behavior towards myself?” Impatience has a tendency to lead towards decreased self-esteem and a general bad mood. It is also something we tend to brood over; getting stuck in the negative past instead of valuing the present moment. Stay patient and you will be sure to have more peace in your life.

Watch Your Words

Everybody has self-talk or self-chatter. Sometimes it is positive and sometimes it is negative (or very negative). Do you say things to yourself such as: “you idiot” or “how could you do that?” Do you say things to yourself that you wouldn’t say to others? Is what you say to yourself kind?

I know that if someone said directly to me some of the reprimands that I give myself, I would be extremely hurt. So why is it all right for me to make such comments to myself? For many reasons it is good to try to be aware of negative self-talk and to turn it around. With awareness one can take action. In the case of “kindness to self”, I think it is important to change ugly to words and tones into sentences that you would feel comfortable using with someone else. Nice words, kind words, make you feel good or better or even accepted.

Encourage Yourself

When things are tough or you are battling with something, encouragement is a wonderful means of giving you a boost. But, does encouragement have to come from someone externally? I think we should always have enough positive belief in ourselves to carry us through. Belief is empowering.

Forgive

Forgiveness is often not easy. One of the steps in attaining forgiveness is self-forgiveness. So, if we don’t get that right, we are “doomed” in attempts to forgive others. Forgiving yourself is kind. Forgiving others is kind.

Give

Acts of kindness involve giving – whether it is material or time or energy of some sorts. Are you generous towards yourself? I think it is important to treat yourself with things you enjoy (even if it is simply a bath in beautiful oils) and gifts.

Everyone needs to take time and energy out for themselves, be it reading a book or attending a class or coffee with a friend. I need to do more of this.

You give to others in order to rejuvenate them. You are just as worthy of and in need of rejuvenation. Rejuvenation is key to success. Besides, you can’t give to others, if you don’t have enough for yourself first.

Listen

Kindness also involves listening. Do you listen to yourself? Do you hear what your body, heart and soul are saying?

It’s important to rest if you are tired, to take a break if you have been mentally overworking, to make changes if you are dissatisfied, to seek help if you need it etc. It’s another key to success and happiness. Paying attention to yourself is part of a positive life journey.

Allow

With kindness, one creates a space for and allows another person to be themselves and experience their feelings. Allowing yourself to feel painful or negative emotions helps with moving forward – so long as you deal with them. If you keep on covering them up, they continue to draw you downwards and backwards. You can be empathetic and compassionate with yourself without wallowing in self-pity. I don’t think that I am most efficient with dealing with my emotions. There is a bit of fight going on there. That energy is better spent elsewhere.

_____________________

If you think about it, is everyone not worthy of kindness? So then too are you.

I’ve decided that I need to cultivate kindness towards myself. I need it in order to extend my acts of kindness, to raise my energy levels and I think it will bring more contentment into my life.

What about you? Do you need to treat yourself better? Or, do you have any tips for how to be kind to yourself? Please share your thoughts as comments below.

2010-08-16T13:53:00.000-04:00

5 of our favorite positive affirmations from Louise Hay

When it comes to positive affirmations, Louise Hay is tough to beat. If you've seen her on Oprah you know what I'm talking about.

If you're new to positive affirmations, making a positive statement or wish as if it were true is at the heart of what a positive affirmation is.

Here's an example of two affirmations, one positive and one negative, from Louise's best-selling book, You Can Heal Your Life:

1. "People are out to get me."

2. "Everyone is always helpful."

If what we believe about ourselves and our life ultimately becomes true, these two affirmations will each have a dramatically different effect on our life. Make sense?

There are so many great affirmations from Louise Hay to choose from -- but if we here at Nipissing Family had to pick just five we would go with these:

1. "I love myself, therefore, I behave in a loving way to all people for I know that that which I give out returns to me multiplied."
2. "I only attract loving people in my world for they are a mirror of what I am."
3. "I am open and receptive to all the good and abundance in the Universe."
4. "Today is a delightful day. Money comes to me in expected and unexpected ways."

5. "I lovingly do everything I can to assist my body in maintaining perfect health."

For more postive daily affirmations and information on Louise Hay you must go to:

http://www.louisehay.com/

2010-07-28T13:22:00.000-04:00

The Essence of a New Day

This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good.

Submitted by one of our Family Members

Author: Anonymous

2010-07-26T11:42:00.000-04:00

Good Day Fellow Family Members!!

I hope everyone is having a lovely summer! The weather has been such a nice change compared what we got the last couple of summers. I hope you all are making use of the sunshine and getting out and about. Walking, having BBQs and picnics, relaxing at the beach and lots of gardening!! Summertime is about family and warm weather always brings people together.

I still am glowing from our last family peer support potluck dinner meeting. It was so nice to see so many of you out. The food was absolutely delicious and it was so nice of our gracious family member to invite us all over to her beautiful beach home. It was an amazing opportunity to recognize the efforts of our 2 long time Family-to-Family teachers with their teacher certificates! Good work ladies, we are all so appreciative of all your hard work and dedication. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. I hope we will continue to get stronger and embrace others with the support we all deserve. Thank you for all of your contributions.

We are getting geared up for the fall around here. It’s been a busy summer and we are happy to be welcoming more family members through our doors. With the NAMI Family-to-Family program starting as well as our walking groups, Yoga and Tai Chi resuming, it’s also going to be a busy fall. Please remember if you have any suggestions for programming ideas, we are all ears!

Enjoy the long weekend everyone! Hope you all get a chance to take part of the festivities this at Summer in the Park. See you all at our next peer support meeting, Tuesday August 3rd at Nipissing Family, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

~April

2010-06-29T10:21:00.000-04:00

Talking about mental illness:

A guide for developing an awareness program for youth

Stigma continues to be a huge problem for people living with mental illness. It undermines a person's sense of self, relationships, well-being and prospects for recovery. Communities are proving they can make a difference through education and awareness programs. The program described in Talking about mental illness helps to increase awareness about mental illness and the stigma that surrounds it. It is based on the experiences of three communities that participated in the program, and the steps they took to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness.

Background to the program

The community sites used Beyond the Cuckoo's Nest, an awareness program for youth age 15 or older, as their starting point. The program was originally developed in 1988 by nurse case managers at the former Clarke Institute of Psychiatry (one of the founding partners of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health). This program was developed in response to the community's expressed need for information on mental illness. It consists of a two-hour presentation designed to give secondary school students facts about mental illness and create opportunities for them to interact with people who have first-hand experience with mental illness.

People who have experienced mental illness, family members of people with mental illness, and health professionals deliver the program. The presenters who have lived with mental illness talk about their experiences -- what it was like when the symptoms of mental illness first developed, where they went for help and how they are currently managing. Students benefit from the unique learning experience the program offers, the opportunity to meet and talk to individuals who have been affected by mental illness. After attending the program, students often comment, "people with mental illness are just like everyone else."

The success of Beyond the Cuckoo's Nest and the desire to share the benefits of the program with people throughout Ontario led to the development of a second program in 1998. This program involved three partners: the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Canadian Mental Health Association (Ontario Division) and the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario. Each partner shares the goals of increasing knowledge and understanding of mental illness, and eliminating stigma. Developing the partnership allowed the program to draw on the expertise and local networks of each organization.

The program goals were to develop and deliver awareness presentations in each of the three communities -- Hamilton, North Bay and Kingston -- and to document their experiences in order to develop resource materials to assist other communities across the province in delivering their own awareness programs. The learnings from the Beyond the Cuckoo's Nest program became the template to develop individualized community presentations.

Each community modified the program to reflect local realities and resources. This guide is the result of their experiences and their best advice on how to develop and carry out an awareness program for youth.

Talking about mental illness consists of two documents: the Community Guide and the Teacher's Resource.

Commmunity Guide

The Community Guide contains all of the information, support and tools that community members need to implement "Talking About Mental Illness" in their community -- an awareness program proven to be effective in bringing about positive change in young people's knowledge about mental illness, and in reducing stigma that surrounds mental illness.

The program brings together local community partners, including youth; people with mental illnesses and their family members; clinicians; teachers; and mental health and other agency representatives. Together, they develop and organize an educational awareness program hosted by local secondary schools.

The program provides secondary school students with the opportunity to hear the stories of community members who have experienced mental illness. The program also provides information about local mental health-related resources that provide support and help to youth coping with their own or a family member or friend's mental illness.

http://www.camh.net/education/Resources_teachers_schools/TAMI/index.html

2010-06-21T13:53:00.000-04:00

Summer Solstice 2010: Why It's the First Day of Summer

The Celebration of Summer Solstice, 2010 at Stonehenge

June 21, 2010

The first day of summer officially kicked off today at 7:28 a.m. ET, the beginning of the summer solstice and the longest day of the year—at least in the Northern Hemisphere. The summer solstice is a result of the Earth's north-south axis being tilted 23.5 degrees relative to the sun. The tilt causes different amounts of sunlight to reach different regions of the planet. Today the North Pole is tipped closer to the sun than on any other day of 2010. The opposite holds true for the Southern Hemisphere, for which today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. As a result, at high noon on the first day of summer, the sun appears at its highest point in the sky—its most directly overhead position—in the Northern Hemisphere. That doesn't mean the sun will be exactly overhead at noon for everyone, said James Bell, an astronomer at Cornell University in New York State. It depends on the viewer's latitude—the sun is only shining down directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer. "It's still at a low angle if you're up in Alaska," Bell explained.No matter where you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the path of the sun across the sky—which rises in the lead-up to the first day of summer, then begins descending over the rest of the summer—seems not to change for the few days before and after the summer solstice.In reality, the sun's position is still changing, but at a slower rate.

Summer Solstice Wobbles Around the Calendar

While the June solstice generally occurs on the same day every year, the date does change every once in a while. For example, in 2008, the summer solstice occurred on June 20.This date shifting is a result of the discrepancy between a human calendar year—which is usually counted as 365 days—and an astronomical year, which is 365.25 days. Our leap year system—which adds an extra day to the calendar every four years—ensures our calendars are accurate, but it also causes the solstice date to flop around a bit."It's nothing astronomical changing. What's changing is the human side of it," Bell said.

Solstice Is Longest Day of the Year—Not Hottest

On the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere receives more sunlight than on any other day of the year, but that doesn't mean the first day of summer is also the hottest day of summer. Earth's oceans and atmosphere act like heat sinks, absorbing and reradiating the sun's rays over time. So even though the planet is absorbing lots of sunlight on the summer solstice, it takes several weeks to release it. As a result, the hottest days of summer usually occur in July or August. "If you think about turning up an oven—it takes it a long time to heat up," explained Robert Howell, an astronomer at the University of Wyoming. "And after you turn it off, it takes a while for it to cool down. It's the same with the Earth."

First Day of Summer Sparked Ancient Celebrations

The summer solstice is recognized and often celebrated in many cultures around the world, in both the past and present. The ancient Egyptians, for example, built the Great Pyramids so that the solstice sunset, when viewed from the Sphinx, sets precisely between two of the Pyramids. The Inca of South America celebrated the summer solstice with a ceremony called Inti Raymi, which included food offerings and sacrifices of animals and maybe even people. And perhaps most famously, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has been associated with the winter and summer solstices for about 5,000 years. Observers in the center of the standing stones can watch the summer solstice sun rise over the Heel Stone, which stands just outside Stonehenge's stone circles. For many of the ancients, though, the summer solstice wasn't just an excuse to party or pray—it was essential to their well-being.

Associated with agriculture, the summer solstice was a reminder that a turning point in the growing season had been reached. "The calendar was very important—much more important than it is now," said Ricky Patterson, an astronomer at the University of Virginia. "People wanted to know what was going to happen so that they could be ready."

Ker Than,

for National Geographic News

2010-06-18T10:07:00.000-04:00

Story of Father's Day

Father's Day is a beautiful festival that acknowledges and appreciates the important role played by a father in raising the child and consequently building a stronger society. Though fathers have been revered at all times by civilizations across the globe ironically what was missing until the last century was the official recognition of the significance of fathers in ones life. Father's Day story is the tale of realization of the need for a Father's Day festival primarily by Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Washington. The story narrates Sonora's unflagging struggle to officially set a day to honor all fathers. Thanks to Sonora, today Fathers Day is celebrated in a large number of countries around the world.

The Beginning of Father's Day Story
Historians have recorded that there was a tradition to celebrate Father's Day even thousands of years ago. Their study say that 4,000 years ago in Babylon a son called Elmesu carved a father's day message on a clay card. In his message Elmesu wished his father a long and healthy life. There is no knowledge as to what happened to this father son duo but it is believed that several countries retained the custom of celebrating Father's Day.

Genesis of Father's Day in Modern Society
The tradition of celebrating Father's Day as seen today originated in the last century. Though there are several people who are credited for furthering the cause of Father's Day, there is far greater acceptance for Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd's contribution. A doting daughter from Spokane, Washington, Ms Dodd is recognized as the Founder or Mother of the Father's Day Festival.

Inception of the Father's Day took place in Sonora's mind when she happened to hear a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Sonora, who was 27 then, had begun to recognize the hardships her father must have gone through while bringing up his six children alone. When Sonora was 16, her mother had died during childbirth. Sonora's father a Civil War veteran by the name of William Jackson Smart raised six children including the newborn on his own. Sonora questioned that if there is a day to recognize mothers then why is not there a day to honor fathers?

