I live in the state that has the 2nd highest number of people living with a mental illness. The number of 0's in total individuals is a staggering number. But recovery from mental illness is not an individual's problem, it is a family problem. Those who are parents and caregivers have the problem too. You don't attempt to help the individual, you must help the entire family, regardless of the age of the person living with or suffering from mental illness.
Before we look at and talk about numbers, you must understand that mental illness is not an individual disease. It is a family disease. Family members suffer, sometimes even more. You can't treat the individual without treating the family.
A person may have a treatment plan but what he needs is a Treatment Team. The family is equally important to a therapist, case manager, peer specialist and Psychiatrist or Psychologist.
Experts will tell you the mental health system is broken. The theory of treating individuals is wrong to begin with. The fact is family members must be involved and treated as well.
When the basic premise is wrong, regardless of what comprises a mental health system, you can consider it broken. Rather, it is incomplete. What appears to be focused on is not even the target.
Our society comes from the tradition of our elders and the elders before them. Changes are made in the present for today and the future. As we learn more about ourselves, our society attempts to change. Some want to stay with a traditional mindset while others can see a higher level of existance is possible. They yearn for it.
Very little has changed with our traditions for the mentally ill. We send the person away. We hope his mind becomes right. Some day, he may come home. Our family will put an individual in a Will stating, "If my son becomes of right mind,". Kind words are found on tombstones. But what has the family been able to do? Sit outside in the waiting room? Existing HIPAA laws keeps the patient's privacy away from parents and caregivers.
Changes are going to keep the family members together, making them part of the treatment team.
I am going to share the "fix" with you in my next post.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Busy day for reviewing the latest report from SAMHSA, from the US Department of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius Secretary
A busy Friday is scheduled for today, all related to mental health.
I will be meeting with a reporter from the Oklahoman, the largest newspaper in the state and one of the highest circulated newspapers in the United States.
We will be discussing the latest SAMHSA report released, primarily why the state of Oklahoma has the 2nd largest population of people with a mental illness.
Then on to a meeting with the COA, Coalition of Advocates, a mental health advocacy group in the state of Oklahoma. I’ve been asked to take the chair for NAMI Oklahoma – Edmond North-OKC.
(I’ll have to tell all parties that I have written a book on mental illness too.)
I will be meeting with a reporter from the Oklahoman, the largest newspaper in the state and one of the highest circulated newspapers in the United States.
We will be discussing the latest SAMHSA report released, primarily why the state of Oklahoma has the 2nd largest population of people with a mental illness.
Then on to a meeting with the COA, Coalition of Advocates, a mental health advocacy group in the state of Oklahoma. I’ve been asked to take the chair for NAMI Oklahoma – Edmond North-OKC.
(I’ll have to tell all parties that I have written a book on mental illness too.)
Thursday, February 27, 2014
She turned from an advocate to activist. Hear the consequences.
My Mott's Mind recalled a very nice lady who turned her advocacy efforts in to becoming an activist. Activists must believe in 3 things, Respect for Self, Respect for others and taking responsibility for the consequences of any action.
She came to mind when I learned about "coffee chat" at the Oklahoma State Capital scheduled for this coming Thursday morning between 7:00AM - 9:30AM, which I was happy to be a volunteered for, representing NAMI Oklahoma - Edmond North-OKC.
I can recall my first time going with this lady to another state capital. As soon as we stepped in to the Dome, off she went to get a published schedule for today's agenda. I told her to wait up as I was going to go with her. She obvious knew her way around the limestone building, which included a tunnel in the basement and special elevators to use. We rushed up to a Representative's office, who I had never of heard before. Out comes this huge cinnamon roll, apparently the Rep's favorite homemade kind. The assistant said the house was in session but after she thought about it for a second, she phoned the Rep. He told his assistant to let her come in to the floor, as he had been waiting on her for this happy breakfast delight. In she goes. I stayed behind. She thought it was a cool thing to be allowed to do. Little did I know she was a registered independent lobbyist, working on mental health issues for children. She had the same illness as mine, her quality time was around my time frame, had to take medication that knocked her out, just like mine as well. She knew exactly where each rest stop was on I-70 and was self-aware when it was time to get off the highway. I learned to do the same.
On a windy day, she crossed the middle line of the highway near a city that had a huge stigma problem and a large number of officers along the interstate. She was pulled over and was arrested for being under the influence of prescription drugs. She was handcuffed, finger printed and thrown in to a jail cell. To make the issue worse, she was on her way to visit her son who was an inpatient in a mental health hospital. Instead she spent the night in jail.
I went with her to the hearing, getting to meet her lawyer ahead of time. We went outside to have a smoke and discuss the case. I asked her if she could make the charges go away. She said she probably could but she and the defendant wanted to plea not guilty and have a jury trial. An activist event was taking shape, just like the 2 wanted. I left shaking my head, wondering why the two wanted to risk a trial. An activist does what an activist does. They wanted the case to go before a jury, and they got what they wanted. The lobbyist/advocate/activist left with a big smile on her face. My Mott's mind could not imagine what could possibly be the intent. I knew what her consequences would be, but she wanted to take the risk like she and her lawyer had planned.
Weeks went by and no trial date had been set. Months went by, violating her rights to a swift and just trial. Still, that was not their goal. I shook my head. Time continued to pass by, week after week, until the case was dismissed. Now they were happy. The court could not find a jury for the case. Stigma was so bad in that area of the state, no one was willing to sit on the jury.
The Activist won!
The news was spread around the region. Simply, no one wanted to talk in the open about mental illness. It seemed best to keep the subject hidden behind closed doors and placed in the very back of people's closets.
The Mott motto once again prevailed, "Let us be know by our deeds as we will be judged for those deeds."
She came to mind when I learned about "coffee chat" at the Oklahoma State Capital scheduled for this coming Thursday morning between 7:00AM - 9:30AM, which I was happy to be a volunteered for, representing NAMI Oklahoma - Edmond North-OKC.
I can recall my first time going with this lady to another state capital. As soon as we stepped in to the Dome, off she went to get a published schedule for today's agenda. I told her to wait up as I was going to go with her. She obvious knew her way around the limestone building, which included a tunnel in the basement and special elevators to use. We rushed up to a Representative's office, who I had never of heard before. Out comes this huge cinnamon roll, apparently the Rep's favorite homemade kind. The assistant said the house was in session but after she thought about it for a second, she phoned the Rep. He told his assistant to let her come in to the floor, as he had been waiting on her for this happy breakfast delight. In she goes. I stayed behind. She thought it was a cool thing to be allowed to do. Little did I know she was a registered independent lobbyist, working on mental health issues for children. She had the same illness as mine, her quality time was around my time frame, had to take medication that knocked her out, just like mine as well. She knew exactly where each rest stop was on I-70 and was self-aware when it was time to get off the highway. I learned to do the same.
On a windy day, she crossed the middle line of the highway near a city that had a huge stigma problem and a large number of officers along the interstate. She was pulled over and was arrested for being under the influence of prescription drugs. She was handcuffed, finger printed and thrown in to a jail cell. To make the issue worse, she was on her way to visit her son who was an inpatient in a mental health hospital. Instead she spent the night in jail.
I went with her to the hearing, getting to meet her lawyer ahead of time. We went outside to have a smoke and discuss the case. I asked her if she could make the charges go away. She said she probably could but she and the defendant wanted to plea not guilty and have a jury trial. An activist event was taking shape, just like the 2 wanted. I left shaking my head, wondering why the two wanted to risk a trial. An activist does what an activist does. They wanted the case to go before a jury, and they got what they wanted. The lobbyist/advocate/activist left with a big smile on her face. My Mott's mind could not imagine what could possibly be the intent. I knew what her consequences would be, but she wanted to take the risk like she and her lawyer had planned.
Weeks went by and no trial date had been set. Months went by, violating her rights to a swift and just trial. Still, that was not their goal. I shook my head. Time continued to pass by, week after week, until the case was dismissed. Now they were happy. The court could not find a jury for the case. Stigma was so bad in that area of the state, no one was willing to sit on the jury.
The Activist won!
The news was spread around the region. Simply, no one wanted to talk in the open about mental illness. It seemed best to keep the subject hidden behind closed doors and placed in the very back of people's closets.
The Mott motto once again prevailed, "Let us be know by our deeds as we will be judged for those deeds."
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Conyers volunteers his time to NAMI - Edmond North-OKC
With an unforeseen change in Project Managers, Randy Conyers' book, Mott's Mind will be placed on temporary hold until a new project manager has been assigned.
In the meantime, Conyers is donating his time to NAMI Oklahoma - Edmond North-OKC affiliate.
