Happy Birthday Mom,
Love you xoxo
Janet :)
Mom's favorite song
Monday, March 19, 2012
Dear Mother
Hello, Today I am sending a balloon up to Heaven, and listening to this song in memory of my dear Mother, my inspiration for this blog, who would have turned 76 today. There still isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her, that I don't miss her. But I know she is with me in spirit until we meet again.
Happy Birthday Mom,
Love you xoxo
Janet :)
Mom's favorite song
Happy Birthday Mom,
Love you xoxo
Janet :)
Mom's favorite song
Friday, March 16, 2012
Speak Up
Hello, Happy Friday! This Sunday March 18th at 5:30pm the Cartoon Network will premiere their Documentary "Speak Up". I wanted to share this information for any Parent who may have a child who is experiencing this. I know first hand how tramatic this can be for a child, my daughter was bullied for a while in Jr. High School. I think being able to ask Rosalind a question online is also a great tool for Parents. Bullying does need to stop so that every child can feel safe in their environment and develop self esteem!
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/promos/stopbullying/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/stopbullyingspeakup
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/promos/stopbullying/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/stopbullyingspeakup
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sorrow's Purpose
Hello, A reminder from Rumi that Sorrow does serve a purpose. We shouldn't waste our energy fighting it, just feel it, work through it, and embrace a renewed sense of spirit that emerges after.
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.
~Rumi~
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.
~Rumi~
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Can Fish Oil Help Prevent Psychosis?
Hello, I was excited to read this information on the prevention of Psychosis and some mental illnesses from the NAMI newsletter I received today. We always hear on the news what the medical community is doing to prevent illnesses for our physical health, so it is great to hear what is being done in the medical community to prevent mental illnesses as well. I can only hope this study leads to new breakthroughs that would allow individuals and their families to break free!
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
Can Fish Oil Help Prevent Psychosis?
By Courtney Reyers, NAMI Publications Manager
A 2010 groundbreaking study by Paul Amminger and his team in Vienna, Austria found that fish oil (omega-3 can help prevent psychosis in individuals with schizophrenia. Two years later, researchers and mental health professionals around the world are starting to replicate that study to see if we can help prevent mental illness before it starts.
Today, there is a multi-country study going on in Europe looking at the effects that omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish oil, among other things) have on the brain when it comes to psychosis. Additionally, in the U.S. and Canada, Dr. Barbara Cornblatt (founder of the Recognition and Prevention Program (RAP) and a recipient of the 2003 NAMI Research Award) is collaborating with several other investigators to determine whether omega-3 fatty acids could potentially prevent onset of psychosis and improve clinical symptoms and functional outcome in youth and young adults who are at elevated risk for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
What Can Omega-3s Do for the Brain?
Omega-3 fatty acids (essential fatty acids, or EFAs) are thought to aid brain functioning in three possible ways: the assimilation of EFAs into brain cell membranes, EFA-induced alteration of neurotransmission and EFA caused reduction of oxidative stress. In separate studies, low levels of all three of these have been implicated in cases of schizophrenia.
Ethyl-eicosaptaenoic acid (E-EPA) is one of the fatty acids found in omega-3 that has been researched. Findings show that E-EPA might provide an increase in the antioxidant glutathione, which correlates with a reduction of oxidative stress in the hippocampus and lessened negative symptoms. Treatment seems to prevent further psychotic development by preventing further hippocampal damage, reiterating the importance of early treatment and preemptive intervention if possible.
Technicalities aside, fish oil looks promising because it can help prevent psychosis from developing in people who are at risk to develop it, while it has no side effects (and even some health benefits) for people who aren’t at risk. Essentially, it’s a benign preventative measure.
“There are people—30 to 35 percent of at-risk people—who have a higher chance for developing psychosis,” Dr. Cornblatt said. “We’re looking for a treatment that we can give everyone at risk—a treatment that can prevent psychosis in that 30 percent without harming the 70 percent of at-risk people who won’t go on to develop it. Fish oil seems to fit that bill.”
Stopping Mental Illness Before It Starts
A paradigm shift in the mental health field has been brewing for years—one that focuses on treating mental illness before it starts. The current team working on the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) is focusing on treating symptoms, not full-blown illnesses and many doctors, like Cornblatt, have been working with kids, teens and young adults to try approaching mental illness with foresight, rather than hindsight.
“[Early in my career] at Columbia University, I worked with genetically at-risk offspring of parents (mostly mothers) who lived with schizophrenia,” Cornblatt said. “We found several potential risk factors and I thought, ‘well now is the time to apply this in a real-world setting.’ I was fortunate in eventually moving to Zucker Hillside Hospital, where the potential of prevention in at-risk youngsters was immediately recognized, particularly because of the long history of research there focusing on patients in their initial episodes of psychosis. I received one of the first major grants in prodromal research in 2000, largely as a result of my prior experience researching risk factors in at-risk siblings and offspring.”
