Glenn Slaby

Published in the Westchester Guardian, May 2014

“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” Andy Warhol. The question of what is art can be very contentious and argumentative. Every generation, especially in a free republic, has their own definition of the subject.

There’s controversial works from photographers and conceptual artists like Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano. Some may think that Norman Rockwell’s Saturday’s Evening Post’s covers are too simplistic while others view some Modern Art as just meaningless lines and dabs of paint communicating nothing. I guess it depends on what the artist wants to convey to the viewer and how easily or poetically it can be conveyed. And art should not be limited to non-functional works. Maybe it’s something carefully designed and functional, whose final appearance has a beauty all of its own – the Empire State Building, the Woolworth Building, the Brooklyn Bridge. Theological discussions of what is art are interesting, topical and worthy of another article at another time.

For those items whose function is totally nonsensical, purely for entertainment purposes, but designed and handled with great care, consider the comic book, but even better the All-American Baseball Card. I never thought that as child I was also an avid art collector. I never thought of myself a demolisher of classical American art – flipping them to the ground, throwing against brick walls and of course using them as noise makers for my bicycle.  (I had long ago discarded my cards but there are greater disappointments and regrets.)

Nineteen forty-seven was a pinnacle year in the world of baseball cards and art. Jefferson R Burdick (1900-1963), a retired Syracuse electrician, began donating his huge collection of baseball and memorabilia cards to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Museum’s acceptance of this collection signified their recognition of the importance of baseball cards in our culture. In total 30,000 baseball cards (the largest collection outside the Hall of Fame) as well as 270,000 trade and postcards were submitted in blocks. Their collection includes the T206 Honus Wagner card in excellent condition.

From New York Magazine’s, Joe DeLessio, in an interview with Freyda Spira, assistant curator of the museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, “Hyatt Mayor was the second curator of the print collection. He was interested in culture as a whole, so in order to understand history and culture, you really have to see what’s being communicated in society, and so you have to see sort of the highest peak of art, and you have to also see sort of mass communication.”  Spira, “We have this enormous collection of baseball cards, and what we sought to do is create a rotating exhibition of these cards throughout the year, so that people have access to them — even to a small percentage of them — so they can get to see the range of materials that the Met has in terms of high and low — mass appeal as well as Rembrandt etchings.”    The collection rotates to display all the cards within reason and to preserve quality. There is a 3 year project to digitalize the entire collection, therefore making it available on their web page.

     Can the factors that determines the value of fine art be used to define the values of baseball cards, both lithographs and photographs? If something is valuable does that make it art? Is something that is popular, mass produced and inexpensive also art? How does the passage of time reflect, enhance or inhibits its value and market desire? All these questions can pertain to what the common notion of art is today and can be applied to baseball cards as well. And if an art museum displays such objects is it not confirmation that there is art in these pieces of cardboard (today a paper/plastic medium)?  And if it’s mentioned on Star Trek: The Next Generation as a unique collectible object of art, isn’t that enough proof?

“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” Paul Cezanne.

As baseball is an art so too are the cards emitting reactions and impressions on an eager youthful fan base. From its earliest days to the present, one of the purposes of baseball cards is to impart the game of baseball on an individual, emotive level, player by player to enthusiastic fans. These cards would not have such a lasting, positive, impact if it were not for the professionalism of the photography and quality of design that goes into each card.

“Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.” Ansel Adams

The art is not just the magnificent picture, (portrait or action scene) changing yearly, but statistics displayed on the reverse side. Baseball cards are also document, record a player’s career as a professional. As former number cruncher (accountant), I enjoyed reading the yearly statistics of the player’s history. Hated it when they just revealed the current year and career stats only.

Robert Adams On Documentary Style:  “When we think of pictures in the documentary style we think of views that tend to be frontal, that are made from enough distance to put the subject in context but not so far away as to reduce the scene to an abstraction of oriental planes, and pictures that are printed so that they are not difficult to retranslate back into life. There are, to be sure, as many varieties and degrees of this style as there are photographers who use it, but its distinguishing characteristic is always the same, restraint – an avoidance of bizarre camera angles, extreme lenses and formats, and exotic darkroom manipulations. The rationale is respect, a deference for the subject on its own terms, a deference afforded naturally to what is itself eloquent. The photographer’s chief effort is to be fair.”

