“Living with Schizophrenia: A Call for Hope and Recovery” is a half-hour documentary film that tells the story of three people who are living meaningful lives with schizophrenia, a chronic and potentially disabling brain disorder. The film sets out to increase understanding and to reduce the fear and stigma often associated with this mental health condition. About one percent of the US adult population, or 2 million, and approximately 24 million people globally are living with schizophrenia.

“‘Living with Schizophrenia’ highlights the stories that don’t make the headlines – the stories of hope and promise,” said Emily Abt, award-winning filmmaker and director of the film. “My grandmother struggled with schizophrenia, and making this documentary gave me new insights about what it is like to have this illness and overcome the obstacles in life that it presents.”

In the film, viewers journey with three individuals with schizophrenia to experience their daily struggles, personal insights, paths to the mental health recovery process, and the impact their illness has had on those who love them. “Living with Schizophrenia” delves into the lives of Ashley, who after finding effective treatment for her schizophrenia, returned to school and created a blog to share her story with others; Joshua, who was in and out of psychiatric hospitals for six years and now, following his path of mental health recovery, is dedicated to helping others living with the illness; and Rebecca, who spent a decade blaming herself for her diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and is now actively involved in her treatment process.

Ashley, Joshua, and Rebecca are joined in the film by their families and experts in schizophrenia, including community-based psychiatrist Rebecca Roma, MD, medical director of the Community Treatment Team at Mercy Behavioral Health in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Xavier Amador, PhD, clinical psychologist and founder and director of the LEAP Institute; and, Dave, president of the Georgia chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Throughout the film, they share their perspectives and reinforce the message of hope and self-acceptance for people living with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder whose cause eludes experts to this day. Researchers have identified various risk factors for schizophrenia, including heredity, brain damage, and environmental factors such as social stress, isolation, and drug use. The disease typically manifests as abnormal psychological functioning and disturbed behavior. There are currently no physical or lab tests that diagnose the disease; therefore, schizophrenia is diagnosed by the presence of symptom types.

“By sharing the powerful stories of Ashley, Joshua, and Rebecca, we can work to reduce the fear and reduce the stigma, just like we’ve done with so many other issues over the years,” said Dr. Roma. “Deep down inside, we’re all people with different struggles and I learn from my patients every day about the power of perseverance and hope.”

“Living with Schizophrenia” was funded and produced by Janssen, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The people featured in the film present their own stories and ideas and were not compensated by Janssen to appear in the film. Janssen products are not named or promoted in the film.

Visit http://www.hopeandrecoveryfilm.com/videos/trailer.swf to view the documentary trailer. For more information about “Living with Schizophrenia” visit http://www.hopeandrecoveryfilm.com.

Modern medicine is based upon the notion of battle. We battle germs and fight for life.  As soon as we feel pain or discomfort, we immediately try to stop it from happening and look for some way to soothe what we are going through.  We feel we must change our illness or problems, overpower them with our expertise.

This orientation leads to a never ending battle with all that impinges upon us. After one illness or problem is conquered, another arises. We live in a state of constant insecurity where there is little room for ease of mind.

Healing from within brings inner peace with it. It arises from a different orientation towards all the experiences of life. We are taught to stop, pay attention and respect all that comes to us. It is as if we were re-focusing a camera, receiving our experience through a different lens.

Usually there is a deep sense that pain is bad, and must be removed at any cost. Pain is not bad. Pain arises from lack of balance and contains much information. It brings many messages along with it. When we see our pain as a messenger and learn how to respect and listen to it, healing begins in all kinds of ways.

The first step in healing from within is to learn how to see pain as an ally, to learn how to “dialogue” with it. For most of us this seems almost unthinkable.

At first this requires a complete turn around. Instead of tensing up and gearing for battle, we learn how to pause and understand there is a lesson that we have to learn. When we do this we find the pain or problem often comes holding a gift in its hands.

Illness often comes when we feel defeated. We may not wish to struggle anymore. Some people become ill when they are overly exhausted. The illness is the only way they can give themselves permission to stop, rest, and make much needed changes in their lives. Each illness has it’s own story. The same is true with psychological or personal problems that grow strong, demanding our attention.

When someone is in physical pain and suddenly understands what is troubling them, the physical pain often subsides. For full healing to take place it may be essential to make changes in one’s total life. Cancer can be suppressed for many years, and then it returns. When it reappears we must ask, “Why not? What is going on in my total life?”

“We become sick becomes we act in sickening ways,”
Louis Jourard

We are all experts at brushing things under the carpet. Then the carpet begins to roll up at the corners, and we feel we are coming unglued. During illness the body is rebelling. It is demanding that we pay attention to all that has been unattended. We may have been pushing ourselves for too long. Now our body is fed up. Stop and listen to me, it pleads. When we learn how to listen and how to reply, an entirely new life begins. Then pain and illness become an opportunity for vital change.

Learning To Listen

We usually listen only to part of ourselves. The rest is rejected. But no matter what we are rejecting, soon or later we must come up against it and face it straight on.

