Recovery for Mental Illness Redefined

[sclodyone]

i personally think telling somebody that they have a mental problem is putting them that much deeper into thier hole. The fact that they can get better rules that out so why even start with telling them a lie? its just a temporary personal barrier. my opinion is that making them feel good naturally is the first step. and build from there. my opinion an authentic Smile is the key to every illness. When a person is naturally happy then what else matters? happiness is what people need. love!

[BackInsight]

There is no mental illness. It is all about how one hold's them selves. Yes. You are judged by how you look.  That's just the way it is. How you are judge affects who you are. Change for the better, that is how you change the world. Lengthen the spine, free the neck, then you can balance the head atop the shoulders. This is a subtle change and can happen while your are under the stress of changing. Good luck all.

[Real454545]

Excellent Discription 10 out of 10

[888archangel]

I think this is the fundamental problem of treatment and recovery if a full recovery is made they can just claim it was an inaccurate assessment . Very subjective standards, not as with say diabetes which is somethings that can be monitored or measured. If they had the ability to measure and treat mental illness in a similar way grounded in objective data, that would be quite a break though. There would also be less stigma and unethical treatment of the mentally ill.

[princesscharmer]

It makes me so angry that people are fed this bullshit when they are diagnosed with a mental illness because it just makes them feel hopeless and defective which only contributes to the problem.

[ccc771]

i totally agree with many of things you say in this video most of the mental health services around the world all say full 100% recovery is impossible and of course psychiatry is no different its all 1 and the same.They include things like telling you its genetic so there's nothing you can do about it. If your caught in a system that is repressing you and your feeling and functioning well ,all you can do is ignore the system and get on with life and hope your not left with the stigma.

[abipolardreamz]

So the answer to the main observable problem, stop accepting passive aggressive treatment with psychotropic medications which potentially cause devastating side effects. Start accepting real treatment from actual people who listen, possibly psychologists but not psychiatrists who act as pill dispensers.

[tomsawyersucks]

no such thing as mental illness, people just different

[Johniisss]

@StrRecord what?

i'm trainging to be a mental health nurse dude. not a psychiatric nurse. i think you are assuming my opinions. you should ask me what i think not just guess.

[dave24ie]

No doctor will ever tell you youve got to take drugs for the rest of your life ,people make their own choices too. I guess a lot of people can take antidepressants for 6 or 7 months and slowly come off them as thay integrate other things in life such as more exercise/therapy. also understanding why thay feel that way. this video just looks at the down side of everything.

[frewa43]

I'm 19 and have been in a mental hospital twice, for a total time of 3 weeks. I've tried 6 different antipsychotics in 9 months and I still hear voices, the meds do nothing to help and I don't understand why. I'm afraid I'll never be able to think in peace because the voices talk 24/7. It would be heaven to be rid of them at this point.

[frewa43]

I try to be hopeful but after every drug I try I become more scared. I can't stand these voices for the rest of my life. After watching this video I now understand why it seems that with every new drug I try the doctors push me harder for me to stay on that drug. They think that the drug is actually doing something for me and that I'm more stable while on it. Reality is that on the highest dosage they don't do anything to help me and I'd rather try every single drug possible than to quit.

[frewa43]

Than to quit trying new drugs, that is. It seems like the doctors are giving up on me when I'm not near ready to give up. I will keep pushing to trying new drugs and I don't care how long it will take, I just hope that one day I will be able to hear silence.

[MaksimLevinskyMusic]

Look for this psychetruth video (it's a 3 parter):

"Hallucinations & Schizophrenia Extreme States of Mind".

I hope that helps.

[Cringle84]

@frewa43

Have you tried Seroquel? I have been on it, and it does not seem to have nasty withdrawal effects, for me anyway. Usually it takes 2 weeks to get the full effect though.

[klinepatsy]

Recovery is an integration of physical and mental spheres - activity and exercise combined with a complete lifestyle change, rejection of tobacco and alcohol. Improved nutrition and a healthy period of psychotherapy. Change must be a constant. I have been medication-free for 5 years, have published my first book and while I agree that the mental scars do still exist as you put your trauma behind you, at the end of the day recovery is absolutely attainable.

