Positive Therapeutic Techniques

Hello, I hope every one's week went well and you enjoyed time spent with friends and family. Creating a positive environment for one’s self, your friends, and family can prove challenging. On any given day, one can find numerous valid reasons to indulge in negative thoughts, ranging from the current state of the economy to something as simple as the weather. Our thoughts play a huge role in how we feel and interact with others in our life. Negative thoughts encourage low self-esteem, thus feeding our mental attitude and directly affecting our relationships with others. Positive thoughts and actions can make a tremendous difference in your current life, while on your path to mental wellness. Having a positive attitude is elemental to being happy and leading a successful life. Negative thoughts and behavior patterns only continue to create a vicious cycle. However, there are several techniques you can use throughout the day to help to change these negative thoughts and instill a more positive way of thinking. Integrating different forms of cognitive therapy and therapeutic techniques can be a very effective way to deal with negative thoughts and feelings, helping us stay in harmony with the world around us. While various techniques can be effective, they should be integrated with traditional medicine from trusted medical professionals. I can not emphasize enough, the importance of taking your medication and remaining on task with any other prescribed treatment plan. It is never a wise choice to take your health in your own hands, but to balance any therapeutic techniques with the existing medical remedy. Positive therapeutic techniques can make you more confident, grounded, and self assured, changing your life for the better. Below, I have included various therapeutic techniques that my daughter has used with varying degrees of success. Using positive techniques to over come negative thoughts and behaviors can impact your life for the better.

Positive Affirmations-
An affirmation is a technique that is used to change negative subconscious thoughts that can overwhelm your current day to day thoughts. Positive Affirmations help change your thought pattern, making your life more fulfilling and reassure a more positive attitude. Positive affirmations can be used throughout the day anywhere and at anytime you need them. The more you use them the easier it will be for positive thoughts will take over negative ones. An affirmation is a simple technique that is used to change negative self-talk that we are rarely even aware of. Most of us have engaged in negative thoughts, so changing your thoughts and the way you think won’t happen overnight. If you are consistent with affirmations they will work once you have retrained your way of thinking. Our thoughts play a huge role in how we feel and interact with others in our life. Negative thoughts encourage low self esteem, thus feeding our mental attitude and directly affecting our relationships with others. An example of a positive affirmation.
Healing-I am created in the image of God, blessed with strength and wholeness.

Meditation-
Find somewhere quiet where you are able to relax for 15 or 20 minutes. This is most effective if you close your eyes, and relax your mind of all thoughts and feelings. During this time you can pray, repeat your affirmations, or just listen to relaxation music. What ever method you use it is essential to use this time to decompress. It is pivotal you use words of encouragement and believe in what you are saying.

Tune out and Turn up the Positive Technique –
This technique can be used anywhere and whenever you catch yourself thinking a negative thought. When you realize you are having a negative thought, think of yourself turning down a volume knob inside your head. Turn it down low enough so as not to hear it any longer. Then think of a positive affirmation to replace the negative thought with. Turn the volume back up repeating it to yourself.

The release technique-
If you have negative thoughts write them down on piece of paper, crumble the paper, throw it away or burn the paper. By doing this you are telling yourself these thoughts are nothing and you are infusing a positive mindset.

Credit is given to Dr Andrew Weil for these next three techniques which are Breathing Exercises. Dr Andrew Weil states, "Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders.” Andrew Weil, M.D. Since breathing is something we can control and regulate, it is a useful tool for achieving a relaxed and clear state of mind. I recommend three breathing exercises to help relax and reduce stress: The Stimulating Breath, The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise (also called the Relaxing Breath), and Breath Counting. Try each and see how they affect your stress and anxiety levels.

Stimulating Breath (also called the Bellows breath)-
The Stimulating Breath is adapted from a yogic breathing technique. Its aim is to raise vital energy and increase alertness. Inhale and exhale rapidly through your nose, keeping your mouth closed but relaxed. Your breaths in and out should be equal in duration, but as short as possible. This is a noisy breathing exercise. Try for three in-and-out breath cycles per second. This produces a quick movement of the diaphragm, suggesting a bellows. Breathe normally after each cycle. Do not do for more than 15 seconds on your first try. Each time you practice the Stimulating Breath, you can increase your time by five seconds or so, until you reach a full minute. If done properly, you may feel invigorated, comparable to the heightened awareness you feel after a good workout. You should feel the effort at the back of the neck, the diaphragm, the chest and the abdomen. Try this breathing exercise the next time you need an energy boost and feel yourself reaching for a cup of coffee.

