mental health recommended websites

Join the Lancet’s “movement for global mental health”. For more information on this volunteer-based initiative (and to view pictures about treatment), type http://www.globalmentalhealth.org/ on your address bar. In July 2008, The Globe and Mail published a series of feature articles on Canada’s mental health crisis. To view it, set your browser to: www.theglobeandmail.com/breakdown , July 2011 articles about prisons and mental illness include: www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/mens-jail-death-puts-justice-system-on-trial/article2112352/ www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/hospitals-judges-at-oddsover-how-to-handle-mentally-ill/article2113826 www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/woman-needing-mental-assessment-spends-two-weeks-in-police-cells-prison/article2110851/ Are Tasers dangerous? So far they killed more than 660 North Americans! Read more on http://www.truthnottasers.blogspot.com/ or for an example of abuse check out http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/07/31/fullerton-police-beat-to-death-mentally-ill-homeless-man/ ... and for the Official Truth from the maker of the Taser, visit http://www.taser.com/ Notice that they sell model C2 (smaller and cute design) for the general public in the United States! They also came up with a projectile to be fired by a 12 gauge shotgunfor an extended range. There is also an entertaining video about a simulation where a patrol of soldiers tries to secure a pier where some cool-headed "terrorists" are hiding. "Innocent civilians" interfere by running towards the american soldiers while shouting in a foreign language. In a second run when the soldiers have access to a military Taser, they can zap suspects and ask questions later. This better control of the situation also means that the "terrorists" are less likely to escape. Fun stuff for armchair officers!
NAMI is an American organization which advocates for better care, less stigma. If you register, you can get news by e-mail about (your choice of) : their e-newsletter : Advocate Stigma Buster Alert Crisis intervention teams (police and health care worker) : CIT in action State legislature updates : Statehouse Spotlight Multicultural news : Recovery for all In Spanish : Avanzamos! Discussion groups, walks, etc. at : http://www.nami.org/ Other sites with interesting news and links: http://www.szmagazine.ca/ and their video blog on www.youtube.com/magpiemedia1 for bipolar disorder, http://www.bphope.com/ http://www.pdqhealth.com/ http://www.naemi.org/ http://therideformentalhealth.org/ http://www.nida.nih.gov/ http://www.samhsa.gov/ especially http://www.mentalhelp.samsha,gov/ try also www.homeless.samhsa.gov/Resouce/Supporting-Employment-for-People-who-are-Homeless-QandA-with-John-Rio-37553.aspx on seclusion and restraints: http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/SMA06-4055 on co-occuring problems: http://coce.samhsa.gov/cod_resources/PDF/OP3-overarchingPrinciples-8-13-07.pdf http://www.madnotbad.co.uk/bytopic/content_main.htm http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/ http://www.schizophreniaforum.org/ http://schizophreniadiaries.com/schizophrenic-stories/ http://www.dmoz.org/Health/Mental_health/Disorders/Schizophrenia/Personal_Pages http://www.openthedoors.com/ http://www.depressionhurts.ca/ http://www.narsad.org/ http://www.mentalhelp.net/ http://www.mentalhealth.com/ www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/schizophrenia http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/schizophrenia http://www.nmha.org/ www.fda.gov/cder www.who.int/mental_health/mhgap/en www.psychwatch.com/news.htm
About American mental illness policy and corruption : http://mentalillnesspolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/wastereport.pdf
Peer support and recovery (when will this USA site have a canadian branch?) www.warmline.org
Cognitive behavioral therapy : www.copingtutor.com
Excellent 25 minutes video at http://hopeandrecoveryfilm.com/ , related blog: https://embracingmymind.org/
About new medications: http://www.jnjpharmarnd.com/ click our innovation then introduction to drug development.