Many people laughed and joked at Sonora's idea. But her will did not droop. She began a sincere campaign lobbying for the cause of Father's Day. Her hard work began to show signs of success when Spokane celebrated its first Father's Day on June 19, 1910 with the support of Spokane Ministerial Association and the local Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). To pay tribute to her affectionate father, Sonora wished that Father's Day be celebrated on her father's birthday on June 5, but it so happened that there was not enough time for preparation and the day came to be celebrated on third Sunday in the month of June.

The noble idea of celebrating Father's Day became quite popular in US so much so that President Woodrow Wilson approved of the festival in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge too supported the idea but it was President Lyndon Johnson who signed a Presidential Proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day in 1966. Then in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

2010-06-08T14:51:00.000-04:00

A Powerful Quote from the Book

Surviving Schizophrenia

"I told her the long story about the hospital; how in the beginning it was difficult to get distance from people suffering illnesses that stole their minds for a while or a lifetime, how poignant and painful it was to see them struggle inside schizophrenia...You wonder how it is that they can still work so hard at keeping their spirit, hold on to hopes, try to savage dignity from ruins of lives. Try to even hold on to love...And then there's a day you look around the ward and suddenly understand that it's in here that you've found your heroes."

-Seth Norman, "Saving Grace," 1994
Submitted by a Nipissing Family Member June, 2010

2010-06-07T10:50:00.000-04:00

Understanding Family Relationship Problems

by: Steve Pavlina

One of the most difficult matters to confront with respect to family relationships is that you don’t control the entire relationship yourself. Whether the relationship thrives or withers isn’t up to you alone. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango.

When major family relationship problems are encountered, it’s common to attempt a control strategy. You try to get the other person to change. Sometimes this approach works, especially if your request and the other person are both reasonable. But many times it just leads to frustration.

On the other hand, if you can’t change the other person, maybe you should just accept them as they are. That’s another strategy that sometimes works, but this one can also lead to frustration and even resentment if your needs aren’t being met.

There is, however, a third alternative for those times when changing the other person and accepting the other person as-is are both unworkable for you. And that option is to change yourself in a way that solves the problem. This requires that you redefine the problem as an internal one instead of an external one, and then the solution will take the form of an expansion of your awareness and/or a change in your beliefs.

An internal way of viewing relationship problems is that they reflect back to you a part of yourself that you dislike. If you have a negative external relationship situation, it’s a reflection of a conflict in your own thinking. As long as you keep looking outside yourself for the answer, you may never resolve the external problem. But once you start looking inside yourself for the problem, it may become easier to solve.

What you’ll find when you tackle such problems is that you harbor one or more beliefs that perpetuate the relationship problem in its current form. Those beliefs are the real problem — the true cause of the unhealthy relationship.

For example, consider a problematic relationship between yourself and another family member. Suppose you hold the belief that you must be close to every family member simply because they’re related to you. Perhaps you’d never tolerate this person’s behavior if it came from a stranger, but if the person is a relative, then you tolerate it out of a sense of duty, obligation, or your personal concept of family. To push a family member out of your life might cause you to feel guilty, or it could lead to a backlash from other family members. But genuinely ask yourself, “Would I tolerate this behavior from a total stranger? Why do I tolerate it from a family member then?” Exactly why have you chosen to continue the relationship instead of simply kicking the person out of your life? What are the beliefs that perpetuate the problematic relationship? And are those beliefs really true for you?

I love my parents and siblings unconditionally (I have two younger sisters and one younger brother). However, I haven’t had a particularly close-knit relationship with any of them for many years. There was no major falling out or anything like that — it’s just that my personal values and lifestyle have moved so far from theirs that there isn’t enough basic compatibility to form a strong common bond anymore. My parents and siblings are all of the employee mindset with a very low tolerance for risk, but as an entrepreneur, risk is my favorite breakfast. My wife and kids and I are all vegan, while my parents and siblings celebrate the holidays with the traditional consumption of animals. I don’t recall anyone in my family ever saying, “I love you,” while I grew up, but with my own kids I’m very affectionate and strive to tell them I love them every day. My parents and siblings are all practicing Catholics, but I left that behind 17 years ago in order to explore other belief systems. (Technically within their belief system, I’m doomed to hell, so that sorta puts a damper on things.) Even though this is the family I grew up with and shared many memories, our core values are so different now that it just doesn’t feel like a meaningful family relationship anymore.

Despite all these differences, we’re all on good terms with each other and get along fairly well, but our differences create such a big gap that we have to settle for being relatives without being close friends.

If you operate under the belief that family is forever and that you must remain loyal to all your relatives and spend lots of time with them, I want you to know that those beliefs are your choice, and you’re free to embrace them or release them. If you’re fortunate enough to have a close family that is genuinely supportive of the person you’re becoming, that’s wonderful, and in that situation, you’ll likely find the closeness of your family to be a tremendous source of strength. Then your loyalty to family closeness will likely be very empowering.

On the other hand, if you find yourself with family relationships that are incompatible with your becoming your highest and best self, then excessive loyalty to your family is likely to be extremely disempowering. You’ll only be holding yourself back from growing, from achieving your own happiness and fulfillment, and from potentially doing a lot of good for others. If I retained a very close relationship with my birth family, it would be like putting a lampshade over my spirit. I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

My way of dealing with my family situation was to broaden my definition of family. On one level I feel an unconditional connection with all human beings, but on another level, I see people with whom I share a deep compatibility as my true family. For example, my wife and I both have a strong commitment to doing good for the planet as best we can, which is one reason we each find each other attractive. And that’s partly why she’s my best friend as well as my wife. When I see people who are living very, very consciously and deliberately and who’ve dedicated their lives to the pursuit of a worthy purpose, I have a strong sense that on some level, those people are members of my family. And this connection feels more real to me than the blood relationships I was born into.

Loyalty is a worthy value, but what does it mean to be loyal to one’s family? Since loyalty is very important to me, I had to refine my view of this concept to place loyalty to my highest and best self above loyalty to the people I was born with. That was a difficult mental shift to make, but in the long run it has given me a sense of peace. I realize now that family is a concept which is capable of extending far beyond blood.

What I’m suggesting is that in order to solve family relationship problems, which exist at one level of awareness, you may need to pop your consciousness up a level and take a deeper look at your values, beliefs, and your definitions of terms like loyalty and family. Once you resolve those issues at the higher level, the low level relationship problems will tend to take care of themselves. Either you’ll transcend the problems and find a new way to continue your relationship without conflict, or you’ll accept that you’ve outgrown the relationship in its current form and give yourself permission to move on to a new definition of family.

You see… when you say goodbye to a problematic relationship issue, you’re really saying goodbye to an old part of yourself that you’ve outgrown. As I became less compatible with my birth family, I also gradually dropped parts of myself that no longer served me. I drifted away from rigid religious dogma, from fear of risk-taking, from eating animals, from negativity, and from being unable to say, “I love you.” As I let all of those things pass from my consciousness, my external-world relationships changed to reflect my new internal relationships.

As within, so without. If you hold onto conflict-ridden relationships in your life, the real cause is your inner attachment to conflict-ridden thoughts. When you alter the mental relationships within your own mind, your physical world will change to reflect it. So if you kick negative thoughts out of your head, you will find yourself simultaneously kicking negative people out of your life.

There is a wonderful rainbow at the end of this process of letting go, however. And that is that when you resolve conflicts in your consciousness that cause certain relationships to weaken, you simultaneously attract new relationships that resonate with your expanded level of consciousness.

We attract into our lives more of what we already are. If you don’t like the social situation you find yourself in, stop broadcasting the thoughts that attract it. Identify the nature of the external conflicts you experience, and then translate them into their internal equivalents. For example, if a family member is too controlling of you, translate that problem into your own internal version: You feel your life is too much out of your control. When you identify the problem as external, your attempted solutions may take the form of trying to control other people, and you’ll meet with strong resistance. But when you identify the problem as internal, it’s much easier to solve. If another person exhibits controlling behavior towards you, you may be unable to change that person. However, if you feel you need more control in your life, then you can actually do something about it directly without needing to control others.

I’ll actually go so far as to say that the purpose of human relationships may be the expansion of consciousness itself. Through the process of identifying and resolving relationship problems, we’re forced to deal with our internal incongruencies. And as we become more conscious on the inside, our relationships expand towards greater consciousness on the outside.

Understanding Family Relationship Problems.htm

2010-06-03T15:59:00.002-04:00

2010-06-03T15:51:00.003-04:00

Good Day!

For those of you who were not able to attend our last Family Peer Support meeting on the 1st, I'd like you to know that we have done some brain storming around summer activities for Nipissing Family. Those who attended completed a satisfaction survey on their overall experience at Nipissing Family. This will aid us in working over the summer to get you the things you want this fall. There seemed to be a general consensus of wanting to hear more guest speakers and educational films around mental health issues.

Joel and I would like to thank those of you who have already completed the survey. We very much appreciate your feedback. We would also like to encourage those of you who have not completed one to do so. They are available through the office or I can e-mail you one.

In other news, we have decided that a change of location for our summer monthly meetings would be great way to keep things fun. This way we can enjoy the great outdoors together! A couple of our family members have generously offered their homes and gardens for us to meet. We also agreed that meeting at 5:00 for a pot-luck style dinner would be a nice way to share with one another. Please contact me for location details as well as food ideas for our next meeting.

Also discussed was our Monday walking group. With the groups support we have decided to put it on hold until the fall and can start it back up again in September sometime. If you have any ideas on what you would like to see at Nipissing Family this fall please don't hesitate to call. I'd love to hear from you!

**Don't forget to help in getting the word out for our upcoming NAMI Family-to-Family course this September.

Have a lovely weekend!

~ April
Family Peer Support Specialist
Nipissing Family

2010-05-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

Hello all!

Our next monthly family peer support meeting is fast approaching. It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a month already! With all this beautiful sunshine we’ve been having, the days are just flying by. Looks like the start of a wonderful summer!

Things are very busy around the office but there is so much hope in every situation. It’s really an honour to be reached out to and I always look forward to hearing from you. It’s a great feeling to be a part of seeing that light and sharing that vision with you. Anything is always possible if we take it one day at a time!

I was so pleased with how our Family Peer Support Appreciation Dinner turned out. It was a pleasure for both Joel and I to honour your contribution to Nipissing Family with a nice meal and we were so happy you all enjoyed yourselves. You deserve it! The meeting that took place afterwards was truly remarkable. You all deserve a pat on the back for the support given that night. It was peer support at its finest!

Jane, our new teacher Maureen from True Self and I have been training and preparing for our upcoming NAMI Family-to Family program. It is scheduled to commence Tuesday September 7th at 6:00 p.m. Jane is doing an absolute fantastic job of preparing Maureen and myself to become teachers. As she has already taught the program twice she knows it inside and out as well as all of the tricks of the trade. Her dedication is truly amazing. So, thank you Jane, you are an angel. Please contact me if you know of anyone who would be interested in participating in our next course as we expect it to fill up quite quickly.

As we approach the long weekend, I hope you all have a chance to take some time for yourselves to kick back and read a book, work on some gardening or anything you love to do. Make it happen! The weather forecast looks great so Mother Nature is on your side. Enjoy! See you all Tuesday June 1st at 6:30 p.m.

~ April

THANK YOU JOANNE!!!

2010-05-20T10:42:00.002-04:00

The Nipissing Family Program would like to sincerely thank Joanne for sharing her love, light and great sense of humor with us! It was such a pleasure having her here. Her 6 week Yoga program proved to be very beneficial in its stress reducing benefits for our family members. I am not sure if this was due to the yoga poses and breathing exercises or from the shear amount of laughter we shared together.

Also, a big thank you to our dedicated family members who continuously support our programing. You know who you are! I am so enjoying getting to know all of you and I look forward to starting up Yoga again in September with you all.

~ April Raftis

2010-05-19T10:29:00.000-04:00

Let's Talk About Schizophrenia - Dr. Frese National Post Article

Schizophrenia gripped the mind of Frederick Frese in the usual fashion, with an abrupt psychotic break in his early twenties that felt like terrifying insight.

Now a prominent clinical psychologist and mental health advocate, who is still afflicted by his field's most mysterious delusional pathology, Dr. Frese was then a U.S. Marine captain with an advanced math and science education, fluent in Japanese, and assigned to guard nuclear weapons at the Jacksonville, Fla., naval base.

He was also preoccupied with U.S. military failures in Korea, and China's successes, and he came to believe that the only explanation was long-distance Chinese brainwashing of U.S. officials.

Fatefully, he took his concerns to the one person he figured would know most about brainwashing, the base psychologist, who was only too keen to smile and listen, flanked by large men in white coats.

"I'm psychotic, remember, so it doesn't matter that it doesn't make sense, but to me it made beautiful sense," Dr. Frese said in an interview this week in Toronto, in advance of a lecture hosted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. The Chinese "had to have something, and the only thing I could crystallize on was hypnosis," he said.

He recalled the terror at his immediate incarceration, and his belief that the nurses were assassins. He demanded a priest give him the last rites, and surprisingly one did indulge him, going so far as to leave him material about how he could join the priesthood. Even when he accidentally saw his own chart, with the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, he thought this was a ploy by the government to protect him from the Chinese, and so he should pretend to be insane to keep the ruse going.

In a way, everything made sense.

