For many people there is no chance of recovery from 'chronic' schizophrenia. Recovery is not offered to them as one of their options.
They are prescipted a lifetime of mood-stabalizing drugs, which generally suppress psychotic symtoms. This is enough for most professionals, and for the concerned families advocating medication. How much easier if the symptoms just went away! Who wants to waste time wondering about causes?
The people I work with are not in a recovery program. They are given medications which numb and exhaust them. I arrive in the morning and gather then all into the lounge, where everyone sleepily follows a simple yoga routine. I encourage them to breathe, but they find it difficult, R* says it makes her dizzy, and G* begins to feel panicky. G* takes two valiums a day to ward off his panic attacks. Nobody blinks an eye as day after day, year after year, he entrenches his drug habit.
The others think he's lucky to have a private doctor, and a family who will foot the bill for his expensive habits. Most of the residents are state patients, supplied with daily doses of antipsychotics by the government. They are beautiful people. Each of them have been through so much to arrive where they are at today, so much alienation and loss. They no longer have a place in our society, and what's worse, they have no prognosis of recovery!
I want to change my varsity major to psychology. 10 years from now I want to be a practising professional in this field. There is so much exciting work being done overseas at the moment, in terms of dealing successfully with schizophrenia. Dr. Al Siebert runs a website called successfulschizophrenia.org which offers many profound insights into the nature of schizophrenia, and the path through to the other side.
I am hoping that I will have the strength of heart to work with these people for the year that I have prescribed myself. It's heartbreaking yet also rewarding. I must honor them too, they have made the choice to stay alive and face the odds, and each one of then still has something unique to offer. I need to practise non-attachment in an environment that tweaks all my sore bits. It's tough. But it's good practice. If I want to do this professionally one day I need to be able to empathise without hurting.... don't I?
Anyway, I'll have lots of time to figure it out.
They are prescipted a lifetime of mood-stabalizing drugs, which generally suppress psychotic symtoms. This is enough for most professionals, and for the concerned families advocating medication. How much easier if the symptoms just went away! Who wants to waste time wondering about causes?
The people I work with are not in a recovery program. They are given medications which numb and exhaust them. I arrive in the morning and gather then all into the lounge, where everyone sleepily follows a simple yoga routine. I encourage them to breathe, but they find it difficult, R* says it makes her dizzy, and G* begins to feel panicky. G* takes two valiums a day to ward off his panic attacks. Nobody blinks an eye as day after day, year after year, he entrenches his drug habit.
The others think he's lucky to have a private doctor, and a family who will foot the bill for his expensive habits. Most of the residents are state patients, supplied with daily doses of antipsychotics by the government. They are beautiful people. Each of them have been through so much to arrive where they are at today, so much alienation and loss. They no longer have a place in our society, and what's worse, they have no prognosis of recovery!
I want to change my varsity major to psychology. 10 years from now I want to be a practising professional in this field. There is so much exciting work being done overseas at the moment, in terms of dealing successfully with schizophrenia. Dr. Al Siebert runs a website called successfulschizophrenia.org which offers many profound insights into the nature of schizophrenia, and the path through to the other side.
I am hoping that I will have the strength of heart to work with these people for the year that I have prescribed myself. It's heartbreaking yet also rewarding. I must honor them too, they have made the choice to stay alive and face the odds, and each one of then still has something unique to offer. I need to practise non-attachment in an environment that tweaks all my sore bits. It's tough. But it's good practice. If I want to do this professionally one day I need to be able to empathise without hurting.... don't I?
Anyway, I'll have lots of time to figure it out.
posted by Gaelin at 8:42 PM
5 Comments:
How do you rate the care provided by the state, as opposed to the care provided by private practice & paid for by the family? Any difference? Just wondering.
~scruff
The basic medications don't appear to differ much, but the way they are dispensed are worlds apart. The state patients face waits of up to 6 hours at a government hospital for their monthly prescriptions.
Private patients can book appointments, and they also have access to private psychological observation. Whether this is beneficial or not depends largely on who the doctor is!
Unfortunatly there seems to be no one in Cape Town who offers a 'recovery from schizophrenia' therapy programme. So state and private patients alike are stuck in the same boat.
How does one actually recover from schizophrenia? Is it more of a spiritual recovery, or a medical one? Or both?
A force of nature - like you - is needed to engage with and address the problems of your wards. My very best wishes to you for fulfillment of your wish to take up this work. Best, rama
Up here in Canada I survive rather well compared to most with schizophrenia. I read somewhere on the Internet that 1 in 5 with schizophrenia are more apt to have some success, due partly to education level and power of reason. I consider myself a successful person with schizophrenia, check out my Internet presence at
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/docgmcreations I fought like a bat out of hell not to be a walking zombie pumped full of anti-psychotics trying to get my life back while carrying the schizophrenia diagnosis!
Post a Comment
<< Home