Conyers worked on completing the website www.namiedmond.org and Facebook page for
NAMI Oklahoma - Edmond
Not only has Conyers volunteered his time, he has also given the affiliate a gift in-kind for promoting the Facebook page and Website. Advertising efforts have been working well.
Conyers' hobbies include legislative issues, turning bills in to law. He has started on a mental health advocacy team that he hopes will turn in to a Mental Health Coalition.
Randy will return to promoting his book, Mott's Mind 2nd Edition, towards the end of February.
In the meantime, Conyers is donating his time to NAMI Oklahoma - Edmond North-OKC affiliate.
Conyers worked on completing the website www.namiedmond.org and Facebook page for
NAMI Oklahoma - Edmond
Not only has Conyers volunteered his time, he has also given the affiliate a gift in-kind for promoting the Facebook page and Website. Advertising efforts have been working well.
Conyers' hobbies include legislative issues, turning bills in to law. He has started on a mental health advocacy team that he hopes will turn in to a Mental Health Coalition.
Randy will return to promoting his book, Mott's Mind 2nd Edition, towards the end of February.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
In 1959, exposure to MI meant being treated to a chocolate jet
Chocolate jets from the local Dairy Queen store were a special treat for me. I would do about anything for this delicious treat.
For those who do not remember the late 50's and early 60's I doubt if you know what a DQ Chocolate jet is. A paper cylinder with a wooden stick going the through the free standing bottom was filled with deep rich chocolate ice cream with the signature twirl top, frozen to the exact temperature made a perfect jet. You would push the ice cream up with the stick to get every drop. No soft-serve would ever fill a jet.
Each time my grandmother and I returned to town a chocolate jet was in order. Each roundtrip back to town meant a chocolate treat for me. Once a week, we would head out west of town. We had to count the number of dirt roads we passed so we could turn south off of the highway.
There were no signs to direct us to our destination on the dusty dirt road. But I knew the name of where we were going, Cedar Rest. Out in the wheat fields of Kansas stood this two story limestone building. There wasn't a parking lot. Grandma would park on the grass quite far from the building. She could have drove right next to the building but she would rather hike to the entrance. Besides, she said I would be safer out here, in the middle of nowhere. It had to take grandma at least 10 minutes to reach the front of the building. When she returned to the car it seemed like she walked for an hour.
I followed my instructions to the letter, knowing my obedience meant a chocolate jet. The doors had to stay locked and the windows rolled up. I was allowed to open the vent window just a little. I could not allow anyone in the car. When most children were told to be seen but not heard, it was best if I couldn't be seen at all. I could lay on the seat, impossible to be seen from the range to the building. I found I could hide from Grandma as well. Getting down on the floor board, I could get under the dashboard. With everything made of steel, plus an air vent, it was a nice cool place to hide. All that was on my mind was that dairy delight. Everything else didn't matter.
It took some time before my mind started to wonder what Grandma was doing and what, exactly, was in the limestone prison. All I knew was children of my age were not allowed access. I wouldn't have known what an asylum was anyway. I don’t believe they were called mental health hospitals during that time of high stigma.
I was never scared. It was simply something we would do so I could get my chocolate jet.
I liked watching TV with Grandma and Grandpa in the evenings, even more at times when they were doing something else. There were certain shows that had things on them from time to time that I wasn’t suppose to watch. If they were in the room, the channel would be changed. There was a time a building that looked like Cedar Rest. Now, I would be able to see in. I saw lines of beds. Workers wore all white clothing, like a nurse would. There was a commons where people looked like they were playing games or watching TV. The problem was they all looked so sleepy. I believe some were asleep without being in their beds. Something was wrong with them. That’s what I thought Cedar Rest probably looked like inside. It seemed to be a boring place most of the time. Once in awhile somebody would really get mad and they would get a shot or taken away by big men all dressed in white.
It seemed liked in the past, I had been inside such a place but knew for sure I never walked a step in to Cedar Rest. The TV show wasn’t scary to me. I had yet to be taught to be afraid, to have a stigma towards these people. I saw they had some kind of illness and needed help. I never judged these people or thought differently about them. They just needed help, just like everybody else. The only thing that I knew for certain was if you went to visit them, always stop and get a chocolate jet on your way home.
I believe it’s easy for me to work with the mentally ill. Little did I know, at that time, I would have a similar illness some day. No one ever talked to me about the possibility.
For those who do not remember the late 50's and early 60's I doubt if you know what a DQ Chocolate jet is. A paper cylinder with a wooden stick going the through the free standing bottom was filled with deep rich chocolate ice cream with the signature twirl top, frozen to the exact temperature made a perfect jet. You would push the ice cream up with the stick to get every drop. No soft-serve would ever fill a jet.
Each time my grandmother and I returned to town a chocolate jet was in order. Each roundtrip back to town meant a chocolate treat for me. Once a week, we would head out west of town. We had to count the number of dirt roads we passed so we could turn south off of the highway.
There were no signs to direct us to our destination on the dusty dirt road. But I knew the name of where we were going, Cedar Rest. Out in the wheat fields of Kansas stood this two story limestone building. There wasn't a parking lot. Grandma would park on the grass quite far from the building. She could have drove right next to the building but she would rather hike to the entrance. Besides, she said I would be safer out here, in the middle of nowhere. It had to take grandma at least 10 minutes to reach the front of the building. When she returned to the car it seemed like she walked for an hour.
I followed my instructions to the letter, knowing my obedience meant a chocolate jet. The doors had to stay locked and the windows rolled up. I was allowed to open the vent window just a little. I could not allow anyone in the car. When most children were told to be seen but not heard, it was best if I couldn't be seen at all. I could lay on the seat, impossible to be seen from the range to the building. I found I could hide from Grandma as well. Getting down on the floor board, I could get under the dashboard. With everything made of steel, plus an air vent, it was a nice cool place to hide. All that was on my mind was that dairy delight. Everything else didn't matter.
It took some time before my mind started to wonder what Grandma was doing and what, exactly, was in the limestone prison. All I knew was children of my age were not allowed access. I wouldn't have known what an asylum was anyway. I don’t believe they were called mental health hospitals during that time of high stigma.
I was never scared. It was simply something we would do so I could get my chocolate jet.
I liked watching TV with Grandma and Grandpa in the evenings, even more at times when they were doing something else. There were certain shows that had things on them from time to time that I wasn’t suppose to watch. If they were in the room, the channel would be changed. There was a time a building that looked like Cedar Rest. Now, I would be able to see in. I saw lines of beds. Workers wore all white clothing, like a nurse would. There was a commons where people looked like they were playing games or watching TV. The problem was they all looked so sleepy. I believe some were asleep without being in their beds. Something was wrong with them. That’s what I thought Cedar Rest probably looked like inside. It seemed to be a boring place most of the time. Once in awhile somebody would really get mad and they would get a shot or taken away by big men all dressed in white.
It seemed liked in the past, I had been inside such a place but knew for sure I never walked a step in to Cedar Rest. The TV show wasn’t scary to me. I had yet to be taught to be afraid, to have a stigma towards these people. I saw they had some kind of illness and needed help. I never judged these people or thought differently about them. They just needed help, just like everybody else. The only thing that I knew for certain was if you went to visit them, always stop and get a chocolate jet on your way home.
I believe it’s easy for me to work with the mentally ill. Little did I know, at that time, I would have a similar illness some day. No one ever talked to me about the possibility.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Announcement of New Publisher
Randy Conyers is proud to announce Tate Publishing as the new publisher of his book, Mott’s Mind.
“We receive tens of thousands of submissions”, said acquisition editor Shelley Coil, “but we choose to accept only a small percentage of the authors who submit manuscripts to us. Randy’s work is what we were looking for.”
Conyers has over 30 years of designing computer software before his accident and crisis, which made him disabled.
After 9 years in recovery, Randy started writing.
He was named the “Prolific Writer” of KS for LTEs by Joan Wagon, past Topeka mayor, Kansas House Representative and Executive Chairman of her political party.
“When I was a computer consultant for Magellan Behavioral Health in Columbia Maryland, I was encouraged to write a book about my life experiences of being a 10th generation member of the Mott family living with a mental illness.”, Conyers remarked, “So I did. The time was right.”
Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC, is a Christian-based, family-owned, mainline publishing organization based in the Oklahoma City metro area. Their specialty is promoting new authors, like Randy Conyers. His book, Mott’s Mind, is scheduled to start production in February 2014. Release date and price have not been determined by at this time.