[fireisgold]

whats your book about? I hope that i will get better to.

[klinepatsy]

@ Fireisgold my book is a fictional account of ill health and recovery, kind of a psychodrama with very Dark Dark comedy, a little bit of analysis of non-fiction. The Serotonin Grand Prix. Best of luck with your recovery. Anything is Possible if you dig in and keep fighting.

[PlushieMutant]

My depression and anxiety wasn't caused by anything, it just started. There was no trigger or anything, I'm not to sure what I could talk to a psychologist about. my mother brought to a psychiatrist instead, and that's been working out wonderfully. So I don't understand why people think psychiatry is so horrible, it's helped me so much. Though if someone here thinks I can be helped in a different way, please tell me.

[seb6leal]

isamright hell yeah

[Isamright33]

The cure for mental illness is detox, detox, detox, everything is poison except for water and fruits......if you don't listen to me, you will eventually die.

[Angel6033]

THis videos only leave me more confused and helpless, what am I suppose to do then when I feel so horrible and I cant take anything to "patch" the symptoms? What can I do?

[hsttraindriver]

Read Explaining colours to a blind man. Not only will it enlighten many as to what living with a mental illness and chronic fatigue syndrome is like, it also gives comfort to those sufferers who think there is no hope and that they are alone. It is very informative, sometimes shocking but also very funny in parts. All in all, a good read and highly recommended.

[MrXSpeaks]

I am sure you would like to believe that, but the fact of the matter is you are just expressing anger and denial. nobody wants to think that they are abnormal or have an incurable illness. However some people do have such issues. it is hard to prove whether it is genetic or environmentally caused, but if there were simple non-drug cures we would all be using them.

[joemann797]

What are you calling a scam? You mean the E.M. Power Plus nutritional supplement? I guess scams change people's lives by taking them off medications. I recommend it because it change my wife's life, and she is now able to live without the need for medications. I'm guessing scams also have 7 published journals showing scientific study on it's effectiveness on people with bipolar disorder.

If you do want to even look at it or try it, then that's your choice.

[joemann797]

Second, not everyone would using 'non-drug' cures because they are not as 'fast-acting' or a 'quick-fix' as drug.

Why do people STILL use drugs to lower cholesterol? is it because there isn't any natural way to reduce cholesterol? or is it because the drugs are more 'fast-acting' then the natural way?

Vitamins aren't only answer as there may be other factors that may cause mental illness. It's not that simple. If it was, then one pill would fix all mental illnesses, but that's not the case.

[joemann797]

You'd actually be surprised how nutrition plays a bigger role in mental illness than you believe. Sure, life experiences and stressors are part of it, but they are not the only reason. The vitamins you find at your typical store are not pure enough, or effective enough your mental state. If you should know, 'stress' actually causes your body to deteriorate itself, and depleted it's nutrient reserve. I'm sure going to a nutritionist is more help than going to a psychiatrist.

[michaelwright999]

Agreed that was the start for me eating pate strong cheeses nice food it got me out of a 5 month breakdown, eat and be happy.

[lookoutbeeeelllooow]

Ultimately, no one cares how bad you feel as long as you can go to work and contribute to the GDP.

[joemann797]

You all see, mental illness is not really an illness, not even bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. People with these 'illnesses' are caused by a lack of nutrition, which sometimes is due to a higher requirement, or inability to obsorb nutrients in foods. With the types of foods most americans eat, I could imagine that most of us are deficient in one or more nutrients.

The supplement from True Hope is more natural, and more effective (more expensive too), than anything on the market.

[dakza122579]

Well that sucks.

I WANNA CURE!

[joemann797]

Look up a company called True Hope. They make a nutritional supplement that has been clinically tested to help alleviate (almost eliminate) symptoms of bipolar disorder. There are many factors that still affect this type of treatment, but it seems to be very effective.

Like all medications, it's still not a cure, BUT, unlike medications, this product actually addresses the cause of the mental illness. There is no 'cure' for mental illness, but it can be treated through natural methods.

