Do Psychotic Delusions Have Meaning?

Do psychotic symptoms like hallucinations have meaning, or are they just the products of a broken brain that misfires neurons? For years, psychiatrists and psychologists have struggled with this issue, at times attempting to decode patients’ delusions and at other times using medicine, like antipsychotic drugs, to dismiss them.

Now, patients with psychiatric and neurological conditions are finding a middle ground for themselves, studying their own symptoms and identifying the meaning behind them, while simultaneously addressing the problems posed by the disconnection between their own sensed experiences and those of others around them.

In a recent New York Times feature, reporter Benedict Carey wrote about the case of Milt Greek, a computer programmer in Athens, Ohio, who manages a successful work and family life, despite living with schizophrenia and having a long history of delusions about meeting God and Jesus.

Carey described Greek’s reaction to his mother’s death several years ago:

It was Mother’s Day 2006, not long after his mother’s funeral, and he headed back home knowing that he needed help. A change in the medication for his schizophrenia, for sure. A change in focus, too; time with his family, to forget himself.

And, oh yes, he had to act on an urge expressed in his psychotic delusions: to save the world.

So after cleaning the yard around his house — a big job, a gift to his wife — in the coming days he sat down and wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, supporting a noise-pollution ordinance.

It was a small act, but important: Greek has learned to live with his diagnosis by understanding and heeding its urges.

“I have such anxiety if I’m not organizing or doing some good work. I don’t feel right,” Greek told the Times. “That’s what the psychosis has given me, and I consider it to be a gift.”

MORE: Report: 1 in 5 American Adults Takes Mental Health Drugs

Carey’s story describes how people with schizophrenia are starting to come together and share their stories of living with the disorder. They are helped not by viewing their delusions as mere neural nonsense or symptoms of disease, but by working with them and modulating them — sometimes with medications, sometimes with social support and therapy, often with both — into the impetus for living a good life.

In doing so, they are part of a larger trend in mental health care: combining traditional medical treatment with support from other people with similar experience, guided by the principle that recovery requires living a meaningful life.

These ideas perhaps first entered the mainstream via 12-step programs for addiction, which have long believed that people with addictions could often offer the best help for each other. The 12-step model generated widespread acceptance of the importance of social support in overcoming addiction, and now research shows that some form of social support for recovery — whether it be from 12-step programs, religious organizations, family, friends or other groups — is often critical.

The 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are also themselves essentially a guide to a meaningful life, encouraging a focus on humility, service to others, and making amends for wrongdoing. People with addictions have also long incorporated the pursuit of purposeful living into their ideas about how to get better.

However, the same notion has also long been used to support a moralistic view of mental illness and addiction. And consequently, it has also often fed opposition to medical treatments like anti-addiction medications or even professional therapy. A similar problem occurred in earlier self-organization attempts by the mentally ill, which tended to oppose psychiatry itself while trying to help people recover.

MORE: Anxiety: Friend or Foe?

Today’s recovery movement — as Carey’s Timesseries and earlier coverage has shown — is much broader. These days, people with mental illnesses incorporate medication, therapy, social support and other tactics as needed, not seeing them as mutually exclusive but as options that can be right at one time and not needed at another.

This “mad pride” or “neurodiversity” movement characterizes mental differences not only as illness, but also as a potential gift — albeit one that has dangers — defining conditions like addictions, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism as sources of potential talent, productivity, human connection and wisdom.

While that may sound paradoxical — and while falling prey to delusions or other symptoms, rather than appraising them appropriately, can be problematic — the strictly medical model has downsides, too. By dismissing those who have mental differences as simply mentally diseased, we exclude them and deny them meaningful participation in life.

That means we do not benefit from the insights that their unique perspective can bring or from the volunteer work they are deterred from doing or from other contributions to the arts and business world they could make.

Happily, finding meaning in life is linked to health, longevity and productivity for all people — and helping those with mental differences can help everyone.  Not all delusions or mental symptoms have a deeper meaning, but being open to harnessing and using such hallucinations in some cases may help the rest of us see further too.

