Awakenings: Stories of Recovery and Emergence from Schizophrenia (Ep. 89)

These inspiring stories will help you see schizophrenia in a new, more hopeful light - with the 3 Moms adding that if early detection and anosognosia are not taken into account, the outcomes can differ. There is so much work to be done - and so much to gain from it.

Preventing Crisis: Mental Health Literacy and Why It’s Essential (Ep. 88)

Do you have a loved one with Serious Mental Illness?

Do you wonder why it took so long for someone to recognize the symptoms?

Mental Health Literacy would have helped prevent the crises we have dealt with.

Guest: Annie Slease, Co-Founder of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative.

The mission of the MHLC is to make evidence-based mental health literacy a foundational part of PK-12 education and communities.

SMI and the Challenge of Dental Care: Let’s Talk Teeth (Ep. 87)

We ask guest Lauren Yasuda Rainey, DDS, about getting people with schizophrenia to care for their teeth, if/how medications affect teeth, and what we can do to help. This is yet another huge issues for those with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. Yes, the meds do have an effect on your teeth.

The Other S-Word: Let’s Talk About Suicide (Ep.86)

Guests are: Karlyn Nelson and Michelle Post

Karlyn Nelson Survivor of Suicide Loss | Breast Cancer Warrior | Realtor

Michelle Post, M.A., is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC 40198) with nearly 20 years of experience providing counseling and psychotherapy to clients in the greater Los Angeles area

According to the NIMH, People with schizophrenia have a much higher rate of suicide than the larger population: People with schizophrenia have a 10% rate of suicide compared with the larger population’s 1.3%rate of suicide.

Suicide is the biggest reason for the decreased life expectancy of people with schizophrenia.

A larger number of people with schizophrenia contemplate suicide. Around 40–79% of people with schizophrenia have reported having suicidal thoughts.

Saddest fact is that it is at the time of improved insight that most attempts are made. ie. when the person has finally moved past anosognosia and realizes his plight it is with improved understanding that this decision is made.

We Ask:

What is an “emotional heart attack”/ What are "The Five Things" when dealing with suicide loss in the family?

Ambiguous Loss - Living with grief caused by SMI (guest: Jerri Clark) (Ep. 85)

We explore Ambiguous Loss, specifically for those dealing with SMI (Severe Mental Illness) in a love one, with the Family Resource and Advocacy Manager at TAC (Treatment Advocacy Center). Jerri Clark is also a family member whose son with SMI died from suicide. The six coping strategies (not linear) are: Normalize Ambivalence, Find Meaning, Adjusting Mastery, Reconstruct Identity, Revive Attachment, Discover New Hope.

From Bedlam to the Business of Helping Others: Eric W. T. Smith, (Ep. 84)

We’re  delighted to welcome a return guest, Eric W.T. Smith. He was also interviewed  in Season 1 of 3 Moms (episodes 15 and 16, an AOT Success Story)

Over the years Eric Smith has spoken publicly about his journey through mental illness and addiction to a wide variety of audiences. Now he is a nationally recognized mental health advocate, public speaker, and consultant.

What Do I Do Now?: THE Handbook for SZ Caregivers: guest, Nicole Drapeau Gillen (Ep. 83)

Schizophrenia, a complex and harrowing illness, presents an ongoing challenge for caregivers. In this groundbreaking book, discover the missing links that empowers you to navigate the labyrinth of decisions and actions required to provide the best care for your loved one.

Nicole Drapeau Gillen is a mother who recognized that caregivers like herself often find themselves thrust into this challenging, complex and stressful situation with little clear guidance on how to help a loved one with a serious mental illness.

Ending the Criminalization of Mental Illness: Judge Steve Leifman (Ep. 82)

It is estimated that more than two million arrests in the United States each year involve people with Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI) – half of which are homeless at the time of their arrest. Jails have become places where a disproportionate number of people with SMI spend significant amounts of time; their ties to the community severed, their treatment needs unmet, and their illnesses made worse. But it doesn't have to be that way - This episode dives into a system that works, saves money, and helps those it used to harm. Judge Steve Leifman is the Associate Administrative Judge of the Miami-Dade County Court Criminal Division. He will discuss his journey into the mental health system, the legal and medical history that led to America’s mental health crisis and the essential elements necessary to create an effective system of care that ultimately will transform the mental health and criminal justice systems and make jail the last option for people with serious mental illnesses, not the first.

Turning the Tables: Young Journalists Ask the Moms about Mental Illness Issues (Ep. 81)

Youthcast Media Group (formerly Urban Health Media Project) trains high school students from under-resourced communities to report, write, and broadcast stories about health and social issues that affect their neighborhoods and cities. The goal is to help students better understand and communicate about health issues and disparities that directly affect them, and to foster a generation of diverse journalists that will enter and enrich news organizations across the country. The students learn to harness the power of their voices as journalists to share the rich experiences of their communities in a way that honors, informs and empowers. And today, they turn the tables to ask the 3 Moms the questions that matter to them - as youth, and as journalists.