[areyoudeewhy417]

I was diagnosed w/ schizophrenia and i have not had auditory or visual halucinations. I agree w the former mental health worker in that they're j/ passing you off. Maybe to make money?? I am christian n i b lieve God did not give me a spirit of fear but of love power and of a SOUND MIND. Praise the LORD.

[OxenHandler]

What were your symptoms if not hallucinations? I thought hallucinations were a prerequisite for a diagnosis of schizophreia.

[mikkimoose]

You rock! Love the informative FACTS!

[NellePearle]

Love your videos. Good luck getting anyone to buy what you are selling. The need for the quick fix is more important to people that actual problem solving a situation.I have worked in mental health for most of my life. Now, it is about how many people you can get into a psychiatrist, refer to other services, sell pills to & otherwise make people into dependent shadows of who the should have become. Keep up the good work.

[dumBSkumbag]

screw all that psychiatric crap. I'm glad i went off my meds and stopped seeing my psychiatrist. She never diagnosed me with anything. I asked if i had bipolar, and she just kept saying I had "chemical imbalance." I think what I need is therapist not a psychiatrist. The meds chained me down and made me feel like I had no control over my life.

[tickleperson2]

i'm studying mental health nursing and we are made well aware of the fact that most people who have a mental health problem become fully well. what you say is not borne out in the literature...

[psychetruth]

"what you say is not borne out in the literature"

I guess that depends on who's literature your reading. All this video is is me reading "literature" from sources like the CDC, The President's Commission on Mental Health, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, etc.

I agree with you that the literature in video isn't borne out in reality. But that's why I made the video, to point out how the concept of "recovery" has been twisted to means something else.

[MrSpiral82]

@psychetruth you are saying that we are doomed no chance of recovery i agree we will die and that is the only cure

[tickleperson2]

@psychetruth i thought part of the coolness of recvery as a concept was the way it resists being pinned down as any one thing?

check out recovery scotland on google. it's funded by the government. i was taught that the stuff you reckon is as valid as the stuff psychiatrists reckon

[lay4life]

@tickleperson2 sorry i don't get the video, i mean i don''t undestand, in few words please tell me the cure, thanks

[nollaig56]

WOW METALLICPAINT JOB IT SEEMS HE IS OUT OF TOUCH WITH THINGS AS SOMEONE WHO IS LIVING WITH A COGNITIVE DISORDER I truely believe that my toughts affect my emotions,my emotions affect my behavour so does it not make sense that I have three disorders in one

the affect of my disorted toughts causes behavour problems.noel PALMER

[ItsMargie]

Agreed, I have seasonal affective disorder and depression and I have learned to watch myself closely. I take anti-depressants immediately when I feel that onset of deep depression because sadly it can lead to worse things, I at times cannot live without anti-deppressants. I have learned to live despite that fact that I do really have a biological disorder I know this. Anti depressants when I feel the onset of my manic deppression I take them immediately to stop a further decline love Margerie

[SFJane]

just watched this video again for an article on recovery I am going, this is a great vid Mike

[roky22]

See my YOuTube video:

The Real Cure For Schizophrenia

[akuhiroshi]

can someone tell me the name of that desease when you think of doing something bad but you dont want to and you have no entention to do it it just comes to your mind, anyone know the name of that ?

[Clayjrjr2]

that's called normal thought.

[nollaig56]

I BELIEVE MEDICATION ACTS JUST LIKE A LIFE JACKET IT MAY HELP YOU TO STAY AFLOAT BUT IT WONT TEACH YOU TO SWIM, ON THE OTHER HAND CARE,SUPPORT AND RECOVERY IN OUR COMMUNITY IS THE TRUE PATH TO RECOVERY.

Noel Palmer Altering Images/c.r.o.w. community,recovery,ownership,w­ellbeing.

I believe that true recovery begins when one accepts ownership of ones recovery,and with the help and support of our community recovery is obtainable

[ItsMargie]

yes in my case anti-deppressants are my life jacket. At times if I don't get them, my chemistry gets off. My is hereditary, it so bad my grandmother on my mothers side committed suicide. I have the same issues but anti depressants have changed my life.

