Yesterday afternoon I participated in my first mental health call-in talk show with Priya Menon from CureTalk, Dr. Kamran Fallahpour, Jennifer Robinson, and Erin King Reitz. This was such a great experience for me and I was very nervous! Everything went well, however, and I hope that the listeners found Dr. Fallahpour’s information helpful. I am [...]
jennifermyers
I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 2002. I have an M.A. in Urban & Environmental Policy, and I enjoy writing about topics related to environmental conservation. I am currently working on a memoir that describes my experience leading up to my diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, and how I have dealt with the illness over the past ten years. I also enjoy writing children's stories, Buddhist chanting, and exercise. I make every effort to enjoy life, encourage other people, and share my story. My Cure Talks:
What Do Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, Depression and Autism Have in Common?
Our CureTalk Mental Health Panel Discussion is coming up on Tuesday and I can’t wait! I think it’s going to be wonderful, both for us as panelists and for the listeners. This is the first time I’ve ever participated in something like this, so it’s very exciting. If you’re interested in tuning in on Tuesday, [...]
Mental Health and Public Policy Update
On April 18th, the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 689) passed in the Senate with a 95-2 vote. The bill was sponsored by Democratic Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. The purpose of this bill is to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders. While the Senate [...]
Fear Of Talking To Strangers: Learning How to Socialize – Jennifer Myers
My husband John and I had a great session with the therapist last night. I went to a writers conference on Saturday in San Francisco and had the opportunity to get feedback on my memoir pitch. I also pitched my memoir to a few agents, editors and publishers. I came back with a new plan [...]
How Can We Achieve Our Highest Potential?
One of the biggest myths about the human brain is that we only use approximately 10 percent of its capacity. According to most scientists, this is a myth that has been promoted over the years by the media and advertisers. If we believe that we really do only use 10 percent of our brain’s capacity, [...]
My Memoir Manuscript Draft Is Finished!
I finally finished editing my memoir manuscript yesterday. I now have a more or less complete first draft, but I know there’s still a lot of work to do. I sent out a few chapters to my immediate family members for feedback and I’m hoping that I’ll eventually be able to get feedback on the [...]
Are We Over-Diagnosed? – Jennifer Myers
While I believe it is healthy and healing to identify an individual’s mental health issues, primarily to help the person and his or her loved ones manage the illness and live life more fully, I also think society has a tendency to over-diagnose people and arbitrarily slap labels on individuals who may not be suffering [...]
We Are Capable of Limitless Power
In Elyn Saks’ January 25th New York Times article titled Successful and Schizophrenic, she states that 30 years ago when she was initially diagnosed with schizophrenia, she was given a very “grave” prognosis. She was told that she would never live independently, hold a job, or get married. She would spend her life in a board-and-care [...]
How Can We Better Treat Psychosis?
I read an interesting review on PsychCentral about a new book on treating people with psychotic symptoms. The book, Rethinking Madness: Towards a Paradigm Shift In Our Understanding and Treatment of Psychosis by Paris Williams discusses how the mental health system can better help people who suffer from varying degrees of psychosis. Williams himself experienced [...]
Changing Poison Into Medicine: Jennifer Myers
I feel much better today than I have for the past few days. My headache finally went away, and I’ve gotten back into the swing of things. I’m still working on the first draft of my memoir. I’ve named all the chapters, including a Prologue and an Epilogue. I’m about 25% finished with the [...]