Two years later, discharged from the military and living in Ohio, he had another in a series of relapses that would see him institutionalized by the state as "insane," but also set the stage for his unique story of redemption, in which schizophrenia was merely an obstacle to a successful life, a disability, but not the mental death sentence it can often seem.

Twelve years later, he had completed his doctorate in psychophysiology, and was appointed director of psychology at Ohio's largest mental hospital. The inmate was literally running the asylum.

That improbable process began with a crisis in a church, as the disoriented and floridly psychotic young man -- then unemployed with uncertain housing, like many schizophrenics -- walked up the aisle to stand beside the priest, his head awash in terrifying superstitions about the numbers 13, 3 and 4. Someone called police as he fell to the floor by the altar.

"I was like a snake writhing around on the floor. Then I was like an amoeba, then an atom," Dr. Frese said. "I had to be the hydrogen atom [the smallest and most basic], but isotope three, tritium, the kind used in the hydrogen bomb, the kind that would be "split," which in Greek is "schizo," the linguistic root of the disease. I had become the instrument to usher in the holocaust."

That was the summer of 1968, and his mind was engaged in what he now calls, quoting the German philosopher Edmund Husserl, an "expanded horizon of meaningfulness." In such a mindset, coincidence becomes sinister and all conclusions are grandiose. His brain "over-connects." For example, two major assassinations happened that summer, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, which fed his delusion that he would be next, to complete the trinity.

He was put on thorazine, the original anti-psychotic, the side-effects of which can still be seen today in his "bucal movements," the strange twitching of his jaw that makes him talk like a cross between Bruce Lee and Christopher Walken, with a southern accent.

He expected to be institutionalized forever, but instead managed to apply to graduate school, and over time was hired by his former host, Ohio's Department of Mental Hygiene and Corrections, to write pre-parole personality evaluations for inmates. Gainfully employed, and by then married, his abilities started to win out over his disability.

In that process, he flirted with the anti-psychiatry movement, helping to publishing the Madness Network News ("All the fits that's news to print") and making T-shirts with the slogan "Shrink Resistant." Now, however, he is more integrated and cordial with the psychiatric establishment, and sits on many prominent boards, some as the "token psychotic," although he continues to make jokes about how "chronically normal" people misunderstand schizophrenics.

That joke conceals his singular medical accomplishment, which is to provide psychiatry with a first-hand scientific account of psychosis, one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted medical conditions.

He understands, for example, why the bizarre writings of the prophet Ezekiel, "one of our people, no question," are most often favoured by schizophrenics, followed by the naked preacher Elijah. As for angels, he reports that Muslim schizophrenics tend to prefer Gabriel, and Judeo-Christians prefer Michael.

Dr. Frese cites the question of suicide in schizophrenia -- often by falls from a great height -- as a particularly misunderstood phenomenon, with so many investigations lacking the kind of sympathy his personal experience provides. He means that if someone believes he can fly, jumping off a bridge is not suicide, and in cases such as former U.S. Defense Secretary James Forrestal, who jumped out of a 16th-floor hospital window, what looks like suicide might in fact be medical negligence. Ever since that death, in 1949, windows on U.S. psychiatric wards are fitted with "Forrestal screens."

This week, in a lecture that is so well-rehearsed and folksy that it verged on stand-up comedy (although, he notes that a standard script keeps him from getting too excited, which risks a relapse), Dr. Frese also offered a re-analysis of the common image of a schizophrenic talking to himself. Sometimes this is because he is hearing voices, and there is truly some kind of hallucinated two-part conversation going on. But in Dr. Frese's experience, schizophrenics are especially sensitive to social interactions, and tend to replay them over and over again in their mind, just as everyone sometimes does, finding some solace in this role-playing.

He also cited social exclusion as an important factor in psychotic breaks. "When you get into these things, you know you're acting a bit weird, but you think you're OK, and if no one around you gives you feedback, you are convinced you're normal," he said. "I've been learning that you can't really tell when it's happening to you. If you knew it was a delusion, it wouldn't be a delusion."

Dr. Frese's last hospital admission was in 1977, but he is not cured. In the years since, he has been stopped by authorities for such strange behaviour as trying to dance among a group of Hasidic Jews at an airport, and his wife Penny is on a constant watch for the signs of psychotic onset, which she can manage with extra medication. He said it usually begins with a pleasant excitement that builds a momentum of its own.

Their four children are grown, but when they were at home, "Rule number one was that when Daddy's like this, the kids can't have any friends over," Dr. Frese said.

Strange as it may seem, dance is an important part of how he manages his symptoms, often retreating to his basement to play ABBA records and dance until he sets himself back on the path to normal.

When he was in the grip of his psychosis, Dr. Frese never really had intense visual hallucinations. Nor did he think he could fly. His delusions were coloured more by his fixation on numbers and his role in the military. But with his uniquely scientific bird's-eye view of the cuckoo's nest, he stands today as an especially powerful inspiration for anyone whose horizon is expanding out of control.

National Post

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2732294#ixzz0jzbBXpXu

2010-05-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

The link between genius and mental illness

Gifted, successful people with depression, bipolar and anxiety disorders

Men have called me mad," wrote Edgar Allan Poe, but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence...whether much that is glorious--whether all that is profound--does not spring from disease of thought..."

Many people have long shared Poe's suspicion that genius and insanity are entwined, writes psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison, international authority on mental illness. Many poets, painters and composers throughout history have had depression or mania.

Some researchers, along with Jamison, speculate that mood disorders allow people to think more creatively and to experience a broad range of intense emotions. Jamison, the author of several books on mental health, explores the topic in Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament.

Here's a glimpse of just a few of the gifted and successful figures of our times who have lived with mental illness.

Bipolar Disorder

Anna Marie Patty Duke Pearce, Award-winning star of television, Broadway and film; author and spokesperson for mental health: After years of turmoil, she was diagnosed with manic depression (bipolar disorder) "She credits Lithium with keeping her symptoms under control. "No more crazy highs, no more suicidal lows. It's given me a life!" Anna said about her successful treatment.

Winston Churchill 1874-1965, Prime Minister (U.K.): "Had he been a stable and equable man, he could never have inspired the nation. In 1940, when all the odds were against Britain, a leader of sober judgment might well have concluded that we were finished," wrote Anthony Storr about Churchill's bipolar disorder in Churchill's Black Dog, Kafka's Mice, and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind.

Brian Wilson, founding member, producer, composer, and arranger for The Beach Boys: "I went through times that were so scary that I wasn't sure I'd make it through," he recalls in a story in The Los Angeles Times: But he returned triumphant to the stage, having "emerged from his darkest, most paralyzing blue period to again celebrate his music - and the human spirit - with his fans."

Robert Munsch, beloved and best-selling children's author, of such delightful and irreverent books as Mortimer, The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever. “About grade seven or eight, things started getting weird and wonky,” he says. “I'd feel great for two weeks, then horribly depressed for two weeks.…" Munsch says he's not classic bipolar, “I'm depressed more than I'm up.” Antidepressant medication has worked well for Munsch, softening his moods but not stifling his creativity.

Art Buchwald, writer, Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist: Buchwald's career, built upon his razor-sharp wit, includes 30 books and syndication in 500+ newspapers. He talks openly about "the black pit" of his mental illness, having been hospitalized for depression in 1963 and for manic depression in 1987. Since his recovery, he has used his high-profile status to educate the public about mental health issues, especially about stigmatization of mental illness in the workplace and the ways it affects employee promotion, job security and work relationships.

Carrie Fisher, actress and author renowned as Princess Leia in Star Wars and daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, was diagnosed as manic-depressive at age 24. In her book Postcards from the Edge and the film it inspired, she wrote about her rehab, electroshock treatment and recovery from her illness and her drug addictions. She has started in countless films and television shows and her memoirs and novels have been best-sellers.

Depression

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

In Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatnes, author Joshua Wolf Shenk writes: "Sometimes, a impenetrable fog seemed to settle around him... [At times] Lincoln sunk into a deep depression which deeply worried his friends and led in 1841 to aggressive medical treatment which probably made him worse.

Ernest Hemingway: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1952), and the Nobel Prize in Literature (1954), the novelist's suicidal depression is examined in The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him by Denis Brian.

Mike Wallace, Co-Editor of 60 Minutes "On two or three occasions, I came very, very close [to suicide]. But, when I got the right help and treatment, I was able to put that behind me....There's nothing, repeat, nothing to be ashamed of when you're going through a depression. If you get help, the chances of your licking it are really good….[Having battled depression] I'm more compassionate, I'm more understanding and, ultimately, my life has been a lot fuller because I experienced this," he says in an interview with CBS Cares.

Dave Matthews, chart-topping musician, composer: "I was depressed. It was not a good time for me," he told Rolling Stone magazine. "I was feeling remarkably alone… I don't want to be someone who writes about how sad I am, I'd rather write…with some sort of strength. Otherwise, I don't think there's any gift - or offering - being made. I would like to be an inspiring force." A new album, with an entirely new sound, essentially saved Dave's life; he finally felt good about what he'd accomplished.

Judy Garland, singer, Oscar-winning actress: Performing from the age of two, she starred in countless musical films and thrilled audiences with her live performances. She led a life of great highs and deep lows; through it all though, her inestimable talent shown.

William Styron, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist: After being fired from McGraw-Hill for tossing balloons out an office window, he co-founded the Paris Review. His books included The Confessions of Nat Turner, about black slavery, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968, and Sophie's Choice, which was made into a powerful and moving film.

After "having trudged upward out of hell's black depths," he wrote Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness in 1990, an uplifting and probing look at depression. He died in 2006 of pneumonia.

Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals pitcher, winner of the 2009 American League Cy Young Award: Greinke says he'd prefer to remain anonymous when he's not on the mound. He quit baseball for six weeks in 2006 when he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, for which he received treatment. Still extremely shy, he says he’s uncomfortable being around people. "I really don't like having a bunch of attention.”

Emily Dickinson, Nineteenth century poet: In her later years she would sometimes refuse to see visitors that came to her home, only talking to them from behind a door…After the late 1860's, she never left the bounds of the family property, occupying herself with her poetry, letters, baking, and tending the family garden. The most prevalent speculation is that Emily Dickinson suffered from some form of agoraphobia or anxiety disorder.

Kim Basinger, Academy Award-winning actress: `It can hit at any time,'' she says. ``You feel like you're in an open field, and there's a tornado coming at you. And you're just consumed by it.'' Even though her career was booming, she felt crippled and became so depressed she considered suicide. "My therapy was about awareness and education. And it lessened those horrible panic attacks,'' she says, adding that she has learned to face her fears and has regained control of her life.

Carly Simon, Grammy and Academy Award-winning singer-composer: Anxiety, depression and stage fright have haunted her for years. An early '80s concert tour was suddenly canceled when the pop star collapsed backstage. "I was lost. I really was lost." After surviving personal losses and cancer, Simon continues to be successful." I hope that people will be subtly changed by what I've said or written or composed."

Charles Schulz, cartoonist, internationally renowned creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip: He won the Reuben Award, comic art's highest honor; International Cartoonist of the Year award; and an Emmy for "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Despite the success, Schulz struggled with depression and anxiety, according to his biographer, Rheta Grimsley Johnson. But the struggle only improved his work, she found, as he poured those feelings of rejection and uncertainty into the strip and turned Charlie Brown into Everyman.

http://www.moodletter.com/GeniusMentalIllness2.htm

2010-05-17T15:42:00.000-04:00

Looking for Some New Reading Materials to Better Help you and Your Loved one?

Here are Some Recommended Readings for you and your Family

Books and Publications

Mood Disorders, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety

• Ajjan, Dianna L. and the Natural Medicine Collective

The Natural Way of Healing Stress, Anxiety and Depression

The Philip Lief Group, Inc., Canada, 1995

• Attacking Anxiety and Depression: a comprehensive, cognitive behavioural-based solution fostering strength, character and self-empowerment

The Midwest Centre for Stress and Anxiety, Inc., 1985

• Bourne, Edmund J.

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook

The New Harbringer Publications, Inc., CA, 1995

• Carrigan, Catherine

Healing Depression: A Holisitic Guide

Marlowe and Company, USA, 1997

• Huber, Cheri

Being Present in the Darkness: Depression as an Opportunity for Self-Discover

The Berkley Publishing Group, USA, 1991

• Jamison, Kay Redfield

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

Vintage Books, USA, 1996

• Jamison, K. R.

Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament

Ontario: Free Press, 1993

• Sahelian, Ray, M.D.

5-HTP Nature's Serotonin Solution

Avery, USA, 1998

Spirituality and Mental Illness

• Choquette, Sonia, PhD

The Psychic Pathway: A Workbook for Reawakening the Voice of Your Soul

Three Rivers Press, 1994

• Grof, Christina and Stanislav, M.D.

Spiritual Emergency: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis

G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1978

Schizophrenia

• Fisher, D. et al.

Personal Assistance In Community Existance: Recovery at your own PACE

National Empowerment Center, Lawrence MA, 2003

• Killick, K. and Schaverien, J. (ed.)

Art, psychotherapy, and psychosis

New York: Routledge, 1997

• Laing, R. D.

The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness

New York: Routledge, 1997

• Learning About Schizophrenia: Rays of Hope

Schizophrenia Society of Canada, Canada

• Marsh, D.