[nollaig56]

ITSMARGIE

HELLO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN SO LONG TO REPLY TO YOU I don't for one minute relieve depression is-hereditary I believe it is learned conditioning have you ever checked out CBT cognitive behavioral therapy you should check it out

[ItsMargie]

I know that when Dec to March comes around to always have my prescriptions filled cause this is the worst time of the year and seems that way every year for me. Chritamas and after Christmas and January for some reason, I really have to be sure I am stocked with anti deppressants so yes I am learning I am learning to nip my issue in the bud before it degenerates. I know I have learned to watch myself and realize what is going on now and I am so much more happier.

[carriebg]

Thank you for this video - it's all about my life! Thru drug management & psychotherapy I'm supposed to get on with my life. Yeah, with all the meds I'm on, my life is that of a suicidal zombie. It's a real party.

[Doublebug1]

Recovery and Recovered are two different things. This is the way that these 12 step groups look at Substance abuse. Great video. Great way to articulate this Mike. :)

[REALGREYBLUE]

After watching your video what came to mind was one of my Teachers said our battle is not a physical onet it's a spiritual battle. I got to thinking while you spoke that mental illness may really mean Spiritual Sickness? I don't know just a thought. I guess I'll just not worry and I choose to be happy. :)

[malcolmization]

Good job psychetruth. Several of my friends have signed onto recovery in response to a Pat Deegan conference in Toronto several years ago. We support each other in our interests and activity. I believe it is important to follow your dreams. Occupation in the sense of interests and activity can help to boost self esteem. Nothing helps like a positive attitude. Well done!

[G702TT]

Definitly no hope in psychiatry.

[RecoveryPsychology]

There is a video clip on here from a mental health conference where the guy says that the "recovery" concept is the best thing he has seen come along in mental health...to which I say "Huh?"...How did they justify their paychecks with out it? To me that is just common sense; but then again I am just a consumer.

[psychetruth]

The recovery concept was originally consumer based. It was a protest against the assumption in psychiatry that people can't become cured because the truth is people do really recover. Psychiatry for some reason can't grasp the idea that people can fully recover so they have perverted the concept into "living a fulfilling life despite your disability."

[psychetruth]

The truth is people can fully recovery from mental disorders but since psychiatry is really powerless to cure their patients they had to redefine recovery.

Still I agree even a consumer learning to live a fulfilling life despite their disability is an improvement from simply sedating the patient.

[RecoveryPsychology]

Jane Elliot did the Brown Eye/Blue Eye thing...that's mainly what I think of about mental illness, it's a label...I think persons with mental illness do recover from this Brown Eye/Blue Eye syndrome, and the personal problems that they have are no different than the problems people without mental illnesses. I think the "recovery" is more about learning to deal with social problems.

[psychetruth]

Oh I agree. The evidence out there actually points to the fact that even extreme states of mind such as schizophrenia, psychosis or bipolar episodes are nothing more than temporary mental states brought about by a reaction to extreme stress and/or trauma or drugs and that given a sufficiently safe environment and gentle enough support, the person eventually returns to full cognitive functioning and recovers.

[Seabrook78in]

I have always had the sense that this is the actual way that most people should be helped so that they can recover.

[tickleperson2]

@psychetruth that's what i was taught/read for myself while studying.

[RecoveryPsychology]

Could it be that Recovery does not mean cure; because there is no Diagnostic Statistic Manual of Recovery or Diagnostic Statistic Manual of Possible Cures?

[RecoveryPsychology]

For that matter things listed as "Medication Side effects" should be regarded as other illnesses and disorders needing cure and-or recovery.

[psychetruth]

That is one of the main philosphical problems with the current method of "diagnose" DSM criteria is based on deviation from some theoretical concept of normal.

The DSM doesn't even define what mental health is.

The system doesn't try to make mentally healthy individuals, just people that learn to live a successful life despite their disabilities.

[vincent4500]

psychiatrists make a living of out of not curing, and not helping people and from no interest in whollistically curing the person at all..they are vultures on the debilitated..

[vincent4500]

the scary thing is that is a 'cure' was discovered for such illnesses the drug companies would murder/blackmail/threaten the inventors to suppress..a multi-billion industry is based on ineffective cures which non-responsive desperated people are reliant on forever!