Shocking videos and article: http://psychcentral.com/bolg/archives/2011/07/31/fullerton-police-beat-to-death-mentally-ill-homeless-man/ 
A former drug addict talks about his life (27 minutes audio clip)  : www.cbc.ca/meta/popupaudio.html?clipIds=2250069887
www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/schizophrenia http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/ this american woman who grew up in squalor with drug addicted parents, but turned her life around against the odds to graduate from Harvard university: obtain her book or watch this 26 minutes video:
20 min. course for policemen : www.cityoforange.org/depts/police/mental_health_resources/mental_health_video.asp
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2009/03/000000_outlook.shtml
For three decades, Judy Graves has helped the homeless get welfare or disability payments and get into an appartment.  She met them under bridges, in gardens in entrances in the wee hours of the morning.  She has now retired.  Read about her on http://thetyees.ca/News/2013/04/12/Judy-Graves or www.vanmag.com/News_and_Features/Profile_Judy_Graves .
Bloggers www.christinabruni.com/blog.html http://www.wanderer62.blogspot.com/ and http://www.gaining-insight.blogspot.com/ .
Many links to first-person accounts, poetry and visual art: http://www.1stpm.org/ more art: www.psycheundkunst.bizland.com/Thumbnail%20Images.htm http://emedicine.medscape.com/psychiatry www.mdlinx.com/psychlinx/ http://www.psychmedaware.org/ http://www.schizophreniaconnection.com/ http://www.world-schizophrenia.org/ http://www.iris-initiative.org.uk/ http://www.reintegration.com/ http://www.kristinbell.org/ http://www.beyondalabel.com/ http://www.karensearchformeaning.blogspot.ca/ http://embracingmymind.org/  
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/02/20/rebecca-marino-another-athlete-helping-to-remove-stigma-of-depression
http://www.peoplesayimcrazy.org/stories
www.dmoz.org/Health/Mental_Health/disorders/Schizophrenia/ http://www.paranoidschizophrenia.co.uk/ http://www.schizophreniaandsubstanceuse.ca/ or http://users.erols.com/ksciacca http://www.camh.net/ http://www.camimh.ca/ www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/09/22/mental-illness-human-rights-and-us-prisons www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/st-lawrence-valley-correctional-and-treatment-centre/article1877960/ www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/senator-battles-warehousing-of-mentally-ill-in-prison/article1805245 www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/mental-health-care
European survivors of psychiatric treatments : www.enusp.org/newstetter/2010/1.pdf
Women prisoners : www.elizabethfry.ca/eweek09/pdf/menthlth.pdf and www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/prisons-grapple-with-increase-in-mentally-ill-female-inmates/article1884243/%20/ The prison hunger strike in american prisons started july 1, 2011 at the secure housing unit of the Pelican Bay State prison in California and more than 6000 hunger strikers joined in : http://www.prisonhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/ .The strike was called off around july 30,2011.  How to health guide for family at www.healthcharities.ca .  www.opdi.org . http://patientsassociation.ca
Consumer and family forum: www.heretohelp.bc.ca/forum/ Who will help the Flagg family now that Trevor is 20 ? www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/04/26/bc-kidsremoved.html Books and posters etc. http://www.recoverresources.com/
About stigma: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTIZ_aizzyk
About involuntary treatment orders: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/
Sites about housing: www.toronto.ca/housing/pdf/news-housingfirst-report.pdf or http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/05/09/streets-to-homes-program-draws-praise-criticism.aspx and in New York city: http://auto_sol.tao.ca/node/3140 About Dr. Mosher and Soteria House: www.moshersoteria.com/crazy.htm
Sites about early intervention and treatment: http://www.eppic.org.au/ http://www.iepa.org.au/ and http://www.pepp.ca/ http://www.earlypsychosis.com/ www.psychosissucks.ca/epi/