Baseball cards reflect the popular culture of its time. Can the baseball card stand the test of time? Can it become more than an artwork reflecting a period of time and stand alone as piece of art and not just pop culture representing a singular generation? And if the Museum of Art displays something as art, who am I to dispute it?

#1021

Published in the Westchester Guardian, July 2013

Hearing that word, that diagnosis, strikesa deep feeling of dread into our hearts – the same feeling of hopelessness thata cancer diagnosis entails.  We associateit ,through false cultural bias in those individuals, usually seen disheveled,unkempt, talking and wandering, seemingly aimlessly on the streets. Even itsGreek origin mis-defines the condition as “to split’ skhizein and phren“mind”, falsely implying a split or multi-personality issues. Its term howeverreally means a “splitting of mental functions.” Historical stereotyping,ignorance has led public perception to view those suffering as being violentresulting in social out casting and discrimination, intolerance and injustice.(Is this similar to some cancer diagnosis a generation or so ago?) This biashas left treatment and proper facilities to be in short supply, with many beingjailed and imprisoned without treatment and therefore without justice.

“Adults with schizophrenia are not attractive in the way thatan abandoned baby or an abused dog is.”

PaulaSellmeyer.

Impairing relationships, decision makingabilities, and the thinking process, schizophrenia psychosis causes, entailshallucinations and delusions.   About 2.4million Americans adults over 18 are afflicted.   Multiple causes linked to schizophrenia caninclude brain chemistry, genetics, social and environmental issues. Also, about50% suffer from anosognosia, a lack of awareness or insight that they are ill.

With every case being distinctive, nosingle cause, treatment and action exist, but with proper treatment a life withmeaning and success can be obtained. At one time, considered incurable, thereis now a success rate of nearly 50%, successfully ministered with the rightmedication, therapy, social and vocational treatment.

“When it comes to the treatment of patients with chronicschizophrenia, the glass is only half-full.” Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, professorand researcher.

   I used internet sources and confirmed through multiple sitelistings, but there is the possibility of mislabeling and overlapping ofvarious diagnosis. Historical sources may only be obtainable from observationsand records of others and mental health , knowledge, care and treatment carewere absolutely primitive. Hopefully there would be further advances making oursystem primitive by comparison as well.

“Mygreatest fear is this brain of mine….The worst thing imaginable is to beterrified of one’s own mind, the very matter that controls all that we are and allthat we do and feel.”

“You must use your malfunctioning brain toassess the malfunction of your brain.”

Anonymous quotes from patients inE. Fuller Torrey’s, M.D. book Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manualfor Families, Patients and Providers.

Here is a small,incomplete, growing list of those who have suffered. Some of whom have giventhe inflicted, their families and caregivers hope by living useful and helpfullives in their own special ways. And some whom we could learn from theirmistakes and trials:

Musicians: Tom Harrell –Superstar jazz trumpet musician and composer.  Entertainment Weekly called him “thepremier trumpeter of his generation.” Newsweekhailed him a genius. Now in his 60s, Mr. Harrell has struggled withschizophrenia for decades and openly speaks about his struggles hoping to helpothers cope. He credits music and medication with helping him persevere. Roger“Roky” Erickson singer and songwriter for the psychedelic 13th Floor Elevatorsin the 60’s. Sidetracked by drugs, hospitalization, and schizophrenia, his fansnever forgot him and he continued to make music periodically. In 2005, adocumentary about his life, called You’re Gonna Miss Me, was released. PeterGreen, musician and songwriter, is considered one of the best blues guitariststo ever come out of England. As the original leader of Fleetwood Mac, he wroteclassic songs such as “Black Magic Woman.” Then drugs andschizophrenia intervened. Green left the group in 1970, but he continued torecord sporadically. In 1998, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ofFame as part of Fleetwood Mac. Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd. Alexander “Skip” Spence andBob Mosley both members of Moby Grape. Mosley later rejoined his band in the90’s. Jim Gordon drummer and a Grammy winner.

    “My mind has been both my best friend and my worst enemy,”says Elyn Saks.