[AzmodanKijur]

Logic Fallacy: Ad Hominem and False Generalization

You indicate a belief that cures would be suppressed by a corporation without providing proof that such would occur. The attack is on the character and not on the proven history of the business itself. This is then used to generalized that all companies would act this way when you have no evidence, again, that this is the case.

[spanishaustralian]

no no no if your serious about curing mental illness look into neurofeedback.

[PragueVlogg]

I can't believe that statement on such an official webpage! I really hope psychiatry cleans up their act. Complete recovery is absolutely possible. One thing people might NOT be able to recover from are the long-term effects of taking serious drugs perscibed by psychiatrists.

[Stillillgal]

very right

tnx

[SFJane]

Meditation and cognitive behavior therapy can cure Post Traumatic Stress Disorder permanently. In time the anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, paranoia, hypervigilance all gone as though they were never there. As though I had never suffered 10 years of child abuse. Meditation worked where Perphenazine failed

[edewasseige]

Mike, thank you for sharing this recovery concept with us.

I have added you on my favorites.

Thanks again.

[0zimmerman0]

Nice one. I suffer from PTSD and receive Motival. Day in , Day out. It helps. Kevin. Belfast , N.Ireland.

[SFJane]

Awesome video Mike 5**** thanks again. As a former bipolar disorder sufferer, all I can say is, they are wrong. It is possible to beat mental illness on your own terms and be both medication and symptom free.

[spanishaustralian]

search YOUTUBE at "What Is Neurofeedback ? - EEG INFO Videos" and watch this new era of mind recovery. this stuff is incredible for mental illness and will reclaim your life.

[MsPCock]

@spanishaustralian sadly though, folks who have signed on to this luxurious method of treatment are often not covered by insurance and once the "therapy" ceases, they are back to square one and more depresssed for the huge monetary expense and resentful for the short fix

[spanishaustralian]

use neurofeedback to rid any left over mental illness.

[loggermind]

This is the quote I was reacting to "mental illnesses like depression, OCD, bipolar, ADHD, social anxiety disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, anorexia, and the list goes on." (introduction to this video on youtube). As for AS being "made up" that is a whole other "can of worms."

[yvettezindel]

you can recover from mental illness

Just by realising there is no such thing :)

[ZZZushi]

Exactly.

After 2 failed attempts, I was prescribed 3 different 'medications'.

But only when I stopped taking them did I feel more balanced.

I still feel as bad as ever now, but at least I know that medication doesn't help me.

I was more suicidal on it than off.

People think that because you don't fit in their little box of ideas, that you are mentally ill.

[mettal7]

Check the video kevin trudeau. The media attacks him as a quack but his advice has cure many. Check kevin trudeau

[psychetruth]

I've read one of his books. I liked it.

[spanishaustralian]

neurofeedback is using computers to restore the brain back to orignal condition

[ZZZushi]

Typical Media.

They are sponsored by numerous drug companies, that will shrug off anything that threatens their profits.

[loggermind]

Asperger's is not a mental illness but a natural neurodiversity! Please correct your facts.

[psychetruth]

I don't think I indicated Asperger's was a neurological illness. I think it's made up "disorder" for people that were slow to learn good social skills personally.

[holyvampirealucard]

I think I might have Asperger's....

[jguerrer0]

I feel that you have confused the issue here. You seem to have an agenda on what your definition of recovery is. The whole concept of recovery is that people with mental illness have a fulfuilling life on their own terms. We define what our recovery looks like, not the doctor, not the mental health center, not some guy on you tube-me.

[jguerrer0]

I may choose to use medicine or I may not. I may go to support groups. I may write, I may play the guitar, I may run. Most of us who are in recovery don't consider ourselves "disabled" that is a label that society and the MH system has put on us.

[psychetruth]

Yes, I totally agree w/ you. The recovery model was originally introduced by consumers; not psychiatrist. It was as if to say, "Wait a minute hold on here. We can get better." Psychiatry has now taken the recovery model and perverted it by redefining it as "living a fulfilling life life despite your disability." The truth is that in many cases (even w/ extremes such as schizophrenia) people eventually stop experiencing symptoms and move on w/ their lives.