“I am impressed with the team assembled by Tate for making Mott’s Mind a success. I would like to express much gratitude to each person working behind the scenes. You can accomplish anything if you don’t mind who gets the credit.”, Conyers said. The team is comprised of Shelley Coil, Acquisition Editor; Curtis Winkle, Executive Editor; Melanie Hughes, Executive Director of Production; Rachael Sweeden, Director of Operations and Project Manager; Cheryl Moore, Photos and Graphics; and Mark Mingle, Executive Director of Marketing.
Randy Conyers is also a public speaker. To schedule him for your next event, contact Randy at RandallConyers@yahoo.com Randy lives in Edmond, OK.
“We receive tens of thousands of submissions”, said acquisition editor Shelley Coil, “but we choose to accept only a small percentage of the authors who submit manuscripts to us. Randy’s work is what we were looking for.”
Conyers has over 30 years of designing computer software before his accident and crisis, which made him disabled.
After 9 years in recovery, Randy started writing.
He was named the “Prolific Writer” of KS for LTEs by Joan Wagon, past Topeka mayor, Kansas House Representative and Executive Chairman of her political party.
“When I was a computer consultant for Magellan Behavioral Health in Columbia Maryland, I was encouraged to write a book about my life experiences of being a 10th generation member of the Mott family living with a mental illness.”, Conyers remarked, “So I did. The time was right.”
Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC, is a Christian-based, family-owned, mainline publishing organization based in the Oklahoma City metro area. Their specialty is promoting new authors, like Randy Conyers. His book, Mott’s Mind, is scheduled to start production in February 2014. Release date and price have not been determined by at this time.
“I am impressed with the team assembled by Tate for making Mott’s Mind a success. I would like to express much gratitude to each person working behind the scenes. You can accomplish anything if you don’t mind who gets the credit.”, Conyers said. The team is comprised of Shelley Coil, Acquisition Editor; Curtis Winkle, Executive Editor; Melanie Hughes, Executive Director of Production; Rachael Sweeden, Director of Operations and Project Manager; Cheryl Moore, Photos and Graphics; and Mark Mingle, Executive Director of Marketing.
Randy Conyers is also a public speaker. To schedule him for your next event, contact Randy at RandallConyers@yahoo.com Randy lives in Edmond, OK.
Why the 2nd Edition was written, to try to help one individual
The second edition was written at the request of a trustee of a library and foundation in the New England Region of the United States and from Zurich, Switzerland. The book has grown from 179 pages to 203 pages and has more thoughts, vision and an addendum B. Titled "Peer Thoughts" which is included for a larger audience. Publishing has begun at Tate Publishing, Inc. in Mustang, OK
Distribution does not start until from Tate until summer of 2014.
Randy Conyers’ autobiography is focused on his mental Illness. Randy was born in Wichita, KS at the Wesley Hospital in 1955. He is the second son of Robert Alonzo Mott and Vivian I. Mott. His birth certificate’s name is Randall Craig Mott. His character has always been one of the Mott family. The book follows the Mott Crest and mottos.
This book is for professionals and career bound individuals who now suffer from a mental illness and also their family members. It is suggested reading for advocates, activists and those working in the field of mental health. The book follows the life of Randy Conyers who shares his story of living with a mental illness. His family crest and mottos, “Let us be known for our deeds” and “We shall be judged by our deeds” are themes carried throughout the book. It demonstrates that a recovery path is possible, the discovery of self-awareness and regaining self-esteem.
Distribution does not start until from Tate until summer of 2014.
Randy Conyers’ autobiography is focused on his mental Illness. Randy was born in Wichita, KS at the Wesley Hospital in 1955. He is the second son of Robert Alonzo Mott and Vivian I. Mott. His birth certificate’s name is Randall Craig Mott. His character has always been one of the Mott family. The book follows the Mott Crest and mottos.
This book is for professionals and career bound individuals who now suffer from a mental illness and also their family members. It is suggested reading for advocates, activists and those working in the field of mental health. The book follows the life of Randy Conyers who shares his story of living with a mental illness. His family crest and mottos, “Let us be known for our deeds” and “We shall be judged by our deeds” are themes carried throughout the book. It demonstrates that a recovery path is possible, the discovery of self-awareness and regaining self-esteem.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
You ARE Alone - Presentation 5 of 5
I am Randy Conyers, writer of Mott’s Mind.
I am going to speak on being alone, which can be found in my book.
My thought, the thought, for any mental illness is the concern of being alone.
If this is the first time you have felt an impact of your illness, or going through the never ending cycles of your mental illness, there is a point of loneliness. I know this is true because it has happened to me, and my peers.
I talk about this in my book, Mott’s Mind.
You, the person who has been told they have a mental illness, is thrown in to a room, the door locked, and the key thrown away for all eternity. You were left behind, there are no others, only you. You find yourself alone forever.
An analogy to solitary confinement would only be a beginning of an analogy used as a comparison.
You are alone with only your thought. You have been thrown away, an unwanted outcast. You are self-aware of being nothing, yet voices run through your mind.
Multiple conversations are mingled together that talk for days, unending. The mind will haves times of complete silence too. The longer the silence continues and no interaction with the mind, becomes as severe as an eternity of conversations talking that you listen to.
In my mind, the only resolution to stop the voices is termination. To stop the silence, you do not want to exist. You yearn for an identity.
You have the fear of going before the master, be it a higher level entity or the one you idolize the most, where you hear the words, “I tell you, I do not know where you come. Depart from me.”
These are not thoughts of suicide, an act of ending your life due to circumstances that you feel are too pressuring to overcome. I am focusing on a matter of no identity or characteristics to demonstrate you have a life of your own.
Another mindset for being alone is that of being in a womb. While you are going through the evolutions to create human life, but not complete. You become suspended, the same way a non-completed painting is put on the shelf for tens of years, or an unfinished doll puppet hanging on your workshop wall since grandpa died. You are trapped, incapable of doing anything for yourself.
Along comes a painter who sees you sitting on the shelf, wipes you clean and finishes the work of art. A grand painting you have become. Your son, born with the gift of craftsmanship, like your grandfather, takes the doll from the workshop wall, blows off the dust and completes the work your grandfather started. You are now a prized possession, kept with your family’s finest china.
When you are finished, you are born to also be a prized possession. You are complete with all toes and fingers. Yet sometimes, you are not considered anything special, you are a liability.
That can also be true with the grand painting, it is not liked in today’s society and is thrown in the trash, headed towards the dump. The prized doll is auctioned off with everything in the china closet deemed to be made inferior in respect to the finest china made only for royalty. And you, where your family says, “It would have been better for him if he had never been born”. These are all negative feelings, robbing you from self-esteem and self-respect. It’s a devastating feeling of loneliness.
Can your belief system accept one of these descriptions? Is there an understanding that makes sense to you? If so, say to that scenario, “Get over it”, “just snap out of it”, “you’re lazy, go to work”. Do you believe any of such statements have meaning to what I described? Can you communicate with someone who has no idea of who they are? Can you expect an immediate response? Can you vision an immediate recovery?
I have sat beside an individual where the realization of his illness has become so strong his equilibrium, his balance of emotions, failed him. He literally falls over from sitting in a chair. It appears he has fainted, resulting in hitting the floor. He has not. He has no symptoms of suddenly becoming unconscious. It is the realization that he has such an illness and the impact is so emotionally strong he has lost control over an involuntary action. He knows he hasn’t fainted and is offended by attempting to be treated as such. He asks to be taken home, regardless of the distance, the event being attended and the importance it was to the person or family volunteering to take him home? He can only think about himself and how others are judging him. He would rather be alone, physically and with his thoughts.
When I was a peer worker, I had 3 new clients to meet. When I looked at their addresses they were very close to each other. It was an apartment complex where all 3 were in the same building, all facing the south.
I knocked on the first door and met a gentleman. He said he was alone, no one would be able to understand his situation. We had a good visit. It was just two doors down to see the next client. She too said she was alone, a lonely person that no one could understand. I told her that was interesting as I met a man living two doors down who was also alone. We, too, had a good visit. I went two more doors down to meet my third client. She told me she was alone. I told her she was the hatrick, the third person in 5 apartments who was all alone. It was a phenomenal coincidence. She smoked and so did I. We decided to sit out at the picnic table and talk. My lighter was in my car but when I passed my 2nd client, I remember she smoked too. I knocked on her door and asked if I could get a lite. She gave me a lite and asked what I was doing. I told her I found a person who was all alone, no one would understand her, you probably would though. She decided she would come out and have a smoke too. Now I had 2 people, who were previously completely alone with their thoughts, with me.
I saw the curtain open, ever so little, to the 1st apartment. Somebody was watching us, obviously the person, the 1st person I met that day, alone with thoughts. I asked him to join us, and to my surprise he did! They talked and talked. I don’t think they ever realized I left.
