Mental Health Association of Nebraska

STATEWIDE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CONFERENCE MAY 21-23 2012!!

Success, Hopes and Dreams

Facing Challenges - Creating Solutions - Celebrating Recovery

May 21-23, 2012 / Lincoln, Nebraska

Keynote Speakers

Anthony Steels
Pat Deegan, PhD.
Laura Prescott of Sister Witness International
John McAndrew
Paolo del Vecchio Director of CMHS/SAMHSA
Tom Lane

Conference Registration, Exhibitor Registration, and Sponsorship Opportunities now available at  www.nebraskastateconference.org 

For more information, contact Pat Talbott at: (402) 441-4373 or email: Pat Talbott

DSM-5 Debate: Committee Backs Off Some Changes, Re-Opens Comments | Healthland | TIME.com

The committee responsible for revising the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — psychiatry’s diagnostic “bible” commonly referred to as the DSM — has dropped the inclusion of two controversial new diagnoses that it had previously proposed, and re-opened its website for public comment on other potential revisions.

The moves are a sign that the public uproar over some of the changes has hit home, but many of the most contentious amendments still remain.

“For the first time in its history, DSM-5 has shown some flexibility and capacity to correct itself. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of what will turn out to be a number of other necessary DSM-5 retreats,” wrote Dr. Allen Frances, chair of the DSM-4 task force, on his blog at Psychology Today, in response to the committee’s turnabout. Frances is a major critic of the DSM-5.

via healthland.time.com

Bullying and Abuse Can Age Children's DNA | Healthland | TIME.com

A hard life can age you, literally, researchers say. In fact, children who are exposed to violence at a young age show changes in their DNA equivalent to several years of premature aging.

That’s the finding of an international group of scientists who analyzed data from the Environmental Risk Study (E-Risk), which tracked 2,232 children born between 1994 and 1995 in England and Wales. The researchers focused on 236 children whom they followed from age 5 to 10. Nearly half of the children had had some exposure to violence, either in the form of observing violent acts against their mother, being bullied themselves, or being the victim of aggressive acts by an adult.

via healthland.time.com

A Peer’s Perspective – Introduction

Welcome to the first of many installments of "A Peer's Perspective".  I figured before I start giving you my perspective on various topics I'd spend this first article giving background on myself.  My name is Matt and I'm the guy behind all of the social media that Mental Health Association of Nebraska puts into cyberspace.  In my 28 years on this earth I've faced mental health issues such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and post-traumatic stress from childhood trauma.  I've also been through therapy, medications, unemployment, and a couple hospitalizations.  A year ago I started making drastic changes in my life to put my recovery first.  I can now say that I am employed, hopeful and the most emotionally stable I've been in all my life.

The biggest change I made in my life was a conscious choice to do anything and everything available to not end up in the hospital again.  I started meditating twice a day, attending support groups, volunteering as well as talking to friends and family in great depths about emotional issues.  In partial hospitalization I was reminded of meditation which I used to enjoy as a kid in martial arts classes I used to take.  I started studying meditation and meditating on a daily basis.  A week or so of meditating for 15 minutes twice a day I decided to start attending a local support group.  I was apprehensive at first because of the t.v. stereotype of support groups that was drilled in my head.  The support group was nothing like I ever expected and helped me tenfold in the beginning of my recovery.

After attending several weeks of support groups and meditating I finally started to find a calm in my head I'd never felt.  I still had one major dilemma...any time I was in public I would have crippling panic attacks.  I could handle being by myself or with people who live with mental health issues themselves (peers).  A person in the support group suggested I try volunteering at a place called the Keya House.  I learned that it was staffed by people like me who have been through their own mental health issues who offer support for those having a difficult time.  A light bulb went off in my head and the very next day I called about volunteering as a peer companion.  

A month after volunteering at the Keya House, learning about the recovery model, daily meditation, support groups along with other changes I made...I found myself finally able to step into public places with no panic attacks.  It was then that I started talking in depth to my friends and family about my mental health issues.   Before I started working on my recovery I did talk with my family and friends about my mental health issues but not as deeply as after.  I'll admit at first it was nerve racking explaining how from ages 7 to 22 I had suicidal thoughts to my parents.  After it was said though I felt a great weight off my shoulders.  It became a lot easier to talk to my good friends about why I would disappear for weeks on end with no explanation

I want anyone who may be in a similiar situation to know that through this whole process and even today I have struggles.  I'm a big proponent of saying that recovery is not a straight line.  In the past couple years there have been ups, downs, and several struggles to keep myself stable.  There are still occasional fights with depression, panic attacks and post traumatic stress triggers.  I have just learned through holistically approaching wellness that I can recognize and cope easier than before.  I will also say what works for me doesn't work for everyone and making life changes isn't an easy thing. 

The biggest tip I can give to others who are working on their own recovery is to build your support system and go from there.

Thank you for allowing me to give you a little background on myself.  I plan on writing at least once a month on a topic.  If you have any suggestions, questions or something you would like me to write about shoot me an email at mluna@mha-ne.org.

Disclaimer: The comments made here represent the opinions of the author and do not represent the profession or any body/organization. The comments made here are not meant as a source of medical advice and those seeking medical advice are advised to consult with their own doctor. The author is not responsible for the contents of any external sites that are linked to in this blog.

