Maybe you have already seen this but it was new to me. "When I talk to God it is called Prayer. When God talks to me it is called Schizophrenia" I think we are too quick to label people and prejudge them. Peace and Rainbows to you all.

Hello Cheryl No actually, I haven't seen this little quip before. While I do see a little humor in it I still have to look at it from another viewpoint as well. That viewpoint is that mental illness in not taken seriously enough as it is and I just have a difficult time with mental health jokes that make light of this situation. Please forgive me here. It is not my intention to kill the spirit of the moment but, I do feel I need to express my personal feelings here. Schizophrenia is what took my last love of my life out of my life. Over a period of 4 months I had to watch her continually lose more and more of her sense of reality. You see, unless one with a mental illness is considered to be a clear and eminant danger to themselves or others it is next to impossible to get them the help they need. Once my girlfriend got to the point where I didn't even recognize who she was anymore, then, I was able to get her into the hospital on a 302 involuntary committment. This of course meant that she would consider me her enemy from that point on and so now, I will never see her again because she is afraid that I will have her arrested or murdered or something like that. To have lived with someone with this terrible illness I am left with a haunting memory of what it is like to be schizophrenic. There were times when I would sit and hold her in my arms for 10 or more hours while she battled her demons and spirits. There were times when I couldn't even be in the same room with her because she feared that I would kill her or hurt her in some crazy way. Now, she has been released from the hospital and has been living on her own again. She will not let anyone know where she is and her health care workers won't tell us how she is doing. By us, I mean myself and all of her own family. You see, now she believes that we were all in a conspiracy together to have her put away forever. Now she lives all alone in a world where nobody that loves her and cares about her has any way to even find out if she is dead or alive. So My Friend, I truly hope that I haven't offended you in any way. It's just that I think the only people who could laugh at a joke about mental illness, might be those who have never experienced it. Please read some of my other threads and forums about mental illness. My forums are about helping to break down the stigma associated with mental illness and spreading the message of hope to those who suffer with it. Perhaps you might even want to join us in our crusade to bring about the much needed change in our present system of mental health care. Actually, those of us with a mental illness do crack an occasional joke about our situations. We actually do laugh at ourselves and our perdicaments. It's just a matter of who is telling the joke if we laugh or not. Just like anybody else, we love to be laughed with. Never laughed at. Cheryl, I am sorry that I put such a serious tag ojn your post. I know you didn't mean any harm to anyone. Most likely it was just an over reaction n my part. Please come back and post again on my forums any time you like. I do thank you for the smile too. It really was quite funny. May a smile follow you to sleep each night,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and be there waiting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, when you awaken. Sincerly, Bill Vanderbilt Mental Health And Political Forums http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8212 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=9637 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8259 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=13254 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=11791 Business Forums http://wv0079721.betteruniverse.com http://www.ourpowerforcedmatrix.com/team.php?UID=10561

Hi Bill For the reasons you quote is why I posted here. I assumed most of the people reading these post will have experience of the devestation mental illness can cause to an individual and all those that surround them. I find it very difficult to communicate with someone who has 'voices' going on in their head. I cannot begin to imagine what torment it must be for them. Trying to sort out which messages are what. Even when people have their illness under control, others never really believe them. they are always wary of someone with a history of mental illness. When God speaks to a 'sane' person, it is a 'calling' not schiophrenia. I was really trying to make the point that so many people, without knowledge of mental illness, are quick to label people. I also thought that it may bring a smile to the many carers who are asking themselves "how should I respond" "What should I do now" The responsibilities of caring for someone with a mental illness are great. Carers must try to take some time for themselves so that they can remail strong and well. Sorry for any offence it was not intended

