Grateful and Thankful

I've been thinking about for hours today what to write about. I've decided to just write about my feelings and emotions I'm experiencing at the present moment.

I'm grateful and thankful about all the good things in my life right now. I'm so grateful and thankful that I cannot express it in words. I personally believe that the reason for all the blessings in my life are a direct result of God's Divine Providence and Intervention.

My main mental illness is almost in complete remission. I have been clean and sober for seven years now. I now have meaning and purpose in life. I have become a productive member of society. I have more joy and happiness now than I had even before I started using drugs, alcohol, and developed full blown schizophrenia.

Another very important blessing in my life is being married to my present wife. She loves me more than I can imagine and I love her more than she can imagine. We are having a great and wonderful relationship. As time goes on we love each other more and more. It just keeps growing and growing.

I have also been active in the work force for over five years now. I have been working in a candle factory. I've been making candles there, doing shipping and receiving, and doing paper work for the research and development results. I have to say with sadness that I have been laid off for the last several months. I didn't realize how important work was in my life until I got laid off. But I am still grateful and thankful. My rent is being paid, we have lots of good food to eat, and we live in a real nice apartment. It's not a dive. We have lots of material possessions. If and when I do get back to work my gratefulness and thankfulness will probably grow and grow even more.

What other good things are there in my life. I believe that I have a special gift from God Himself for writing and public speaking. I love writing and the very act of writing. I love giving speeches. I want to use my writing and public speaking skills to be a spokesman for myself and my fellow consumers, the family members of consumers, and educate the general public about mental illness and addiction for the purpose of stamping out the stigma and discrimination against those of us that have a mental illness and/or an addiction and alcohol problem.

We consumers need to get together, get organized, speak up, and fight for our rights as Canadian citizens. We have the same rights as any other member of society. But our rights are being impinged upon by society as a whole. We need to rise up and stamp out permanently that stigma and discrimination against us.

I have also signed up at the Acadia University Library. For $20 a year you can join the Library and have exactly the same privileges as a student. I have access to the whole Library, and I can take out up to fifteen books at a time. I'm going to use the facilities there to do research for my writing. The resource materials are endless there. I will always find something there to use as a resource for my writing.

I would like to end this entry with the thought that "THERE IS HOPE" for anybody with a mental illness and/or an addiction and alcohol problem. Recovery is truly possible. Recovery doesn't mean a cure but it does mean that we can live happy, meaningful lives despite the wreckage caused by mental illness and addiction. Just look at the half full glass instead of the half empty glass. You will find peace and tranquility in life. Just "DON'T GIVE UP" Keep on trucking and you will find your place in life. Just have "FAITH, HOPE, AND COURAGE"

Schizophrenia and Suicide

Based on Premature Death from Recognizing Schizophrenia For What It Really Is: A Call To Action.

If you compare brain pain with physical pain people cannot not observe brain pain because it's psychological but people can observe physical pain because it is more obvious. Brain pain can cause suicidal thoughts more so than physical pain.

When consumers talk of suicide it should be taken seriously. Roughly 40% of those with schizophrenia attempt suicide and 10% successfully finish the job. Approximately 15 to 75 more percentage of people commit suicide in the consumer population than those in the general population.

It's not the actual disease that causes consumers to commit suicide but the hopelessness associated with schizophrenia. The consumer feels that there just is no hope of living happy, meaningful, and productive lives. Their lives are a total waste with no hope of digging themselves out of the hole that they find themselves in as a result of the disease.

An important goal of mental health professionals, workers in the community, and family members of consumers should be to aware of suicidal thoughts and tendencies. The timing could be critical.

Premature death isn't only caused by suicide but also by homicide and accidents as a result of high-risk behaviour. If consumers are not receiving treatment a small percentage do carry out violent acts. Some people die as a result of homicide and some consumers die at the hands of police officers by being shot because they are committing dangerous acts toward others. Despite the fact that there are some consumers who commit violent acts the majority of consumers are completely harmless.

Society as a whole should take on the responsibility of doing their best to prevent suicide by mental health consumers. We need to give them hope that things are not as hopeless as they appear to be. If everyone takes part suicide prevention is truly possible.

It's impossible to truly measure the impact of premature death on the mental health consumer population in Canada. All the numbers mentioned in this article are just rough estimates. The numbers in reality could be a lot higher.

We need to show much love and compassion towards the mental health consumer population and do our best to prevent suicide amongst these truly suffering group of people. They need our help. They can't do it on their own. Let's all reach out and give a lending hand to help prevent suicide amongst this population of people.