Case histories: http://www.mikesstory.com/ http://www.schizo.contactbox.co.uk/ http://www.chovil.com/ http://www.kurtsnyder.net/ http://books.trafford.com/06-1263 http://4thavenueblues.blogspot.com/ A long bibliography of first-person accounts was available on: www.isps-us.org/bibliographies/Bibliography_4th_edition.pdf now can be found at: http://phsj.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/Narratives-of-Mental-Illness-Gail-Hornstain.pdf For other narratives, try: http://psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com/ http://ezinearticles.com/?Surving-Mental-Illeness---A-Personal-Account&id=1513181
www.experiencepeoject.com/stories/Am-Bipolar/1072503
www.experienceproject.com/stories/Am-Bipolar/534032
http://www.diaryofaschizophrenic.co.uk/ http://www.kristinbell.org/ http://tonysschizophreniacorner.blogspot.com/ http://www.mentalhealthhero.com/
http://home.acor.de/pahaschi/diary.htm http://www.h13.com/
To fight stigma : http://www.bringchange2mind.org/
Ashley Smith died in detention on October 19, 2007 after mutilating herself 168 times. She was not cooperating, often breaking hospital property and obstructing door windows. Read the coroner's report including exerpts from her journal at www.gnb.ca/0073/PDF/AshleySmith-e.pdf For more autobiographical case histories in English, Google: "first-person account" AND "Schizophrenia Bulletin". www.healthline.com/channel/schizophrenia.html www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lobotomist/bedlam www.openthedoors.com/english http://www.eufami.org/ http://www.sane.org/ http://www.reintegration.com/ www.shineonline.ie/ http://www.seemescotland.org/ http://www.tasksunlimited.org/ about depression and bipolar illness: http://www.dbsalliance.org/
About depression leading to suicide for adolescents and teachers: http://www.morethansad.org/
What should I do about a family member who is losing it? or sudden changes I notice about myself? http://www.refer-o-scope.com/
About hallucinations: www.youtube.ca/watch?v=T14ne5m599g&feature=related and
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeXqe85cuA Other videos:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=86-9LTx5d7w&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGJZQI_k2Y&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4R6jln_eZg&feature=related
The Judge Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, an american institution, has posted legal briefs and judgements etc. including settlements forcing state agencies to provide community services and supervised appartments: http://www.bazelon.org/ http://www.schizophrenia.com/
For youth: http://www.youthnet.on.ca/ The mental illness awareness week  : http://www.miaw.ca/
For youth attitude towards drugs (USA) www.casacolumbia.org/absolutenm/articlefiles/380-2009%20Teen%20Survey%20Report.pdf
For medical research in peer-reviewed journals, go to www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ or http://medlineplus.gov/ or you may prefer http://www.pubmed.gov/ or www.apa.org/psycinfo or www.ovid.com/site or for nursing www.cinahl.com/library .
Subscribe to SZ magazine, 19.95 for 4 issues of about 50 pages - one year: 1-866-672-3038 or http://www.mentalwellnesstoday.com/
The journal Sante mentale au Quebec, which may stop publication soon, has back issues available at www.erudit.org/revue/smq also these sites in French: http://www.textes-psy.com/ and http://www.toxquebec.com/ and http://www.guidesante.gouv.qc.ca/fr/ and http://users.skynet.be/sisyphe and http://www.schizophrenie.qc.ca/ about drugs : http://www.cqld.ca/ for local services, hospitals: www.hclm.qc.ca/fr http://www.hlhl.qc.ca/ other community services: http://www.centregens.ca/ www.serviceespoir.com/html http://www.ourharbour.org/  http://www.impatients.ca/ http://www.amiquebec.org/ http://www.apammrs.org/ for Laprairie Chateauguay: http://www.accoladesantementale.org/ Also l'association canadienne de la sante mentale at http://www.acsm.ca/ and the research foundation devoted to mental illness: http://www.fondationdesmaladiesmentales.org/ IPS supported employment in Quebec : www.aetmis.gouv.qc.ca/site/phpwcms_filestorage/df2282e48c60cb58f51fed4e42d688fe.pdf we manage three other websites in French. They are: http://www.schizophrenie-monteregie.com/ http://www.schizomonteregie.blogspot.com/ and http://www.schizolongueuil.blogspot.com/