Rejecting something over and over never makes it go away. In fact, it will come back time and again, just for you to accept it. Everything needs to be loved and accepted, including our illness and pain. The best way is to make friends with the pain. Fighting intensifies it. If we can relax into it for a little while and explore it, many possibilities arise. Natural healing is always available in all situations, but it can be cut off by fighting and fear. When we let go, and allow ourselves to speak to the pain, and to listen to what it has to say, incredible changes can happen.

To do this, we simply close our eyes, stop fighting, and ask our pain what it is saying to us, what does it need from us right now? Then we become very quiet and listen deeply. An answer may not come right away. Patience is needed. As we do this process over and over, fear diminishes and we begin to hear.

Answers come in different ways. Some hear answers within. Others see images, some have dreams. We learn to be open to all that comes and in this openness, we learn.

Exercise
Look at your illness or problem now.  Picture it within and give it some kind of shape. What does it look like to you? Describe or draw it. Now, look more deeply at what the image really means. What is this image saying to you about yourself and the life you are leading? Listen carefully.
Next, ask the image any questions you may have and let it answer you. (Ask what it wants from you and what it would need to go away). See if you can give it what it needs.

This attitude is called making friends with the pain. When we do this illness does not become something foreign and frightening. We become better able to understanding what the true causes are.

For example, if we are sad for too long and have not done enough crying, our bodies may begin to cry for us through the illness we are going through. If we feel that life is meaningless, our bodies can start to express this by shriveling up and dying. If we have held onto difficult attitudes, our bodies will bear the burden of them. Persistent negative attitudes become wounds upon our entire selves.

Our attitudes are messages we give our body. Though we may not be aware of it, if we feel life is a dirty battle, we are telling our body to tense up with shame all day long. Once we begin the crucial work of taking responsibility for and changing our attitudes, our entire body can begin to experience on-going ease instead of dis-ease. We must look at the basic attitudes we live with and ask ourselves if they are conducive to our health, or do they contain the very seeds of pain?

In order to heal from within, it is essential to handle these long standing patterns, to see them and change them to attitudes and patterns that are productive of well-being.  Health comes with learning to say “yes” to all of our experience, in being willing to experience it just as it is. Wellness emerges out of the balance and harmony of all parts of ourselves.

When we are well, we feel whole, accepting and in harmony with ourselves and the entire world we live in. Like a fresh water stream flowing, this state of being brings continual refreshment and healing day by day.

Cc/Dr. Brenda Shoshanna/2005

There are several medical conditions that can be improved by practicing yoga. It can be used to lessen the negative effects of infertility, lung disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, insomnia, cancer, high blood pressure, and joint pain. The beneficial effects of yoga practices are well recognized not only by the yoga community but also by medical doctors.
One of the main elements that lead to an illness is stress. Being responsible for a huge number of sicknesses, this item, which we develop in our minds, can be reduced through a good usage of yoga techniques. Here are just some of the problems that are related to an over active stress response: depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, some types of diabetes mellitus, cardio-vascular disease, several autoimmune diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, reproductive problems, and an aggravated suppression of the immune system.
The response of the sympathetic nervous system can trigger stress in our metabolism. The reaction to various outside stimuli is also known as the “fight or flight” response – the mind and body, faced with an endangering or disturbing element, prepare for one of the two options. Physically, this is manifested through an instantaneous heart rate increase, together with a high ascent of blood pressure. Breathing gets shallow and the muscles tense in anticipation to the following action. Internally, this response reduces the blood flow to internal organs and processes that are not essential in that particular moment (such as digestion and elimination) are shut down. This state of increased awareness and readiness is beneficial on a short term, preparing our body to react to the outside interventions and stimuli. Both in a “fight” and in a “flight” situation, the body is physically and mentally prepared to act. The problem arises when long-term exposure to similar stress takes place. This “fight or flight” response is only meant to help on short periods of time – the longer it is activated the less resources will the body have to function normally.
There is a natural countermeasure for the “fight or flight” response. It is called the parasympathetic nervous system or the “relaxation response.” It is automatically activated when the elements that caused the stress are gone but it is also possible to increase its effects by breathing deeply and relaxing your muscles. By increasing the length of this process we allow our body to recover faster, enabling it to eliminate the harmful effects of stress in a prompt and efficient manner.
Yoga highlights the idea that by using breathing and relaxation techniques you can reduce the harmful effects of stress factors on your body. A lessened “fight or flight” response can also be achieved by looking at adverse factors as challenges rather than threats. This approach allows your mind to focus on finding a solution, rather than creating an abrupt response. Another concept employed by this technique is that of acting versus reacting, of taking initiative versus responding to outside factors.
The positive effects of yoga during a healing process are undeniable. However, these techniques should only be used as a form of support and the healing shouldn’t rely solely on them. The best results are achieved by combining yoga with traditional and modern medicine and by addressing a problem both from a mental and physical point of view.
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