A holistic approach to healing and recovery.

@FloatingFeather Thank you for your support. The way in which it was prescribed may have been harmful for anyone. I was on it for years prior, so I wont say this particular medication, once used in aged care, is all bad.

I remember reading about that issue in aged care with the medication @Simba142 . It was awful. I feel that medication for mental health issues should be very carefully prescribed and monitored closely.

I get there may be therapeutic benefits in prescribing it in different ways but if a particular medication is has not been researched for the particular use case, way its prescribed, because it’s low risk, and unlikely a practitioner / clinician, would do such a thing. There should be something done about that.

Also, there is no information sheet in the packet.

Hi @Simba142 I read your story and related to it in several ways. I was given antipsychotics when I was told my psychosis had an organic cause, then later got diagnosed with schizophrenia and then schizoaffective disorder.

I totally think the diagnostic process could be improved. The assessment for autism spectrum disorder is via standardised instruments yet we get labelled with via a psychiatrist's opinion. I know there's some subjectivity element but the problem is not always just with the person but their environment too. Like this conversation has been saying, the approaches for diagnosis and treatment need to encapsulate the person and their social environment, family and friends and work etc. The social history is also so important, like intergenerational aspects, culture too.

I started reading an interesting book by a Canadian wholistic medical Dr, Gabor Maté. It's called the myth of normal and refers to the toxicity of our society and the bigger systems we could change to help individuals and their physical and mental health.

I read a Johan Hari book which I got a lot from too.

Currently I'm reading Tell me I'm here, a mother's story about her son's schizophrenia. Anne Deveson wrote it, she was a well known Australian journalist and writer. I'm learning the perspective of the other people in my life and what they experience with my illness. It's helping me understand their reactions

Hi @Patchworks . I hope at least one thing I’ve said was helpful. I’m curious as to what the organic cause means exactly. I totally agree with you there. In my case, I was spending a fair amount of time with people who were on drugs, I was also always high and often drunk as well. Although I haven’t read his work, I’ve heard of Dr, Gabor and am familiar with the trauma aspect and Post Traumatic Growth.

If you’re interested, listen to some Andrew D. Huberman podcasts or even on YouTube, I’ve found a lot of his content valuable, also Greek Philosophy.

That sounds like an interesting read! The people around us can help significantly, it isn’t easy for them either. Absolutely grateful for those who’ve simply just been a friend.

When I first got sick I'd been a regular pot smoker and got bronchitis and the doctors said I had encephalitis, a brain disease which was the (organic) cause of my first psychosis. That psychosis was world's apart from subsequent episodes so maybe the first one triggered a mental illness, I'll never know.

I quit pot about a year and a half later but tried other drugs instead. I always was a recreational user and kept studying and working etc. But it wouldn't have helped my mental health.

I've had some trauma in my life, Dr Gabor says we all have little t trauma like not being able to show our anger as children but not all of us have big t trauma like your experience. I'm trying to work on my trauma history, little and big t, but I don't think just talking about that it happened will be very helpful. I don't know much about trauma therapy but I get a physical response and get anxiety and hypervigilence and it's these problems I want to address. Have you had any helpful treatment for cPTSD?

@Patchworks That makes sense. I believe that can be caused when the blood / brain barrier is thin, I’m no Dr. I kept smoking also, until I was given an ultimatum.

Sometimes repeatedly talking about it can be painful, talking with the right person can be very helpful.

I take it you’re aware of brain plasticity? I haven’t had any therapy for PTSD at all. I’ve been asked a few times before by people who specialise in trauma. The trauma is there, but it absolutely depends on how I narrate it and the perspective I use to look at it all with. Daniel J. Siegel’s book - Mindsight ? From memory, he has a few others. Talk about his approach to therapy and reliving traumatic experiences while in therapy, using mindfulness in order to address the cause.