SEPTEMBER 2006
By Anne Dox, Mental Patients Liberation Alliance
Many stakeholders of New York State’s Mental Hygiene Law recently joined forces in a show of unprecedented solidarity. The effort successfully helped to defeat bills that would have amended legislation and allow for an increase in the use of restraints. In his veto of the Assembly Bill, Governor Pataki wrote: “I urge sponsors to work with all interested parties to develop a tailored approach that would overcome the concerns that have been raised regarding this version of the bill.”
Bills 9986-A and 6706-S proposed to expand authorization for the use of restraints. The bills had passed through the Assembly and Senate almost unanimously. However, many people who would be most affected by the amendments, human rights activists, and advocates strongly opposed the bills. The Mental Patients Liberation Alliance issued a Call to Action on July 20, 2006, one day after activists learned that the bills had quietly moved through the legislature. Anne Dox was in contact with James Rye [The Empowerment Center] who stated, “We need to move on this quickly.” Rye had been in contact with Peter Ashenden [Mental Health Empowerment Project], and Ashenden had been in contact with Harvey Rosenthal [New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services]. All four organizations issued a wide-spread Call to Action in opposition of the bills.
Emails, phone calls, and word-of-mouth quickly spread the news throughout our communities. An impromptu alliance of people, groups, and organizations formed - some working together for the first time. Information was combined and incorporated into the united effort seamlessly. An information packet was created and issued. Packets included the proposed bill, fact sheets, model letters, key names, relevant phone numbers, email addresses, fax numbers, and post office addresses. The information was circulated throughout the state with an unprecedented span, fervor, and speed. The response from individuals and groups was quick and powerful.
Harvey Rosenthal was able to arrange a meeting with Governor’s Counsel Caroline Kerr for representatives of a number of activist and advocacy groups to make a united appeal for veto of the bills. Groups represented included the Westchester Independent Living Center, The Empowerment Center, The Alliance Empowerment Coalition, Mental Health Empowerment Project, New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, Families Together, Mental Health Association in New York State, NAMI New York State, and the Mental Patients Liberation Alliance. The delegation cited numerous reasons for opposition and was able to highlight efforts in our State to decrease and eliminate the use of restraints, seclusion, and aversives.
Supporters of the bills claimed the amendments would reduce the costs and inconveniences of service delivery. The Mental Patients Liberation Alliance held a press conference and sponsored a demonstration at The Capitol in Albany on August 3, 2006, one day before the bills were delivered to Governor Pataki. The first notice to the people who responded to the Call to Actions opposing the proposed regulations came on August, 2006. It began: “Assembly Bill 9986 and Senate Bill 6706 ‘An act to amend the mental hygiene law in relation to restraint’...is VETOED.” The message ended, “WE DID IT!” However, George Ebert of The Alliance cautions, “The veto is only another beginning in the struggle for human rights. Legislators can override the veto or rewrite and reintroduce the bills. We must remain vigilant and continue to work together.”
by Deb Damone
In a perfect world we could intellectualize and say something like “it really doesn’t matter what happens in this life, all things lead to the same end.” There would be no pain and suffering and everything would make perfect sense from the start of each new life. People wouldn’t hurt and try to destroy or kill, and life would be a utopia.
On the other hand, this is not a perfect world and all things and all roads do not lead to the same place. We are all on separate journeys and our experiences are often worlds apart.
So what is the point and how do we make sense out of what seems to be nonsense? How do we rationalize the pain so many of us suffer while others seem to skate through life unscathed? Every experience in this life, be it good or bad, is relevant to who we become. Pain teaches us, molds us, and can make one person great while reducing another’s life to sheer despair and inadequacy.
So what differentiates the strength and greatness in one person from the shattering of lives and making hostages of others? The answer is what you do with the pain when it strikes and thereafter.
How do you live with it and work it through? Are you more concerned with the lives of those who caused your pain, determined to make others equally as miserable as yourself? Or are you learning from it and moving on, refusing to throw yourself a lifelong pity party?
When pain strikes us we tend to get stuck. It grips our very being to the core of who we are and can literally paralyze us. Regardless of where or who it comes from, emotional pain or the battering of our soul may seem to beat us down. Make no mistake: Pain has a real purpose and lessons or jewels are revealed in the healing.
I call the lessons jewels because for a gem stone to shine, it must go through a process. In the preliminary stages the stone looks no better than a rock, but in the right hands it becomes a gem.
Such is true of our ugly pain, and often the uglier the pain, the more shine and brilliance to the one who has not only survived it, but has made it a foundation to build upon. And that is what I believe the key is - building up, not breaking down.
