Friday, February 13, 2009
Learning New Things
As life goes on we tend to learn new things. I learned something new today concerning my writing. I need to learn how to self edit my work. Up to this point in time I have been writing the first draft and then immediately publish it. I have not been doing any editing, revising, or polishing up. I personally believe that if I can learn to do this my writing will improve 500%. From now on when I write something I am going to edit it before I publish it. Hopefully this will improve my writing skills. It will take practice though. Like the old saying goes practice makes perfect. My way of communicating with others is through my writing. If I can improve my writing then I will be able to communicate with others more effectively. To me this concept is very important because I can share my experience, strength, and hope with others more effectively. It will also make my writing more pleasurable to read.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A Good Night
I took sick last Saturday. It was in my chest. All I did was cough. It was a dry heaving cough. I missed a whole week of work without pay. That's not good for my pocket book. I went to the Doctor today. He told me that I had a viral infection. He gave me a puffer to take. I was going to go to work tomorrow but the doctor told me not to go. He wants me stay home all weekend. He did say that if I was feeling up to it to go back to work on Monday.
Earlier this evening a friend of Kim and I popped in. We all decided to watch a movie. My friend, Kim and I watched it. It was called The Siege. Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis were the main actors. It was about different cells of terrorists attacking different locations in New York City. It was a edge of your seat type of movie. You didn't know what was going to happen next. Denzel Washington played an FBI agent. Annette Bening played the part as an insider in Islam circles. Bruce Willis played the bad guy as a General in the US Army.
I will not give away the story but if you like a good action packed thriller I highly recommend this movie. In an earlier entry on this blog I talked about having fun. Well that is just what I did tonight was have some fun watching a good movie. Watching this movie took my mind off of my sickness and the fact that I haven't worked all week and am going to lose a good chunk of money.
I have to go out for a bit tomorrow to pick up some cat litter but I am coming right back home. I am not going to go anywhere for the rest of the weekend. I am hoping to be well enough to go to work next week. I cannot afford to miss any more work. If I do I will be in dire straits concerning the monetary situation. Even if I not feeling up to par I am thinking about going anyway. Hopefully I will be able do the work I am supposed to do and still do a good job.
I will find something to do for the rest of the night to keep my mind off of these problems I have just been talking about. Something on the computer. I love doing things on my computer. If it was possible I would love to have a career involving using computers. I get much fun and pleasure out of doing things on the computer. If I had a job on computers it wouldn't be a job at all. It would be just having fun and a good time. I wouldn't even consider it work at all. I would consider it just having a blast. Maybe some day I might go to collage and take some computer courses and get a job in that field. I would still engage in my writing career on the side. I love writing and want to continue with this passion I have in life. I do have a deep rooted passion for writing and public speaking. I deliver speeches when given the opportunity. All the speeches that I have delivered were on mental illness and my personal experiences with mental illness. I just love to share my experience, strength, hope with others. With the purpose of helping my fellow consumers, family and friends of consumers, and educate the general public about mental illness with the purpose of stamping out that awful stigma against the mentally ill by society.
Overall I had a great night and I hope that my readers have also had a great night. Bye for now. Till the next time.
Earlier this evening a friend of Kim and I popped in. We all decided to watch a movie. My friend, Kim and I watched it. It was called The Siege. Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis were the main actors. It was about different cells of terrorists attacking different locations in New York City. It was a edge of your seat type of movie. You didn't know what was going to happen next. Denzel Washington played an FBI agent. Annette Bening played the part as an insider in Islam circles. Bruce Willis played the bad guy as a General in the US Army.
I will not give away the story but if you like a good action packed thriller I highly recommend this movie. In an earlier entry on this blog I talked about having fun. Well that is just what I did tonight was have some fun watching a good movie. Watching this movie took my mind off of my sickness and the fact that I haven't worked all week and am going to lose a good chunk of money.
I have to go out for a bit tomorrow to pick up some cat litter but I am coming right back home. I am not going to go anywhere for the rest of the weekend. I am hoping to be well enough to go to work next week. I cannot afford to miss any more work. If I do I will be in dire straits concerning the monetary situation. Even if I not feeling up to par I am thinking about going anyway. Hopefully I will be able do the work I am supposed to do and still do a good job.