Armed with decades of experience and like-minded colleagues (such as Dr. Patrick McGorry and Dr. Alison Yung, as well as John Kane, head of Zucker), Cornblatt has focused on catching mental illness early. The grant allowed her to found the RAP Program, where she works with youth and their parents. At-risk teens and young adults are selected for the program if they meet specific entry criteria, as determined by an in-depth interview and system of symptom ratings. Youngsters are eligible for the RAP program is they display one or more symptoms (out of five) considered to be of medium to severe intensity (but not yet psychotic). This corresponds to getting between a three to five on a six-point scale on any one or more of the five symptoms. A score of six is too high, meaning the person is already displaying psychotic symptoms; below three is too low, meaning a person falls within the range typical of the general population. The five symptoms the RAP Program uses to determine if a teen or young adult is a good candidate for psychosis prevention are:
Unusual ideas (lead to delusions in psychosis)
Perceptual abnormalities (lead to hallucinations in full-blown psychosis)
Suspiciousness (leads to paranoia)
Grandiosity
Disorganized communication (leads to thought disorder)
“The RAP program has a slightly different approach than many other at-risk studies—rather than basing prevention on treatment using anti-psychotic medication, we’ve been focused on risk factors and how to improve them,” Cornblatt said. “What we’re doing is prevention. We don’t really work with psychotic individuals, we work with people who have warning signs that suggest they could become psychotic. According to our criteria, the youngsters we work with display subtle, early forms of positive symptoms, but these are not yet considered psychotic because they are so mild.
Bottom line: If you can prevent early positive symptoms from increasing in intensity, you can prevent schizophrenia.
For more information click on the links below:
http://www.rapprogram.org/
The Recognition and Prevention Program (RAP) provides confidential assessment and early assistance for young people between the ages of 12 and 25 who are at risk for mental illnesses.
http://www.nami.org/ADVTemplate.cfm?Section=Advocate_Magazine&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=136175
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
Can Fish Oil Help Prevent Psychosis?
By Courtney Reyers, NAMI Publications Manager
A 2010 groundbreaking study by Paul Amminger and his team in Vienna, Austria found that fish oil (omega-3 can help prevent psychosis in individuals with schizophrenia. Two years later, researchers and mental health professionals around the world are starting to replicate that study to see if we can help prevent mental illness before it starts.
Today, there is a multi-country study going on in Europe looking at the effects that omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish oil, among other things) have on the brain when it comes to psychosis. Additionally, in the U.S. and Canada, Dr. Barbara Cornblatt (founder of the Recognition and Prevention Program (RAP) and a recipient of the 2003 NAMI Research Award) is collaborating with several other investigators to determine whether omega-3 fatty acids could potentially prevent onset of psychosis and improve clinical symptoms and functional outcome in youth and young adults who are at elevated risk for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
What Can Omega-3s Do for the Brain?
Omega-3 fatty acids (essential fatty acids, or EFAs) are thought to aid brain functioning in three possible ways: the assimilation of EFAs into brain cell membranes, EFA-induced alteration of neurotransmission and EFA caused reduction of oxidative stress. In separate studies, low levels of all three of these have been implicated in cases of schizophrenia.
Ethyl-eicosaptaenoic acid (E-EPA) is one of the fatty acids found in omega-3 that has been researched. Findings show that E-EPA might provide an increase in the antioxidant glutathione, which correlates with a reduction of oxidative stress in the hippocampus and lessened negative symptoms. Treatment seems to prevent further psychotic development by preventing further hippocampal damage, reiterating the importance of early treatment and preemptive intervention if possible.
Technicalities aside, fish oil looks promising because it can help prevent psychosis from developing in people who are at risk to develop it, while it has no side effects (and even some health benefits) for people who aren’t at risk. Essentially, it’s a benign preventative measure.
“There are people—30 to 35 percent of at-risk people—who have a higher chance for developing psychosis,” Dr. Cornblatt said. “We’re looking for a treatment that we can give everyone at risk—a treatment that can prevent psychosis in that 30 percent without harming the 70 percent of at-risk people who won’t go on to develop it. Fish oil seems to fit that bill.”
Stopping Mental Illness Before It Starts
A paradigm shift in the mental health field has been brewing for years—one that focuses on treating mental illness before it starts. The current team working on the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) is focusing on treating symptoms, not full-blown illnesses and many doctors, like Cornblatt, have been working with kids, teens and young adults to try approaching mental illness with foresight, rather than hindsight.
“[Early in my career] at Columbia University, I worked with genetically at-risk offspring of parents (mostly mothers) who lived with schizophrenia,” Cornblatt said. “We found several potential risk factors and I thought, ‘well now is the time to apply this in a real-world setting.’ I was fortunate in eventually moving to Zucker Hillside Hospital, where the potential of prevention in at-risk youngsters was immediately recognized, particularly because of the long history of research there focusing on patients in their initial episodes of psychosis. I received one of the first major grants in prodromal research in 2000, largely as a result of my prior experience researching risk factors in at-risk siblings and offspring.”
