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My schizophrenic life

October 7th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on My schizophrenic life)

Sandra Yuen MacKay’s book is a true story about her journey of recovery

Sandra Yuen MacKay has written a book about her recovery from what she describes as an invisible disability—schizoaffective disorder—which includes a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder. The true story about her journey of recovery from mental illness has just been published. My Schizophrenic Life: The Road to Recovery From Mental Illness begins with early memories from childhood and junior high school—and then follows Sandra as, in her own words, the gate slowly closes, separating her from normal existence. (more…)

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One man’s courage to come back

September 30th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on One man’s courage to come back)

Don Fraser credits family, doctors, and medications for helping him with schizophrenia

Donald Fraser was once enrolled in Surrey’s program for gifted students, active in sports, musically inclined, and popular. Years later, while at University of British Columbia, Donald experienced symptoms of schizophrenia for the first time. That began what has been described as a two-decade-long odyssey—“a roller coaster of diagnoses, institutions, a wide variety of medications and treatments, successes and failures.” Donald was diagnosed with schizophrenia and occipital epilepsy. (more…)

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On the psychiatric experience

September 30th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on On the psychiatric experience)

A roundtable discussion with three people who have experienced the system, first-hand

Anti-psychiatry and mad pride movements have been questioning and assessing the role of psychiatry in health care and society—from the “patient’s” perspective—for decades now, but recent concerns about what appears to be a resurgence in the use of electroconvulsive therapy and questions about the growing use of psychiatric medications has added impetus to the debate. (more…)

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Challenges of Alzheimer’s

September 23rd, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Challenges of Alzheimer’s)

Burden grows for individuals, families, and governments as agencies raise warning

The recent World Alzheimer Report for 2010 [opens to PDF] says that the societal cost of dementia is not only already enormous, but that dementia is also significantly affecting every health and social care system in the world. Additionally, the economic impact on families is insufficiently appreciated. More ominously, the report predicts that worldwide, the costs of dementia are set to soar. And it states there is an urgent need to develop cost-effective packages of medical and social care that meet the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers across the course of the illness, and evidence-based prevention strategies. (more…)

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Survivor advocates for ‘mad studies’

September 9th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Survivor advocates for ‘mad studies’)

Phebe Wolframe’s research into connections among madness, gender, and academia

PhebeAnn Wolframe is a proud psychiatric survivor and an advocate for mad studies who is currently completing a PhD degree in English and Cultural Studies. Phebe also presented at the PsychOUT Conference in Toronto last May. Her presentation was titled The Madwoman in the Academy: Making Space for The Mad Movement in Feminist Scholarship and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Phebe points out that the second-wave feminist movement and the mad movements, though sharing many points of intersection, have not managed to work effectively in tandem. (more…)

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Bipolar Babe’s cause goes on

September 9th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Bipolar Babe’s cause goes on)

Second annual fundraiser for BD and her stigma-stomping work will sell out fast

The newly-formed Bipolar Disorder Society of B.C., a Victoria-based nonprofit dedicated to reducing the stigma of mental illness, will host its second annual fundraising variety show on September 18th, 2010 at the Victoria Event Centre. The show is designed to raise money to promote mental health education throughout B.C.

Andrea Paquette, AKA “Bipolar Babe”, the project’s founder and Society president, says the project has “stimulated open, frank and stigma-free conversations about mental illness, promoting greater acceptance, empathy and understanding of mental health.” (more…)

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