I will find something to do for the rest of the night to keep my mind off of these problems I have just been talking about. Something on the computer. I love doing things on my computer. If it was possible I would love to have a career involving using computers. I get much fun and pleasure out of doing things on the computer. If I had a job on computers it wouldn't be a job at all. It would be just having fun and a good time. I wouldn't even consider it work at all. I would consider it just having a blast. Maybe some day I might go to collage and take some computer courses and get a job in that field. I would still engage in my writing career on the side. I love writing and want to continue with this passion I have in life. I do have a deep rooted passion for writing and public speaking. I deliver speeches when given the opportunity. All the speeches that I have delivered were on mental illness and my personal experiences with mental illness. I just love to share my experience, strength, hope with others. With the purpose of helping my fellow consumers, family and friends of consumers, and educate the general public about mental illness with the purpose of stamping out that awful stigma against the mentally ill by society.
Overall I had a great night and I hope that my readers have also had a great night. Bye for now. Till the next time.
The Battle
One night when I was ill I was reading Being and Nothingness by Jean Paul Sartre. Then the battle began. I was getting messages that there was no God. All I need to decide is whether to kill my self or not kill myself. Then I started hearing voices saying kill yourself kill yourself. There is no God you will stop existing and your suffering would end. Kill yourself kill yourself.
Then I was getting different messages. There is a God there is a God. Kill yourself you will go to hell you will go to hell. Then a great fear arose in my mind. If I kill myself I will go to hell.
My mind was going back and forth between these two messages. I was in psychological and emotional torment and torture. Fear was rushing through my whole being with great force and power. I didn't know what to do about the situation.
I decided to call up my psychiatrist. I told him what was going on. All he told was to take an extra chlorpromazine, go to bed and things will be better in the morning. I took the extra pill. It didn't do any good. I was awake all night suffering from this battle going on in my mind. The fear was so great I cannot describe it in words. While all this was going on all I did was pace the floor back and forth, back and forth. I couldn't sit still for two minutes.
I didn't get any sleep until three in the morning the next day. I was awake for more than 24 hours. I am not sure how many. Why did I have to go through all that. My psychiatrist should have sent me to the hospital and met me there. He should have tried to do something for me. Maybe give me an injection for the purpose of reducing the symptoms I was experiencing. There are medications out there that can be given in injection form that can start working immediately. No. I had to stay home and suffer needlessly.
Mom and Dad had to take turns watching me while I was going through this psychotic experience. I was afraid and they were afraid that I would actually attempt suicide for the next 20 hours or so. They took turns sleeping and watching me. To be honest with everyone I do not know how I managed to get through that experience and still come out the other side alive.
At the present moment I am very glad and grateful that I did survive this experience. For the simple reason that now I am recovering from my schizophrenia, have a wonderful wife, been clean and sober for 9 years, been able to work for the last 7 or 8 years, have fun with my hobbies, have more friends than I did when I was ill, and just simply enjoying life and having a ball. I now love life, I love being alive, and have the driving force within me to do things and be successful. The more I do the better. I want to leave behind a legacy when I pass on from this life. There is a saying, "when it's all over all that matters is what you have done." I just have that drive to do, do, do and succeed at what I am doing.
Recovery is truly possible.
Then I was getting different messages. There is a God there is a God. Kill yourself you will go to hell you will go to hell. Then a great fear arose in my mind. If I kill myself I will go to hell.
My mind was going back and forth between these two messages. I was in psychological and emotional torment and torture. Fear was rushing through my whole being with great force and power. I didn't know what to do about the situation.
I decided to call up my psychiatrist. I told him what was going on. All he told was to take an extra chlorpromazine, go to bed and things will be better in the morning. I took the extra pill. It didn't do any good. I was awake all night suffering from this battle going on in my mind. The fear was so great I cannot describe it in words. While all this was going on all I did was pace the floor back and forth, back and forth. I couldn't sit still for two minutes.
I didn't get any sleep until three in the morning the next day. I was awake for more than 24 hours. I am not sure how many. Why did I have to go through all that. My psychiatrist should have sent me to the hospital and met me there. He should have tried to do something for me. Maybe give me an injection for the purpose of reducing the symptoms I was experiencing. There are medications out there that can be given in injection form that can start working immediately. No. I had to stay home and suffer needlessly.
Mom and Dad had to take turns watching me while I was going through this psychotic experience. I was afraid and they were afraid that I would actually attempt suicide for the next 20 hours or so. They took turns sleeping and watching me. To be honest with everyone I do not know how I managed to get through that experience and still come out the other side alive.