Relaxing Breath (or 4, 7, 8 breathing)-
This exercise is utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere. Although you can do the exercise in any position, sit with your back straight while learning the exercise. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue; try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight. This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths. Note that you always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation. The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4:7:8 is important. If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of 4:7:8 for the three phases. With practice you can slow it all down and get used to inhaling and exhaling more and more deeply. This exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which are often effective when you first take them but then lose their power over time, this exercise is subtle when you first try it but gains in power with repetition and practice. Do it at least twice a day. You cannot do it too frequently. Do not do more than four breaths at one time for the first month of practice. Later, if you wish, you can extend it to eight breaths. If you feel a little lightheaded when you first breathe this way, do not be concerned; it will pass. Once you develop this technique by practicing it every day, it will be a very useful tool that you will always have with you. Use it whenever anything upsetting happens - before you react. Use it whenever you are aware of internal tension. Use it to help you fall asleep. This exercise cannot be recommended too highly. Everyone can benefit from it.

Breath Counting-
If you want to get a feel for this challenging work, try your hand at breath counting, a deceptively simple technique much used in Zen practice. Sit in a comfortable position with the spine straight and head inclined slightly forward. Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then let the breath come naturally without trying to influence it. Ideally it will be quiet and slow, but depth and rhythm may vary... To begin the exercise, count "one" to yourself as you exhale. The next time you exhale, count "two," and so on up to "five." Then begin a new cycle, counting "one" on the next exhalation. Never count higher than "five," and count only when you exhale. You will know your attention has wandered when you find yourself up to "eight," "12," even "19." Try to do 10 minutes of this form of meditation.

Stigma

I chose to write about the topic of mental illness stigma for this weeks post. The one year anniversary of my daughter's onset of mental illness is quickly approaching this August. For me, the onset of the disease and the diagnosis itself is still as painful for me today, as it was the first time I heard her diagnosis. In one year we have made very little progress toward recovery and stabilization. I feel very uncertain about her ability to function independently. It is painful for me to consider, if she continues on her current path, the hope of her fulfilling any dreams are non-existent. It hurts to see that sometimes flat expression she has on her face or the inability to sometimes express emotion. It is painful for me that we are unable to do most of the mother, daughter activities in the same manner as we once did or even look forward to new ones. What is even more painful for me than most of the above mentioned, is when I see her treated in a different manner. As the mother of a daughter, who in the past, always held her own in social situations, it is extremely challenging to see such a drastic change in her. In the past year, I have seen the number of friends begin to drop off. On two separate occasions while she was visiting with her friends, she had moments of internal stimulation in their presence, and they were completely disturbed by the episodes. Immediately succeeding both of the incidents she was told they no longer wanted to remain friends. I have even been told by family members they were afraid of her or even appalled by her illness. Very seldom do friends or even family ever consider, that nearly all of her actions are disease driven. It is very challenging to see or hear the actions of others, as she is avoided, ignored, or out right disregarded as someone less than human. I am aware that it is human nature to fear what we don't understand. The perpetual dilemma that enables societys' mindset towards the mentally ill is two-fold. First, the fears and anxiety of the public are fed by the entertainment industry through movies and television. How many times have we seen the portrayal of the mentally ill, institutionalized, in a frigid and isolated place? We hold images of steel, locked doors, and patients meandering around hospital wards with a forlorn look on their face. How many movies can you recall that replicates the common perception of the mentally ill? Sybil, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Fatal Attraction, Girl, Interrupted, just to name a few. Very seldom do you see the mentally ill characterized, as an integrated part of a normal, loving family. Is there any wonder why we would shun individuals with mental illness? With time, the right medical treatment, and professional intervention, they can return to wellness, while making a meaningful contribution to society. Would you suddenly avoid your favorite florist, stock broker, chef or lawyer, if you found out they were treated for cancer or hepatitis? Of course not, that is absurd, right? So, why would mental illness be different? It is a treatable illness. This kind of false ideology ensconces us with yet another myth, there must be something wrong with the family also. Give the caretaker some credit, as they engage in issues on every level from, legal, medical, educational, and financial, as the individual who is at bat, fighting for a shred of a normal life within the family structure.Well, when are we going to change societies' perception of individuals striving to heal and rebound from the stigma of mental illness, while trying to live a purposeful life? We live in the age of the millennium, isn't it about time we start treating mental illness as a disease, and the mentally ill as human beings with feelings? Wouldn't you want the same for your loved one or even yourself? Herein lies the second part of the mental illness dilemma, education and awareness. We have public service ads and education campaigns for heart disease, cancer, and muscular dystrophy, but when it comes to dealing with mental illness, that is a taboo subject. It also seems to command an element of humor, but to the families living with the effects of the debilitating condition, it is no laughing matter. When is the last time we shared a laugh over a co-workers' battle with cancer? It is time the health care industry ban together and facilitate an all-out education and awareness campaign and stop sweeping this crippling epidemic under the rug. We need an out right reform. We need mental illness reform on a multitude of levels, beginning with the legal platform and extending out to the medical system. The public needs to be educated to the fact that, people suffering from conditions with the likes of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, bulimia, and depression, ect., are battling an ongoing disease that they are attempting to gain control of. Who among us is suggesting we inform the mentally ill to snap out of it? Additionally, shall we propose that we will not frequent any business establishment, if they contend to profess their medical condition. Well, that is the exact message you are sending man, who is just trying to support his family, when you do not hire him based on his medical background. Likewise, with the teenager you shunned, whom you found out was bipolar or schizophrenic. Are you really encouraging any of them to be open about their illness and seek help? Not if they fear any repercussion. Who among you is qualified to be the judge? We are ready to be advocates for many other diseases, but not mental illness. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world", now is the time for mankind to make the change! Stop the stigma, get educated.

