Schizophrenia appears to be a group of eight distinct disorders, so says new research published online Sept. 15 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association: “schizophrenia is not a single disease, but a group of eight distinct disorders, each caused by changes in clusters of genes that lead to different sets of symptoms.” After comparing “the DNA of 4,200 people with schizophrenia to that of 3,800 healthy people,” researchers also “found that certain genetic profiles matched particular symptoms.” The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Liz Szabo, commented on the findings in USA TODAY, September 15, 2014, noting that Schizophrenia is eight different diseases, not one. This is an interesting article that highlights how new research may reveal ways to better identify the problem and lead to better therapies.
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Mental Illness and stress is like a mountain. But it can be overcome.
There are many times in life that we feel stressed and need the motivation to keep moving.
I wrote this poem to motivate myself, and hopefully you, to keep moving, to cope, and put it all in focus.
MOUNTAINS
In life there’s tribulation.
A crooked road lies there.
Every corner turned,
And crevice swerved,
Mountain peaks stand there.
From Spur Tree to Mount Rosser,
Sandy Gully to Blue Mountain,
I walked for miles around,
Confused and disoriented.
From Auburn to Duhaney,
From Crossroads to Molynes.
One day I just decided,
To take one step then two.
That’s when it all occurred to me,
There was a pattern there.
Emboldened by this fortitude,
I climbed up to the mountain top.
The drying shrubs and pines of green played fair,
Lashing arms and legs.
To say that if you do belong,
Why did it take so long?
It wasn’t simply cruelty,
To see if I would quit.
It was a way to prod me on,
Saying, “Go on, never quit.”
Suspended at the height up there,
I trembled at the scene.
To think if I had fainted right before,
A sight to hold, such beauty there, unseen.
A bird’s eye view so widely cast,
Only sparrows know the thrill.
I did a jig going down the other side,
Happy to behold that sight,
Too glad to have made it through.
I never looked back even once,
No need, I’d overcome.
For a while I dozed right off,
Contented in the breeze,
I felt along my back.
The road now straightened up with ease,
I bent a curve, and up ahead,
A soldier mountain glared.
I quivered at the sight of it,
Oh no, this one is higher,
Blocking out the light.
I spun around desperately searching,
There must be room for flight.
But like before and way back then,
I took one step and then another.
In life there’s sure to be many more.
Mountains in life?
No bother.
What is mental illness?
Mental illness is a medical diagnosis that refers to health conditions that result in changes in thinking, mood, or behavior, or some combination of all of them.
The changes results in an inability to function well in our activities, for example, in school, work relationships, recreation, etc.
Depression is the most common type of mental illness, affecting more than 26% of the U.S. adult population.
Depression is persistently feeling sad or blue, for more than 2 weeks to meet the medical diagnosis, that interferes in our ability to function.
Check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Alliance on Mental Illness websites for information on mental illness.
Most importantly, they also provide links for online locators for various providers of mental health services.
Mental Health
Did you know that only about one in 5 persons have optimal mental health?
By definition, mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
Based on a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, it is estimated that only about 17% (that is roughly one in 5 persons) of U.S adults are considered to be in a state of optimal mental health. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, 1999.)
What will you do to improve your mental health and your ability to cope with the normal stresses of life?
TIP 1: Prioritize: everything cannot be a priority. Your check-list should at most have only 3 items. Nothing more should come onto the checklist, unless one is completed and/or removed
“GIGGLES”
“GIGGLES” by Gary Rhule 08/11/14
I love to laugh rather than cry,
To equilibrate the scale.
For in this life I know more tears will come,
Just when I thought they’re done.
I laugh to hide my scares and fears,
And guffaw at a funny joke.
Don’t take it wrong.
It’s not that I’m an insensitive bloke.
The other day the tears came softly,
As I recalled the grief
Of losing what was dear to me.
The pain so raw, so pungent.
Without a warning the rivers flowed,
As I counted up regrets,
Of things I’d said,
Of tasks undone,
Of promises not kept.
Then there were the disappointments
Of all the paths in life.
A love that chose another,
A job desired given to a friend instead.
Of moments spent lollygagging,
And in the end,
It was no fluke,
My time dispersed, diffused.
So when I find myself
Down there in the deep dark blue abyss,
I remember giggling children,
And feel the lightness there.
I know to get over grief’s hurdle
You must fulfill time in that room.
But at the end of crying,
Close the door and move.
I laugh when in an airplane,
Embracing all the sights.
The lush landscape below my feet,
The clouds right by my side.
The blue horizon kissing,
Saying, “Welcome, don’t you feel
The humor of life’s beauty,
The clapping of the seas?”
Majestic snow-capped mountains,
Hills and vales and plains.
A giggling brook carving out a path,
Through solid granite rock.
We’ve heard it said
That children laugh three hundred times a day.
At funny things, at clowns and gowns,
At shapes and brightful colors.
And then sometimes they laugh out loud,
When it is simply nothing.
I only wish to remember more,
To laugh out loud just like a child.
To balance life’s reality,
And keep the tears at bay.
Laugh out loud,
Don’t hold it in.
Just let it rip for sure.
Laugh out loud,
So that others know,
There is a joy tickling within.
A smile, a laugh that’s bubbling now . . .
A shout, a yell, a roar!
Discussion: Family Caregiving and Mental Health; Book reading and Signing
Manchester Public Library, Manchester, CT, Monday, October 27, 7PM
Summer Book Reading Kickoff Event
Willington Public Library, Willington, CT.
Book Reading and Signing
West Indian Social Club, Hartford, CT.
Harlem Book Fair
Enjoying the sunshine at the Harlem Book Fair 2014.
Discussion: Stress and Obesity; Book signing
National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations (NAJASO), 37th Annual Convention