Hope for Troubled Minds -Tributes to Courage and Love - Guest: Tony Roberts (Ep. 80)

Tony is a man with an unquiet mind who delights in the One who delights in him. He is diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder with psychotic features. With a lot of professional and spiritual help, he has published three books — Delight in Disorder: Ministry, Madness, Mission; When Despair Meets Delight: Stories to Cultivate Hope for Those with Mental Illness. And, Hope for Troubled Minds: Tributes to Those with Brain Illnesses and Their Loved Ones.

Faith, God, and Serious Mental Illness: But Deliver Me From Crazy - Guest: Katie R Dale (Ep. 79)

Katie R. Dale is no stranger to the storms of Serious Mental Illness. Blindsided by an intense episode of bipolar disorder at 16, she has come a long way. Katie has written a memoir on her psych hospitalizations and how God helped her heal. Dale has conquered many losses including her sanity and firstborn child. Despite these challenges, she has been an award-winning author and advocate, working toward equity for those with Serious Mental Illnesses through her books, blog, and work with nonprofits including National Shattering Silence Coalition, Delight in Disorder, and Fresh Hope for Mental Health.

Her passion is to share practical answers to living with and advocating for Serious Mental Illnesses.

Questions:

1. Tell us a bit about you and your experiences with Serious Mental Illness.

2. How did you start advocating for those with SMI, and what does that look like in all the various channels you serve?

3. On the outset you are a strong advocate for those with SMI, and a professing Christian. How do you advocate for SMI within the faith-based communities and churches?

4. What do you tell people who are not as faith-oriented about the difference between hearing voices in a psychotic state, and hearing God’s voice in your state of stability now?

5. What are misconceptions of those within the church who believe SMI is spiritually-based?

6. How do you reconcile your faith in a good God with the reality of a chronic mental illness?

7. What are benefits of leading a faith-informed life with a Serious Mental Illness?

Links: But Deliver Me From Crazy (Katie’s memoir) https://a.co/d/cu7DYg6 When she isn’t crafting her next book, you can find Katie playing with her daughter, watching a movie with her husband, or training for a 5k. You can find out more about her at https://katierdale.com/ and social media @KatieRDale.

From Breaking into a House to Being Invited...Peer Specialist Kevin Earley (Ep. 78)

Guest: Kevin “Earleybird” Earley - peer specialist, speaker and artist

His challenges with mental health are documented in his father, Pete Earley's 2007 best selling book, "Crazy - A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness", which chronicles his 2002 incident where Kevin broke into a stranger's house and took a bubble bath before being apprehended by the police. 

His work deals with mental health, race, privilege and resilience through adversity.  He speaks to inspire and resolve stigma through art.  He currently works with youth who live with mental health issues and helps mentor them to recover from their respective challenges.

Mothers and Sons: Family, Mental Illness and Love (Ep. 77)

A listener asks: What is your relationship like with your son — NOW?

“How was it before he was sick — not how was he - but how were you all as mother and son? How has it changed? How are you mother and son now?

I’d love to hear how you three women have learned to cope specifically with this - not the medicine, the addictions, the system, policies, laws, judicial system, stigmas - but how did you live through this and cope with the loss?”

Action, Alliance, and Hope for a Cure. Schizophrenia, A Treatable Brain Disease (Ep. 76)

Guest: Gordon Lavigne, CEO,  Schizophrenia and Psychosis Action Alliance

And Alfonso Guido Jr., JD

The vision of S&PAA (The Schizophrenia and Psychosis Action Alliance is this: 

to see schizophrenia and psychosis spectrum disorders universally recognized and treated as neurobiological brain illnesses.

Its mission?:

to create a movement for systemic change to improve care, support, and equity for the millions of people living with schizophrenia and psychosis spectrum disorders - and to find a cure.

Sounds good to us! 

We ask:

1. When and why was Schizophrenia and Psychosis Action Alliance (S&PAA) formed?

2. Some may recall that the name was originally SARDAA. Why did you rebrand?

3. Why did each of you come to work in mental illness/health advocacy? Are you family members?

4. What are two or three of the most important things S&;PAA does?

5. What kind of research is most needed?

6. How do you work with NAMI? Weren’t they formed for similar reasons as S&PAA?

7. What other mental health organizations do you work with and how?

8. Do you think there are too many groups or that some may someday consolidate?

9. What issues does S&PAA follow and advocate for in Congress?

10. Mimi was at this spring’s Congressional educational event and participated in the Angry Moms

demonstration. Mindy is also a member of the Angry Moms. Will there be more events like this?