Armed with decades of experience and like-minded colleagues (such as Dr. Patrick McGorry and Dr. Alison Yung, as well as John Kane, head of Zucker), Cornblatt has focused on catching mental illness early. The grant allowed her to found the RAP Program, where she works with youth and their parents. At-risk teens and young adults are selected for the program if they meet specific entry criteria, as determined by an in-depth interview and system of symptom ratings. Youngsters are eligible for the RAP program is they display one or more symptoms (out of five) considered to be of medium to severe intensity (but not yet psychotic). This corresponds to getting between a three to five on a six-point scale on any one or more of the five symptoms. A score of six is too high, meaning the person is already displaying psychotic symptoms; below three is too low, meaning a person falls within the range typical of the general population. The five symptoms the RAP Program uses to determine if a teen or young adult is a good candidate for psychosis prevention are:
Unusual ideas (lead to delusions in psychosis)
Perceptual abnormalities (lead to hallucinations in full-blown psychosis)
Suspiciousness (leads to paranoia)
Grandiosity
Disorganized communication (leads to thought disorder)
“The RAP program has a slightly different approach than many other at-risk studies—rather than basing prevention on treatment using anti-psychotic medication, we’ve been focused on risk factors and how to improve them,” Cornblatt said. “What we’re doing is prevention. We don’t really work with psychotic individuals, we work with people who have warning signs that suggest they could become psychotic. According to our criteria, the youngsters we work with display subtle, early forms of positive symptoms, but these are not yet considered psychotic because they are so mild.
Bottom line: If you can prevent early positive symptoms from increasing in intensity, you can prevent schizophrenia.
For more information click on the links below:
http://www.rapprogram.org/
The Recognition and Prevention Program (RAP) provides confidential assessment and early assistance for young people between the ages of 12 and 25 who are at risk for mental illnesses.
http://www.nami.org/ADVTemplate.cfm?Section=Advocate_Magazine&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=136175
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/
Monday, March 5, 2012
Of Two Minds
Hello, I hope you had a good weekend. I was watching Good Morning America today when I saw Kristin Davis talking to Robin Roberts about this movie. I'm always happy to see a movie that raises awareness about Mental Illness, because just as Kristin Davis said to Robin Roberts today, "As a Society, we still don't talk about these issues, there is still a Stigma that surrounds Mental Illness", which of course, I could not agree with more. This movie will address what my family and I had to cope with, for about 30 years with my Mother, and what many other families still have to cope with today. I will be forever grateful though, that in the last 20 yrs of my mother's life, new treatment brought about a whole new, and happy life for her and my family. I encourage you to watch this if you know someone who is living with a family member that is ill. I am sure it will leave you feeling a little more compassionate.
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
Lifetime is set to premiere the original movie “Of Two Minds,” starring and executive produced by Emmy-nominated actress Kristin Davis (“Sex and the City,” “Couples Retreat”) and co-starring Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard (“Moneyball,” LMN’s “Amish Grace”) and Oscar winner Louise Fletcher (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”). From a screenplay by Oscar-nominated writer Richard Friedenberg (“A River Runs Through It,” “Promise”), the Sony Pictures Television–distributed film takes viewers on an emotional journey as they are given an intimate look at a family’s struggle to cope with a loved one suffering from schizophrenia and the challenges that threaten to tear them apart. “Of Two Minds” will debut on Lifetime Saturday, March 10, at 8 pm et/pt.
“Of Two Minds” follows the story of the challenging relationship between Billie (Davis) and her younger schizophrenic sister, Elizabeth, known as “Baby” (Blanchard). After their mother dies, Billie takes responsibility by moving Baby in with her family, including her husband, their teenage son and young daughter. At first, Baby and the family work to adjust to their new living arrangement. However, after a disturbing incident involving her son and Baby, it becomes clear to Billie that she and her family are not equipped to handle Baby’s illness, ultimately forcing her to make the difficult decision to do what’s best for her sister and her family.
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)
Lifetime is set to premiere the original movie “Of Two Minds,” starring and executive produced by Emmy-nominated actress Kristin Davis (“Sex and the City,” “Couples Retreat”) and co-starring Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard (“Moneyball,” LMN’s “Amish Grace”) and Oscar winner Louise Fletcher (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”). From a screenplay by Oscar-nominated writer Richard Friedenberg (“A River Runs Through It,” “Promise”), the Sony Pictures Television–distributed film takes viewers on an emotional journey as they are given an intimate look at a family’s struggle to cope with a loved one suffering from schizophrenia and the challenges that threaten to tear them apart. “Of Two Minds” will debut on Lifetime Saturday, March 10, at 8 pm et/pt.
“Of Two Minds” follows the story of the challenging relationship between Billie (Davis) and her younger schizophrenic sister, Elizabeth, known as “Baby” (Blanchard). After their mother dies, Billie takes responsibility by moving Baby in with her family, including her husband, their teenage son and young daughter. At first, Baby and the family work to adjust to their new living arrangement. However, after a disturbing incident involving her son and Baby, it becomes clear to Billie that she and her family are not equipped to handle Baby’s illness, ultimately forcing her to make the difficult decision to do what’s best for her sister and her family.
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