New Directions in the Psychological Treatment of Serious Mental Illness

Praeger,Westport CT, 1994

Web Articles

• Almaraz-Serrarro, A. et al.

"Psychosocial Interventions for Schizophrenia"

Effective Healthcare

Aug.2000, Volume 6, Number 3

http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/ehc63.pdf

• Cohen, Oryx

"Psychiatric Survivor Oral Histories: Implications for Contemporary Mental Health"

Center for Public Policy and Administration, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, December 2001

http://akmhcweb.org/research/OralHistories.htm

• Helmchen, H.

"Ethical Implications of Relationships between Psychiatrists and the Pharmaceutical Industry"

http://www.wfsbp.org/publications.html#2403475917

• Onken, S. J. et al.

"Mental Health Recovery: What Helps and What Hinders? Executive Summary"

www.nasmh.pd.org

• Szegedy-Maszak, M.

"Consuming passion: The mentally ill are taking charge of their own recovery. But they disagree on what that means" Health Medicine 6/3/02

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/020603/health/3recover.htm

Journal Articles

• Davidson, L. and Stayner, D.

"Loss, Lonliness, and the Desire for Love: Perspectives on the Social Lives of People with Schizophrenia"

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal

Winter 1997, vol. 20, no. 3

• Harding, C.M.

"Beautiful Minds Can Be Recovered"

The New York Times

March 10

• Harvey, R.

"Government wants mental illness stories"

Toronto Star

Nov. 26, 2004

• Johnson, S.L. et al.

"Psychosocial approaches to the treatment of bipolar disorder"

Opinion in Psychiatry

2000, vol.13, p.70

• Mosher, L.R.

"Soteria and Other Alternatives to Acute Psychiatric Hospitalization: A Personal and Professional Review"

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

187:142-149, 1999

• Susko, M.

"Caseness and Narrative: Contrasting Approaches to People Who are Psychiatrically Labelled"

The Journal of Mind and Behavior

Winter and Spring 1994, Vol. 15, Numbers 1 and 2

**All recommended readings taken from http://www.fameforfamilies.com/recommendedreading.php May 17, 2010

2010-05-13T14:04:00.000-04:00

Demystifying Mental Health Issue Myths & Stereotypes

“We failed to understand why parents of a child with leukemia were treated with sympathy and understanding, while parents of a child with schizophrenia were treated with scorn and condemnation.”

- Eve Oliphant, one of NAMI’s founders, in a break-through speech to the World Congress on Psychiatry.

Scorn and condemnation have long been applied directly to people who live with mental illness. Today, we still need to overcome stigma and discrimination within popular culture, professions and institutions. These are barriers not only to people getting help when they need it, but also to finding employment as part of the road to recovery.

During Mental Health Month, NAMI is continuing the hard work of breaking down these barriers by challenging common myths about mental illness.

Myth #1: Mental illness is a sign of weakness

Really? Tell that to Abraham Lincoln, who fought depression throughout his life, which “gave him the tools to save the nation.” *

Not to mention television journalist Jane Pauley, NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw or Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash.

It is important to realize that mental illness is not anyone's fault.

According to the landmark U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health: “Mental disorders are health conditions characterized by alterations in thinking, mood or behavior (or some combination)…associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.”

No one should feel ashamed of mental illness any more than with other medical conditions. Of course, other conditions are often stigmatized, too. We are all part of a broader movement for change.

* Source: "Lincoln's Great Depression," by Joshua Wolf Shenk, The Atlantic, October 2005

Myth #2: Mental illness and violence are linked

The Surgeon General’s report states that “the overall likelihood of violence is low...the overall contribution of mental disorders to the total level of violence in society is exceptionally small.” Different factors may contribute to risks of violence, but they are things like age, sex, substance abuse, recent divorce or unemployment, which apply to everyone, not just those who live with mental illness.

In fact, about 25 percent of people with severe mental illness are victims of violence, a rate that is more than 10 times higher than the rest of the population.

One reason the violence myth persists is because of Hollywood portrayals in movies and on television. There has been progress in the past 10 years, but it’s two steps forward, one step back.

What Can You Do to Help?

During Mental Health Month, and in the months and years ahead, please help change the world. This may sound hokey, but we can all make a difference, no matter what our disability–if not as individuals or family members directly affected by mental illness, then simply as friends and allies.

We can all educate ourselves and help spread the word.

We can all play a role in demystifying mental illness myths and stereotypes and encourage acceptance of those living with it.

Posted by Diana Z. on May 5, 2010 11:52:37 AM in Guest Blogger, Health

2010-05-10T10:50:00.006-04:00

Nipissing Family Program receives funding for the NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program

The North Bay and Area Community Foundation chose five organizations that were honoured at this year's fundraising dinner.

Community Foundations unite groups of people who care about their communities. They are independent, volunteer-driven, charitable organizations that aim to strengthen their communities by facilitating philanthropy, by partnering with donors to build permanent endowments, and by seeking out other funds to support community projects.

Founded on trust, Community Foundations help donors achieve their charitable goals by investing financial capital in their community, while stimulating and nurturing relationships to create a sense of belonging to a community. Social scientists call these vital connections "social capital" and have found that they play a strong role in defining community and individual well-being. With experience in building financial capital for their communities, Community Foundations also play a leadership role in building social capital, the glue that holds communities together.

The Nipissing Family Program, and specifically NAMI Family to Family Education Program, provides help to families dealing with mental health issues and works to better enable families to cope and address what can be a new and challenging time in their lives.

The goal of the North Bay and Area Community Foundation is to recognize the services these programs provide to our community, to celebrate the work they do and provide a small amount of financial support to organizations like them that may not otherwise have access to fundraising or community support.

2010-05-10T10:50:00.002-04:00

Nipissing Family Program from David McSherry on Vimeo.

2010-04-28T14:16:00.000-04:00

Mental Health Week 2010

Hello everyone! Mental Health week is here and Joel and myself plan on attending a few events next week and would love to see you out!

Lets not forget: A solid foundation for mental health starts with:

Positive relationships at work: Supportive relationships in the workplace are important for good mental health.

Good Neighbors: Look across the road or across the hallway. A simple gesture is all it takes to build support with a neighbor. Welcome new comers to the neighbourhood, say hello.

Ties to your community: Joining community groups, clubs and organizations makes you part of something bigger. You will reap the rewards by feeling connected and having a sense of purpose.

Caring Relationships: When we care for others and others care for us we feel valued.

Here is the agenda for Mental Health Week starting Monday May 3rd. If you have any questions or would like addittional information please call April at 494 4774 x 226. Also, don't forget to R.S.V.P for our Peer Support Appreciation Dinner on Tuesday! See you soon.

~April

MONDAY MAY 3rd

9:00 a.m.: Mental Health Week Launch

Daisy Delivery

11:30-1:00 p.m.:

B-B-Q

Addictions & Mental

Health Care Centre:

The Nipissing Crisis

Intervention Program,

The Nipissing Detox and

Substance Abuse

Programs, ACTT,

CHOICES, & the Mental

Health Clinic

Invite you to celebrate

Mental Health Week 2010

At the Nipissing Detox and

Substance Abuse Programs,

120 King St. West, North Bay.

For information call: 476-6240

TUESDAY MAY 4th

1-4:30 p.m: Official launch of

No Wrong Door Nipissing.ca & Community Case Response Workshop

Hosted by the Nipissing

District Homelessness

Partnership to address

service gaps and build

partnerships. St. Andrew’s

United Church. For

information call: 474-2151

ext: 3354

5:00-8:00 p.m.: Northeast

Mental Health Centre,

North Bay Campus,

presents “Photovoice:

Flashes of Hope” at the

WKP Kennedy Art Gallery,

North Bay Capitol Centre.

Public invited to attend to

view this photo exhibit. For

information call: 474-1200

ext: 2287

Exhibit continues Wednesday

WEDNESDAY MAY 5th

9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Mental Health Caper

Day at the Centre of

Friends, 144 Main Street

East. Members, come in

for a day of pampering,

games and fellowship!

THURSDAY MAY 6th

11:30-1:30 p.m.

BBQ hosted by

Nipissing Mental Health

Housing and Support

Services

12:15 Mental Health Week

Recognition Awards

Presentations

Woodward Apartments

520 Worthington St. E.

For Information call:

476-4088 ext: 235

Entertainment by PEP band Freedom

SATURDAY MAY 8th

WALK FOR MENTAL

HEALTH

9 a.m.—12 noon

Registration takes place at

Lee Park starting at 9 a.m.

To pick up a pledge form or

for more Information call

CMHA at 474-1299.

2010-04-19T14:18:00.000-04:00

Supporting a Friend or Family Member with a Mental Health Issue

If someone you love is sick, it can be scary. When they are sick with a mental health issue it can be especially scary. It can be hard to see someone you love in pain and it’s confusing when someone you know well is not acting like themselves. You know how you would take care of them if they had a cold or flu; but what do you do when their illness is a mental one? Just like if someone you love develops diabetes, someone with a mental illness needs extra love and support. You may not be able to see the illness, but it doesn’t mean that you’re powerless to help.

How can I help?

Research confirms that support from family and friends is a key part of helping someone who is going through a mental illness. This support provides a network of practical and emotional help. These networks can be made up of parents, children, siblings, spouses or partners, extended families, close friends and others who care about us like neighbours, coworkers, coaches and teachers. Some people have larger networks than others, but most of us have at least a few people who are there for us when we need them.

There are a number of major ways that family and friends can help in someone’s journey of recovery from a mental health issue:
•Knowing when something is wrong—or right: Getting help early is an important part of treating mental illness, and because they spend time with us, family and friends are often the first ones to notice that something is wrong. See “How do I know when to help?” on the next page for signs to watch for. Because finding a treatment that works is often a process of trial and error, family members may also be the first to see signs of improvement.
◦How do I do this? TIP: Learn more about the signs and symptoms of different mental illnesses. Also learn more about how treatments work so that you know what side effects you may see, when to look for improvements and which ones to look for first. A recent review found that when the family is educated about the illness, the rates of relapse in their loved ones were reduced by half in the first year.
•Seeking help: Families and friends can be important advocates to help loved ones get through those hard, early stages of having a mental disorder. They can help their loved one find out what treatment is best for them. They can also be key in letting professionals know what’s going on, filling in parts of the picture that the person who’s ill may not be well enough to describe on their own.
◦How do I do this? TIP: Offering to make those first appointments with a family doctor to find out what’s wrong and/or accompanying the person who’s unwell to the doctor can often be welcome to someone who may not have the energy or concentration to do it all by themselves. If you do accompany the person, work with them to write down any notes or questions either of you have in advance so that you cover all the major points. If they want to do it on their own, show them your support and ask them if there’s anything you could do to help.
◦TIP: You can’t always prevent a mental health crisis from happening. If your loved one needs to go to hospital, try and encourage them to go on their own. If they refuse and are very unwell, you can ensure the person gets treated in an emergency through Ontario's Mental Health Act.
•Helping with medications, appointments and treatments: Because you spend so much time around your loved ones, you can help them remember to take their medications. You may also be able to help tell a doctor why medications aren’t being taken as they should be. Similarly, you may be involved in reminding your loved one to do their counseling homework or use their light therapy treatment each morning, or to make or keep appointments for treatment.
◦How do I do this? TIP: If you’re noticing that your loved one is having trouble taking their medication, you should mention it to their doctor or pharmacist. They can suggest ways to make pill taking easier. If there are other problems with taking medicine like side effects or other worries, encourage your loved one to write down their concerns and questions and talk to their doctor. If they don’t have a good relationship with their doctor, help them find a new one. If cost is a barrier, learn about BC’s no-charge psychiatric medication coverage called Plan G.
◦TIP: Suggest your loved one keep a symptom journal to track how they feel each day before, during and after treatment as well noting things that trigger more symptoms.
•Supporting a healthy lifestyle: Families can also help with day-to-day factors such as finances, problem solving, housing, nutrition, recreation and exercise, and proper sleeping habits.
◦How do I do this? TIP: See our Wellness Modules at www.heretohelp.bc.ca for practical tips on how to have a healthy lifestyle for both you and your loved one.
◦TIP: Staff at mental health centres in your community may be able to help with life skills training as well as connections to income and housing.
•Providing emotional support: You can play an important role in helping someone who’s not feeling well feel less alone and ashamed. They are not to blame for their illness, but they may feel that they are, or may be getting that message from others. You can help encourage hope.
◦How do I do this? TIP: Try to be as supportive, understanding and patient as possible. See our “Where do I go from here?” section for resources on how to be a good communicator.
◦TIP: Taking care of an ill family member or friend can be stressful. Remember that you need emotional support too. Consider joining a support group for family members of people with mental illness. There you can connect with other people going through the same things and they can help you work through your own emotions. It’s very important to make sure you are taking care of your own mental health as well.

How do I know when to help?

Some signs that a friend or family member may have a mental disorder and could need your help are:
•They suddenly no longer have interest in hobbies and other interests they used to love
•They seem to feel angry or sad for little or no reason
•They don’t seem to enjoy anything anymore
•They have told you about or seem to be hearing strange voices or having unsettling thoughts
•They seem emotionally numb, like they don’t feel anything anymore
•They used to be healthy, but now they’re always
•Saying they feel a bit sick
•They eat a lot more or less than they used to
•Their sleep patterns have changed
•They seem to be anxious or terrified about situations or objects in life that seem normal to you and to others
•They’ve been missing more and more time from work or school
•They’ve been drinking heavily and/or using drugs to cope
•They are talking about taking their life or feeling hopeless
•They are avoiding their close friends and family members

2010-04-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

Relapse Prevention

Relapse prevention describes the process of developing skills to continue health-promoting behaviours and avoiding old patterns of harmful behaviour. Relapse prevention includes a range of goals about making choices to reduce the harmful consequences of substance use.