The problem is most people take pain at face value. They do not understand there is a purpose for all pain. They allow the pain to make them resentful and often bitter. They believe they got a bum rap or place blame on others. Unfortunately, there isn’t much help or hope for those who choose to remain stuck in the pain, allowing this viewpoint to control who they are and how they will live out their days.
For those who decide they want a better life, there are many wonderful things waiting. It takes time and a lot of determination. Often the pain is buried so deep we don’t know where it originated from or how to access it.
In any case, recovery and healing come from the intent in your heart to move on and let it go. It is unfortunate, but no one can change or erase the past, but we can move on stronger if we refuse to allow pain to rule. When we give in to our negative feelings, those who have hurt us are able to perpetuate the pain process in our lives over and over, because we keep the pain alive.
Burying pain isn’t the answer either. Pain has a way of causing the whole person to be toxic when it goes unchecked, causing a multitude of illnesses.
The choice is ours, but it takes hard work. When we understand that the pain can heal in our hearts, we can look forward to a brighter tomorrow. And we can face a new day knowing that what we went through wasn’t in vain. The worst thing that has ever happened in our life can make us stronger and more beautiful, shining for others who we go before to look upon us with hope.
November 3, 2006—New York City Region conference to be held at Hunter College.
November 29, 2006—Western Region conference to be held in Rochester, NY.
Details on this year’s conferences will be available shortly.
Disability Mentoring Day
October 18, 2006
NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
Sign up now: Dial 311 or www.nyc.gov/mopd
November 15-18, 2006
Baltimore, MD
Created by the Dept. of Psychiatry, Duke Univ. Medical Center and the Bazelon Center of Mental Health Law
To join free of charge, visit the web site noted above, or send an e-mail for more information.
Northeast Career Planning (NCP) provides a variety of rehabilitation services for adults with disabilities who have barriers to employment, furthering their education, or socializing. If you need assistance in these areas, NCP might have the program for you. For more information call 438-3445.
IPRT is a licensed mental health program that believes people with psychiatric conditions have realistic wishes to improve their living, learning, socializing, or working situations, but lack the knowledge, resources and/or skills to accomplish them. IPRT enables people to transform their wishes into realistic goals and assists them with developing their skills and resources necessary to help them remain satisfied and successful in their chosen environment (work, school, social or living). Participants spend 15-17 hours per week in program actively involved in class activities and individual counseling sessions designed to help them clarify their goals, research their interests, develop their skills (i.e. stress management, assertiveness, communication skills) and develop their support network. If you want to make a change in your life (i.e. get a job, go to school, socialize more); and are willing to take the time to research your goals and to develop your skills in order to succeed, IPRT might be the program for you. Programs are available in Albany and Troy.
A mobile, community mental health program designed to assist people with psychiatric conditions with choosing, getting and keeping educational goals. Services are provided in individual counseling sessions in the office or directly on campus. Whether you are looking to get your GED or go to college, this program might be what you are looking for. Programs are available in Albany, Troy and Schenectady.
For over 50 years we have been assisting finding jobs for people and people (any disability group) for jobs. Whether you are an employer, a family member, a community organization, or a person looking for employment you will find the staff of NCP ready to assist you in your quest for success. Programs are available with in the Capital District.
SUNY Albany
Education Specialist; Posting R#06-37
Kingston, NY
Benedictine Hospital-Psych ER Peer Advocate
Kingston Drop-In Center; Sr. Peer Advocate
Milton, NY
Rose House-Peer Services Coordinator
Rose House: House Manager
Rose House: Peer Companions (PT)
Contact Breta Campus by email.
New York City/Long Island
Regional Recovery Educator
Contact: Mathew Mathai by email.
Mental Health Comedy Audition
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Dan Frey (718/643-6758) or by email.
Focus your humor and your jokes on what is funny about being mentally ill.
Do you have skills you would like to use to help others? Try these “do-good” ideas tailored to fit your strengths and talents.
Crafty |
Make blankets for needy or ill children. |
www.Projectlinus.org or |
Animal Lover |
Be a dog walker; cuddle kittens or provide a foster home for strays. |
Local animal shelter or www.aspca.org |
Sports Fan |
Sign up to be a coach or athlete escort who greets contestants for the Special Olympics. |
|
Bookworm |
Offer to lead a senior book club. |
Local senior center/nursing home. |
Caregiver |
Support the terminally ill and their families by becoming a hospice volunteer. |
www.hospicefoundation.org or |
Outdoorsy |
Be a tour guide, reenact history or clean up a beach for the National Park Service’s Volunteers-in-Parks. |
|
Couch Potato |
Find the virtual volunteering section for nonprofits. |
|
Idealist |
Information on nonprofit organizations and volunteering opportunities across the country. |
Thanks to all who helped make MHEP’s Second Annual Peer Network Gathering so successful through their participation and attendance.
