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.

September 30, 2011

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 →

September 29, 2011

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 →

September 29, 2011

The descent experience: metaphor for serious illness

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. The Descent Experience

September 28, 2011

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.

September 27, 2011

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.

September 27, 2011

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

September 26, 2011 0

Kundalini and Shamanic Illness in Psych Drug Withdrawal Recovery

This post Psychiatric drug withdrawal, kundalini and shamanic initiatory illness covers how I too have coped with the disability that I've had to deal with as a result of psychiatric drug withdrawal. The kundalini experience is one potentially helpful method of framing much of the psychiatric drug withdrawal experience. I've encountered quite a few people now who resonate with this interpretation in withdrawal circles. Below I'm sharing what Sheila Joshi's researched account of her own experience.

September 26, 2011 0

Guest Authors on Beyond Meds

This site 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 websites in the body of the posts where you can get more information about each author..