the term 'schizophrenia'

I think that there needs to be some distinction made here regarding the use of the term 'schizophrenia'. Early on in my blog, I offer videos and an article suggesting that there is no such thing as 'schizophrenia'. I have to say here that this was something I considered when I first became more familiar with the term back in 1985.

But I tend not to put quotes around 'schizophrenia' when someone has fully recovered. This is in part due to the tendency of the medical establishment to claim that if someone fully recovers they never had schizophrenia to begin with and were simply misdiagnosed. This is suggesting that there is no such thing as a full recovery from schizophrenia, a line the medical establishment embraces. I think that this approach takes power away from those individuals who do achieve a full recovery, while offering no hope whatsoever to all of the others labeled with the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Here is a small articles with suggestions for changing the label of 'schizophrenia' to something else. Dr. John Breeding, elsewhere, calls it (and other 'mental illnesses') extreme states of mind.
The Term Schizophrenia by Brian Koehler

Let me know what you think.

the week's progress, long-term studies

This past week I continued meditation, one time a day for 20 minutes, affirmations, 2-3 times a day, and gratitude lists most nights. I also continued with my dream journal. I now smoke 15 cigarettes a day. I cut back to one cup of coffee a day (from 2).

I've noted that full recovery from schizophrenia has been said to be non-existent, rare, 20%, 25%, and 33% in various articles and studies. Here is an article which collects some long-term studies of schizophrenia: Long-Term Follow-Up Studies of Schizophrenia

One thing to point out about these studies is that in the WHO study it has been said that the better rate of recovery in developing countries may be due to the fact that neuroleptics are rarely used there.

this past week's progress --

• medication: continued taking 10 mg Abilify in the morning each day
  
• sleep: averaged 10 hours a night
  
• exercise: walked 2 days
  
• diet: ate 3-4 meals a day
  
• weight: 158 lbs.
  
• mood: ok all mornings but one, when I awoke depressed