As a peer worker, your job description includes lowering your census count, which means I am trying to work myself out of a job. A few weeks after my visits I learned that Sunday evening was their Taco Night. Was I ever invited? No. It was a great feeling of accomplishment, people reaching their first step in recovery.
We,in NAMI, like to use the motto of “You are not alone.” But it takes a commitment of investing in these individuals. “When you are in recovery, you are not alone”.
These are thoughts I share in my book.
Thank you.
I am going to speak on being alone, which can be found in my book.
My thought, the thought, for any mental illness is the concern of being alone.
If this is the first time you have felt an impact of your illness, or going through the never ending cycles of your mental illness, there is a point of loneliness. I know this is true because it has happened to me, and my peers.
I talk about this in my book, Mott’s Mind.
You, the person who has been told they have a mental illness, is thrown in to a room, the door locked, and the key thrown away for all eternity. You were left behind, there are no others, only you. You find yourself alone forever.
An analogy to solitary confinement would only be a beginning of an analogy used as a comparison.
You are alone with only your thought. You have been thrown away, an unwanted outcast. You are self-aware of being nothing, yet voices run through your mind.
Multiple conversations are mingled together that talk for days, unending. The mind will haves times of complete silence too. The longer the silence continues and no interaction with the mind, becomes as severe as an eternity of conversations talking that you listen to.
In my mind, the only resolution to stop the voices is termination. To stop the silence, you do not want to exist. You yearn for an identity.
You have the fear of going before the master, be it a higher level entity or the one you idolize the most, where you hear the words, “I tell you, I do not know where you come. Depart from me.”
These are not thoughts of suicide, an act of ending your life due to circumstances that you feel are too pressuring to overcome. I am focusing on a matter of no identity or characteristics to demonstrate you have a life of your own.
Another mindset for being alone is that of being in a womb. While you are going through the evolutions to create human life, but not complete. You become suspended, the same way a non-completed painting is put on the shelf for tens of years, or an unfinished doll puppet hanging on your workshop wall since grandpa died. You are trapped, incapable of doing anything for yourself.
Along comes a painter who sees you sitting on the shelf, wipes you clean and finishes the work of art. A grand painting you have become. Your son, born with the gift of craftsmanship, like your grandfather, takes the doll from the workshop wall, blows off the dust and completes the work your grandfather started. You are now a prized possession, kept with your family’s finest china.
When you are finished, you are born to also be a prized possession. You are complete with all toes and fingers. Yet sometimes, you are not considered anything special, you are a liability.
That can also be true with the grand painting, it is not liked in today’s society and is thrown in the trash, headed towards the dump. The prized doll is auctioned off with everything in the china closet deemed to be made inferior in respect to the finest china made only for royalty. And you, where your family says, “It would have been better for him if he had never been born”. These are all negative feelings, robbing you from self-esteem and self-respect. It’s a devastating feeling of loneliness.
Can your belief system accept one of these descriptions? Is there an understanding that makes sense to you? If so, say to that scenario, “Get over it”, “just snap out of it”, “you’re lazy, go to work”. Do you believe any of such statements have meaning to what I described? Can you communicate with someone who has no idea of who they are? Can you expect an immediate response? Can you vision an immediate recovery?
I have sat beside an individual where the realization of his illness has become so strong his equilibrium, his balance of emotions, failed him. He literally falls over from sitting in a chair. It appears he has fainted, resulting in hitting the floor. He has not. He has no symptoms of suddenly becoming unconscious. It is the realization that he has such an illness and the impact is so emotionally strong he has lost control over an involuntary action. He knows he hasn’t fainted and is offended by attempting to be treated as such. He asks to be taken home, regardless of the distance, the event being attended and the importance it was to the person or family volunteering to take him home? He can only think about himself and how others are judging him. He would rather be alone, physically and with his thoughts.
When I was a peer worker, I had 3 new clients to meet. When I looked at their addresses they were very close to each other. It was an apartment complex where all 3 were in the same building, all facing the south.
I knocked on the first door and met a gentleman. He said he was alone, no one would be able to understand his situation. We had a good visit. It was just two doors down to see the next client. She too said she was alone, a lonely person that no one could understand. I told her that was interesting as I met a man living two doors down who was also alone. We, too, had a good visit. I went two more doors down to meet my third client. She told me she was alone. I told her she was the hatrick, the third person in 5 apartments who was all alone. It was a phenomenal coincidence. She smoked and so did I. We decided to sit out at the picnic table and talk. My lighter was in my car but when I passed my 2nd client, I remember she smoked too. I knocked on her door and asked if I could get a lite. She gave me a lite and asked what I was doing. I told her I found a person who was all alone, no one would understand her, you probably would though. She decided she would come out and have a smoke too. Now I had 2 people, who were previously completely alone with their thoughts, with me.
I saw the curtain open, ever so little, to the 1st apartment. Somebody was watching us, obviously the person, the 1st person I met that day, alone with thoughts. I asked him to join us, and to my surprise he did! They talked and talked. I don’t think they ever realized I left.
As a peer worker, your job description includes lowering your census count, which means I am trying to work myself out of a job. A few weeks after my visits I learned that Sunday evening was their Taco Night. Was I ever invited? No. It was a great feeling of accomplishment, people reaching their first step in recovery.
We,in NAMI, like to use the motto of “You are not alone.” But it takes a commitment of investing in these individuals. “When you are in recovery, you are not alone”.
These are thoughts I share in my book.
Thank you.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime Presentation 4 of 5
“Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.” These are the words of the Individual who was teaching my candidate training class, who is now running for Governor in my home state.
Hello, my name is Randy Conyers. I wrote the book. Mott’s Mind, my story of living with a mental illness. In fact, I am the 10th generation in my bloodline living with a mental illness. Living such a lifestyle, even while on disability, you can make a better quality of life for yourself and your family. The key is realizing Recovery is possible. It doesn’t mean you be healed or won’t have drastic setbacks. You keep looking toward the future, becoming an advocate and, when the time is right, an activist.
One of the hottest topics in mental illness today is the loss of hospital beds. I belong to a discussion focus group on the LinkedIn website. The title is “Where are the psychiatric beds in America, becoming a real issue in the communities.
It became a large issue where I live, in Oklahoma City, at the end of 2013 where 57 beds are closing in February 2014, stating there was not a need for the facility in their community, their area of OKC. 70 people are losing their jobs. It is a devastating loss. I have asked to be on the agenda for the next hospital Board of Directors meeting that owns the facility. So far, I have not been notified. But why should I? I’m not a famous writer, not yet anyway.
What influence do I have over a private company? What characteristics do I have that should be listened to? I have my story. I am an advocate and, at times, an activist. In Oklahoma, I’m a nobody. But there is always something I do. I ask. I call it making “The Ask”. You’ll never know what might happen by simply making an Ask. As long as you respect yourself, respect others and take responsibly for your actions, anyone will listen to you.
You can do anything, regardless of where you are at in your recovery process, just make sure you don’t care who gets the credit.
If your compassion is to see the restoration of mental health beds in hospitals, make it so. The largest impact comes from your state legislature. You will need to establish a relationship with your Representative and Senator. You will need to tell your story and establish an on-going dialog. You will be an advocate for mental illness with a focus on opening MI hospital beds.
Your correspondence will be replied to. You can ask to be put on the agenda for testifying before legislative committees, talk with the media, write letters to the editor and attend town hall meetings.
Changes for mental illness means new laws, laws amended and laws repealed.
You will find my comments in my book.
Besides having a strong genetics of mental illness in my life, I also inherited a compassion for politics, influencing people and having the character that relates to people, giving them a reason to believe in me and gaining a feeling of trust.
When you advocate for mental illness, you become part of the legislative process which, in turn, gets in to politics.
Your involvement can result in you running for a public state office. That’s what I did. “Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.”
I talk briefly about politics in my book. I share my high points and the lows, the stigma that goes with you as one living with a mental illness and a greater stigma being called a politician. If you carry a stigma monitor with you, pull it out after you have shared with someone that you live with a mental illness. See where the needle points. Tell the same person you are running for your state’s legislature. You would appreciate his vote and making a donation to your campaign. Look at your stigma monitor needle and see how higher it goes. It will probably go up significantly.
In my book I talk about reaching the recovery stage of taking action, some will like you while others will despise you. It’s amazing what a lady of 90 years can call you in one breath. Again, stories like this are in my book.
People’s belief systems follow the traditions of there family. Many have the same beliefs about mental illness recovery as they do on changing an area in society.
You must have a message. Recovery is important for every 1 in 4 people, based upon statistics from NAMI. Recovery is a must from PTSD in our military and those who were abused, rehabilitation in our jails and prisons to starting on an individual’s Recovery for those who should be at home taking their medications.