As Greek told Carey, “When I began to see the delusions in the context of things that were happening in my real life, they finally made some sense. … And understanding the story of my psychosis helped me see what I needed to stay well.”

MORE: How Economic Inequality Is (Literally) Making Us Sick

Maia Szalavitz is a health writer at TIME.com. Find her on Twitter at @maiasz. You can also continue the discussion on TIME Healthland’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIMEHealthland.

Read more http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/28/do-psychotic-delusions-have-meaning/

T.I. Salutes Eminem for Helping Him Overcome Drug Addiction

 

T.I. and Eminem share a connection that goes beyond respect for each other’s artistry. In late 2010, T.I. sought advice from Eminem when struggling with a similar drug addiction.

 

After being released from his first prison stint for federal weapon charges on March 26, 2010, T.I. took to prescription pills — oxycontin and hydrocodone — to relieve the pain he derived from a hefty amount of oral surgeries.  Unfortunately, what started out as medical aid quickly turned into an addiction.

Exclusive: T.I. Talks New Album, Working with Usher | T.I.’s 10 Biggest Billboard Hits

 

Fearing he had a developed drug problem, T.I. reached out Eminem (who has famously dealt with addiction himself), for advice. “I asked him how he knew he was an addict,” T.I. told VIBE in 2010. “[He said] basically, if you put yourself in harm’s way… if you risk that, you’ve got to assume that there is something fundamentally wrong with your thought process.”

 

T.I. told Billboard.com’s The Juice that, alhough he has yet to connect with Eminem since he was freed from his second prison stint on Sept. 29, 2011, the Detroit rapper continues to be an “enormous supporter.”

 

“I haven’t had a chance to speak to Em since I’ve been home,” T.I. said. “I heard that while I was down, he was trying to get in contact with me, but I don’t know if the dots just didn’t connect. [Eminem] overcoming his own adversities, winning the battle against his own demons and continuing to break the mold and re-set the standard of what it means to be the most successful hip-hop artist in the game … I salute that to no end.”

 

T.I. continued to pay respect to Eminem and his current projects. “I love what he’s doing with Slaughterhouse. I love the move that he made to sign Yelawolf. And the record with him and Royce da 5’9″ … that record is going h.a.m. He killed that BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher. I’ve been peeping the move[ment].”

 

Eminem Signs Yelawolf, Slaughterhouse to Shady Label

 

Now that he’s clean and somber and living postively,  T.I. shares words of wisdom to those struggling with drugs or having a difficult time staying out of trouble.

 

“It starts with you on the inside,” he said. “I can give all the advice in the world, but at the end of the day you just got to make that decision internally with yourself. You have to see that you are ready to make a change. Until that moment comes, all advice in the world is going to be in vain cause I’m going to be talking to a brick wall.”

 

“Everybody can tell you what you need to do, how to do it, when you need to do it, how bad you need to do it,” T.I. continued. “But until you get that right ass whipping, as they say, and until you have hit rock bottom or have seen something in yourself that is so out of character and it displeases you so much that you just have no choice but to change it … then you ain’t going to see it.”

 

Read more http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/t-i-salutes-eminem-for-helping-him-overcome-1005570822.story

UNLV falls behind in substance abuse aid

November 28, 2011 by Angelina Dixson 

University does not match the recovery programs of other schools in nation

As most colleges have a variety of scholarships to fulfill the needs of students, UNLV has a list of many programs and scholarships within their database.

But scholarships for recovered students of alcoholism and substance abuse have not made it to the the university’s list as of yet.

Universities around the country have started launching recovery programs for students seeking resistance from alcoholism and drug addiction. Some universities have even awarded recovering students scholarships just for staying sober and keeping good grades.

“To the best of my knowledge, there’s nothing in the works behind the scenes to create a scholarship institutionally for that,” said UNLV Financial Aid and Scholarships Director Norm Bedford. “There are no donors or no campaigns that I know of through our foundation development actively seeking dollars from private funds to have such a scholarship here at UNLV as well.”