At the present moment I am very glad and grateful that I did survive this experience. For the simple reason that now I am recovering from my schizophrenia, have a wonderful wife, been clean and sober for 9 years, been able to work for the last 7 or 8 years, have fun with my hobbies, have more friends than I did when I was ill, and just simply enjoying life and having a ball. I now love life, I love being alive, and have the driving force within me to do things and be successful. The more I do the better. I want to leave behind a legacy when I pass on from this life. There is a saying, "when it's all over all that matters is what you have done." I just have that drive to do, do, do and succeed at what I am doing.
Recovery is truly possible.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Having Fun
It is very good for consumers to do things just to have fun. We consumers need a break from all the hassles of life and engage in fun activities. Doing things for fun helps get our minds off of things and focus on what we are doing.
What I do for fun and relaxation is playing computer games. I had gotten a computer game called Combat Wings: Battle of Britain. I am in a hurricane engaging in dogfights with German war planes. I have just started playing this game yesterday. I am having a ball. I am not very good at it yet but I keep playing it anyway. Sometimes I lose my bearings and crash in the ocean. The more I play it the better I get at it.
My fellow consumers that read this blog entry you should try to find an activity that brings you much fun and pleasure and just do it. You would be surprised at the outcome. It will help you escape from all the noise going on in your mind caused by your illness. It would give you something to focus on and give you relief for awhile.
Personally I work a lot. Even when I am not physically at work I do a lot of work at home in my office concerning my writing job with CMHA. I also have two other part time jobs on the go. I pretty much work five days a week. I am very glad to be working. There was a time when I wasn't able to work. Just the fact that I am working is a miracle.
I personally need a break from it all so I engage in playing computer games. Since I started playing computer games yesterday I have discovered the benefits of engaging in such activities. It's a time for me to just relax and have fun. I am going to continue playing computer games when I need to take some time out from all the busy activities I am engaged in.
I need to have some fun in life and I personally feel that my fellow consumers also need to spend some quality time having fun too. I would like to suggest to my readers try to find that one activity that will help you just to have fun. It doesn't have to be computer games, it could be anything that you enjoy doing. Hiking, bird watching, painting, drawing, reading a good book, playing a musical instrument, or even just watching a good movie. Just search for that one activity that you can engage in for fun.
I've made the decision to take time out for myself and have fun and I hope that you too will make the decision to engage in some activity just for the purpose of having fun. Good luck in finding that activity and carrying it out in your life. It would be very beneficial to your recovery. That is the purpose of consumers. Finding recovery. I personally believe that recovery is truly possible. I am recovering every day that I wake up and live my life just for that one day. Once more. Good luck.
What I do for fun and relaxation is playing computer games. I had gotten a computer game called Combat Wings: Battle of Britain. I am in a hurricane engaging in dogfights with German war planes. I have just started playing this game yesterday. I am having a ball. I am not very good at it yet but I keep playing it anyway. Sometimes I lose my bearings and crash in the ocean. The more I play it the better I get at it.
My fellow consumers that read this blog entry you should try to find an activity that brings you much fun and pleasure and just do it. You would be surprised at the outcome. It will help you escape from all the noise going on in your mind caused by your illness. It would give you something to focus on and give you relief for awhile.
Personally I work a lot. Even when I am not physically at work I do a lot of work at home in my office concerning my writing job with CMHA. I also have two other part time jobs on the go. I pretty much work five days a week. I am very glad to be working. There was a time when I wasn't able to work. Just the fact that I am working is a miracle.
I personally need a break from it all so I engage in playing computer games. Since I started playing computer games yesterday I have discovered the benefits of engaging in such activities. It's a time for me to just relax and have fun. I am going to continue playing computer games when I need to take some time out from all the busy activities I am engaged in.
I need to have some fun in life and I personally feel that my fellow consumers also need to spend some quality time having fun too. I would like to suggest to my readers try to find that one activity that will help you just to have fun. It doesn't have to be computer games, it could be anything that you enjoy doing. Hiking, bird watching, painting, drawing, reading a good book, playing a musical instrument, or even just watching a good movie. Just search for that one activity that you can engage in for fun.
