I have a celebratory story of recovery to announce to all my NAMI friends. My son, Josh, who has been on medication since 12 (for over 10 years now) for bipolar disorder, is now at the stage of what his doctor calls total remission.
This means his symptoms are not active, his mood is stable and the doctor has taken him off all medication! This was not a hasty decision on Josh’s or the doctor’s part. In fact, when the doctor first talked to him about weaning himself off his dosage of Lithium, Josh refused. After much thought, Josh and his doctor took the necessary procedure and weaned him off his meds. To support this decision, Josh sat down with my husband and I and we worked out a system to help him “gauge” his daily moods.
Josh will either email me or write on his blog and we make a point to talk on the phone at least every other day so I can hear his voice. This is as much to reassure him as much as support him.
Total Remission. What a concept!!!! When Josh was 15, he made it his goal to be off all medications by the time he was 25. He came to the conclusion that if his brain was controlled by chemicals, that he could control the chemicals by living a healthy lifestyle and working his brain, just like he would work out his muscles. He had a few set backs and screw ups. He knows his triggers. He has to get enough sleep – he HAS to. He has a laundry list of things that he has to do to feel his best. Frankly, it’s not much different than what I have to do to keep the pain of fibromyalgia at bay. And at this point, he’s managing his symptoms much better than I am.
Now he knows and we, his family knows, that he is not cured. Some day, he may need medication again. And when that happens, we will be the first ones at his door, insisting he see his doctor. Behind us, will be his friends and his girlfriend. They are part of his support team as well.
No one ever told us that this was a goal to even consider though. Except his first psychiatrist. Thank God for her. So our battle cry is Recovery! And recovery can include remission. Who knows, maybe the word cure will be our next goal.
My best to you always,
Deb Rose
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Book Review - Finding My Way
Finding My Way – A Teen’s Guide to Living with a Parent Who Has Experienced Trauma.
Michelle D. Sherman, Ph.D and DeAnne M. Sherman.
Review by Deborah Rose
There just aren’t enough resources for teens in any areas dealing with the illness of a parent, much less when dealing with a parent with a mental disorder or emotional problem.
So I was very excited to have the opportunity to read Finding My way – A teen’s Guide to living with a parent who has experienced Trauma, by Michelle D. Sherman, Ph.D.
Right form the very beginning, I knew that this book would be helpful to teens as the examples were all very well done. The stories were easy to understand and relate to without v=being overly maudlin or dramatic.
While the book explains how the brain works, I felt this chapter needed more info, especially about how we filter information and how this can effect how individuals manage stress. Along this line of thinking though, there were examples of what people did after a trauma who developed PTSD and those who didn’t. I felt the examples failed to tie together the actions with how the brain was operating, thus possibly giving the incorrect impression that people should try harder and just do things differently, even though that wasn’t their intent.
A very nice addition in the book is where they ask the teen to make notes of any positive changes the parent might have made since experiencing the trauma. This section is very uplifting and I believe proves a much needed activity that helps the teen to see the parent through different eyes, starting the teen onto the path of developing empathy. At the same time, the book gives the teen permission to feel how they feel, and it is very well done in supporting the teen to help them to not get bogged down in feelings of guilt or remorse about how they have felt in the past.
I was disappointed in the coping skills section and felt it could have been more informative.
Chapter Eleven is About how to Support Your Parent and what it really should say is How Do I Feel Good About my Parent and Our Relationship.
Some of the helpful hints should have stressed more strongly and been main points, not side notes.
I don’t think they effectively differentiated between support and care giving. This is hard to learn as adults and teens need better examples for them to be able to practice these type of positive living skills.
Overall, I highly recommend this book and my only true concern is that the book is written in workshop format. I am not sure a teen would take this book and read it on their own. But whether they do read it on an individual basis or it is a group project, I feel that anyone reading this book would benefit from the tips and insight it offers.
Michelle D. Sherman, Ph.D and DeAnne M. Sherman.
Review by Deborah Rose
There just aren’t enough resources for teens in any areas dealing with the illness of a parent, much less when dealing with a parent with a mental disorder or emotional problem.
So I was very excited to have the opportunity to read Finding My way – A teen’s Guide to living with a parent who has experienced Trauma, by Michelle D. Sherman, Ph.D.
Right form the very beginning, I knew that this book would be helpful to teens as the examples were all very well done. The stories were easy to understand and relate to without v=being overly maudlin or dramatic.
While the book explains how the brain works, I felt this chapter needed more info, especially about how we filter information and how this can effect how individuals manage stress. Along this line of thinking though, there were examples of what people did after a trauma who developed PTSD and those who didn’t. I felt the examples failed to tie together the actions with how the brain was operating, thus possibly giving the incorrect impression that people should try harder and just do things differently, even though that wasn’t their intent.
A very nice addition in the book is where they ask the teen to make notes of any positive changes the parent might have made since experiencing the trauma. This section is very uplifting and I believe proves a much needed activity that helps the teen to see the parent through different eyes, starting the teen onto the path of developing empathy. At the same time, the book gives the teen permission to feel how they feel, and it is very well done in supporting the teen to help them to not get bogged down in feelings of guilt or remorse about how they have felt in the past.
I was disappointed in the coping skills section and felt it could have been more informative.
Chapter Eleven is About how to Support Your Parent and what it really should say is How Do I Feel Good About my Parent and Our Relationship.
Some of the helpful hints should have stressed more strongly and been main points, not side notes.
I don’t think they effectively differentiated between support and care giving. This is hard to learn as adults and teens need better examples for them to be able to practice these type of positive living skills.
Overall, I highly recommend this book and my only true concern is that the book is written in workshop format. I am not sure a teen would take this book and read it on their own. But whether they do read it on an individual basis or it is a group project, I feel that anyone reading this book would benefit from the tips and insight it offers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