These issues are addressed as Jobs, Education and Health Care. 90% of questions and remarks you make will be made on the big three, Jobs, Education and Health Care. All are related to mental illness.
The key to talking on these subjects is to have a personal story on each issue and how important it is to solve these problems in the future.
“Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.”
Just imagine the number of prepared speeches that are on the top of your head right now.
Start your journal today. Give it a title of “Recall and Recovery”.
Those are some things that may be of interest to you as, “Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.”
Thank you
Hello, my name is Randy Conyers. I wrote the book. Mott’s Mind, my story of living with a mental illness. In fact, I am the 10th generation in my bloodline living with a mental illness. Living such a lifestyle, even while on disability, you can make a better quality of life for yourself and your family. The key is realizing Recovery is possible. It doesn’t mean you be healed or won’t have drastic setbacks. You keep looking toward the future, becoming an advocate and, when the time is right, an activist.
One of the hottest topics in mental illness today is the loss of hospital beds. I belong to a discussion focus group on the LinkedIn website. The title is “Where are the psychiatric beds in America, becoming a real issue in the communities.
It became a large issue where I live, in Oklahoma City, at the end of 2013 where 57 beds are closing in February 2014, stating there was not a need for the facility in their community, their area of OKC. 70 people are losing their jobs. It is a devastating loss. I have asked to be on the agenda for the next hospital Board of Directors meeting that owns the facility. So far, I have not been notified. But why should I? I’m not a famous writer, not yet anyway.
What influence do I have over a private company? What characteristics do I have that should be listened to? I have my story. I am an advocate and, at times, an activist. In Oklahoma, I’m a nobody. But there is always something I do. I ask. I call it making “The Ask”. You’ll never know what might happen by simply making an Ask. As long as you respect yourself, respect others and take responsibly for your actions, anyone will listen to you.
You can do anything, regardless of where you are at in your recovery process, just make sure you don’t care who gets the credit.
If your compassion is to see the restoration of mental health beds in hospitals, make it so. The largest impact comes from your state legislature. You will need to establish a relationship with your Representative and Senator. You will need to tell your story and establish an on-going dialog. You will be an advocate for mental illness with a focus on opening MI hospital beds.
Your correspondence will be replied to. You can ask to be put on the agenda for testifying before legislative committees, talk with the media, write letters to the editor and attend town hall meetings.
Changes for mental illness means new laws, laws amended and laws repealed.
You will find my comments in my book.
Besides having a strong genetics of mental illness in my life, I also inherited a compassion for politics, influencing people and having the character that relates to people, giving them a reason to believe in me and gaining a feeling of trust.
When you advocate for mental illness, you become part of the legislative process which, in turn, gets in to politics.
Your involvement can result in you running for a public state office. That’s what I did. “Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.”
I talk briefly about politics in my book. I share my high points and the lows, the stigma that goes with you as one living with a mental illness and a greater stigma being called a politician. If you carry a stigma monitor with you, pull it out after you have shared with someone that you live with a mental illness. See where the needle points. Tell the same person you are running for your state’s legislature. You would appreciate his vote and making a donation to your campaign. Look at your stigma monitor needle and see how higher it goes. It will probably go up significantly.
In my book I talk about reaching the recovery stage of taking action, some will like you while others will despise you. It’s amazing what a lady of 90 years can call you in one breath. Again, stories like this are in my book.
People’s belief systems follow the traditions of there family. Many have the same beliefs about mental illness recovery as they do on changing an area in society.
You must have a message. Recovery is important for every 1 in 4 people, based upon statistics from NAMI. Recovery is a must from PTSD in our military and those who were abused, rehabilitation in our jails and prisons to starting on an individual’s Recovery for those who should be at home taking their medications.
These issues are addressed as Jobs, Education and Health Care. 90% of questions and remarks you make will be made on the big three, Jobs, Education and Health Care. All are related to mental illness.
The key to talking on these subjects is to have a personal story on each issue and how important it is to solve these problems in the future.
“Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.”
Just imagine the number of prepared speeches that are on the top of your head right now.
Start your journal today. Give it a title of “Recall and Recovery”.
Those are some things that may be of interest to you as, “Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.”
Thank you
Friday, February 21, 2014
ASK Presentation 3 of 5
My name is Randy Conyers. I have shared my story of living with a mental illness in my book, Mott’s Mind.
After my last mental illness crisis in 2004, I hit rock bottom. I was fired from the company I had been employed by since 1981 as the Computer Software Director of Research and Development for a subchapter S corporation, while I was in the intensive care unit of a Midwestern Regional Hospital. I was not able to work in the career I was trained in, not insurable because of my mental health diagnosis and was not capable of living by myself and my COBRA benefits were long gone.
A new series of expensive drugs, costing over $1,000.00/month was coming out of my pocketbook. It didn’t take long before my house, extra cars and motorcycle went away while trying to pay my bills. I got a first hand look on what it was like going from a high middle class lifestyle to that of poverty.
I had to maintain my high costs of medications to live, I refused to go on welfare, that’s for lazy people (sarcastic), and I wasn’t going to be a stakeholder on a Medicaid program, that’s for poor people (sarcastic). So what do I do now? How would I recover from this tragic setback? I wrote about this in my book.
I knew of Philanthropic Foundations, sometimes named as Charity Foundations. It was suggested to me to ask for their help. I was use to making “The Ask” yet I felt uncomfortable making applications until I recalled, In all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Asking is the cornerstone in building Foundations.
I also wrote the Mott mottos, “Let us be known by our deeds” and “We shall be judged by our deeds”. My definition of deeds is taking action that is performed intentionally. Sometimes the results of action are good while, at other times good intentions go bad.
I needed to ask. The deed was an action to define the mission of the foundation. My deed of action was to fill out the applications for scholarships and grants. I believed in receiving. I did not judge the foundations in respect to who created it, donated and past actions. That did not matter. What mattered was I had an immediate need and the foundations had an immediate response.
Large pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Merck have foundations that disburse grants in the form of scholarships. There are many foundations in the private sector to be found for a variety of services needed from companies that make Applesauce to Vehicles. Funding does not have to come from taxpayers in the way of state and federal government funds. I believe this fact must be stated. Recovery is not an entitlement program. Recovery takes people in collaboration with the public and private sectors. In my case, it took all three entities to help in my recovery.
I received a scholarship from GlaxoSmithKline that paid for all of my name brand medications, with two annuals grants that took care of my need for prescription drugs. I was granted access, by reduced rates, to my Community Mental Health Center’s services of therapy, medication plan and treatment plan. I was welcomed to my local affiliate of NAMI to become part of a support group. I would have never believed in recovery without what I received, by asking.
Today, I live on my benefits from working that included paying out the maximum limit, in most years, to the federal insurance contributions act and the interest earned from my 401(k) plan that I converted to an IRA.
I try to ‘give back’, only wishing I could make an impact like a large Foundation did. I would like to introduce to you the Mott Foundation, founded in Michigan. Today the Mott Foundation has branch offices in England and South Africa. Charles Stewart Mott and I share the Mott family name. You won’t find information about the Foundation in my book, even though the name of my book is Mott’s Mind. There are many Mott Community Foundations.
Mott built a hospital for children. They started a program to be a community health center. Today they are also a Community Mental Health Center. The hospital has a child and adolescent Psychiatry Department, providing mental health treatment and prevention services. Their goal is to promote the emotional growth of children within the context of their families and community. They provide services for Children who are experiencing emotional, behavioral or mental health concerns and who are at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines can be served at the Health Center. Health Plus Partners/PPOM/Champus and other insurers reimburse for our services. Clients are not turned away for inability to pay.
It takes a large and competent staff to run such a facility. There are private hospitals that have shut their doors to mental health wings. Hospital beds are being lost. Is it due to a money problem? In many cases, No.
It is due to a shortage of staff, people working in mental health care with people living with a mental illness. This is a problem throughout the United States. The question is how do you build and sustain a work force?
Mott built a Community College that would help to create a workforce. It goes along with the statement, “If you build it, they will come.”
Mott Community College creates people with an Accredited Associates Degree who work in different areas of Behavior Health. People are not born as mental illness workers. You create them.
Jeanne and Jim Mott of Iowa created a Foundation that is known as the J & J Corporation. It is one of many cornerstones for community based services.
They created and developed a service named M.O.T.T.S., an acronym for what they do in mental health. Their mission states M.O.T.T.S – Our mission is in our name.