Stages of Relapse:

1. Something happens
Sometimes referred to as a “trigger,” it can be an event, feeling, situation, or person. It can be anything—good or bad, inside or outside you. A bad day at work, running into an old friend who uses, or achieving a goal and feeling proud and hopeful are all examples of triggering events.
2. You interpret it
The triggering event elicits a core belief that you hold about yourself. This often comes in the form of a message that you say to yourself, consciously or subconsciously. Each person has a unique message, but examples are statements such as “I am a complete failure,” “I don’t deserve success,” or “I deserve to celebrate.”
3. Cravings
Your interpretation leads to cravings. Cravings are the psychological and physical desire to engage in your old, harmful behaviour. (This may be smoking a cigarette, having a drink, going to the casino or any other harmful behaviour you want to avoid).
4. Permission-giving thoughts
Your cravings could lead to ”allowing thoughts” where you give yourself permission to engage in the old behaviour. These thoughts can take many forms. A few examples might be: “I need to smoke a joint to calm down,” “I’ve been exercising pretty well. This weekend I’ll just sit in front of the TV,” “I deserve to treat myself, I’ve had a bad day,” or “I have not been drunk for three months. I’m strong enough to handle going to that party.”
5. Action
At this point in the process you take the steps necessary to engage in the old pattern, or give yourself an excuse for not engaging in your new pattern. Examples could be calling your old dealer, stocking up on beer for the weekend, “dropping in” on a friend you know is always supplied, or inviting a friend over so you cannot make it to your exercise class.
6. Harmful behaviour
You finally engage in the old pattern, such as using a drug you had been abstaining from, getting drunk at a party, or wasting the weekend in front of the TV.

Avoiding Relapse

The most important thing you can do to avoid relapse is to develop a plan so you can achieve your health goals. A significant part of this plan, particularly early in the recovery process, is minimizing your risks for relapse.
Address high-risk situations
Just about anything can create risk of relapse. Areas of highest risk will differ from person to person. The first step in developing your relapse prevention plan is to begin identifying situations or circumstances that hold the highest risk factors for you.
High-risk situations can be internal or external in origin.
Examples of internal risk situations:

feeling depressed, bored, lonely or tired
being excited at the end of the day on payday
feeling proud of an accomplishment achieved

Examples of external risk factors are:

an argument with your partner
a call from an old “using” friend
money stress
hearing a radio commercial
a sporting or social event

As you reflect on your own life, it is a good idea to make a list of situations that increase your risk of relapse. Ask yourself these questions:

What things are most likely to happen in your life?
What circumstances or events have been associated with your harmful behaviour?

Your risky situation list doesn’t need to be inclusive at this point; listing the first five or 10 that come to mind is a good place to start.
Next you develop a plan for each of your personal risk factors. Your plan should be very specific, and can consist of more than one response to each situation you have identified. Here is an example of how this might look:

Phone call from Bob: I will state my abstinence commitment, and tell Bob I cannot see him any longer; I will take a clean friend with me and meet Bob for 30 minutes only.
Feeling depressed: I will go for a 30-minute walk; I will call people on my phone list, until I reach someone to talk to; I will write a list of 10 things that I am grateful for.

Developing a written plan helps you reach your health goals in several ways. It gives you an opportunity to commit your actions in writing to yourself. It allows you to be prepared, thus increasing your sense of control over your own life. It also minimizes the likelihood that you will be caught off-guard, which can be the most dangerous time for a relapse to occur.

Quick tips for relapse prevention:

Handle day-to-day feelings and problems as they happen. This way, pressure and stress don’t build up.
Keep your life in balance. This reduces stress and helps you find enjoyment again with friends and family, without alcohol or drugs. Try new activities, reward yourself for small successes, and eat nutritious food.
Gain support and trust. Family, friends, coworkers and counsellors can help you watch for warning signs, handle stress and support your goals.
Identify and plan for high-risk situations. Plan ahead what you will say and do and have several back-up strategies in case one doesn’t work.
Realize that the most effective coping strategies will often be the ones you think of yourself, and that they will change over time.

Ways to Support Your Recovery

While relapse prevention work is critical to changing unhealthy behaviours, it is also important to build positive skills and patterns of behaviour that support your healing process. Here are some simple suggestions:

Healthy eating. If you eat well-balanced, nourishing meals, your body will be better prepared to deal with daily stresses.
Get enough sleep. Sleep gives your body time to strengthen and rebuild and allows you to be clear-headed and functioning at your best.
Exercise regularly. Exercise has many health benefits including building strength, increasing stamina, and lowering the risks for many health conditions. Exercise also helps to flush out toxins and increases levels of endorphins, or “feel-good” hormones, both of which are beneficial to relapse prevention.

Stay connected. It is important to have positive social contacts in your life, both on the phone and in person. Work at building a network of people who support your recovery goals, and include them in your recovery plans.
Practice meditation or relaxation skills. Stress, anger, frustration or boredom are all potential risk experiences. Relaxation skills are great ways to combat negative feelings.
Journaling. Writing down your thoughts, experiences and discoveries can be a powerful practice. • Self-monitor. It can be useful at the end of each day to evaluate how you are doing. What went well? What would you have liked to have done differently? What did you accomplish today? What feelings did you experience throughout the day? These kinds of questions can be useful to continue to shape your plan for recovery.
Understand cravings. It is important to understand that when you experience physical cravings, the chemicals in your brain are involved. These chemicals can change in the same way they do when you use your drug of choice. Therefore, you may feel like you do either right before, or during substance use. It is important to understand this, and to know that these feelings will pass in a short period of time. When you experience cravings, it is most important (as with high-risk situations) that you have a clear plan for response.
Reward yourself! It is crucial that you recognize the hard work it takes to make changes in your life. You need to honour your efforts. A nice meal out, a new CD, a bubble bath or an hour at your favorite hobby are examples of rewards you can provide for yourself.
Keep slips in perspective. If you do succumb to old patterns, make the most of this experience. While it is important to recognize the serious impact this can have on your recovery, it can be used as a valuable opportunity to evaluate where you may not have planned or acted carefully enough. You can use this experience to strengthen your recovery, if you choose to do so.

In case of relapse, remember:

swift admission of relapse should be looked upon with respect
relapse indicates a need for stepped-up support and possibly increased intensity of treatment
relapse always indicates a need to review and revise the relapse prevention plan to see what triggers, warning signs, and key people were missed

2010-04-14T10:15:00.000-04:00

How to Help People Recovering from Psychosis: What Family and Friends Need to Know

"My daughter didn't know at first what she needed, but she did need us. It took some time, but now her good days are the norm rather than the exception."

What to Expect

When your family member comes home from the hospital, many of their symptoms may be reduced or gone, but some may remain. You can help them recover by maintaining a calm, positive environment for them, and by educating yourself on their illness.

It is quite normal for a person who has just experienced psychosis to:

Sleep much more than usual.
Need to have a lot of quiet, alone time.
Be slower and not feel able to do much.

Slowing down and resting is part of allowing the brain to heal. Each person will recover at their own pace, and it could take up to a year of this type of rest for someone to recover. It is a good idea to gently encourage the person to do simple chores, hang out with family or go out to do activities they used to like when they feel up to it.

Your relative may seem emotionally distant during this time as well. This is part of the illness as well, and is not about their relationship with you. When around people, they may be very quiet and just sit and watch, which is quite normal.

Identifying Relapse Triggers

It is useful to think back on the signs your family member showed when they were becoming ill. Often, but not always, they will show similar signs if they are heading into a relapse or are under too much stress. Your relative may have signs that are particular to them. The following are some common warning signs:

hallucinations / voices, suspiciousness, disorganized thoughts, speech that doesn't make sense, difficulty concentrating, bizarre behaviour, a belief they have special powers or feeling rested after almost no sleep for several days. Changes in sleeping habits, anxiety, agitation, depression, difficulties concentrating, isolating, and irritability may be signs of a relapse or they may be signs the person is under too much stress.

Supporting Health

Calm, quiet environment.
Gentle encouragement.
Let the person recover at their own pace.
Keep healthy foods around.
Provide encouragement if the person needs help with daily chores and personal care.
Give them their space to have quiet, rest and calm while they recover.

For more information go to: www.heretohelp.ca

2010-04-12T16:12:00.000-04:00

Bipolar disorder, a brain disorder characterized by extreme swings in moods, is a puzzling illness that not only affects the individual but their family and friends as well.

Living with a person who has bipolar disorder involves learning how to deal with the disruptions that symptoms can create, supporting the person through their recovery, and finding ways to cope with the effects on the family. Bipolar disorder can place a heavy strain on families. Depending on the nature of an individual’s illness and how well the illness is managed, the family can be affected in a variety of ways. When mood swings are mild, the family may experience some forms of distress but, over time and with education about mental illness, they can learn live with the demands of the illness.

Caring for someone with bipolar disorder can place heavy burdens on the family, particularly if they are not equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to cope with mental illness. It can be exhausting, especially for families with young children.

When bipolar disorder is not properly controlled with medical treatment, the family may experience

Emotional distress such as guilt, grief, and worry
Disruption in regular routines
Having to deal with bizarre or reckless behaviour
Financial stresses as a result of reduced income or spending sprees
Strained marital or family relationships
Changes in family roles
Difficulty in maintaining relationships outside the family
Health problems as a result of stress

Family members experience various emotions as they learn to come to terms with having someone who has bipolar disorder. There is no right or wrong ways to feel. What is important is how you handle these emotions.
At first, families may feel guilt, thinking that they somehow caused the person to become ill. Young children are particularly vulnerable to thinking they somehow caused their parent to become ill. Every member of the family needs to understand that no one can cause a person to develop bipolar disorder; it is a medical illness.
As with all serious illness, families will likely feel sorrow and grief. This is a natural reaction. We care about our family members and want them to be healthy and happy. Families sometimes feel they have lost the person they knew. However, mental illness such as bipolar disorder does not mean that the person cannot live a successful, happy life. What it means is that the individual and their family now have a new challenge they must face in life. With proper treatment and illness management, there is hope.
Families also worry about their loved one, as a manic episode can cause a person to behave in a reckless manner or make unwise decisions. One way to help alleviate this worry is to develop a plan to as to how the family will manage difficult times. When your family member is well, sit down and talk about how things will be handled in the event they become unwell. Developing a crisis plan can help to ensure that everyone knows what to expect should the person become unwell again.
When my wife is in a manic state, I worry constantly about what might happen.
Children may fear that they will inherit the illness. Older children may fear that they may have to manage the care of their ill sibling as well as manage their own lives when their parents can no longer do the job. In any event, families need to learn to manage anxiety and to lead as fulfilling lives as possible.
Disruption in routines may arise as a result of either manic or depressive episodes. Normal activities and chores may have to be set aside and left to be attended to on a later date when the episode subsides. Re-establishing a routine as soon as possible is important for staying well and reducing stress on all family members.
Family roles can also be affected by bipolar disorder. Children may be forced to take on an adult role when their parent becomes ill; spouses may feel they can no longer rely on their partner to fulfill their share of household and family responsibilities.
I can cope as long as I know she's getting better. I can't give up hope.
Financial difficulties, home and family neglect, constant tension and fear of symptoms returning can strain marital and family relationships. Symptoms such as irritability and poor judgement can lead to increased arguments and confrontations.
Families may find their social network starts shrinking in size. Friends and extended family may feel awkward about what to say or how to help the family. While not everyone in the family social network will be supportive, it is important to seek out those who are, as they are a valuable source of support. Going to a support group is another way to help reduce the sense of isolation a family often faces. Families report that having people to talk to helps them to better cope with the illness.

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that can have periods of wellness between episodes.

Families often breathe a sigh of relief when symptoms are stabilized, but it is important to support the family member to continue with their medical treatment as well as watching for any signs of possible relapse. Early intervention can often ward off a full-blown relapse. With today’s modern day treatments, there is considerable hope for individuals and many, in spite of having a mental illness, go on to be very successful in their lives. Believing in your family member’s recovery can make a big difference. The stress and emotional burdens of bipolar disorder can take their toll on families. Families caring for a person who has an ongoing mental illness are more susceptible to health related problems. Learning how to take care of yourself is a priority for anyone who is providing support to a person with bipolar disorder.

Education and support can greatly aid families who have a relative with bipolar disorder.

2010-04-07T13:51:00.000-04:00

Coping with Grief and Loss

Support for Grieving and Bereavement

Losing someone or something you love is very painful. After a significant loss, you may experience all kinds of difficult and surprising emotions, such as shock, anger, and guilt. Sometimes it may feel like the sadness will never let up. While these feelings can be frightening and overwhelming, they are normal reactions to loss. Accepting them as part of the grieving process and allowing yourself to feel what you feel is necessary for healing.

There is no right or wrong way to grieve — but there are healthy ways to cope with the pain. You can get through it! Grief that is expressed and experienced has a potential for healing that eventually can strengthen and enrich life.

What is grief?

Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. You may associate grief with the death of a loved one – and this type of loss does often cause the most intense grief. But any loss can cause grief, including:

• A relationship breakup

• Loss of health

• Losing a job

• Loss of financial stability

• A miscarriage • Death of a pet

• Loss of a cherished dream

• A loved one’s serious physical or mental illness

• Loss of a friendship

• Loss of safety after a trauma

The more significant the loss, the more intense the grief. However, even subtle losses can lead to grief. For example, you might experience grief after moving away from home, graduating from college, changing jobs, selling your family home, or retiring from a career you loved.

Everyone grieves differently

Grieving is a personal and highly individual experience. How you grieve depends on many factors, including your personality and coping style, your life experience, your faith, and the nature of the loss. The grieving process takes time. Healing happens gradually; it can’t be forced or hurried – and there is no “normal” timetable for grieving. Some people start to feel better in weeks or months. For others, the grieving process is measured in years. Whatever your grief experience, it’s important to be patient with yourself and allow the process to naturally unfold.

Myths and Facts About Grief

MYTH: The pain will go away faster if you ignore it.

Fact: Trying to ignore your pain or keep it from surfacing will only make it worse in the long run. For real healing it is necessary to face your grief and actively deal with it.

MYTH: It’s important to be “be strong” in the face of loss.

Fact: Feeling sad, frightened, or lonely is a normal reaction to loss. Crying doesn’t mean you are weak. You don’t need to “protect” your family or friends by putting on a brave front. Showing your true feelings can help them and you.

MYTH: If you don’t cry, it means you aren’t sorry about the loss.

Fact: Crying is a normal response to sadness, but it’s not the only one. Those who don’t cry may feel the pain just as deeply as others. They may simply have other ways of showing it.

MYTH: Grief should last about a year.

Fact: There is no right or wrong time frame for grieving. How long it takes can differ from person to person.

Are there stages of grief?

In 1969, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced what became known as the “five stages of grief.” These stages of grief were based on her studies of the feelings of patients facing terminal illness, but many people have generalized them to other types of negative life changes and losses, such as the death of a loved one or a break-up.

The five stages of grief:

• Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”

• Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”

• Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.”

• Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”

• Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what happened.”

If you are experiencing any of these emotions following a loss, it may help to know that your reaction is natural and that you’ll heal in time. However, not everyone who is grieving goes through all of these stages – and that’s okay. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to go through each stage in order to heal. In fact, some people resolve their grief without going through any of these stages. And if you do go through these stages of grief, you probably won’t experience them in a neat, sequential order, so don’t worry about what you “should” be feeling or which stage you’re supposed to be in.

Kübler-Ross herself never intended for these stages to be a rigid framework that applies to everyone who mourns. In her last book before her death in 2004, she said of the five stages of grief, “They were never meant to help tuck messy emotions into neat packages. They are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not a typical response to loss, as there is no typical loss. Our grieving is as individual as our lives.”

Grief is a roller coaster, not a series of stages

It is best not to think of grief as a series of stages. Rather, we might think of the grieving process as a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Like many roller coasters, the ride tends to be rougher in the beginning, the lows may be deeper and longer. The difficult periods should become less intense and shorter as time goes by, but it takes time to work through a loss. Even years after a loss, especially at special events such as a family wedding or the birth of a child, we may still experience a strong sense of grief.

Common symptoms of grief

While loss affects people in different ways, many people experience the following symptoms when they’re grieving. Just remember that almost anything that you experience in the early stages of grief is normal – including feeling like you’re going crazy, feeling like you’re in a bad dream, or questioning your religious beliefs.

• Shock and disbelief – Right after a loss, it can be hard to accept what happened. You may feel numb, have trouble believing that the loss really happened, or even deny the truth. If someone you love has died, you may keep expecting them to show up, even though you know they’re gone.

• Sadness – Profound sadness is probably the most universally experienced symptom of grief. You may have feelings of emptiness, despair, yearning, or deep loneliness. You may also cry a lot or feel emotionally unstable.

• Guilt – You may regret or feel guilty about things you did or didn’t say or do. You may also feel guilty about certain feelings (e.g. feeling relieved when the person died after a long, difficult illness). After a death, you may even feel guilty for not doing something to prevent the death, even if there was nothing more you could have done.

• Anger – Even if the loss was nobody’s fault, you may feel angry and resentful. If you lost a loved one, you may be angry at yourself, God, the doctors, or even the person who died for abandoning you. You may feel the need to blame someone for the injustice that was done to you.

• Fear – A significant loss can trigger a host of worries and fears. You may feel anxious, helpless, or insecure. You may even have panic attacks. The death of a loved one can trigger fears about your own mortality, of facing life without that person, or the responsibilities you now face alone.

• Physical symptoms – We often think of grief as a strictly emotional process, but grief often involves physical problems, including fatigue, nausea, lowered immunity, weight loss or weight gain, aches and pains, and insomnia.

Coping with grief and loss tip 1: Get support

The single most important factor in healing from loss is having the support of other people. Even if you aren’t comfortable talking about your feelings under normal circumstances, it’s important to express them when you’re grieving. Sharing your loss makes the burden of grief easier to carry. Wherever the support comes from, accept it and do not grieve alone. Connecting to others will help you heal.

Finding support after a loss

• Turn to friends and family members – Now is the time to lean on the people who care about you, even if you take pride in being strong and self-sufficient. Draw loved ones close, rather than avoiding them, and accept the assistance that’s offered. Oftentimes, people want to help but don’t know how, so tell them what you need – whether it’s a shoulder to cry on or help with funeral arrangements.

• Draw comfort from your faith – If you follow a religious tradition, embrace the comfort its mourning rituals can provide. Spiritual activities that are meaningful to you – such as praying, meditating, or going to church – can offer solace. If you’re questioning your faith in the wake of the loss, talk to a clergy member or others in your religious community.

• Join a support group – Grief can feel very lonely, even when you have loved ones around. Sharing your sorrow with others who have experienced similar losses can help. To find a bereavement support group in your area, contact local hospitals, hospices, funeral homes, and counseling centers.

• Talk to a therapist or grief counselor – If your grief feels like too much to bear, call a mental health professional with experience in grief counseling. An experienced therapist can help you work through intense emotions and overcome obstacles to your grieving.

Coping with grief and loss tip 2: Take care of yourself

When you’re grieving, it’s more important than ever to take care of yourself. The stress of a major loss can quickly deplete your energy and emotional reserves. Looking after your physical and emotional needs will help you get through this difficult time.

• Face your feelings. You can try to suppress your grief, but you can’t avoid it forever. In order to heal, you have to acknowledge the pain. Trying to avoid feelings of sadness and loss only prolongs the grieving process. Unresolved grief can also lead to complications such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and health problems.

• Express your feelings in a tangible or creative way. Write about your loss in a journal. If you’ve lost a loved one, write a letter saying the things you never got to say; make a scrapbook or photo album celebrating the person’s life; or get involved in a cause or organization that was important to him or her.

• Look after your physical health. The mind and body are connected. When you feel good physically, you’ll also feel better emotionally. Combat stress and fatigue by getting enough sleep, eating right, and exercising. Don’t use alcohol or drugs to numb the pain of grief or lift your mood artificially.

• Don’t let anyone tell you how to feel, and don’t tell yourself how to feel either. Your grief is your own, and no one else can tell you when it’s time to “move on” or “get over it.” Let yourself feel whatever you feel without embarrassment or judgment. It’s okay to be angry, to yell at the heavens, to cry or not to cry. It’s also okay to laugh, to find moments of joy, and to let go when you’re ready.

• Plan ahead for grief “triggers”. Anniversaries, holidays, and milestones can reawaken memories and feelings. Be prepared for an emotional wallop, and know that it’s completely normal. If you’re sharing a holiday or lifecycle event with other relatives, talk to them ahead of time about their expectations and agree on strategies to honor the person you loved.

When grief doesn’t go away

It’s normal to feel sad, numb, or angry following a loss. But as time passes, these emotions should become less intense as you accept the loss and start to move forward. If you aren’t feeling better over time, or your grief is getting worse, it may be a sign that your grief has developed into a more serious problem, such as complicated grief or major depression.

Complicated grief

The sadness of losing someone you love never goes away completely, but it shouldn’t remain center stage. If the pain of the loss is so constant and severe that it keeps you from resuming your life, you may be suffering from a condition known as complicated grief. Complicated grief is like being stuck in an intense state of mourning. You may have trouble accepting the death long after it has occurred or be so preoccupied with the person who died that it disrupts your daily routine and undermines your other relationships.

Symptoms of complicated grief include:

• Intense longing and yearning for the deceased

• Intrusive thoughts or images of your loved one

• Denial of the death or sense of disbelief

• Imagining that your loved one is alive • Searching for the person in familiar places

• Avoiding things that remind you of your loved one

• Extreme anger or bitterness over the loss

• Feeling that life is empty or meaningless

The difference between grief and depression

Distinguishing between grief and clinical depression isn’t always easy, since they share many symptoms. However, there are ways to tell the difference. Remember, grief is a roller coaster. It involves a wide variety of emotions and a mix of good and bad days. Even when you’re in the middle of the grieving process, you will have moments of pleasure or happiness. With depression, on the other hand, the feelings of emptiness and despair are constant.

Other symptoms that suggest depression, not just grief:

• Intense, pervasive sense of guilt.

• Thoughts of suicide or a preoccupation with dying.

• Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness. • Slow speech and body movements

• Inability to function at work, home, and/or school.

• Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there.

Can antidepressants help grief?

As a general rule, normal grief does not warrant the use of antidepressants. While medication may relieve some of the symptoms of grief, it cannot treat the cause, which is the loss itself. Furthermore, by numbing the pain that must be worked through eventually, antidepressants delay the mourning process.

When to seek professional help for grief

If you recognize any of the above symptoms of complicated grief or clinical depression, talk to a mental health professional right away. Left untreated, complicated grief and depression can lead to significant emotional damage, life-threatening health problems, and even suicide. But treatment can help you get better.

Contact a grief counselor or professional therapist if you:

• Feel like life isn’t worth living

• Wish you had died with your loved one

• Blame yourself for the loss or for failing to prevent it

• Feel numb and disconnected from others for more than a few weeks

• Are having difficulty trusting others since your loss

• Are unable to perform your normal daily activities

2010-04-06T10:13:00.000-04:00

Chakras for Beginners

Seven main chakras and their placement along the spine

Chakras are energy centers that run from the base of your spine out the top, or crown, of your head. The word chakra is a Sanskrit word, meaning wheel or disc. There are seven major chakras, each a circular wheel of light spinning in your energetic system, associated with certain body parts, a color, stone, element, and function. By learning to tune into the energy of your chakras, you can begin to embrace the fullness of who you truly are.

Muladhara, or Root, Chakra

This deep red chakra grounds and connects us to the earth. When our root chakra is open, we feel a sense of belonging. We deserve to be here and to be happy. This chakra focuses on our needs. Basic needs like food, shelter, and water are necessary in order for this chakra to feel balanced. Beyond that, we can use food (both “real” food and all of the things that feed us that don’t come on our plate) in our lives to help us feel more present in our bodies.

Stones: Ruby, Bloodstone, Hematite

Element: Earth

Body Part(s): Adrenal Glands, associated with survival (fight or flight) instincts

Svadhisthana, or Sacral, Chakra

This calming orange wheel goes round in our lower abdomen, right below the navel. This chakra is associated with health, pleasure, feelings, and sexuality. When the sacral chakra is balanced, e feel abundant, we know that we are deserving of pleasure in all areas of our lives. It is this chakra that helps us feel free to let our emotions flow through our lives, taking them as they come and knowing that they will pass, knowing that just as emotions are fluid, so is life. When we are able to find ways to accept and express our emotions, then we are able to keep our emotional, as well as physical, bodies healthy.

Stones: Carnelian, Tiger’s Eye, Onyx

Element: Water

Body Part(s): Testicles, Ovaries, in charge of sexual development

Manipura, or Solar Plexus, Chakra

This bright yellow ball of fire heats up our personal sense of power. Located at the solar plexus, this chakra helps to center us. It is our power center where we develop our autonomy and sense of self. When this chakra is open, we feel worthy of all that life has to offer us. We realize the power we possess to create the life of our dreams is already alive inside of us. When we harness the energy of the solar plexus chakra, we find the strength to conquer our dreams and goals.

Stones: Topaz, Citrine, Amber

Element: Fire

Body Part(s): Pancreas, controls digestion

Anahata, or Heart, Chakra

Our heart center creates balance in our lives. When we move into our heart chakra, we feel love and compassion toward ourselves. Once we have learned to be kind to ourselves, then we are able to extend that kindness to others. The heart chakra allows us to live our lives from an understanding, considerate, and peaceful place. It connects us to others, our surroundings, and the universe. When we tap into our heart chakra, love radiates around us and out into the world.

Stones: Rose Quartz, Diamond, Peridot

Element: Air

Body Part(s): Thymus, helps build immune system

Visuddha, or Throat, Chakra

The blue of this energy center spins its truth in our throat, helping us to be authentic in the way we live our lives. The throat chakra is where we communicate, where we are able to openly share our life perspective. Part of speaking truthfully involves carefully considering our words and the effect they will have once they have been spoken, causing us to consciously choose what we say to others. This, however, does not mean that we bottle our words up inside. It means that we try to look at all perspectives and find a respectful way to present our voice. Be clear, ask for what you want.