11. How can our listeners engage with S&;PAA? Can they join as a member?

12. What one change would each of you most like to see in national mental health policy?

13. What most needs funding?

14. Anything else you would like to add to this conversation?

LINKS:
https://sczaction.org/
https://www.guidelobby.com/

Friendship ,Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions (Ep. 75)

Guest: Jonathan Rosen, author

The Best Minds is Jonathan Rosen's brilliant and heartbreaking account of an American tragedy. It is a story about the bonds of family, friendship, and community; the promise of intellectual achievement; and the lure of utopian solutions.

“Brave and nuanced…an act of tremendous compassion and a literary triumph.” – The New York Times

“Immensely emotional and unforgettably haunting.” – Wall Street Journal

Acclaimed author Jonathan Rosen’s haunting investigation of the forces that led his closest childhood friend, Michael Laudor, from the heights of brilliant promise to the forensic psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved. A story about friendship, love, and the price of self-delusion, The Best Minds explores the ways in which we understand—and fail to understand—mental illness.

We Ask:

1. What was the main reason you wrote this book?

2. Early in the book, you note a couple times how drawn Michael was to marijuana. We all noticed that in our sons as well. Knowing what you now know, what do you say to young people about marijuana?

3. We often talk about family loss, but friendship loss is seldom addressed. Do you miss Michael - the “old” Michael? What in the friendship stayed alive for you?

4. You often reference how intelligent Michael is. When did you first suspect Michael had a serious mental illness? Did you think his intelligence would protect him?

5. When Michael thought his parents were Nazis, he patrolled the house with a kitchen knife, to the point where his mother locked herself in the bedroom and called the police. This happened years before he stabbed Carrie to death under similar circumstances. Knowing what you now know, what help should Michael have gotten to head that off?

6. Mothers like us grieve terribly when our children become ill with schizophrenia. Part of that grief is the loneliness they endure. We see their friends becoming uncomfortable around them and eventually, when they have little or nothing in common anymore, moving on with their lives. We understand this, but still, it adds to our grief. Could you describe for us how this process feels from a good friend’s perspective?

7. You noted that,” Everyone said insight was the key, but the more insight Michael got, the sadder and lonelier and angrier he became.” We have noticed that in our sons. Do you think this is part of why the mental health rights groups advocate against involuntary treatment? What is your response to their position?

Insane: America's Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness (Ep 74)

Guest:Alisa Roth,author :

Alisa Roth is a print and radio journalist who has reported extensively on the criminal justice system. Her first book, Insane: America’s Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness, investigated the mental health crisis in our courts, jails, and prisons. The New Yorker called it an “essential exposé” and The New York Times said it “is rife with sharp, brutal details that pull the reader beyond the realms of abstract policy debates.” She is former mental health correspondent for American Public Media.

1. Describe one example of the worst (e.g. solitary confinement or punishment for self harm) and the best (e.g. PACE, program for accelerated  clinical effectiveness) you saw in your travels. How did we get here?

2. What is it like for the officers who work in prisons? What is in their training or lack of it that stands out? This isn’t what they signed up for…yet they are asked to do it.

3.Is it hard to identify those with mental illness at first?

4. What works , and what could help make it work better?

5. Could family involvement help?  Do prisons request or get histories of patients?

6. We often hear that during deinstitutionalization we took people out of institutions and the mirror image number people are now in jails and prisons. In “Insane,” you contend that the story is far more complicated. Please explain.

7. You note that race, poverty, and mental illness overlap in the criminal justice system, but of all the gross imbalances of our current approach to criminal justice, perhaps no group has been hurt as much as people with mental illness. Why is that your conclusion?

8. Why is society more willing to spend money on jails and prisons (e.g., mental health units) than regular mental health care?

9. You write that about 80 percent of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system have a substance use disorder in addition to the mental illness. Have we made any progress in treating these illnesses in tandem?

10. You write that 30 % of those with serious mental illness receive no treatment at all. What kinds of mental health care do we need more of?

11. You note that in many states, much of the inventory of beds is reserved for forensic patients, at the expense of civilian ones, thus sending more people with mental illness to jail and prison. Do we need more inpatient care and long-term care?

12. What should a better mental health care system look like?

13. You write that since the changes of the 1970s, many cite the barriers to involuntary commitment as one of the reasons for the increased criminalization of mental illness. Do you also subscribe to that theory?

14. Why is enrollment in mental health courts so limited, making them, as you write, unable to make a dent in the number of people with mental illness who end up in the criminal court system.

15. Are more states creating crisis centers like the one in San Antonio? Judge Steve Leifman, Miami-Dade, Florida has been able to close a jail due to his jail diversion program. Is this catching on around the country? Why or why not?