• M Mentoring – to reach or counsel in a trusting manner
• O. Outreach – a system of delivery of services to surpass all others
• T. Training – a process of bringing a person to a higher level of proficiency
• T. Transition to aid people in the passage from 1 position or state to another
• S. Support – to give aid or encouragement to those in need
I could continue with more Mott Foundations that have an integral part of the mental illness recovery process.
When you need help, ASK. If the person doesn’t have any information for you, ASK for who they know who can help you.
The cornerstone has been laid for building Foundations that can help you.
Your deed is to ask. If you received nothing, continue asking. Make your asks as a never ending prayer. Expect to receive. Expect to start on a recovery plan.
Expect to have a Mott’s Mind.
Thank you.
After my last mental illness crisis in 2004, I hit rock bottom. I was fired from the company I had been employed by since 1981 as the Computer Software Director of Research and Development for a subchapter S corporation, while I was in the intensive care unit of a Midwestern Regional Hospital. I was not able to work in the career I was trained in, not insurable because of my mental health diagnosis and was not capable of living by myself and my COBRA benefits were long gone.
A new series of expensive drugs, costing over $1,000.00/month was coming out of my pocketbook. It didn’t take long before my house, extra cars and motorcycle went away while trying to pay my bills. I got a first hand look on what it was like going from a high middle class lifestyle to that of poverty.
I had to maintain my high costs of medications to live, I refused to go on welfare, that’s for lazy people (sarcastic), and I wasn’t going to be a stakeholder on a Medicaid program, that’s for poor people (sarcastic). So what do I do now? How would I recover from this tragic setback? I wrote about this in my book.
I knew of Philanthropic Foundations, sometimes named as Charity Foundations. It was suggested to me to ask for their help. I was use to making “The Ask” yet I felt uncomfortable making applications until I recalled, In all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Asking is the cornerstone in building Foundations.
I also wrote the Mott mottos, “Let us be known by our deeds” and “We shall be judged by our deeds”. My definition of deeds is taking action that is performed intentionally. Sometimes the results of action are good while, at other times good intentions go bad.
I needed to ask. The deed was an action to define the mission of the foundation. My deed of action was to fill out the applications for scholarships and grants. I believed in receiving. I did not judge the foundations in respect to who created it, donated and past actions. That did not matter. What mattered was I had an immediate need and the foundations had an immediate response.
Large pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Merck have foundations that disburse grants in the form of scholarships. There are many foundations in the private sector to be found for a variety of services needed from companies that make Applesauce to Vehicles. Funding does not have to come from taxpayers in the way of state and federal government funds. I believe this fact must be stated. Recovery is not an entitlement program. Recovery takes people in collaboration with the public and private sectors. In my case, it took all three entities to help in my recovery.
I received a scholarship from GlaxoSmithKline that paid for all of my name brand medications, with two annuals grants that took care of my need for prescription drugs. I was granted access, by reduced rates, to my Community Mental Health Center’s services of therapy, medication plan and treatment plan. I was welcomed to my local affiliate of NAMI to become part of a support group. I would have never believed in recovery without what I received, by asking.
Today, I live on my benefits from working that included paying out the maximum limit, in most years, to the federal insurance contributions act and the interest earned from my 401(k) plan that I converted to an IRA.
I try to ‘give back’, only wishing I could make an impact like a large Foundation did. I would like to introduce to you the Mott Foundation, founded in Michigan. Today the Mott Foundation has branch offices in England and South Africa. Charles Stewart Mott and I share the Mott family name. You won’t find information about the Foundation in my book, even though the name of my book is Mott’s Mind. There are many Mott Community Foundations.
Mott built a hospital for children. They started a program to be a community health center. Today they are also a Community Mental Health Center. The hospital has a child and adolescent Psychiatry Department, providing mental health treatment and prevention services. Their goal is to promote the emotional growth of children within the context of their families and community. They provide services for Children who are experiencing emotional, behavioral or mental health concerns and who are at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines can be served at the Health Center. Health Plus Partners/PPOM/Champus and other insurers reimburse for our services. Clients are not turned away for inability to pay.
It takes a large and competent staff to run such a facility. There are private hospitals that have shut their doors to mental health wings. Hospital beds are being lost. Is it due to a money problem? In many cases, No.
It is due to a shortage of staff, people working in mental health care with people living with a mental illness. This is a problem throughout the United States. The question is how do you build and sustain a work force?
Mott built a Community College that would help to create a workforce. It goes along with the statement, “If you build it, they will come.”
Mott Community College creates people with an Accredited Associates Degree who work in different areas of Behavior Health. People are not born as mental illness workers. You create them.
Jeanne and Jim Mott of Iowa created a Foundation that is known as the J & J Corporation. It is one of many cornerstones for community based services.
They created and developed a service named M.O.T.T.S., an acronym for what they do in mental health. Their mission states M.O.T.T.S – Our mission is in our name.
• M Mentoring – to reach or counsel in a trusting manner
• O. Outreach – a system of delivery of services to surpass all others
• T. Training – a process of bringing a person to a higher level of proficiency
• T. Transition to aid people in the passage from 1 position or state to another
• S. Support – to give aid or encouragement to those in need
I could continue with more Mott Foundations that have an integral part of the mental illness recovery process.
When you need help, ASK. If the person doesn’t have any information for you, ASK for who they know who can help you.
The cornerstone has been laid for building Foundations that can help you.
Your deed is to ask. If you received nothing, continue asking. Make your asks as a never ending prayer. Expect to receive. Expect to start on a recovery plan.
Expect to have a Mott’s Mind.
Thank you.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
66 out of 100 people are lost Presentation 2 of 5
News Flash-today. By Randy Conyers
“66 out of 100 people are lost. 34 people were found. 9 are in recovery. 25 alive, but status is unknown.” Sounds like trouble on the high seas again, doesn’t it?
Hello, my name is Randy Conyers. I have written the book Mott’s Mind.
The numbers I gave you sounds like a ship sunk and you are hearing the first press release of casualties. The ironic thing is no one died. Its true, lost are 66 with 34 found. The people in recovery are only a single digit. It’s difficult to give an accurate account of “status” unknown. How badly are they hurt? How many are there with burns? Any idea of how many people there are with broken bones? Remember, I’m only questioning the 34 found.
I ponder on the lost, 66 people can not be found. Where are they? Where did they go? All I know, for certain, is none of the 100 died.
These numbers are the statistics found by NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness. Only one-third of the people with a diagnosable mental illness in their lifetime is receiving or seeking treatment. That’s the “34 found” of the press release.
I want to focus on the lost 66, the 2/3rds of the mental illness community. Advocates, like Peter Early, have made us aware that our nation’s correctional facilities are deemed as the highest mental health centers, those who committed a crime, regardless of them living with a mental illness.
I am going to share my story of talking with the 66% that I have written about in my book. It is a population that doesn’t understand the word recovery. It is a demographic of uneducated, unaware and misinformed people, and their families, in the area of mental illness.
There are reasons, very justifiable and reasonable, with those who know the system but are not seeking help. First, nothing is confidential. There are exceptions that others are made aware of and action is taken. Mention the word suicide and you have just triggered a series of events. Tell your Therapist you felt like going over to the railroad tracks, a thought that lasted a micro-second, venting your frustration and immediately you are classified as a danger to yourself.
Things can get worse, too. Say anything that can be perceived to be abusive and a red flag goes up, your session stops and is now focused on the abuse. You can’t vent, you can not use figures of speech such as, “I was so mad, I could have killed him right then and there!”
The consequences are life changing. Your children can be taken away or you may be the one taken away from your family. Your job could be put in jeopardy. Your standing in the community can change. You may have your driver’s license revoked.
There are great risks in asking for help with your mental illness.
We need a new innovative way to say, “We in the Behavioral Health field want to work with you on your Recovery. We can’t fix you, but we can give you the opportunity for a better lifestyle, a better quality of life. Have an impact on your life!. Start your Behavioral Health Recovery process today. Join us at my recovery center, 101 Recovery Pathway, Oklahoma City 73001 or give us a call at 800-732-6897. That is 800 RECOVER. Or visit our website at www.MyRecovery.com.
Would these words make recovery seem different in how people think?
Lastly, I want to share one story of the 66 missing that you will find in my book. I’m going to talk to you about Jane Doe. I met Jane during my recovery process.
Jane is a beautiful woman. She’s very striking and always wanted to talk. The day finally came when she could share her story. We spent many hours talking.
She and her son lived with a boyfriend and had all of the relationship problems common to many. It was now summer, warm enough to wear shorts. She had very large scars. She was a cutter. They were very bad, enough to use the correct term of self-mutilation.
