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"Life is a train of moods like a string of beads,
and as we pass through them
they prove to be many colored lenses."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thoughts
on FAITH, an absolute essential...
Thank you,
Lord...
You were there
when we forgot you.
You followed
us even when we tried to flee from you.
You met us
with forgiveness when we returned to you.
For all your
patience and overflowing grace,
We praise your
holy name, O God.
Dear God,
May I live, not just by
my efforts, but by Your grace.
Still the noises in my
soul.
Still the constant
crossfire in my mind.
Still the struggles I
feel, and let Your Holy Spirit guide my life.
You are much better to
me than I am to myself,
for You control the big
picture and the long term.
Help me to trust You, to
let go of my selfish attachments,
and to live by grace.
Through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Amen
written by Dr.
James H. Daughdrill, Prayers at Work
Letting
go does not mean to stop caring;
it means I can't do it for someone else.
Letting
go is not to cut myself off;
it's the realization that I can't control another.
Letting
go is not to enable,
but to allow learning from natural consequences.
Letting
go is to admit powerlessness;
which means the outcome is not in my hands.
Letting
go is not to try to change or blame another;
it's to make the most of myself.
Letting
go is not to care for, but to care about
it's to allow another to be a human being.
Letting
go is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes;
it's to allow others to affect their own destinies.
Letting
go is not to be protective; it's to permit another to face reality
it's not to deny, but to accept.
Letting
go is not to nag, scold or argue;
but to search out my own shortcoming and correct them.
Letting
go is not to adjust everything to my desires;
but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
Letting
go is not to criticize and regulate anybody;
but to try to become what I dream I can be.
Letting
go is to not regret the past, but to grow and live for the future;
Letting go is to fear less and love more.
Author Unknown
Guidelines for Dealing With a Person
With a Mental Illness
Be respectful; talk to adults as adults.
Be calm, clear & direct in communication.
Be as consistent and predictable as you can.
Set clear limits, rules and expectations.
Keep a loving distance.
Accept that the person has an illness.
Attribute the symptoms to the illness.
Don't take the illness or the symptoms
personally.
Notice and praise any positive steps or behavior.
Continue to educate yourself and talk to
supportive people.
excerpted from When Someone You Love Has
a Mental Illness by Rebecca Woolis, MFCC
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is to try just
one more time."
Thomas Alva Edison
Bipolar and Self Injury
"Self Injury...an attempt to make the outside
match the inside..."
Self Injury Links
Bipolar and Suicide:
“Suicide is not chosen; it happens
when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.”
David L. Conroy, Ph.D.
If untreated, the rate of suicide (and for that
matter, associated accidental injury) among bipolar patients is at least
five times that of the general population. However, there is good evidence
that treatment with effective medications & regular appointments and
counseling discussions about coping with the illness reduces this risk.
This review of the authors' and others' work
demonstrates that the lifetime risk of suicide attempts is highest in
bipolar II and lowest in unipolar patients, whereas risk is intermediate
in bipolar I patients. Moreover, two reports show that bipolar II patients
are over represented among suicide victims. Clinicians must take great
care in not missing this diagnosis, which, when untreated,
has ominous prognostic implications.
National Institute for Psychiatry and Neurology, Budapest
What Can I Do To Help Someone Who is Suicidal?
Suicide Safety Plan
NAMI fact sheet on suicide
Suicide Anonymous
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder Research Foundation
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious
mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods,
interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability
often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the
individual's sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the
"borderline" of psychosis, people with BPD suffer from a disorder of
emotion regulation. While less well known than schizophrenia or bipolar
disorder (manic-depressive illness), BPD is more common, affecting 2
percent of adults, mostly young women. There is a high rate of self-injury
without suicide intent, as well as a significant rate of suicide attempts
and completed suicide in severe cases. Patients often need extensive
mental health services, and account for 20 percent of psychiatric
hospitalizations. Yet, with help, many improve over time and are
eventually able to lead productive lives. (from the
National Institute of Mental Health
website)
If you're looking for resource books:
Every purchase you
make through
Amazon.com
can help NAMI improve the lives of
people living with serious mental disorders.
Here's how it works:
Click on the link above
to visit
Amazon.com
For everything you purchase,
from books, CDs, DVDs, toys, apparel -- basically, anything Amazon.com
sells -- NAMI will automatically receive an average of 6 percent of the
total sale!
You'll get the convenience of
shopping online with one of the Web's biggest retailers, and at the same
time will be helping NAMI help others, all at absolutely no extra cost to
you
...and always remember:
"No one can make you feel inferior without your
consent."
Eleanor Roosevelt
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