 Artistand Actors: MeeraPopkin, Broadwayactress who starred in Cats and Miss Saigon. Went from Broadway to waitingtables at Wendy’s. Popkin has hebephrenic, a disorganized subtype ofschizophrenia. This is a thought disorder and it is most recognized in the waya person speaks – they do not completely finish thoughts before going intoexplaining another and they tend to be more emotional and may take things moreto heart and openly express their pain without rationalizing it. Now a motherof 2, she’s collaborating on a script of her life. Darrell Hammond, comedian,actor with the longest running stretch on Saturday Night Live. Ash Lieb,Artist, comedian and writer. Others some from the past when proper diagnosisand treatment was unavailable include Louis Wain, Parveen Babi, Gene Tierney,Veronica Lake, Vincent Van Gogh, (with schizophreniaand/or bipolar), Clara Bow, Camille Claudel.

“We children of schizophrenics are the great secret keepers,the ones who don’t want you to think that anything is wrong.” Mira Bartok,author and daughter of a schizophrenic.

Others:  Lionel Aldrige and Andy Goram, bothprofessional football players, one American, the other Scottish. Aldrige untilhis death in 1998 performed advocacy work included serving as a board memberfor the Mental Health Association of Milwaukee and working as a speaker for theNAMI. Elyn Saks, professor and an expert on mental health law is a well knownlegal scholar, who suffered silently (and alone?). In 2007 her memoir, TheCenter Cannot Hold: My Journey through Madness, revealed that she had beenbattling schizophrenia for decades. Saks received a $500,000 MacArthurFoundation “genius grant” in 2009. Will Elliot, Australian author,whose first novel was published in 2006, a horror novel earning internationalacclaim. A new novel will be published in 2013. John Nash, Nobel Prize winner,subject of the book and movie, ABeautiful Mind.

“We think that bothour genetic rodent model as well as a new learning and memory test we developedmay provide valuable tools in the investigation of schizophrenia.”  Dr. Robert Greene.

“Theever quickening advances of science made possible by the success of the HumanGenome Project will also soon let us see the essences of mental disease.” JamesD. Watson.

Remember, today you may never have to bealone, spiritually or otherwise. The human understanding of this disease andother ailments has finally grown/matured slightly, it’s a slow start, but it’sa start.

Please see sites such NAMI.org for further information.

#1091

Published in the Westchester Guardian, October 2013

“This is one of the most important social and civil rights issues in the United States.”  Then Senator Pete Domenici (R.NM) speaking on equal health care treatment (parity) or those suffering from a mental illness as compared with other illnesses. That was over twelve years ago. The billed failed. The Republican controlled committee refused to act. Nothing has changed. The greatest nation has been stagnant with improving health care for all.    I was one of those hurt by their poor decision of inaction. We must go forward and try to improve the lives of others.

With medical insurance and care being so drastically out of the individual’s reach, can health care, should health care be seen as a right of any and all citizens – a right to a quality of life, a freedom from fear, from threat of losing everything? Can equality and democracy be reasonably served when health care affordability and quality are serious concerns for American families? Does every individual, Christian and non-Christian, have an obligation to other members of the larger community?

No one has a choice of the place, time, and circumstances of birth. Should an individuals’ rights to a quality of life, to an equality of life be denied because of the factors of birth? Can, a health care act be seen as a social and civil rights issue that enables so many to receive benefits necessary to living a more complete life?

Medical expenses have soared to such an extent, that we must accept that the days of our parents will never return. No longer will medical expenses and insurance be such a “minor” percentage of a family’s income. (Insurance and bills consumed only a portion of a weekly salary – and there was only one wage earner in the family.) Now, two wage earners are needed to meet common and reasonable expenses. Now insurance expense alone consumes a large share of the checkbook.  Now medical expenses, including dental and vision care are expensive even with insurance. Why, how, did this cost curve grow so much out of control? When did the middle and lower classes fall to such an extent? When did they lose so much control over their lives? I need someone who can explain this to me.

The United States has always been the great beacon of hope for humanity. It will always be the great experiment. This nation has the capacity to change, adopt and grow and it will continue to be the center of development and change that will be looked upon for generations as the great, successful experiment of humanity that created hope for all people. Decent healthcare is a key component.

The Problem with Luke 16:19-31, the Parables and other encounters with the wealthy.