It was obvious she should have had multiple stitches on multiple cuts,
a foot in length and longer. It could have taken hundreds of stitches. I had
never seen so many scars. I asked why she didn’t go to the ER. Her
first response was, “my boyfriend wouldn’t let me”. I was stunned,
ready to call the police and report the abuse.
Her story went on. The real story was if she would go for medical care, her son would be taken away from her. The boyfriend was doing his best to treat her at home. It was obvious he did not have any medical training. He was doing the best he could, yet she was looking for an out to get away from her boyfriend.
She chose to state he was a drug user and would steal her medications to get high. She said she took her medication, when she had it.
She had many variations of a story regarding a fire at her home. She
was compelled to cut again. Her stories didn’t add up. She recently
moved to our town. I was at a point where I could get on the Internet
and do research. I found it! Living in a major city in a different state
there was a news article of a tragic house fire around the time she
moved to Kansas. The report contained many mistakes made by the
mother, she was singled out by name. It was horrible, resulting in the death of her youngest child, a baby. All the stories she told to me, plus the news article gave reason for her actions. In my opinion, it was up to her to tell “the rest of the story”. She didn’t. From time to time I would try to influence her to talk about it. I told her I knew what happen in ‘state’. No response. I would tell her I was here to listen, when she was ready to talk about it. No response. At other times I would be more specific. I tried with attempts using the name of the city, the street address and the date of the fire. No response. She had the situation buried so deep within her.
On the surface, she was in complete denial. She continued to cut which, in my opinion, her body and her spirit wanted her to forgive herself. She chose to punish herself rather than forgive.
This was a time I struggled with my religious teachings of free will. I was not a reporter, I was a peer. Any reporting would be denied. She never hurt her son or anyone else for that matter. The boyfriend was doing a great job of protecting her son.
Was she a danger to herself or others? I encouraged her to take her
medication every day, no excuses, and accept help.
Any actions would more than likely result in having her son taken away. Her choice was heart-breaking. My prayer is for her to open up and forgive herself. She continued to move from city to city and boyfriend to boyfriend. I heard from her months later. She stated, “I thought you were my friend.” and hung up.
I could only conclude that someone reported her.
There’s no doubt this woman needs to be in recovery, she needs to accept that fact and work on her recovery.
The question is how can you get her to that point? She is one of the original 66 that is lost and doesn’t want to be found.
Some day, perhaps, we can change our society’s belief system so that everything is like my book, a story of recovery.
Thank you.
“66 out of 100 people are lost. 34 people were found. 9 are in recovery. 25 alive, but status is unknown.” Sounds like trouble on the high seas again, doesn’t it?
Hello, my name is Randy Conyers. I have written the book Mott’s Mind.
The numbers I gave you sounds like a ship sunk and you are hearing the first press release of casualties. The ironic thing is no one died. Its true, lost are 66 with 34 found. The people in recovery are only a single digit. It’s difficult to give an accurate account of “status” unknown. How badly are they hurt? How many are there with burns? Any idea of how many people there are with broken bones? Remember, I’m only questioning the 34 found.
I ponder on the lost, 66 people can not be found. Where are they? Where did they go? All I know, for certain, is none of the 100 died.
These numbers are the statistics found by NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness. Only one-third of the people with a diagnosable mental illness in their lifetime is receiving or seeking treatment. That’s the “34 found” of the press release.
I want to focus on the lost 66, the 2/3rds of the mental illness community. Advocates, like Peter Early, have made us aware that our nation’s correctional facilities are deemed as the highest mental health centers, those who committed a crime, regardless of them living with a mental illness.
I am going to share my story of talking with the 66% that I have written about in my book. It is a population that doesn’t understand the word recovery. It is a demographic of uneducated, unaware and misinformed people, and their families, in the area of mental illness.
There are reasons, very justifiable and reasonable, with those who know the system but are not seeking help. First, nothing is confidential. There are exceptions that others are made aware of and action is taken. Mention the word suicide and you have just triggered a series of events. Tell your Therapist you felt like going over to the railroad tracks, a thought that lasted a micro-second, venting your frustration and immediately you are classified as a danger to yourself.
Things can get worse, too. Say anything that can be perceived to be abusive and a red flag goes up, your session stops and is now focused on the abuse. You can’t vent, you can not use figures of speech such as, “I was so mad, I could have killed him right then and there!”
The consequences are life changing. Your children can be taken away or you may be the one taken away from your family. Your job could be put in jeopardy. Your standing in the community can change. You may have your driver’s license revoked.
There are great risks in asking for help with your mental illness.
We need a new innovative way to say, “We in the Behavioral Health field want to work with you on your Recovery. We can’t fix you, but we can give you the opportunity for a better lifestyle, a better quality of life. Have an impact on your life!. Start your Behavioral Health Recovery process today. Join us at my recovery center, 101 Recovery Pathway, Oklahoma City 73001 or give us a call at 800-732-6897. That is 800 RECOVER. Or visit our website at www.MyRecovery.com.
Would these words make recovery seem different in how people think?
Lastly, I want to share one story of the 66 missing that you will find in my book. I’m going to talk to you about Jane Doe. I met Jane during my recovery process.
Jane is a beautiful woman. She’s very striking and always wanted to talk. The day finally came when she could share her story. We spent many hours talking.
She and her son lived with a boyfriend and had all of the relationship problems common to many. It was now summer, warm enough to wear shorts. She had very large scars. She was a cutter. They were very bad, enough to use the correct term of self-mutilation.
It was obvious she should have had multiple stitches on multiple cuts,
a foot in length and longer. It could have taken hundreds of stitches. I had
never seen so many scars. I asked why she didn’t go to the ER. Her
first response was, “my boyfriend wouldn’t let me”. I was stunned,
ready to call the police and report the abuse.
Her story went on. The real story was if she would go for medical care, her son would be taken away from her. The boyfriend was doing his best to treat her at home. It was obvious he did not have any medical training. He was doing the best he could, yet she was looking for an out to get away from her boyfriend.
She chose to state he was a drug user and would steal her medications to get high. She said she took her medication, when she had it.
She had many variations of a story regarding a fire at her home. She
was compelled to cut again. Her stories didn’t add up. She recently
moved to our town. I was at a point where I could get on the Internet
and do research. I found it! Living in a major city in a different state
there was a news article of a tragic house fire around the time she
moved to Kansas. The report contained many mistakes made by the
mother, she was singled out by name. It was horrible, resulting in the death of her youngest child, a baby. All the stories she told to me, plus the news article gave reason for her actions. In my opinion, it was up to her to tell “the rest of the story”. She didn’t. From time to time I would try to influence her to talk about it. I told her I knew what happen in ‘state’. No response. I would tell her I was here to listen, when she was ready to talk about it. No response. At other times I would be more specific. I tried with attempts using the name of the city, the street address and the date of the fire. No response. She had the situation buried so deep within her.
On the surface, she was in complete denial. She continued to cut which, in my opinion, her body and her spirit wanted her to forgive herself. She chose to punish herself rather than forgive.
This was a time I struggled with my religious teachings of free will. I was not a reporter, I was a peer. Any reporting would be denied. She never hurt her son or anyone else for that matter. The boyfriend was doing a great job of protecting her son.
Was she a danger to herself or others? I encouraged her to take her
medication every day, no excuses, and accept help.
Any actions would more than likely result in having her son taken away. Her choice was heart-breaking. My prayer is for her to open up and forgive herself. She continued to move from city to city and boyfriend to boyfriend. I heard from her months later. She stated, “I thought you were my friend.” and hung up.
I could only conclude that someone reported her.
There’s no doubt this woman needs to be in recovery, she needs to accept that fact and work on her recovery.
The question is how can you get her to that point? She is one of the original 66 that is lost and doesn’t want to be found.
Some day, perhaps, we can change our society’s belief system so that everything is like my book, a story of recovery.
Thank you.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
5 Steps to Recovery in 5 minutes Presentation 1 of 5
Hello, my name is Randy Conyers. I am the 10th generation of the Mott family living with a mental illness. I am the author of Mott’s Mind, my story living with a mental illness.
When one becomes manic, a common symptom is requiring only 3 hours of sleep. You awake with eyes wide open, ready to start the day, even though its 2:00am. I became a fan of info-commercials.
Did you know for 3 monthly payments of $19.95 I can improve your quality of life in under 60 days!
Better yet, I can share with you the five stages of recovery in 5 minutes. You will find my personal story about this in my book, Mott’s Mind.
I can ensure you that your life can become better than it is today. I’m going to share a recovery process with you, not a healing.
At first, it’s okay to be overwhelmed with high anxiety. The confusion of having a mental illness makes you question who you are, mixed with thoughts of what you may become. I was a computer professional with 32 years of experience, a father of 3 sons, a soccer coach and the baseball little league coach, not some unique person like my grandfather, father and brother were, all who lived with a depression problem. I was “normal” and successful, but quickly became overwhelmed. I had to learn what the impact of my illness[1] was.