Such a scholarship would be questionable to the student population, as it has its pros and cons. This scholarship would financially assist students just like any scholarship would, but the scholarship title alone can potentially bring forth a negative perception of UNLV as a “party school,” according to Bedford.

Bedford also said it is a bit of a “slippery slope.” Some donors might be offended to be asked to contribute because of possibilities that they may have been psychologically abused by a family member who drank or did drugs. But conversely, there could be another donor who would be willing to contribute because of being a victim of growing up in a family of substance abuse.

Aside from scholarships and recovery programs, there are people who have had the strength to clean up without the assistance of therapy or Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

“You never get cured from substance abuse. It’s with you for the rest of your life,” said one UNLV student, who wished to remain anonymous. “Whether you’re one of those people who can quit one day and say they never look back, or you’re one of those people who battles it daily – you never get cured. It’s there like a scar. I personally battle constantly, but I have school, I have the love of my family, and the support of my girlfriend to keep me strong on a daily basis.”

The student said she started with drugs when she was young and used them until her mother’s passing, which was the turning point of her life. At that point, she vowed to finish school.

Other people are not affected by alcoholism and substance abuse directly, but become victimized by it as their family members or close friends go through it. Angi Martin is an example of a victim who observed the trials and tribulations her friend went through with alcoholism. After his tragic car accident one night back in 2004, he survived, even with severe head injuries. Following his recovery, he remained sober and went on to college. He also became a speaker who discussed the dangers of drinking and driving before passing away from a brain aneuyrism in 2007.

“The only way it affected the relationship is with the strain and frustration stemming from the several attempts I made to make him realize how dangerous his habit was,” Martin said.

UNLV does offer non-profit programs that can assist students with recovery. The Student Health Center is among the list of programs that offers free health information and health education upon request. Another program offers scholarships to students studying addictions and is also a foundation for returning back to health.

“We, also, have the Student Organization of Addiction Professionals (SOAP) on campus which is open to students interested in addictions,” said UNLV Addictions Specialist and Mental Health Coordinator Larry Ashley. “SOAP is involved at UNLV and the community. The Department of Educational and Clinical Studies offers many programs, both graduate and undergraduate.”

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Read more http://unlvrebelyell.com/2011/11/28/unlv-falls-behind-in-substance-abuse-aid/

Former girlfriend testifies in Komisarjevsky trial

NEW HAVEN – The former girlfriend of convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevsky told a jury Monday that the strict and isolated religious upbringing the two shared left them with little sense of “practical morality” outside the church.

Fran Hodges, who dated Komisarjevsky for two years as a teenager while living in a New Hampshire “discipleship” and attending the Evangelical Bible Church, said the two bonded over their doubts about their religion and their status as outsiders in the small and stringent community.

Despite objections from Komisarjevsky’s mother, the couple grew close and even began a sexual relationship in spite of the church, which viewed sex outside of marriage as an abomination.

Hodges described their complicated bond, which involved supporting and encouraging each other’s efforts to fall in line with the community’s version of morality, but also flouted it.

“I remember us trying to abstain, and sort of support each other in our faith because it was a source of tremendous guilt all the time. Daily, you’d feel like you were engaging with an evil drive….you sort of hated yourself for it,” she said.

“We were failing all the time, so knowing him was a comfort, because I felt not alone in that.”

Komisarjevsky, who was convicted last month of murdering Cheshire woman Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two young daughters during a brutal 2007 home invasion, is hoping to convince a jury to sentence him to life in prison and avoid a trip to death row.

His accomplice, Steven Hayes, was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death last year.

Hodges also said that the church’s emphasis on an imminent apocalypse filled her and other children with fear. Elders often cited natural disasters or the “moral degradation” of society as evidence of prophecies in the Book of Revelation, and warned parishioners that they should be prepared to die for their beliefs.

“When I was very young, I was very anxious about the inadequacy of my faith. My parents talked about martyrdom as though it were potentially in our future, so growing up, the prospect of that made me extremely concerned,” she testified.