16. What was the response to your book? Any changes in the five years since it came out?

17. We understand you are working on a new book. Can you share what it’s about?

Links:

AlisaRoth on twitter/X - @alisa_roth

Website: http://alisaroth.com/

What to Do If Your Loved One Goes Missing (Ep. 73)

Guest: Charla Collins

Charla’s daughter Kylee lives with severe mental illness. After suffering a traumatic brain injury in her teens she eventually turned to drugs, and with little resources available to get her the long term mental health care she needs, she often disappears into the streets, going long periods without contact. During a particular instance in 2021, Charla went out to look for her.

Here, she shares the knowledge and wisdom she has gained through her many searches to find, and help, her daughter.

Be prepared.

Tips include:

• Calling the Police

• Databases of Missing Persons

• Providing Photographs

• Flyers

• Getting Help

• Budgeting your Money and Time

• What Happens When You find Them?

and more.

Listeners in the Spotlight, Act 2: Tell Us Your Story (Ep. 72)

The last time we invited our listeners to share their stories, the response was incredible - so we are doing it again!

Here are stories from families dealing with SMI (serious mental illness), including one gentleman who lives with the diagnosis himself.

You are not alone.

You’ll hear about early symptoms, incarcerations, fear, finances, the roller coaster of diagnoses, medications, and relapses…second hits, good periods, HIPAA barriers, and more….including, yes, some success and hope.

We end with ways we care for ourselves. Here is the list from the chat:

• outdoors/nature

• family and friends

• faith

• Swim

• walk, talk with friends, family

• inside Schizophrenia podcast

• NAMI/ Family to Family

• help others

• cry when you need to

• research

• Being an advocate!!!

• enjoy the good moments

• vacations...breaks

• 1. Antipsychotic drug 2. Family and friends 3. Disclosure - talking with people

• walk, podcasts, audiobooks, escape

• celebrate the small

• every little moment is big

• mindfulness

• LEAP is the best communication tool to help with your relationship with loved one with SMI

• connecting with people

• permission to have joy

• Meditation… chanting monks…

•  Dr. Jeffrey Thompson has some great CD’s with brainwaves that help to calm the rough waters and bring peace.

• you don't have to give up joy just because you have grief

Help and Tips for Families in Mental Illness Crisis: Treatment Advocacy Center (Ep. 71)

Guest: Kathy Day, Senior Family Resource and Advocacy Manager,Treatment advocacy center

In her role as the senior family resources and advocacy manager at Treatment Advocacy Center*, Kathy Day helps families across the country find resources and strategies to work within the system of mental healthcare for their loved ones who have severe mental illnesses. She supports, coaches, strategizes, and listens to people whose loved ones live with SMI. She helps families help their loved ones help themselves. 

Kathy shares her own journey through the process of getting her family member conserved in CA on her public Facebook blog, Broken.

We Ask:

1. What 2 or 3 things would you most like families to know as you tell us about your work?

2. The immediate catalyst was when a listener asked us to address: why do so many people with schizophrenia "choose" to live on the street? What are your thoughts? (Related issues:  Anosognosia, Substance abuse, Criminalization)

3. Are there other reasons family members contact you?

4. What have you found helps families most?

5. What help and tips can you offer  families who have family members living on the street?

6. Any success stories?

7. What resources do you most often refer people to?How did you get into this work (a bit of your story),?

*The Treatment Advocacy Center is dedicated to eliminating legal and other barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness. The organization promotes laws, policies and practices for the delivery of psychiatric care and supports the development of innovative treatments for and research into the causes of severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Links:

DayK@treatmentadvocacycenter.org

https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/

“Broken” Blog:

www.facebook.com/ourbrokensystem

Help! Navigating SSI/SSDI Applications and More (ep. 70)

Show Notes

Guest: Dani Page
§  SOAR (SSI/SSDI, Outreach, Access and Recovery) certified Retired attorney. Instructor on implicit bias in the space of disability
§  Juris Doctorate
§  Certified Family to Family facilitator for National Alliance on Mental Illness
§  SOAR (SSI/SSDI, Outreach, Access and Recovery) certified—for individuals with behavioral health challenges who are homeless or at risk
§  Presenter and facilitator on implicit bias in the space of disability

We learn:
SSI/SSDI/SSA - review (for full info, see episode 50)
Adult Function Reports - part of application - tips and instruction
Resources and info on Trusts for our loved one with disability:
ABLE
Spendthrift trusts or provisions
Pooled Trusts
Resource for employment help: Ability One

Links:
https://specialneedsanswers.com/poole...
https://abilityone.gov/
https://soarworks.samhsa.gov/
https://www.ablenrc.org/

Want us to cover a topic? comment to share?
Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms
@SZ3MomsTrenches -  twitter
Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, “Happier Made Simple”)
Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”
Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

https://schizophrenia3momsinthetrenches.buzzsprout.com/1604296/13138923