I started recalling my Uncle Henry who lived with my grandparents. Rarely did I see him but when I did, he would come down the staircase, out through his “special outside door” for a smoke, return to climb up the stairs to his room and shut the door. That’s all he ever did. I felt his life was limited[2].
I questioned the same of myself.
After my last crisis, I was introduced to my county’s community mental health center. At one location I had an ARNP to development a medication plan plus a Therapist and Case Worker to work with me on a treatment plan. In time, I started attending a Pathways to Recovery[a] class. For every question regarding a feeling, my answer was overwhelmed. A question of thought was answered with, I don’t know. There was one person in the class who was taking it for the third time. I began to understand why.
Three years went by before my medication plan was working within “parameters”. I began answering questions of feeling and thought. Still, it was different than before. My mind didn’t respond like my super-human computer brain once did. I had answers about feelings too. I realized and believed change was possible[3]. Previously, I had become un-employable in the computer industry, my diagnosis made me un-insurable yet it seemed like I had a gift in helping people who had become like me, my consumer peers. My belief system had changed and realized I could live on basic needs, not wants. It was quite a change, but I knew it was possible to have a better quality of life.
The state of Kansas was starting a certified peer specialist program that was designed for people, like me, to be peer workers primarily to be deployed to community mental health centers. I knew I had success in working with my peers and now there was a possibility of making it a career. I committed myself to changing[4] from a computer specialist, something I could no longer do, to becoming a peer worker. I would be part of a person’s treatment team. I applied for the job and was hired. This commitment transformed me from being a victim of mental illness to a survivor of mental illness. I committed to working with my peers, teaching them recovery is possible.
Working part time was an action of change[5]. It turned out it wasn’t as easy as I thought. There were two viewpoints of what a peer should do. From one side, the state trainer view was the mental health delivery system was broken. The fix was the role of a State Certified Peer Specialist who would transform “the system”. On the other hand, it was my view that the system was not broken, it was being enhanced. We butted heads over this time and time again. This is the risk of taking action. It can set you back to a previous stage. It can take you back to the first step of trying to handle the impact of your illness. I resigned from my position. It was a drastic setback. I was starting my recovery cycle over.
The position I resigned from was never filled. In time, I starting going back through the stages of recovery. I wasn’t a quitter. I knew I was a survivor and had to take a second chance. One defeat can not stop you. It might take you 3 or 4 times to return to your mindset that you could take the action of change. The 2nd time was successful.
As in my book, you will read about my advancements and failings. I have gone from wondering if I could make it through the next 15 minutes to being empowered to write a book.
Recovery is possible. My book, Mott’s Mind, will take you through such a journey.
Thank you.
5 Stages of Recovery:
[1] Impact of the illness
[2] Life is Limited
[3] Realizing and Believe Change is Possible
[4] Commitment to Change
[5] Action of Change
When one becomes manic, a common symptom is requiring only 3 hours of sleep. You awake with eyes wide open, ready to start the day, even though its 2:00am. I became a fan of info-commercials.
Did you know for 3 monthly payments of $19.95 I can improve your quality of life in under 60 days!
Better yet, I can share with you the five stages of recovery in 5 minutes. You will find my personal story about this in my book, Mott’s Mind.
I can ensure you that your life can become better than it is today. I’m going to share a recovery process with you, not a healing.
At first, it’s okay to be overwhelmed with high anxiety. The confusion of having a mental illness makes you question who you are, mixed with thoughts of what you may become. I was a computer professional with 32 years of experience, a father of 3 sons, a soccer coach and the baseball little league coach, not some unique person like my grandfather, father and brother were, all who lived with a depression problem. I was “normal” and successful, but quickly became overwhelmed. I had to learn what the impact of my illness[1] was.
I started recalling my Uncle Henry who lived with my grandparents. Rarely did I see him but when I did, he would come down the staircase, out through his “special outside door” for a smoke, return to climb up the stairs to his room and shut the door. That’s all he ever did. I felt his life was limited[2].
I questioned the same of myself.
After my last crisis, I was introduced to my county’s community mental health center. At one location I had an ARNP to development a medication plan plus a Therapist and Case Worker to work with me on a treatment plan. In time, I started attending a Pathways to Recovery[a] class. For every question regarding a feeling, my answer was overwhelmed. A question of thought was answered with, I don’t know. There was one person in the class who was taking it for the third time. I began to understand why.
Three years went by before my medication plan was working within “parameters”. I began answering questions of feeling and thought. Still, it was different than before. My mind didn’t respond like my super-human computer brain once did. I had answers about feelings too. I realized and believed change was possible[3]. Previously, I had become un-employable in the computer industry, my diagnosis made me un-insurable yet it seemed like I had a gift in helping people who had become like me, my consumer peers. My belief system had changed and realized I could live on basic needs, not wants. It was quite a change, but I knew it was possible to have a better quality of life.
The state of Kansas was starting a certified peer specialist program that was designed for people, like me, to be peer workers primarily to be deployed to community mental health centers. I knew I had success in working with my peers and now there was a possibility of making it a career. I committed myself to changing[4] from a computer specialist, something I could no longer do, to becoming a peer worker. I would be part of a person’s treatment team. I applied for the job and was hired. This commitment transformed me from being a victim of mental illness to a survivor of mental illness. I committed to working with my peers, teaching them recovery is possible.
Working part time was an action of change[5]. It turned out it wasn’t as easy as I thought. There were two viewpoints of what a peer should do. From one side, the state trainer view was the mental health delivery system was broken. The fix was the role of a State Certified Peer Specialist who would transform “the system”. On the other hand, it was my view that the system was not broken, it was being enhanced. We butted heads over this time and time again. This is the risk of taking action. It can set you back to a previous stage. It can take you back to the first step of trying to handle the impact of your illness. I resigned from my position. It was a drastic setback. I was starting my recovery cycle over.
The position I resigned from was never filled. In time, I starting going back through the stages of recovery. I wasn’t a quitter. I knew I was a survivor and had to take a second chance. One defeat can not stop you. It might take you 3 or 4 times to return to your mindset that you could take the action of change. The 2nd time was successful.
As in my book, you will read about my advancements and failings. I have gone from wondering if I could make it through the next 15 minutes to being empowered to write a book.
Recovery is possible. My book, Mott’s Mind, will take you through such a journey.
Thank you.
5 Stages of Recovery:
[1] Impact of the illness
[2] Life is Limited
[3] Realizing and Believe Change is Possible
[4] Commitment to Change
[5] Action of Change
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Memoirs: 2 of 2
To Grandpa Mott, great-uncle Henry, father Bob, my brother, my aunt and all of my first cousins who lived and who are living with a mental illness.
My story is not different than yours.
I just decided to write a book to tell my story, our story.
Stigma was too great for our elders to tell us what disease we may have when we become adults.
We found out too late to prevent it from happening. None of us is a victim. We are all survivors of mental illness.
We are the proof recovery is possible.
Our lives are examples of having a better quality of life with families, careers and favorite activities.
People need to know about success, set-backs, stigma and sustainability.
Let us be known by our deed as we shall be judged by our deeds.
We are the Motts.
My story is not different than yours.
I just decided to write a book to tell my story, our story.
Stigma was too great for our elders to tell us what disease we may have when we become adults.
We found out too late to prevent it from happening. None of us is a victim. We are all survivors of mental illness.
We are the proof recovery is possible.
Our lives are examples of having a better quality of life with families, careers and favorite activities.
People need to know about success, set-backs, stigma and sustainability.
Let us be known by our deed as we shall be judged by our deeds.
We are the Motts.
Memoirs 1 of 2
Memoirs:
To my brother and all of my biological first cousins,
I regret our parents never told us what our futures might hold.
But nobody talked about it when we were young.
Who would have imagined that all of us would be living with the disease?
Not a one of us is a victim, as we are all survivors.
My story about living mental illness is not different than yours. I just wrote a book about it.
Perhaps it will help someone else or at least one family who is suffering with a loved one living with mental illness.
Quality of life can be improved.
We are proof.
We are the Motts.
To my brother and all of my biological first cousins,
I regret our parents never told us what our futures might hold.
But nobody talked about it when we were young.
Who would have imagined that all of us would be living with the disease?
Not a one of us is a victim, as we are all survivors.
My story about living mental illness is not different than yours. I just wrote a book about it.
Perhaps it will help someone else or at least one family who is suffering with a loved one living with mental illness.
Quality of life can be improved.
We are proof.
We are the Motts.
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