Stones: Turquoise, Blue Agate, Aquamarine

Element: Sound

Body Part(s): Thyroid, controls metabolism

Ajna, or Third Eye, Chakra

The violet light of this chakra makes its mark on our forehead, between the eyebrows and slightly above. This is where we see, where our inner eye lives. When we have an important decision to make or are feeling uncertain in our lives, it helps to focus on the third eye and to seek guidance. Everything we need to know is inside of us. Each one of us has all of the answers to all of the questions that we ask. What we need to do is slow down, take some time out, listen and trust in our own wisdom.

Stones: Sapphire, Tanzanite, Lapis Lazuli

Element: Light

Body Part(s): Pituitary Gland, influences growth and hormones

Sahasrara, or Crown, Chakra

Bright white light glows at the top of our head, radiating upward, reaching its rays out into the world beyond us. When we are grounded in our bodies, we are able to accept the ever-changing world that moves around us. Once we have accepted that change, we can work on building a strong sense of self, knowing that we deserve to fulfill our dreams. Having learned to love ourselves, we can then let that love move beyond the boundaries of our self and enter into our interactions with others. When we know how to love ourselves and others, then we are able to speak our truth from a place of integrity and respect for all involved in the conversation. When we are able to openly be honest, we can then go inside and listen quietly to our inner voice, which guides us. Going inside, we discover that though it often seems we are alone in this journey of life, we are really connected to everything. The white light radiates out from our crown and blends into the rest of the light that flows from all other beings. We are all one.

Stones: Amathyst, Alexandrite

Element: Thought

Body Part(s): Pineal Gland, regulates natural body rhythms

New Spaces - New Places

2010-03-31T16:14:00.003-04:00

This is a logo extension that we are using for the new Peer Support Forum.

http://www.nipissingfamily.freesmfhosting.com/

Check it out :)

2010-03-29T15:20:00.000-04:00

Spring is Here and it'sTime to get Organized!

Spring is a great time to get started on that long overdue organizing project you have been putting off for months or even years. Let's be honest, you probably have at least one room, closet or space in your home that is cluttered and in serious need of spring cleaning and organizing. Have you been parking your car in the driveway because the garage is spilling over with stuff? Maybe your basement or spare room has become the catch all place for everything that doesn't have a home? Take charge of the clutter once and for all and get organized!

Before you get started you may want to enlist the help of a family member or friend. This will insure you to stay motivated, focused and as an added bonus you will get the task completed more quickly.

No matter what project you choose to tackle, here are 4 basic steps to get you on your way to a new and organized you.

1. Do not underestimate the amount of time your project will take. Having unrealistic expectations can sabotage your entire mission. While you may start out the day with great enthusiasm, you will end up feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

2. Designate and clear a space for sorting. Create a keep, toss, recycle, donate and sell pile by labeling boxes or using large garbage bags for the task. You may want to sub-categorize the “keep pile” as well, this will prevent you from having to sort the items again later.

3. Time to start the purge! As you are evaluating each piece make sure to ask yourself these questions. Does this item still serve a purpose and when did I use it last? Do I love it? Do I truly need it? Be tough in your decision making, keep in mind that you are trying to minimize and de-clutter! Many will hold on to their possessions for sentimental reasons, but once you realize that an item does not represent the person or moment you are trying to remember it will get easier to let go of your things.

4. Now you are ready to create homes for everything you decided to keep. You may need to purchase appropriate shelving units, plastic totes or other storage systems, depending on your personal style and needs. Do not forget to measure the space before you make your purchase, to assure proper fit. Store seasonal and like items together, be sure to label everything and always leave a little “room to grow”. Keep in mind that you can always adjust things if you find that the system isn't working for you. Make arrangements to dispose of donations and trash and start enjoying your new space.

Remember that in order to stay organized it is extremely important to return everything back to its designated space. Just imagine never having to search for misplaced items again. Take pleasure in the knowledge that being organized will make your home run more efficiently, creating more time for you to enjoy the things that are truly important to you.

Article by: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article//Time-to-get-organized

2010-03-24T12:05:00.000-04:00

Meditation

Contemplative practices of some form are found in all of the major faith traditions. Scientists are only now beginning to understand how meditation produces positive effects. It is easy to start a contemplative practice, and with time and practice you may find that the benefits are transforming.

Five things you should know about Meditation

Neuroscientists have discovered that meditation is associated with increased activity in brain regions that are important in learning, decision making, happiness, and optimism
Although every faith tradition has some form of contemplative practice, meditation can be practiced separately from any spiritual tradition
Meditation helps develop mindfulness: open-minded and nonjudgmental attention in the present moment
People who meditate report that they regularly spend more time savoring pleasures
Most people who practice meditation say that it works best as a daily practice, just like physical exercise; meditating five minutes daily is often more effective than 30 minutes once in a while

Remembering to exhale

Featuring: Michael Baime M.D.

Dr. Michael Baime, director of the University of Pennsylvania Program for Stress Management, tells us why meditation and mindfulness may help us undo the negative affects of stress. He says “We found huge changes in what (program participants) report. Anxiety and depression drop by about 50%.”

http://www.remembering%20to%20exhalepbs.org/thisemotionallife/topic/meditation

2010-03-22T11:52:00.006-04:00

We would like to offer YOU a new way to connect with the Nipissing Family Blog and here are some reasons why:

1. A forum is a breeding ground for ideas. To be an effective blogger, I need to know what people are chatting about to give them great content, answer their questions, and be of service. Tuning in to the chatter on a forum sparks ideas for blog posts. The blog provides a desirable connection for Nipissing Family Blog members, and the forum, in turn, gives the blog a built-in audience.

2. A forum fosters group dialogue. Sure, most blogs allow comments. But comments are not really a dialogue, they’re a response to a monologue. A forum is a far better platform for conversations and relationships to develop—and this is where community building really takes off.

3. A forum is a great place to discover people. This is the perfect venue to find people with compelling ideas and an engaging writing style to guest post on our blog.

If you participate on the Nipissing Family Blog and are someone who wants to grow with your community and reach out to other family members who support a loved one with a mental health issue—this is something for you!! Please check out our new Nipissing Family forum by clicking on the following link.

http://www.nipissingfamily.freesmfhosting.com/
You will then have to register and create a “forum name” for yourself. This could be your actual name or anything you like. The amount of personal information you would like to share is up to you! My name on the forum is “araftis”

Please let me know what your thoughts are! I am looking forward to engaging in discussion with you on our new forum. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call or write.

Thanks,

April

2010-03-19T12:31:00.003-04:00

Everyone knows what it means when they say they are “stressed out” But what is stress its self?

Stress is your body’s response to anything that disrupts your normal life and routines. The causes of stress can be everyday events and changes, such as relationships, work, money, and difficult decisions. They can also be traumatic events, such as the death of a loved one, natural disasters, and trauma. The good news is that people are resilient. We can recognize stress as a natural response to changes and challenges, and we can learn how best to respond to these cues when managing stress.

Seven things you should know about Stress and Anxiety

1. Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide

2. In 2008, more than half of Canadians reported fatigue, irritability, sleeplessness, and headaches due to stress

3. In 2008, Canadians reported their top three causes of stress as money, the economy, and work

4. Millions of Canadians experience anxiety disorders every year

5. People with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor, usually for physical symptoms brought on by the anxiety

6. People with anxiety disorders frequently also experience mood disorders or substance abuse

7. There are effective treatments for anxiety disorders, including cognitive behavioral therapy and medication

Stress relief can take many forms. Resilience strategies can help you cope with the physical and emotional signs of stress. Other attempts at managing stress, such as smoking, substance abuse, and overeating, may make you feel better for a short time, but they pose big risks to your health. Developing positive coping strategies, on the other hand, leads to greater resilience and well-being over the long term.

Coping with stress

When you are experiencing a high level of stress, you can change the situation or change your response to it. To change the situation, you can use problem-solving skills to avoid, reduce, or change the stressful situation. To change your response, you can accept the stressful situation or adapt to it. You can also establish habits that put you and your health first and help you bounce back from stress when it gets overwhelming.

To change the stressful situation, you can:

• Set boundaries, learn to say no, and look for ways to trim back your to-do list and calendar.

• Spend time with people whose company you enjoy and, as much as you can, limit the time and energy you spend on people who stress you out.

• Change your environment: do errands online, change your commute, take a break from the news, take a walk to get away from the workplace at break time, set up some time to be alone.

• Express your feelings assertively and respectfully and be prepared to negotiate and compromise with others in order to improve a situation.

Not all situations can be changed. To change your own response to stress, you can:

• Try to reframe the situation. Focus on any positive aspects you can find. For example, rather than fuming about your boss, try focusing on the advantages of having a job and the things you like about it.

• Take the long view. Ask yourself what’s going to matter to you tomorrow, in a month, or a year from now.

• Avoid the trap of perfectionism. Learn to be satisfied with “good enough,” in yourself and others.

• Recognize what is beyond your control, and focus your energy on things you can do something about.

• Learn to forgive. You can free yourself of negative energy if you let go of anger and resentments.

Healthy habits that will help you bounce back from stress quickly:

• Talk things over with others. Sharing your feelings with people who are in your corner can help you process and move on.

• Make time for yourself. Set aside time every day to be alone, to relax, and to enjoy your favorite activities.

• Keep a sense of humor. Learn to laugh at yourself, and look for the funny and absurd in a stressful situation.

• Eat a healthy diet, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and avoid substances that can mask your stress, such as alcohol and drugs.

2010-03-18T10:29:00.000-04:00

Saint Patrick's Day

(Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a yearly holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (circa AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It began as a purely Catholic holiday and became an official feast day in the early 1600s. However, it has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Ireland's culture.

It is a public holiday on the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.

Saint Patrick

Little is known of Patrick's early life, though it is known that he was born in Roman Britain in the fifth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father and grandfather were deacons in the Church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest.

In 432, he again says that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to Christianize the Irish from their native polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of proselytizing, he died on 17 March 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick. Although there were other more successful missions to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endured as the principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish Church.

Wearing of green

Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. However, over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. In the 1798 rebellion, in hopes of making a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention. The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

History in Ireland

According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people.

Saint Patrick's feast day, as a kind of national day, was already being celebrated by the Irish in Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries. In later times he become more and more widely known as the patron of Ireland. Saint Patrick's feast day was finally placed on the universal liturgical calendar in the Catholic Church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding in the early 1600s. Saint Patrick's Day thus became a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. The church calendar avoids the observance of saints' feasts during certain solemnities, moving the saint's day to a time outside those periods. Saint Patrick's Day is very occasionally affected by this requirement – when 17 March falls during Holy Week. This happened in 1940 when Saint Patrick's Day was observed on 3 April in order to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, and again in 2008, where it was officially observed on 15 March, although the secular celebration still took place on 17 March. Saint Patrick's Day will not fall within Holy Week again until 2160.

In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. This was thanks to the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by the Irish MP James O'Mara. O'Mara later introduced the law which required that pubs be closed on 17 March after drinking got out of hand, a provision which was repealed only in the 1970s. The first Saint Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931 and was reviewed by the then Minister of Defence Desmond Fitzgerald. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Roman Catholic Church and Church of Ireland.

It was only in the mid-1990s that the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St. Patrick's Festival, with the aim to:

— Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.

— Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.

— Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.[12]

The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; over 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009's five day festival saw close to one million visitors that took part in the festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.

The topic of the 2004 St. Patrick's Symposium was "Talking Irish," during which the nature of Irish identity, economic success, and the future were discussed. Since 1996, there has been a greater emphasis on celebrating and projecting a fluid and inclusive notion of "Irishness" rather than an identity based around traditional religious or ethnic allegiance. The week around Saint Patrick's Day usually involves Irish language speakers using more Irish during seachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish Week").

As well as Dublin, many other Irish cities, towns and villages hold their own parades and festivals, including Cork, Belfast, Derry, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford.

The biggest celebrations outside Dublin are in Downpatrick, County Down, where Saint Patrick is rumoured to be buried following his death on 17 March 461. In 2004, according to Down District Council, the week-long St. Patrick's Festival had over 2,000 participants and 82 floats, bands, and performers, and was watched by over 30,000 people.

The shortest St Patrick's Day parade in the world takes place in Dripsey, Cork. The parade lasts just 100 yards and travels between the village's two pubs.

Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularisation of St Patrick's Day. Writing in The Word magazine's March 2007 issue, Fr. Vincent Twomey stated that, "it is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival". He questioned the need for "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" and concluded that, "it is time to bring the piety and the fun together".

2010-03-16T13:42:00.000-04:00

Helping teens overcome mental illness

Three moms, who know the pain of raising teens with mental illness, have laid the foundation for this Halifax home, which provides not just practical help but, more importantly, hope

By: Kim Pittaway

The house that helps heal mental illness

The three-storey Victorian house on Halifax’s Barrington Street doesn’t look like the kind of place where lives are saved. Sunlight brightens rooms filled with comfortable chairs and couches, art supplies and computer stations. Casually dressed staff move from desks tucked in corners to hang out with the youth who drop in over the course of the day. But while the scene looks, well, mundane, the effect is transformative. “Without Laing House, I’d be dead,” says one young man bluntly.