After repeated behavioral issues, Komisarjevsky was eventually expelled from the church – effectively ending his relationship with Hodges.

Hodges has since left the Evangelical Bible Church, and has struggled with alcoholism, anorexia and other problems she said stemmed from having little concept of the secular world or its concepts of morality.

“Everything was built on this apocalyptic worldview. I had absolutely no moral conscience after leaving. I felt like I was damned to hell,” she said. “You have no idea what morality looks like in an applicable, culturally acceptable way.”

She added that other youths who grew up in the community have experienced problems similar to her own, and recalled three peers who had committed suicide, including “John” – a well-liked youth who apologized to fellow parishioners after revealing he was gay.

“He reacted by apologizing and living in constant cycle of repentance and self-hatred,” said Hodges. “I think we all just felt trapped.”

When asked by lead defense attorney what ultimately befell “John”, Hodges said he “jumped out of a window” before bursting into tears. Judge Jon C. Blue interrupted the questioning and called a brief recess to allow Hodges to compose herself.

Hodges will continue her testimony when court resumes at 2 p.m.

Follow Dan Ivers on Twitter for live updates from the courtroom.

 

Read more http://www.myrecordjournal.com/cheshire/article_b2158d5a-19ef-11e1-8899-001cc4c002e0.html

Chris Herren speaks to teens at SSTAR about drug addiction

Chris Herren spoke at Stanley Street Treatment and Resources (SSTAR), Nov. 22 to a group of teenagers about the heroin/oxytocin addiction which led him from a $5 million NBA career to rock bottom in record time.

A six-foot-three point guard, Herren really started his career on the courts of Durfee High School where he drew the attention of several college recruiters. He played at Boston College and later moved on to  Fresno State. His claim to fame were stints in the NBA where he played first for the Denver Nuggets, and later the Boston Celtics.

Injuries throughout his career diverted him from the court. He covertly (and often publicly) battled drug addiction including heroin and what he called the “gorilla on (his) back,” the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

Though Herren lost his golden ticket to the professional arena, he has become just as popular in his efforts to share the lessons he learned on the court. He trains and mentors young basketball players in his company Hoop Dreams with Chris Herren, Inc; and runs the Chris Herren Foundation, which provides funds for addicted individuals who want treatment but can’t pay for it. 

He co-authored (with Bill Reynolds) the book Basketball Junkie; and shares his story in lecture halls across the country. Herren spoke at SSTAR last week, because the local facility started him on the path to sobriety.

“When I pulled in here tonight, I saw the lights of the (detox) building across the street and some strong memories came up. It was just a little over three years ago, that SSTAR opened its doors to me and my recovery,” Herren said.

Herren warned audience members about the dangers of starting bad habits young. Among these were teenagers enrolled in SSTAR’s Adolescent Community Treatment Program (ACT) which provides outpatient treatment to people aged 12-17 who are using or have used drugs or alcohol.

“I look at many of you in the audience now, and I see myself. When I was your age, at Durfee, and took my first hit of cocaine, I didn’t have any idea that the choices that I was making then would follow me throughout my life,” he said.

Herren told heart-wrenching stories which probably parallel the rise and fall stories of many ordinary people addicted to drugs and alcohol—with a few exotic details thrown in. Yet whether he was speaking about smuggling drugs into Bologna, Italy;  or being spared arrest in Iran due to the kindness of a fan, a postal guard, who discreetly confiscated his package of drugs; he never loses sight of how this related to the people in the city he grew up in.

“My whole life everyone was telling me, you have to get out of Fall River, don’t go home, it is going to be your downfall. The irony was wherever I was in the world—China, Italy, Tehran, wherever I was, I could find drugs. Eventually I came to realize, Fall River wasn’t my downfall, I was my downfall,” Herren said.

The ACT program at SSTAR provides treatment to teenagers struggling with addiction. In addition to traditional substance abuse treatment the program incorporates family participation; and learning skills such as anger management and communication. Fees are sliding scale, but nobody is turned away if they can’t afford to pay. For more information about the ACT program call 508-558-2490.