I've made the decision to take time out for myself and have fun and I hope that you too will make the decision to engage in some activity just for the purpose of having fun. Good luck in finding that activity and carrying it out in your life. It would be very beneficial to your recovery. That is the purpose of consumers. Finding recovery. I personally believe that recovery is truly possible. I am recovering every day that I wake up and live my life just for that one day. Once more. Good luck.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Schizophrenia Newsletter
The Kings County Chapter of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia publishes a newsletter on schizophrenia. It is published three times a year. It comes out in January, May, and September. It contains a lot of useful information about schizophrenia and related topics.
If any of my readers are interested in obtaining copies to read just send me an e-mail and we could arrange something to get the newsletter to you. You will find my e-mail address on my profile of this blog.
If any of my readers are interested in obtaining copies to read just send me an e-mail and we could arrange something to get the newsletter to you. You will find my e-mail address on my profile of this blog.
Kings County Chapter Schizophrenia Society of NS.
Strengthening Families Together
A ten-week program for families (this includes parents, spouses, adult siblings, adult children) and friends of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Each session is filled with up-to-date information about serious mental illness. Learn self-care, communication, and coping skills in a supportive environment.
Program to start Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
CMHA Kings County Branch Office
Armoury Properties, 49 Cornwallis Street, Suite 106/109
Kentville, Nova Scotia
ONE SESSION PER WEEK FOR TEN WEEKS
For more information, or to register, call Pat at (902) 678-8458, or Penni at (902) 678-1229.
ALL SESSIONS ARE FREE
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Newsletter Article
I figured out how to upload pictures from my camera to my computer. After I did that I uploaded a picture from the computer to my e-mail. I interviewed a lady on her experiences with post traumatic stress disorder and wrote an article on her experiences. I sent the article to my editor. The picture I sent by e-mail was one of the lady I interviewed. We are going to put both her picture and the article in the Mental Health Perspective Newsletter published by the Kings County Branch of the CMHA of Nova Scotia.
I wrote the article yesterday. It took about 3 or 4 hours to write the article. After the article was finished I called her up and read it to her. She was pleased and happy with it. She told me to send it to my editor to be published. I personally believe that it is an excellent article. When I interviewed her for the story she just told me her story. What a story she had to tell. It was a highly moving story. I feel that it could produce intense feelings in those that read it.
About the newsletter. It is a newsletter that we publish once a month. It covers all aspects of things pertaining to mental health. It covers various types of mental illness, articles on what's going on in our local area for consumers to attend, practical things like how to shop on a tight budget, and there was an article on Inn From The Cold. Inn From The Cold is a project that gives the homeless a place to sleep every night of the week. I was informed that most of the people that use this service have some form of mental illness.
This newsletter has been very successful. It is distributed all over Kings County, in various places in Nova Scotia, and it is even distributed as far as Australia. The number of issues we publish are in the hundreds. We have a very large readership. There are three of us that write the articles for it. Plus we have other people that help with it as well. I am just grateful and thankful for being given the opportunity to be a part of this newsletter. I love writing and sharing my knowledge with others. One purpose I have for my writing is to help my fellow consumers, family and friends of consumers, and educate the general public about mental illness to stamp out some of that awful stigma by society towards those with mental illness. I hope that I have been successful in these purposes for my writing.
God bless you and bye for now.
I wrote the article yesterday. It took about 3 or 4 hours to write the article. After the article was finished I called her up and read it to her. She was pleased and happy with it. She told me to send it to my editor to be published. I personally believe that it is an excellent article. When I interviewed her for the story she just told me her story. What a story she had to tell. It was a highly moving story. I feel that it could produce intense feelings in those that read it.
About the newsletter. It is a newsletter that we publish once a month. It covers all aspects of things pertaining to mental health. It covers various types of mental illness, articles on what's going on in our local area for consumers to attend, practical things like how to shop on a tight budget, and there was an article on Inn From The Cold. Inn From The Cold is a project that gives the homeless a place to sleep every night of the week. I was informed that most of the people that use this service have some form of mental illness.
This newsletter has been very successful. It is distributed all over Kings County, in various places in Nova Scotia, and it is even distributed as far as Australia. The number of issues we publish are in the hundreds. We have a very large readership. There are three of us that write the articles for it. Plus we have other people that help with it as well. I am just grateful and thankful for being given the opportunity to be a part of this newsletter. I love writing and sharing my knowledge with others. One purpose I have for my writing is to help my fellow consumers, family and friends of consumers, and educate the general public about mental illness to stamp out some of that awful stigma by society towards those with mental illness. I hope that I have been successful in these purposes for my writing.
God bless you and bye for now.
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