[psychetruth]

I didn't give you my definition for recovery. I gave you the official definition by the director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the US Government. I think it's bullshit personally. I think people really can get better.

[chrispollock]

If you have a state of mind that cannot be reconciled with the conditions surrounding you, then you need meds to adjust your responses to your conditions (or you will get into trouble with those around you). That's the situation with me, for example.

[holyvampirealucard]

Yep, I hear you on that. For example, you might have a state of mind where you just bring out the worst in people and they consider you to be an asshole and that could get you in trouble or put you in danger. I know that from experience...

[RecoveryPsychology]

I believe that the famous Rosehan study "on being sane in insane places" can be applied to all iatrogenic situations; the meds are still pushed despite the "recovery"

[RecoveryPsychology]

prehaps the meds work for some in some situations...but if you consider whether or not a the prescrption out lasts its welcome and its usefulness...this is a thought I often have working in mental health

[RecoveryPsychology]

It is interesting to attend a "recovery" conference to hear "consumers" (hate that word) tell psychiatrists that have established the kind of lives they wanted (that is what they are calling recovery) and if you think about it what has been "recovered" is not illness related losss; it is prejudice related loss

[RecoveryPsychology]

Psychtruth; I have watched your Vlog found it interesting...I am a member of very small group that seeks to bring the "recovery" concept in to mainstream society. The word sounds like a cheap buzz word; but its meaning is what the hell mental health should be offering to begain with; no recovery in my opinion means I will not take medication...if I had not 'recovered' from my pancreas infection as a result of taking insulin shots

[psychetruth]

The recovery model was actually originally brought forth by consumers. It was a reaction to psychiatry's belief that people can't be cured to a large degree. Bio-Psychiatry has embraced the concept by synthesized it into their paradigm redefining it as living despite one's mental illness. Hence, the title of the video.

[psychetruth]

I fully embrace that mental health treatment needs to be recovery based and believe in consumer empowerment. I don't agree w/ the bio-psych idea that mental illness is biological and genetically based and thusly incurable.

[psychetruth]

Currently, there are absolutely no psychiatric medications or procedures which are cures. The drugs aren't cures, they control symptoms only. Hence, psychiatry's redefinition of the word the implication that one most stay on medication for the rest of their life. This paradigm is profitable for pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrist. The redefined term is used in "anti-stigma" and marking campaigns to promote mental health treatment, i.e. drugs.

[RecoveryPsychology]

I am myself anti-medication, I feel a preference for all people to be off of the meds, my bloodsugar has balanced, yet the doctors keep refraining that the humlin-100 at 10 units twice a day is working...I fail to tell the doctors that I forget (intentionally sometimes) to take my shots

[Metallicpaintjob]

Recovery means I'm up way too late tonight because I have to get up at 7:00 am to get ready to go to work today. I'll will back pedal a little and say that is a brain that is not under full self control.

[Metallicpaintjob]

First of all, having a mental illness is not at all a behaviour problem. I can't believe that in the current teaching of psychiatrists the words behaviour disorder are still used. It has nothing to do with behavior and every thing to do with brain not functioning correctly.

Secondly, what the hell are you trying to imply! In the discussion on the way to treat mental illness you seem to be saying that there is a secret way to cure it. There isn't.

[psychetruth]

There are 1000s of people who have fully recovered from mental disorders through alternative mental health routes. The World Health Organization did three studies in the last 20 years showing that people suffering from schizophrenia had better outcomes and recovery rates in third world countries than in the developed nations like the US. You might want to check out the group "Mind Freedom".

[eaglehelang]

Wow, you really studied these things.

Yeah, in "3rd world countries" or rather non Western countries(like where I come from), alternative methods of healing is more favoured : meditation, acupunture, herbs, ayuverda, massage. If it's able to be done along with counseling, even better.

It's less invasive & potent to to body, but long term, not quick fix.

[Prissie27]

I really love your vlogs.

[bluesinkku]

Slowing down the car is a great analogy.