Confession

The mysterious power of the confession

Has someone told you in confidence about a misconduct that troubled his conscience? It may have happened to you many times. It is interesting to note that by choosing to talk about it, he made a choice as serious as the misdeed itself. By telling someone else, he opened the door to a pardon, he may have expected advice and he decreased his mental pressure.
This requirement of the confession is present throughout our life, even for children, This is one of the reasons why we have two parents and are born in a loving atmosphere. The family supplies a climate of protection, learning and assumption of responsibilities. School or daycare is the next step for instruction and social life. Man is a social animal : we interact with our family and must choose friends, mentors, sometimes a doctor or therapist. More serious matters will be discussed with a smaller circle : immediate family, therapist, trusted friend.
The confession is a celebration of life, an opportunity to grow, a way of freeing our conscience. It is a biological protection against anarchy created by God who intervenes through someone else. The mechanism of confession is well known by all priests, all doctors and by judicial authorities. This is how priests see in penitents a sinner who may be redeemed if he adopts an appropriate attitude. Doctors see in patients someone who may be oppressed by his conscience and the root of the problem afflicting him must go through the expression of his misdeeds or the explanation of a troubling fact. Judicial authorities see a criminal as someone who either has accomplices or is emotionally unstable until he has unburdened himself.
So… Are you perturbed by a sin or a troubling fact?
You have a lot to gain by confessing it; you will soon feel the relief!

Benzodiazepines

The family of drugs called benzodiazepines is prescribed so often that pharmacists report that it is the third most prescribed type of medication. The first ans second type are painkillers and heart medications.
But it is only one of the types of medications used in psychiatry. It is usually prescribed to decrease anxiety and/or help with sleeplessness. Before we go any further, let us identify them with their chemical and trade names:

Alprazolam (Zanax)
Bromazepam (Lectopam)
Chlordiazepoxide (Librium, Apo-chlordiazepoxide, Melidium, Novopoxide, Solium)
Diazepam (Valium, Apo-diazepam, E-Pam, Novodipam, Vivol)
Flurazepam (Dalmane, Apo-flurazepam, Novoflumam, somnol, Som-pam)
Lorazepam (Ativan, Apo-lorazepam, Novolorazem)
Oxazepam (Serax, Zapex, Apo-oxazepam, Novoxapam, Ox-pam)
Temazepam (Restoril)
Triazolam (Halcion)

So we may question which sudden plague has hit us for anxiety and insomnia to be so common?
Benzodiazepines have their place in modern pharmacies. Before their discovery, doctors were sometimes using barbiturates but they had good reasons to be reticent to prescribe them. Indeed, barbiturates are more toxic than benzodiazepines and the brain soon tolerates them. Tolerance is a gradual adaptation of the brain chemistry so that over time the effect of a constant regular dose decreases. For a continued result, the dosage would have to increase gradually but this practice is dangerous.
Benzodiazepines are minor tranquilizers which decrease agitation and nervousness, slow down mental activity, increase drowsiness and relax muscles. But the sleep they provide is not as good as normal sleep because it contains less “rapid eye movement” sleep.
It is important to find the reason causing anxiety or insomnia and aim to solve the problem that way. As for insomnia, healthy sleep habits like going to bed at a regular time should be observed.
Patients taking benzodiazepines should avoid alcohol . Indeed, alcohol increases the effect of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepines increase the effect of alcohol. The patient may have to avoid driving or operating machinery depending on the medication and its effect on him.
Nowadays, we question the justification for prescribing benzodiazepines to the aged because they can be injured when they fall at night.
But some real problems do occur for which a benzodiazepine is useful. Chronic anxiety can be paralysing. A panic attack can be very embarrassing for the patient and bewildering to witnesses. Sometimes, other therapies are usefull but require time. Benzodiazepines do exist, they are effective and can, for example, be used temporarily while the root of the problem is being addressed.
Benzodiazepines are safe on the liver and the kidney. A dependence may occur when the patient gets used to the mental comfort brought by the medication. Caution is therefore in order and when the medication is decreased it should be done gradually.
When Valium became available in the early 60s, it was prescribed too often. Doctors were relieved to have a safe substance which was effective in decreasing anxiety. Patients were coming back for more and were spreading the word that they felt better thanks to pills. Drug companies had found a profitable product with a soaring demand. Then, in medical conventions, doctors wondered whether the trend would have serious repercussions. There was a need to be far more circumspect before reaching for the prescription pad. Benzodiazepines are not a solution to boredom, irresponsibility, fear, insomnia and anxiety. It also came to light that benzodiazepines have a potential for abuse so measures must be taken by doctors, pharmacists and nurses to limit misuse.
Today, the benzodiazepine family is larger. It continues to help thousands of people every day. But it is desirable that patients be informed on the effects of their medications and wish to return to reality as soon as possible. The pleasant benzodiazepines are only a tool to get back to real life and its challenges.