Read more http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1904670794/Chris-Herren-speaks-to-teens-at-SSTAR-about-drug-addiction

Chris Herren speaks to teens at SSTAR about drug addiction

Chris Herren spoke at Stanley Street Treatment and Resources (SSTAR), Nov. 22 to a group of teenagers about the heroin/oxytocin addiction which led him from a $5 million NBA career to rock bottom in record time.

A six-foot-three point guard, Herren really started his career on the courts of Durfee High School where he drew the attention of several college recruiters. He played at Boston College and later moved on to  Fresno State. His claim to fame were stints in the NBA where he played first for the Denver Nuggets, and later the Boston Celtics.

Injuries throughout his career diverted him from the court. He covertly (and often publicly) battled drug addiction including heroin and what he called the “gorilla on (his) back,” the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

Though Herren lost his golden ticket to the professional arena, he has become just as popular in his efforts to share the lessons he learned on the court. He trains and mentors young basketball players in his company Hoop Dreams with Chris Herren, Inc; and runs the Chris Herren Foundation, which provides funds for addicted individuals who want treatment but can’t pay for it. 

He co-authored (with Bill Reynolds) the book Basketball Junkie; and shares his story in lecture halls across the country. Herren spoke at SSTAR last week, because the local facility started him on the path to sobriety.

“When I pulled in here tonight, I saw the lights of the (detox) building across the street and some strong memories came up. It was just a little over three years ago, that SSTAR opened its doors to me and my recovery,” Herren said.

Herren warned audience members about the dangers of starting bad habits young. Among these were teenagers enrolled in SSTAR’s Adolescent Community Treatment Program (ACT) which provides outpatient treatment to people aged 12-17 who are using or have used drugs or alcohol.

“I look at many of you in the audience now, and I see myself. When I was your age, at Durfee, and took my first hit of cocaine, I didn’t have any idea that the choices that I was making then would follow me throughout my life,” he said.

Herren told heart-wrenching stories which probably parallel the rise and fall stories of many ordinary people addicted to drugs and alcohol—with a few exotic details thrown in. Yet whether he was speaking about smuggling drugs into Bologna, Italy;  or being spared arrest in Iran due to the kindness of a fan, a postal guard, who discreetly confiscated his package of drugs; he never loses sight of how this related to the people in the city he grew up in.

“My whole life everyone was telling me, you have to get out of Fall River, don’t go home, it is going to be your downfall. The irony was wherever I was in the world—China, Italy, Tehran, wherever I was, I could find drugs. Eventually I came to realize, Fall River wasn’t my downfall, I was my downfall,” Herren said.

The ACT program at SSTAR provides treatment to teenagers struggling with addiction. In addition to traditional substance abuse treatment the program incorporates family participation; and learning skills such as anger management and communication. Fees are sliding scale, but nobody is turned away if they can’t afford to pay. For more information about the ACT program call 508-558-2490.

Read more http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1904670794/Chris-Herren-speaks-to-teens-at-SSTAR-about-drug-addiction

Addiction treatment after jail not available

A P.E.I. addict who just finished a jail sentence is angry he was unable to continue addiction treatment immediately after leaving jail.

“Every kind of theft that I did was to go out and feed my addiction,” 24-year-old Kyle Kenny told CBC News.

Kenny got hooked on pain killers six years ago after a car accident. He was stealing to pay for hundreds of dollars worth of drugs a week: percocet, dilaudid and oxys.

He got clean during a four-month stay the Provincial Correctional Centre in Sleepy Hollow. When he was released earlier this month, he wanted to go straight into in-depth addiction treatment from jail, but a lack of coordination of jail and community addictions services got in the way.

Kenny asked to go directly into P.E.I.’s youth day program or to in-house treatment in New Brunswick, but he had to go back to once-a-week counselling.

“The reason why I’m so mad about it is I’ve been crying out for help,” said Kenny.

“I wanted to go straight from incarceration, not get out on the street and risk the relapse.”