Hello Cheryl I'm so sorry if I gave you the impression that I was offended by your smiles post. It actually did make me smile because I do understand mental illness from both sides of the fence. You are correct in saying that people are quick to judge others. Especially when it comes to people with mental illness. On one of my other forums I had a guy refer to soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder as nut cases. Here is an example of the way people without knowledge of mental illness offend those of us with mental illness. Not so long ago, while in the process of having my last girlfriend committed to the hospital due to a schizophrenic episode, the two police officers sent to transport her stood around talking about other times when they had taken " crazies " to the hospital. As they shared their on the job experiences, they laughed at some of the things that had taken place with their previous "nuts". My girlfriend was present and heard everything they were saying. It was as if they either thought she was completely incoherant or that they were just so insensitive that they just didn't care. Little do they realize the prevalence of mental illness within our nations police forces. Much higher than in the average population. Cheryl, I believe that you feel the same way I do in many ways. We both believe that one should always walk a mile in anothers shoes before ever passing any judgement on another. Thank you for you smile Cheryl and I apologize if I offended you in any way. May a smile follow you to sleep each night,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and be there waiting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, when you awaken. Sincerly, Bill Vanderbilt Mental Health And Political Forums http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8212 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=9637 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8259 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=13254 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=11791 Business Forums http://wv0079721.betteruniverse.com http://www.ourpowerforcedmatrix.com/team.php?UID=10561

Hi Again Cheryl The following article describes the effort being made by some people in some places to improve our present system of treatment for mental illness. I wish every community would consider similar programs. Mental illness has a tendency to be treated as anything but an illness. It is treated as a crime most of the time. A burden on society all of the time and more often than not, it is just not treated at all. This is a terrible miscarriage of Justice in America and around the world. I wish more people would get involved in programs that would help improve mental health services rather than just try to tolerate the mentally ill. February 18, 2006 Sullivan mental-health advocates lobby for laws Albany - Members of Sullivan County's Friends and Advocates of Mental Health were among more than 300 mental health advocates who attended the recent National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-NYS Legislative Conference in Albany. They heard from advocates and lawmakers and talked with Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther about their legislative priorities. "We are very fortunate in Sullivan County to have such a dedicated and well-informed voice in the Assembly in Aileen Gunther," said FAMH Executive Director Lori Schneider-Wendt. Gunther received applause when she reaffirmed her commitment to the passage of laws that are high on NAMI-NYS's legislative priority list. These include a bill that would ban the use of prison special housing units (SHUs), the punitive 23-hour lockdowns, also known as "the box," for persons with mental illness, and provide for medical care instead. The group also seeks a law to ban the use of state psychiatric hospitals as holding pens for violent sexual predators once they are released from prison. The NAMI-NYS action agenda states that "by putting sexual predators into psychiatric hospitals, the state risks the safety of psychiatric patients (an already vulnerable population) and their caregivers, drains dollars, clogs beds in an already strained system and further exacerbates the stigma of mental illness." Schneider-Wendt and other advocates also say funding for programs for sexual predators belongs in the Corrections budget, rather than the Office of Mental Health budget. A third piece of legislation calls for mental health parity or nondiscriminatory health insurance for people with mental illness. Known in New York as Timothy's Law, it is named after Timothy O'Clair, who committed suicide at the age of 12, after his treatment ended, along with his insurance coverage. Every year, the Assembly passes this bill, but the Senate does not. Advocates are also hoping to pass a law to require accurate and timely statewide and local waiting lists of people with serious mental illness who need housing and services. Friends and Advocates for Mental Health, NAMI of Sullivan County, can be reached at 794-1029. Top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record Online is brought to you by the Times Herald-Record, serving New York's Hudson Valley and the Catskills. Terms of use | Privacy policy | Copyright | Corrections Subscribe | Advertise | THR services | Contact © Orange County Publications. All rights reserved. May a smile follow you to sleep each night,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and be there waiting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, when you awaken. Sincerly, Bill Vanderbilt Mental Health And Political Forums http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8212 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=9637 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=8259 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=13254 http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=11791 Business Forums http://wv0079721.betteruniverse.com http://www.ourpowerforcedmatrix.com/team.php?UID=10561