Saturday, April 24, 2010

Hearing Voices Interview

Here is a radio interview on Madness Radio with Jacqui Dillon, who heard voices since childhood after growing up with child sexual abuse:

Madness Radio: Hearing Voices Network, Jacqui Dillon

Jacqui was told by psychiatrists that the child sexual abuse she experienced was a part of her "delusion" in 1993. She later found help from someone who believed what happened to her. She said, also, that some psychiatrists will accept that child sexual abuse has occurred, but say that "that is in your past, now deal with your mental illness."

She later talks about anger. She says that anger is "protective and sets a boundary."

She, along with others, "questions the idea that hearing voices is an illness." She considers medicine to "silence people." She said, "I don't think of voices as symptoms."

Compassion, acceptance, learning to live with the voices, and learning "distraction techniques" can help people who hear voices. She also suggests, later, asking the voices direct questions.

Dillon also mentions that "there are a lot of places in the world where schizophrenia does not exist." She is working to "abolish the schizophrenia label." Academics, clinicians, activists, carers, families, and friends are working to abolish the label because it is not scientific. You can learn more about this at Campaign to Abolish the Schizophrenia Label.

This past week:
  • medication: 5 mg Aripiprazole a.m., 10 mg Aripiprazole before sleep
  • sleep: average 12 hrs
  • exercise: walked every day but two, situps and pushups
  • diet: made certain to eat breakfast every day, began to count calories
  • weight: 158 lbs.
  • mood: ok all mornings upon rising

Saturday, April 17, 2010

happiness

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere."
--Agnes Repplier

I found this quote in Codependent No More by Melody Beattie. I am trying to live it. I believe it true that happiness can only be found within each of us. While it is not easy to live finding happiness only in ourselves, it is possible, with time and practice. As I deal with what happened to me as a result of psychiatric hospitalisations, I find that I am more able to find happiness within myself, releasing the memories of what was done to me. I am a happy person, generally, but the hospitalisations and the voices (the result of years of neuroleptics) really got to me. I am still dealing with the memory of those things. I will continue to tell of those experiences in future posts. I remain attempting to find happiness within. I plan to pursue this further with a return to meditating in June. I am currently collecting info on meditation. I will begin with 5 minutes of meditation a day.

This past week:
  • medication: 5 mg Aripiprazole a.m., 10 mg Aripiprazole before sleep
  • sleep: average 11 hrs
  • exercise: walked every day but one
  • diet: made certain to eat breakfast every day
  • weight: 154 lbs.
  • mood: ok all mornings upon rising

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Aripiprazole Side Effects

Side effects of Aripiprazole include dizziness, headaches, nausea, diabetes, tardive dyskenesia, akathisia, heart disease, cardiac arrest, vomiting, etcetera. I have had dizziness, headaches, nausea, and tardive diskenesia. As a result of these side effects, I have decided to decrease Aripiprazole by 5 mg. every two months or so, depending on how I am feeling/doing. I will review how I am doing to decrease to 10 mg. a day (5 mg. a.m., 5 mg. p.m.) on June 1.

  • medication: 5 mg Aripiprazole a.m., 10 mg Aripiprazole before sleep
  • sleep: average 12 hrs
  • exercise: walked (farther than last week) every day but two, 20 situps, 10 pushups
  • diet: made certain to eat breakfast every day
  • weight: 154 lbs.
  • mood: ok all mornings upon rising