We look forward to sharing the ideas that came from the group discussions with you in a future edition of the newsletter; and, look forward to seeing many of you at next year’s event.
Com . ple . men . tum, v.t., Lat.: to make whole
By Tayler Whitehead
I am reminded of the biblical quote around giving a man a fishing rod to catch his own fish, rather than feeding him a daily diet. Mental health issues are no different in this sense, than any other of the elements of life we must face. If we wish to have a chocolate bar we must do a number of things to achieve that goal; such as walk to the shop, ensure we have enough money etc. Too often in my work I meet people who have never taken responsibility for their lives, let alone their illness. Too often behavioral factors are blamed on mental health, as an excuse for not moving forward and making the most of life's abundance. We can liken this to many of the societal problems we see in our poorer areas. Lack of hope, self determination, living a preconceived idea of what is expected, rather than breaking free of the bounds that have taken us to this stage in life.
Mental illness is not a reason to roll over and rely on others who have no vested interest in our recovery. It is a valid reason to take charge and make the most of what we have. Our strengths in being able to survive are phenomenal, and give us a greater advantage, I feel, over the general population. How can you gain insight and strength if you have never been challenged in the ways that we have in our personal development? In this I can only look to my own personal development over the years; and the steps I have had to take to achieve a level of wellness that has allowed me to participate fully in life.
For me hope was an issue that had to be addressed in order to consider moving on to the other steps of recovery. I had to accept my life was not over, that I was not baggage that could be disposed of in a corner and forgotten by society. I spent my life till 35 years with no label and no understanding that I had a mental illness (even though as a teenager I had been institutionalized for a period). I had lived my whole life with feelings of depression and suicidation. In not understanding what was wrong I battled on and continued to suffer, striving constantly to be able to achieve the goals I knew I should be able to. When I hit a particularly bad low and was told I was suffering depression I felt like I had been released. The knowledge that there was a legitimate reason for my feelings I was able to actually begin to grow. For me a label was a positive experience in that it allowed me to make sense of my life.
Slowly I began to find out as much as I could about my illness and the rapid cycling nature of it. This knowledge was the basis that I could then re-build my self-esteem and life around. The more knowledge I gained, the more knowledge I realized I needed to know. I questioned my doctor, my community psychiatric nurse, other service users my friends I searched the Internet. It was from these varied sources I began to understand more about what was normal to feel and what was illness. I looked at the behavioral triggers and undertook counseling to remove as many as I could. If I realized I was reacting due to a past event from my childhood I acknowledged it and re-evaluated from my adult. I maintained a mood chart, studied the medications I was on, the side effects, combinations and expected outcomes. It took ten years to get my medication right, and I was the one in the end who suggested the combination that has proved to work.
Luckily I had a very good doctor who treated me as a peer and respected my input. This is not to say I always had such professional input. I have seen many doctors with varying results, some good some bad. But the knowledge and the will to live a full life made me question the opinions of the professionals. If I was not satisfied with the treatment or their response to me I took another. I had to be strong in advocating for my needs to be met. I could not sit back and allow others to decide what was in my best interest. This of course did not happen overnight. It has taken many years to reach the level I am at now. Especially learning to question the medical professions choices and rational.
I am well now and working full time because I have done the hard yards. Have taken responsibility for my life and my recovery (ability to live well in the presence or absence of mental illness). Created a supportive network of friends I can call if I need to. Though I must admit I still tend to isolate more than I should. Where hope was once an impossible dream, a term I never really believed in or accepted for my life. I am now living my life the way I want to. Achieving the goals I set for myself, participating in the way I wish to in life. Hope is now a term belonging to the past; I no longer need to hope as I have achieved that goal. I have the self-esteem I once lacked. I no longer try to hide my illness from others in fear of rejection, or feel that I am inferior to others. I control my life with the support of professionals and friends. I like all who recover (be it mental illness or alcoholism etc) have learnt that the only thing that will make a difference is self-determination, the willingness to take full responsibility for my life.
By Barton Goldsmith
Though I do believe that many people could benefit from therapy, I don't believe that everyone needs it. Most of us are equipped with the tools we need to help ourselves out of many emotional challenges.
Here are 10 things you can do to keep yourself off the therapist's couch:
Doing any of the above is helpful to your psyche. However, if you find that you are in constant emotional distress, can't stop crying, are worried all the time or if you are in an abusive relationship, seek professional care. There are many wonderful counselors who can help you find balance and heal your pain.
Scripps Howard News Service—06.13.2006
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