P.S. I would like to acknowledge and extend a special thank you to Elizabeth, Shauna, Megan, Earic and Ivan, who all have remained loyal friends and supported Candice through her healing and recovery.

All Things Mental Illness; a famlies' pain

This blog is about mental Illness and the decision to write this blog came from our personal family experience with mental illness. Our first experience came when our youngest daughter was diagnosed with Schizophrenia in August of 2008, at the time of the diagnosis she was 17. Since that August our families' life has been a series of highs and lows. To say that we have been through hell and back has been an understatement. Nothing we had ever read, heard, or watched through movie or television could have ever prepared us for what we were about to go through. We have never been in close company with anyone who has Schizophrenia. As her mother, the closest experience to our current circumstance was my marriage to my first husband. As is usually the case in a young marriage, it is most often not a good match, so of course it did not last. The biological father of my children was chemically dependant and suffered from mental illness. It would turn out to be a battle he was never able to overcome. He did eventually did from his addictions and illness, he is now in a better place. The marriage lasted for six years, during which we attended counseling from many different sources. We attended A.A., N.A.,private counseling, church counseling, and he was in rehab also. After numerous attempts through the years to assist him in recovery and healing, I ended the marriage with the decision to move forward with my life out of parental obligation. I see many parallels between the father of my children and my youngest daughter. I can not say definitely, that her schizophrenia is inherited from her father, as he was estranged from all but two of his natural family members, a younger sister and a half brother. I lost contact with his family making tracing her medical family near impossible. One factor to point out is, as is usually the case, with an individual struggling with schizophrenia, his behavior did not a dramatic change for the worse until the birth of our first child, our son. I do not recall a time when he was not stoned or high on Cocaine, LSD, marijuana, alcohol or some other form of substance, so one would not know for sure the source of his hallucinations. Once he went on a binge of some sort of substance he would disappear and assessment of his state of health non-existent. He was always caught up in a vicious cycle with his mental illness, making employment extremely difficult. Maintaining health insurance and having an accurate diagnosis and treatment was impossible. I can say that going back generations, on both my father' and mothers' side of the family, there is no history schizophrenia or serious mental illness. I do know there are a lot of symptoms that he had, she displays as well. To say all of her family was astonished by her symptoms and diagnosis, would be minimizing our responses. I guess in the big picture, it really does not have a profound effect effect on her treatment to know the source of her illness. What really does matter is that we all do all we can to help her recover. This blog is in no way an attempt to exploit our daughter or anyone else who suffers from mental illness. This blog is a way to reach out to others who share our pain and exchange ideas and advise. Hopefully, through this we blog we all can heal.
Footnote: I apologize for any inconvenience that may have occurred as this blog was under maintenance in the last 24hrs.