On P.E.I., jail addictions services are offered by correctional services and community treatment by Health PEI. The two services were unable to coordinate, and Kenny will not get into full-time treatment until mid-December.

Kenny said the lack of coordination is particularly difficult to understand, given that a recent corrections review found 70 per cent inmates are struggling with addictions.

Margaret Kennedy, director of addictions for Health PEI, said a committee is looking at the problem.

“[We want to make] sure they have a smooth transition,” said Kennedy.

“We wouldn’t necessarily want somebody to start over.”

That committee is expected to release recommendations next month.

Read more http://ca.news.yahoo.com/addiction-treatment-jail-not-available-102917067.html

Community Calendar

DANVILLE — Monday

Meetings

DANVILLE: Kiwanis Breakfast Club, 6:45 a.m., CRIS Healthy-Aging Center, 309 N. Franklin St.

DanvilleRotary Club, noon, Days Hotel, 77 N. Gilbert St.

Narcotics Anonymous, noon, Prairie Center, 128 N. Vermilion St.; 7:30 p.m., Community Church of God, 535 S. Bowman Ave.

Visually Impaired Persons Inspiring Others (VIPIO), 1-3 p.m., Danville Public Library, 319 N. Vermilion St.

Golden K Kiwanis Club, 2 p.m., CRIS Healthy-Aging Center, 309 N. Franklin St.

VermilionCountyBoard Judicial and Rules Committee, 4:30 p.m., courthouse annex, room 319.

708 Mental Health Board, 5 p.m., Mental Health office, 101 W. North St.

Young Women on the Road to Success, 6-7 p.m., Laura Lee Fellowship House, 212 E. Williams St.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, 6:30 p.m., Salvation Army, 855 E. Fairchild St.

Kennekuk Road Runners, 6:30 p.m., Jocko’s Pizza, 305 W. Williams St.

DanvilleShow Chorus of Sweet Adelines, 7 p.m., Harrison Park Clubhouse on West Voorhees Street.

Vermilion Festival Chorus Rehearsal, 7 p.m., Holy Family Church, 444 E. Main St.

Bradley-Maberry American Legion Auxiliary Unit 736, 7:30 p.m., Laura Lee Fellowship House, 212 E. Williams St.

CAYUGA, Ind.: Alcoholics Anonymous, 6:30-7:30 p.m. EDT, town hall.

CHRISMAN: City Council, 7 p.m., city hall.

COVINGTON, Ind.: Fountain County Council, 9 a.m. EST, courthouse.

Narcotics Anonymous, 6 p.m. EST, United Methodist Church, 419 Fifth St.

Narcotics Anonymous, 6:30-7:30 p.m. EST, town hall.

GEORGETOWN: Georgetown-Ridge Farm School Board, 7 p.m., district office.

OAKWOOD: School board, 6 p.m., Oakwood Grade School, closed session to discuss student discipline; public session to follow.

TILTON: Alcoholics Anonymous, 9 a.m., John Milewski Lions Club Senior Center, 607 E. Fifth St.

 

Read more http://commercial-news.com/local/x1938326550/Community-Calendar

Alcoholism is not a disability, it’s a choice

City worker who drove drunk will get job back (Nov. 25)

The arbitrator’s ruling saying that “alcoholism is a disability … ” is totally misused or misrepresented.

The word “disability” means to be disabled. Examples are the blind because they can not see, the deaf and hearing impaired because they can not hear, or the paralyzed because they are missing the use of arms or legs. There is no choice there.

The city worker had a choice. So where is he disabled? He chose to use the city vehicle for his own personal use. He chose to get drunk and drive the city vehicle. Again, where is his disability?

Granted, alcoholism is a sickness. And I am glad that he has been given a second chance at his job. But please, do not label it a “disability.”

I, myself, do not have a choice when I can not hear. He had a choice.

Karen Mulrooney, Burlington

Read more http://www.thespec.com/opinion/letters/article/631111–alcoholism-is-not-a-disability-it-s-a-choice