Creating a Culture of Peace : Jennifer Myers
I posted a link to my last guest blog postfor CureTalk on my Linked In profile and there have been several interesting comments about this post. The blog post, titled Schizophrenia As An Excuse For Violence, spurred a lively discussion about mental illness and our American culture of violence. Although my post was initially written based on my concern over the tendency of the media and the public to automatically think that in cases of mass murder, mental illness is the cause, comments from readers indicate that there really are larger societal issues that need to be addressed. One reader writes: I think people want a quick answer to something tragic. The problem is, not only with the mislabeling, but trying to find a quick fix to a problem. Not all can be answered so easily, as witnessed by these shootings. I think we need to really look into what is happening and quit labeling until we find the answers we need. Some of these shootings aren’t because of mental illness, though that would be an easy label. Some of these shootings are for reasons we just don’t understand and won’t understand until we are willing to look beyond quick answers. I agree with this reader’s comments. When a tragedy like the Newtown murders occur, everyone tries to quickly come to an agreement about what motivated the murderer to take action. Often, the answer is complex. It isn’t just what was going on in the murderer’s mind at the moment or even what his thoughts were a few months prior. It isn’t just the fact that his parents were divorced and his mother had three guns in their house. In this case, a few news stories discussed that fact that the Newtown murderer had Asperger’s, a form of Autism that has never been connected to acts of violence. Another reader writes: Could it be that we just condone violence and killing until it happens outside of the films, video games, television, and violent media? Could it be that as a society we create violent people? Then, when these people act out violently, we need an easy, quick label to explain their violent behavior? Perhaps if less people own and bought guns, if less people used guns in media and entertainment, other ways might be found to solve problems? To label people schizophrenic after a violent event is highly opportunistic. Whatever we cannot or do not want to understand, we label it schizophrenic. If someone in the military kills dozens of women and children, is he/she also schizophrenic? I believe that as a society we are creating violent people. In a multitude of ways, we live in a culture of violence. We can’t just look at a murderer’s mental health, or parents and siblings, or education. We must examine a vast array of characteristics in American society that allows and even encourages violent behavior. Sherrie Miranda, a writer, [...]
The Murders in Newtown: Jennifer Myers
After hearing about the violent mass murder in Newtown, Connecticut over the past few days, I’ve come to believe that the growing frequency of these types of murders is primarily an issue of gun control, and carefully limiting the public’s access to not only assault weapons but to handguns as well. I’ve read how in [...]
Schizophrenia As An Excuse For Violence!
In Ashley Smith’s July 27th blog post, “How Schizophrenia is Portrayed in the Media” , she decries the tendency of the media and the public to use schizophrenia as a scapegoat for many of the recent tragedies in this country. James Holmes, the suspect in the theater shooting that took place in Aurora, Colorado over the summer, [...]
Getting Into My Life and Out of My Head
I realize that as I continue to make significant progress either ignoring or disregarding the voices that I hear, I am able to live my life more fully than I ever have been in the past. I am living more in the present and dwelling less on the past. I am present in both body [...]
Exercise And Mental Health : Jennifer Myers
Dealing with my illness over the past few years, the one activity in particular that has been key to helping me maintain my quality of life has been exercise. In addition to all the medications, psychiatrist visits, and therapy appointments, consistent exercise has been great for my overall health, as well as my psychological and [...]
Strengthening Our Marriage With Couples Therapy
The therapist I’m currently seeing is winding up her rotation in December, and I’ve really valued her input and the time I’ve spent with her. I believe now more than ever how helpful and healing weekly, individual therapy can be. When I was released from the hospital last year, my husband and I decided to [...]
Mental Illness: Fighting the Stigma
I’ve received a couple of emails recently related to my schizoaffective disorder blog asking me for advice. I’m starting to realize how difficult it is for people to understand mental illness. Every person is unique, and so what might work for one individual may not be suitable for another. Families and loved ones in particular are [...]
The Night I Started Hearing Voices, April 2002
In much the same way that my life over the past few years had gradually grown increasingly more unstable and chaotic, the events that night gradually grew increasingly more surreal and bizarre. Ultimately, my last night at the house in Oxnard was much more than just a psychotic delusion, it was a real-life nightmare, and [...]
When I Was First Diagnosed With Schizoaffective Disorder: Jennifer Myers
In July 2002, I had just been released from my second hospitalization. I needed to find a new psychiatrist, so I picked a doctor at random from the Psychiatry Department at Stanford University and made an appointment to meet with him. I drove over to the Stanford campus one sunny afternoon and found his office [...]
Beyond the Diagnosis of Schizoaffective Disorder
I like to think of myself as a writer now. I am moving beyond my diagnosis, and I don’t want the focus of my life to be my illness. There is so much more to me than schizoaffective disorder. After all, I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 32. I lived 31 years without a diagnosis [...]