Bloom: 28,000 Potted Flowers Installed at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center

In 2003 a building housing the Massachusetts Mental Health Center (MMHC) was slated for demolition to make way for updated facilities. The closure was a time for reflection and remembrance as the MMHC had been in operation for over 9 decades and had touched countless thousands of patients and employees alike, and the pending demolition presented a unique problem. How does one memorialize a building impossibly rich with a history of both hope and sadness, and do it in a way that reflects not only the past but also the future? And could this memorial be open to the public, not as a speech, or series of informational plaques, but as an experience worthy of they building’s unique story?

To answer that question artist Anna Schuleit was commissioned to do the impossible. After an initial tour of the facility she was struck not with what she saw but with what she didn’t see: the presence of life and color. While historically a place of healing, the drab interior, worn hallways, and dull paint needed a respectful infusion of hope. With a limited budget and only three months of planning Schuleit and an enormous team of volunteers executed a massive public art installation called Bloom. The concept was simple but absolutely immense in scale. Nearly 28,000 potted flowers would fill almost every square foot of the MMHC including corridors, stairwells, offices and even a swimming pool, all of it brought to life with a sea of blooms. The public was then invited for a limited 4-day viewing as a time for needed reflection and rebirth.

Perhaps no single installation or piece of art seen on Colossal has touched me more deeply than Bloom. After learning about it for the first time a few weeks ago I decided to reach out to Anna and ask if she might be willing to share some photos and information about the genesis and execution of such an incredible installation. What follows is a brief Q/A I had with Anna and a number of high-resolution photos that have never been shared before online.

via This Is Colossal

Mental Health Association prepares for fourth annual fundraiser - News - Daily Nebraskan - University of Nebraska - Lincoln : News, Husker Sports, Opinion, and Video

The Mental Health Association of Nebraska will be presenting its fourth annual fundraiser, “Jammin’ Away the Blues,” at the Bourbon Theatre Saturday.

Doors open at 6 p.m., with music starting at 7 p.m.

This year’s show includes blues artists Kenny Neal, The Lil’ Slim Blues Band and The Blues Project. Past artists who have performed include Curtis Salgado, Lonnie Brooks and Kelley Hunt.

“We are really excited this year,” said James Terry, marketing coordinator at the Mental Health Association of Nebraska.

Terry said all the funds and donated money goes directly to the association to keep programs running, along with providing clients a wellness recovery plan.

via www.dailynebraskan.com

How Dogs Help Veterans/Emergency First Responders Cope With Post Traumatic Stress

How Dogs Help Veterans Cope with PTSD from TIME Video on Vimeo.

Are Antidepressants like Paxil Effective or Placebo? - TIME

In the early 1990s, everyone was listening to Prozac — right up until they weren't anymore. By the middle of that decade, the media had begun spotlighting disasters involving the life-changing wonder drug — cases of suicide, even mass murder, apparently spurred by Prozac and similar medications. And by 2005, the Food and Drug Administration had mandated a black-box warning on all antidepressants, cautioning against an increase in suicide risk in certain patients.

Since then, a small but vocal minority of researchers have also questioned whether the mood-enhancing benefit of antidepressants amounts to anything more than a psychological artifact. They point to studies that suggest the drugs' seemingly powerful effects are the same as those of a sugar pill. Most recently, a headline-grabbing Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) paper published in January found that antidepressants worked no better than a placebo in patients with mild or moderate depression (but the study did conclude that medication helped the most persistent and severe cases). For some observers, however, the judgment was sealed. That month, Newsweek ran a cover story bemoaning "The Depressing News About Antidepressants."

via www.time.com

Prisons Rethink Isolation, Saving Money, Lives and Sanity

Many states continue to house inmates with mental illness in isolation. Some inmates appear to function adequately in solitary confinement or even say they prefer it. But studies suggest that the rigid control, absence of normal human interaction and lack of stimulation imposed by prolonged isolation can cause a wide range of psychological symptoms including insomnia, withdrawal, rage and aggression, depression, hallucinations and thoughts of suicide, even in prisoners who are mentally healthy to begin with.

A study of prisoners in the Pelican Bay supermax, for example, found that almost all reported nervousness, anxiety, lethargy or other psychological complaints. Seventy percent said they felt themselves to be at risk of “impending nervous breakdown.”

“Worse still is the fact that for many of these men, the real damage only becomes apparent when they get out of this environment,” said Craig W. Haney, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an expert on the effects of solitary confinement, who led the study.

In fact, some research has found that inmates released from supermax units are more likely to reoffend than comparable prisoners released from conventional maximum-security prisons, and that those crimes are more likely to be violent. In Colorado, said Tom Clements, executive director of corrections, it turned out that about 40 percent of inmates held in long-term isolation were being released directly to the community with no transition period.

via www.nytimes.com

Downtown Lincoln Association - Mental Health Association of Nebraska Employs Hope, Success

They’ve been told that their mental illness would hold them back. That they couldn’t get a job. That they couldn’t lead a normal life.

That simply, they could not.

This is something Alan Green has heard far too often.

“Our expectation is that people can. If they’re willing to do it, we’re here to help,” is his reply.

Green is the Executive Director of The Mental Health Association of Nebraska [MHA-NE], a non-profit organization located on 16th and N that offers an array of programs for people with mental health problems or mental illnesses. MHA-NE is entirely consumer-run, meaning that all the programs and services they offer are designed and provided by people who have lived experience with mental health issues.

via downtownlincoln.org