MENTAL ILLNESS- The Stigma and the Scapegoat.

[AliceinWonderland]

There is an idea that 'normalisation' is very helpful & I think it is

......#

This is similar to Erskine et al (1999, p. 95)’s observations
about clients who believe they are sick or flawed


‘The purpose of normalisation is to counter these self-denigrating beliefs and
to help clients realise that their behaviors and their internal experiences are
normal and predictable responses to their life situation, their environment and
their genetic make-up…Clients need to be told-sometimes again and again what
they are doing and feeling is a normal human response’.

Totally agree. I find this idea really helpful. Who's Erskine?

[Apotheosis]

[Roger Waldram]

Totally agree. I find this idea really helpful. Who's Erskine?

Hi Alice, wicked me (!) sending half a quotation-Richard Erskine's site is here- http://www.integrativetherapy.com/ and here is the full reference from my thesis: Erskine, R. Moursund, J. & Trautmann, R. (1999). Beyond Empathy: A Therapy of contact-in-relationship. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel.

He is one of the 'founding fathers' of integrative psychotherapy and I was fortunate enough to do a weekend workshop with him early in my training. Also fortunate enough to do some body-work with him during my personal process of a kind of waking up, if that makes sense. He is an incredibly gentle, powerful man with an intuitive gift that seems like he is quickly able to 'read' you.

As an integrative psychotherapist one can 'nick' or integrate anything from any approach that is likely to enhance the therapeutic relationship. So I'm a 'mongrel' therapist!!!

There's lots of free stuff in his website & YouTube that ?may be interesting.

Roger

[AliceinWonderland]

Thanks Roger, I'll have a look, sounds interesting. Cheers.

[Apotheosis]

[Roger Waldram]

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm

Thanks, Tlltawhirl, for a good resource. I also think you could write a book...I'd like to read it and I hope there's a 'happy ending'.

Roger

[tiltawhirl]

Maslow's book on motivation and personality is a VERY good one for understanding the wide range of what is normal behavior. It is also a favorite of mine as in contrast to many, it does not study pathology but rather health and happiness. I highly recommend it.

You flatter me Roger! LOL

What a difference a day makes.....I am the kind of person who needs to look things straight in the face and now cannot wait for my appmt today, I am ready to face it and see what we can resolve. I intend to directly address also my fear of other's anger and abandonment and my anticipated projection of this onto my pdr.
He really is going to be upset with me but it's a chance to learn to deal with it and I know him to be a gentle man.

[Roger Waldram]

I don't do flattery.

True to your self always...I think.

I love the neuroscience of relationships (Cozolino) with the idea that healthy relationships with people, objects, personal gods (if you want one!), drugs, food, drink, music, animals,anything will enhance us & there is change for both in that. Love Rosie my border-collie & how our walks change us both.

Great for us both and I hope you had a 'waggy' appointment also rather than a saggy one that the stupid auto-correct on this iPad seemed to prefer.

All the best,

Roger the lodger the sod (from the rather rude limerick)

[tiltawhirl]

As it turns out the pdr was familiar with the Ashton manual. But true to form, you cannot get diazepam in the US except for alcohol withdrawal. He didn't say that out right but I know it to be true. I told him about this forum and in the UK diazepam is scripted regularly whereas in the US Drs always want to use clonazepam instead. He would have scripted me alprazolam again but we decided together to avoid any further trouble with those and I was given the choice of (of course) clonazepam or lorezepam (ativan).
I am on a short lease now tho because I did run out of the alprazolam early 2 months in a row. (terribly short half life but has been very effective for me at different times in my life) Which, aside from extraneous circumstances that he termed "the perfect storm" tell me that they did work for me but aren't any longer and I do not want trouble with them. Been there, done that, worn that t-shirt out.
I can understand his reasons. If I misuse them (take more than prescribed) and he continues to prescribe he can lose his medical license. This state is particularly strict...phobicly so. He will not prescribe diazepam due to the long half life. According to my understanding that was the point and the advantage of them. He ruled it out saying that we have an epidemic of people ODing on them and he likes to keep his patients above ground. I don't disbelieve him but since I also belong to a forum for over 8 years for codependency and addictions, I would think I would have heard of this and be aware of it. Opiates, yes. a large growing problem. Alcoholism has always been there. Benzos and alcohol together, TROUBLE, I know. So I am not exactly satisfied with the compromise I had to make but it was a respectful civil negotiation. I chose the clonazepam knowing I do not like it and stated why. It makes me tired all the time but really doesn't help with insomnia. (but it has the longer half life of the 2) It's open to re-negotiation after a fair trial. This was the business discussion that was necessary. The rest was talk therapy.
I was chatting about how to mitigate the intensity of a lifetime of emotions resurfacing at once and the disturbance and anxiety it creates and commented that I am a "religious whore"...meaning, I will read any of the disciplines or spiritual material..take what I like and leave the rest. He started laughing and loaned me one of his books: "Get out of Your Mind & Into Your Life" The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, by Steven C Hayes, PH.D. with Spencer Smith. Says he is eager to hear what I think of it.
Since I dumped the med that was numbing me and dumbing me and with intense therapy, I have been overwhelmed with anger, bitterness, rage, hatred and resentment, something struck a chord that was like putting a match to the volcano and all these buried and then deadened emotions are surfacing. It is NOT bipolar rage or irritability, it is valid to life experiences we have under the microscope. When that burst, behind it was great grief, sadness, HURT. No surprise to anyone. (and no surprise that I took a few extra alprazolam to mitigate the anxiety, rumination and get more than 4-5 hrs sleep)

My particular Pdr does not take the position it is all biological and chemistry but he does take the position that if we are unstable chemically that has to be addressed first. That jives with my experience. Like most of the psychologists I have seen, it then goes back to what he calls "hard wiring"....or family of origin. And as I pointed out today that family of origin is a little society....and the dynamics remain the same (except for with my mother with whom it took us 15!!! years to transform a toxic relationship into closeness and warm fuzzies but with limitations (which I willingly accept), it's a hell of an improvement and very good for me. And, he pointed out that it is my hard wiring too. damn, damn, double damn. I have been working on this since 1987.
Since I am the one that became ill and symptomatic, I get the stigma and scapegoating. They are perfectly fine and normal, thank you very much. screams and crosses eyes. There is a herd of big pink elephants in the room what we DO not see or talk about.

I am extremely tired of running over the same old ground every few years. And I really do not have the motivation and interest to spend another 15 years working so hard at any one of the relationships.

Alot can come up in 2 weeks, or I may find this book full of provocative material. But soon, we are going to have a very realistic and pragmatic discussion of personal hard wiring. The latest research I have and believe indicates that it is never really overcome anymore than the physical family resemblances. Mallable, yes, but onl so far.

I've done the re-parenting the inner child exercises and etc. There is an excellent site for that. I may be able to find it again if anyone wants it. Much better than the popular books I have read on the subject.

But I have questions that I want addressed on the subject.

50 minutes goes by so quickly...and I talk fast....straightforward and direct, I get feedback and info and participation, it's a team effort.

Today's fantasy would be to be able to afford to go once a week!

[tiltawhirl]

APO, LOVE the Erskine interview...must buy that book.