Month: September 2011

A schizophrenia mystery solved

One of the enduring mysteries in schizophrenia research circles has been the disparity in outcomes between schizophrenia patients in "developing countries" and those in "developed" countries. The mystery arose in 1979 when World Health Organization investigators announced that, in a five-year study, patients in developing countries had fared better than those in the United States and other "developed" countries. A second study then produced the same startling results. In developing countries, the WHO researchers concluded, schizophrenia patients enjoyed "an exceptionally good social outcome," whereas living in a developed country was a "strong predictor" that a person would never fully recover.

Refuse to fall down

Refuse to fall down. If you cannot refuse to fall down, refuse to stay down. If you cannot refuse to stay down, lift your heart toward heaven, and like a hungry beggar, ask that it be filled, and it will be filled. You may be pushed down. You may be kept from rising. But no... Continue Reading →

It’s easy to become your illness, fear is powerful and contagious: watch a man who learns to NOT do this

After any major physical "insult," as they call it, it's all too easy to see yourself as a collection of symptoms rather than as a total human being, including your spirit -- and thus to become your illness. Fear is powerful and contagious. At first I allowed myself to catch it, worried that if I... Continue Reading →

The descent experience: metaphor for serious illness

(about protracted psych drug withdrawal etc) Why are we sick? There are many levels of reality at which we can answer that question – the political, the economic, the biochemical, the psychological. And then there’s the mystical. -- Since the beginning of time, humanity has described a particular kind of experience that many people have had, but many have not had. It involves terrible suffering. It lasts a very long time. During much of it, there is no help or relief that can be had. Eventually, it draws to an end, culminating in a return to life, often with additional gifts. It has been called The Descent Experience, and the oldest known recorded version of a descent myth was written by the Sumerians on clay tablets in the third millenium BCE. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Mindfulness = Heartfulness

In Asian languages [such as Mandarin], the word for ‘mind’ and the word for ‘heart’ are the same word [心]. So when we hear the word ‘mindfulness’, we have to inwardly also hear ‘heartfulness’ in order to grasp it even as a concept, and especially as a way of being.

Our culture and society have destroyed the conditions required for healthy childhood development

So nice to see that some people are willing to not only look fearlessly at our culture and society, but also how that culture and society has shaped them. This is where the future lies. In . taking individual responsibility for the mess that the whole entire human species finds itself in.

Psychiatric drug withdrawal, kundalini and shamanic initiatory illness

old post for new readers to visit and for others to revisit: Psychiatric drug withdrawal, kundalini and shamanic initiatory illness

Psychiatric drug withdrawal, kundalini and shamanic initiatory illness

(from the archives) Shaking, vibration, altered states of consciousness ranging from comatose to euphoric, extremely long periods of insomnia or hypersomnia, inability to tolerate eating, food cravings, headaches, nausea and vomiting, nightmares, suicidality, pain, heart palpitations, fear of going crazy, feeling tormented, terror, being bed-ridden, agitation, weakness, cognitive confusion, seizures, muscular rigidity, tingling, impaired vision, hearing unusual sounds, seeing lights, other hallucinations or visions, obsessive or impulsive behavior, rages, crying jags, severe depression, vertigo, seeming drunk without taking any substance, exhaustion, chills, heat, sweating, tendency to withdrawal and agoraphobia. [click on title to read more]

The many guest writers on Beyond Meds

This blog owes much of its success and influence to the great authors who chose to share their work here. Below are just a few of the more prolific contributors. There are links to their blogs or websites in the body of the posts where you can get more information about each author.

This being human…

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.

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