Laing House is a non-profit organization geared to providing “social physiotherapy” to young people with mental illness. The goal? To offer safety and hope, and in more practical terms, to help its members — not clients, since as members they help shape and guide the organization’s decisions — make friends, return to school, find work and live independently while recovering from the often devastating effects of a young adulthood interrupted by schizophrenia, depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.

Saving lives by providing help—and hope

“If Rosemary [Hamilton] hadn’t created Laing House, I don’t know what would have happened to my son,” says Linda Black. The two long-time friends are drinking tea in the comfortable sitting room of Hamilton’s home, overlooking Halifax’s Northwest Arm, as a rainstorm lashes the windows. Black is petite and precise, with a mind that turns goals into to-do lists into accomplishments. Hamilton looks more the part of doting mother than saviour, although mother bears don’t always look fierce until they’re fighting for their young.

Along with more recent friend Dani Himmelman (out of town on vacation on this particular afternoon), the women are connected not just by their experiences as mothers of children with mental illness, but more importantly by their commitment to building and sustaining Laing House — the solution they say their own families needed. Hamilton used an inheritance from her mother — nurse Norah Laing, who had suffered from schizophrenia herself — to create the centre named in her honour. Black has been a tireless fundraiser: The masquerade ball she coordinated until recently has raised more than $500,000 in just three years. And Himmelman has become the linchpin in Laing House’s parent group, providing the support she couldn’t find when her own daughter was ill. But they aren’t doing this selflessly. “Laing has helped me heal,” Himmelman explains. “It still helps me heal.”

The 16- To 30-year-olds who frequent Laing House look like the kids you’d see hanging out in a campus coffee shop: fresh-faced, joking, full of life. But each is fighting not to be a statistic, battling daunting numbers: They are among the estimated 10 to 20 per cent of all youth who have a mental illness (half of those illnesses begin by age 14). Suicide is second only to car accidents as the leading killer of young people, and when these Laing members say the house has saved their lives, they mean it literally.

Saving some of those lives is what Rosemary Hamilton had in mind when she and her husband, Keith, set out to create Laing House more than a decade ago. Their son had struggled with mental illness throughout his teens and into his twenties, and the couple had seen first-hand the gaps in a medical system that often failed to recognize the condition in young people and when it did recognize it, focused only on medical treatment, providing little help in dealing with the painful social losses the illness creates.

Re-building a social life following illness

For the Hamiltons, their son’s mental illness became apparent while he was away at university. (He prefers not to be named. In his thirties now, his illness is under control.) At first, they thought drugs were to blame, but it soon became apparent that something else was going on. He lost weight, was sleeping a lot and excluded his parents from his life. In a way, he was lucky: As a physician at the local hospital, his father was able to help his son access good medical treatment. Still, it wasn’t easy. “He was so lonely,” says Hamilton of her son’s shrinking world. Eventually, medical interventions, his parents’ support and his own hard work at re-establishing his connections to the world contributed to his recovery. But through it all, Hamilton was struck by how isolated he’d become. “When someone breaks a leg, we deal with healing the bone and then physiotherapy helps them learn to walk again,” she says. “When someone has a brain illness, we medicate the chemical imbalance, but we do an awful job of providing that social physiotherapy, helping them get back on track and make up that lost ground.”

Prior to her son’s illness, Hamilton’s mother had passed away. Already financially comfortable, she decided to use her substantial inheritance to help support other young people with mental illness. Months of research followed, with phone calls to youth-directed facilities in the United Kingdom and United States.

Eventually, Hamilton had her plan: a program geared to helping young people reconnect with others their age, where they'd be given guidance in finding work, going back to school and learning to live independently. The youth would be involved in the decision-making about the program. And flexibility would be critical: Members wouldn't be dropped if they missed a meeting. This wouldn't be tough love: It would be "come as you are."

"When you have been as ill as these young people have been, it can take every ounce of your energy just to get yourself to Laing House in the first place," says Hamilton. "We weren't going to punish them for being late."

By 2001, Laing House was nearing its opening. Meanwhile, Linda Black decided to call her old acquaintance Rosemary. The two had been Brownie leaders together years earlier, before Black moved to New Brunswick. She'd heard that Hamilton's son had been ill, and now, as she grappled with her own son Simon's illness, she reached out to someone she hoped would be able to tell her what to do. For two years, she'd struggled to find help for Simon. A psychologist told her that her husband was too hard on the boy and that it was just normal teenage stuff. It wasn't: Eventually, a referral to the early psychosis program in Halifax (there was no such program in New Brunswick) led to a diagnosis of psychosis. For months, Black travelled back and forth to Nova Scotia with Simon, ultimately moving in with her mom in Halifax so that her son could get consistent treatment, while her husband carried on his job in New Brunswick to support the family.

"Come to Laing House," Hamilton suggested.

Gaining the confidence to speak up

As critical as Simon's medical treatments were, Black credits Laing House and the friendships her son made there with helping him build a life. "It was a place where there was no shame about his illness," she says. "He could joke about it, talk about it." But Simon talked to more than just his new friends about his illness: As he built up confidence, he started taking part in Laing's Youth Speak program, talking to high school students about mental health issues and giving presentations to pharmacy and law students, police and firefighters, among others. "They really want to listen to us!" he told his mother after one speech. (Now in his twenties, Simon lives independently and works at a Halifax-area hotel.)

Around the same time, Dani Himmelman's daughter Jenna also found her way to Laing House. Jenna had been struggling with depression and anxiety for five or six years. "It's not just that our children's lives shrink as friends disappear, as they lose connections to school and jobs and other activities, but our children shrink as well. It's like watching pieces of them being taken away," observes Himmelman. Thoughtful and open, she's the kind of person you could see yourself turning to in a crisis, someone who would know what to say—and know when to push you to stand up for yourself.

Himmelman explains that because the teen years are critical to self-development — a time of first jobs, first relationships, first apartments — a life interruption at this age can create significant gaps in a teen’s ability to handle daily challenges. Add to that the shame and self-blame of not coping, and the likelihood of relapse increases. Then with each successive episode, young people fall further behind and struggle longer and harder to get healthy again.

It’s not something the outside world always understands. When Jenna was first diagnosed with depression (she was later diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder), her high school teachers and principal offered the Himmelmans support. But as Jenna’s illness continued, her mother was told that Jenna “should just get over it and get on with her life,” and the support diminished. Before long, Jenna transferred to another high school.

But through Laing House, she found meaningful support and part-time work. Still, she struggled. “Healing the brain doesn’t happen quickly,” says Himmelman. “And Jenna had lost so much of her confidence, of who she was.” After years of illness, Jenna com- mitted suicide in 2004.

Today, Himmelman talks about Jenna with both sadness and admiration. “She tried so hard to get well.” And while discussing Jenna’s death isn’t easy, she says it’s important. “It’s a betrayal of her if I don’t talk about her in a way that values that she was here for 23 years and was loved by us all.”

Supporting parents of mentally ill teens

Himmelman has frequently felt blaming eyes cast her way. “There are people who still see mental illness as a parent’s fault, and especially as a mother’s fault. And even where you’re not explicitly blamed for the illness itself, you’re suspected of contributing to it,” she says. “Many times, the medical system doesn’t see you as a mother, it sees you as a problem. And as much as I know I didn’t cause this, you carry that blame around. Other parents who’ve been through it understand that.”

And so when Hamilton approached her in 2007 about facilitating a support group for parents at Laing House, she said yes. “Connecting with these women, with Rosemary and Linda, has been critical for me,” she says. “And to be able to do that for others, to be able to say it’s not your fault and here’s how we can help each other, well, it’s like having someone help you find your way through the dark.”

Black agrees. “There’s always someone else’s child, someone’s else’s family out there who’s going to need help.” As all three speak of their children’s struggles and the efforts of other members of Laing House, they speak of resilience as well as loss, of success even in lives — their children’s and their own — changed forever by illness. “When somebody has a stroke and learns to walk again with a walker, we don’t berate them for not walking unaided,” says Himmelman. “We celebrate their success. Why should it be any different with mental illness?”

This article originally appeared in the February/March 2010 issue of More Magazine

2010-03-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

10 cheap ways to be happy

You don't need to be loaded (or break the bank) to be happy

By: Jennifer Gruden

The good things in life are often free. Here are ten cheap ways to brighten your day.

Restring your social web

As a 2006 Forbes article points out, social connections make people happier than money. But how often do we mean to send a letter or a card, make a phone call, or go knock on someone's door – and don't? Take the time you might have spent shopping and get back in touch with a long-lost friend. Email's free once you've paid for Internet access!

Host a potluck

Rather than hosting an evening out at a restaurant or driving yourself crazy with all the details – and expense – of a formal dinner party, go retro and throw a potluck. I predict it will be the party trend for 2009. It doesn't have to be about tired casseroles either – you can set a theme: favourite sandwiches, best brunch dishes, or "anything containing chocolate."

Take a hike

Exercise endorphins can come pretty cheaply if you go out for a walk or a jog. You can add to your happiness factor by selecting a new route – surprise yourself by exploring a local area you haven't slowed down to enjoy before. Just be sure that if your route takes you through the local fashion district that your window shopping remains just that (being sweaty may help here!).

Clear out a corner

Yes, our surroundings influence our mood. Renovations and redecorating may be one of the first things to come off your budget. But that doesn't mean you can't renew your space on the cheap. One of my tricks: take a corner of your bedroom, home office, or sunroom, and clear it out. Then walk through your house and select a few favourite or inspirational items. Use those to recreate that corner as an homage to the things you love.

Just say no

Obligations can weigh heavily on our time and eat into our sense of well being. Having control over one's time – even time to do nothing – can be a source of happiness. So practice the art of the gentle refusal – even at work.

Remix your collection

Now's the time to truly appreciate what you already have. What better place to start than your music collection? If you haven't already used iTunes or similar software to build your digital collection (and create your own custom playlists and mix CDs), go for it. You're likely to rediscover some old favourites – and even get up and dance.

You complete me

The satisfaction of a job well done is definitely one of nature's highs. So drag out that craft project, photo album that's waiting to be filled with pictures you've already developed, and go to. You've already bought the supplies – so you might as well reap the rewards. If you're one of those crazy people who doesn't have unfinished projects under the bed, ask around – some of us will give ours away just to be rid of the guilt!

Attitude shift

Create a gratitude book – a notebook or scrapbook where you add thoughts, memories, clippings, photos, or anything else that relates to moments in your life where you experienced peace, love, joy, accomplishment, or really anything else. Putting some of those things together in one place can make you feel richer than – well richer than Warren Buffet.

Be a borrower

When times get tough, the tough go to the library. No, seriously – check out your local library and community centres for some of the best free entertainment around. It's not just books either – you can rent new or classic DVDs, attend lectures, and browse the bulletin board for other local events. Other alternatives: you can arrange swap nights with friends, or check out the local Freecycle list to trade books, clothes, project supplies, DVDs, recipes, wine, or other things you might otherwise have purchased.

Oh, and the 11th way to be happy? Come and particiapte in the new Nipissing Family Forum at:
www.nipissingfamily.freesmfhosting.com and share your tips, it's FREE!!

April

2010-03-11T14:04:00.000-05:00

The Miracle of Green Tea

"Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one." (Ancient Chinese Proverb)

Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:

-cancer

-rheumatoid arthritis

-high cholesterol levels

-cariovascular disease

-infection

-impaired immune function

What makes green tea so special?

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Other Benefits

New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.

Harmful Effects?

To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.

How much Green Tea should you drink?
There are as many answers to this question as there are researchers investigating the natural properties of green tea. For example, Herbs for Health magazine cites a Japanese report stating that men who drank ten cups of green tea per day stayed cancer-free for three years longer than men who drank less than three cups a day (there are approximately 240 - 320 mg of polyphenols in three cups of green tea). Meanwhile, a study by Cleveland's Western Reserve University concluded that drinking four or more cups of green tea per day could help prevent rheumatoid arthritis, or reduce symptoms in individuals already suffering from the disease. And Japanese scientists at the Saitama Cancer Research Institute discovered that there were fewer recurrances of breast cancer, and the disease spread less quickly, in women with a history of drinking five cups or more of green tea daily.
It gets more confusing. A University of California study on the cancer-preventative qualities of green tea concluded that you could probably attain the desired level of polyphenols by drinking merely two cups per day. On the other hand, a company selling a green tea capsule formula insists that ten cups per day are necessary to reap the maximum benefits.

How can you make sense of these conflicting claims? Given all the evidence, it is probably safe to plan on drinking four to five cups of green tea per daily. If you're a real devotee, by all means drink more; but whether or not you'll derive added health benefits remains to be determined by further research.

How to Brew a Cup of Green Tea

Producing the perfect cup of green tea is a tricky process. If not handled properly, those same polyphenols that provide health benefits can ruin the flavor, making the tea taste "gassy." It's particularly important not to overbrew. While it's best to follow the manufacturer's instructions for each variety of green tea, here are some general instructions:

Use one tea bag, or 2 - 4 grams of tea,* per cup.

Fill a kettle with cold water and bring to a boil.

After unplugging the kettle, allow it to stand for up to 3 minutes.

Pour the heated water over the tea bag or tea, and allow it to steep for up to 3 minutes. If using a tea bag, remove the bag.

Allow the tea to cool for three more minutes.

*One to two teaspoons, depending on the variety of green tea you are brewing.

March Calendar of Events

2010-03-04T12:02:00.000-05:00