Jesus through New Testament has provided guideposts for individuals and Christian societies in regards to wealth, its contributions and whom can be considered neighbors (a definition that changed drastically with high technological innovations), but today these values seem to be absent especially when it comes to healthcare and its related issues.  Be it mental illness and parity or affordable ‘routine’ medical needs or reasonable insurance, injustice exists and must be corrected.  How much wealth and what type of wealth should be contributed/donated to those in need?  Should/could distant villages, towns, cities be seen as within the definition of a neighbor? Is noninvolvement an acceptable position for citizen in a democracy? Can voter be accountable for those elected who do not adhere to the New Testament? Can our lack of involvement in political events, our ignorance, be considered a sin? Can ones over zealousness lead into transgression and worse? Like a small coin placed in the poor, it may not change the world but may change a life, God knows. The same with our votes and intentions.

If we are lucky, we may have many chances but only go around once in this life. Have our Christian politicians (and voters) acted as Christians? Has this country failed to live up Christianity’s tenets?

Christian love, dignity, respect.

What is one’s definition of love? Can we see it as a term beyond our cultural usage pertaining mainly to eroticism and physical conquest? Substitute the words compassion, respect, dignity, then we get the fuller meaning of our difficult obligation.

 “I am obliged by the law of Christ and of the Spirit to be concerned with my brothers need and above all with his greatest need, the need of love. How many terrible problems in relations between classes, nations and races in the modern world arise from the sad deficiency of love!” Thomas Merton.

As Christians how should we act with love towards our fellow citizens (in dire need of insurance and health care) – by displaying justice and giving the innocent what they deserve, concurrently lifting up others to a better life. We have to understand that being a true Christian is difficult, especially when applying religious doctrine to social doctrine and political ideology. Should we care about the plight of so many who we will never meet? How do I reconcile my own guilt and selfishness? How do I live with my insecurities? Where does selflessness end and selfishness begin? Are the right questions being asked?

“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” G.K. Chesterton.

If you view our America as a land of the individual rights over of the community, then you may be against certain social doctrines. If you believe in the rights of the community over the individual, then you may be against some of the basics of individual liberty.  A middle ground – distributism, an opposition to both socialism and capitalism. Some interesting for a future article.

Social Rights and the Four Freedoms

On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech of the four fundamental/essential freedoms that every person “everywhere in the world” ought to enjoy: Freedom of speech, Freedom of worship, Freedom from want and Freedom from fear. Does not everyone in this country have a right to an adequate standard of living – freedom from wants for themselves and their family? Everyone has the right adequate healthcare and well-being of himself and his family. Should not the constant looming threats of illness and bankruptcy if possible be eliminated? It should never be a luxury but a right, for our nation, at this time and place.

It would be an error if our sons, especially the laity, should consider it more prudent to lessen their personal Christian commitment to the world: rather they shall renew and increase it. Pope John XXIII.

Give the world the best you have

And you’ll get kicked in the teeth,
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY. Mother Teresa

 End

Published in the Westchester Guardian, December 2013

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

How do you combat the incessant need faced by our poor neighbors? Every generation has their challenges and the people to overcome them. Our generation, our community of New Rochelle has Hope Community Services fighting a battle against poverty that will never end.  What happens today at Hope, in this old former Catholic High School basement, determines the soul of future generations.

Started in 1984 strictly as a soup kitchen and food pantry, this 501©3 corporation adapted to the changing environment and grew to become this multifaceted operation. Through strong leadership, they established ways to help the community beyond simply the distribution of healthy groceries. Sometimes people need just a small package until the next payday. Sometimes, there are deeper, complicated issues. Along with distributing 463,010 free meals in 2012, they provided assistance with mental health, domestic violence and housing concerns and in the process becoming the largest provider of such services in Westchester.

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.  ~Mother Teresa

Matters of assisting are complicated and the logistics formidable. Nonprofit organizations have the same problems and contentions like any other business and more because of their corporate, tax exempt status, other issues and policies come into account. Rent, utility and telephone services are not donated.  Insurance is always needed and regulations have a cost affect. While there may be a strong volunteer effort, a minimum paid staff is necessary.  Also, a healthy charitable program, through the service of hot sit down meals or the distribution of prepackaged food, (Hope does both and more) requires an organization that operates with precision and discipline. With a barebones operation, thanks to 300 volunteers, donations and grants, this community enterprise reaches many of our multi-ethnic city, leaving a lasting impact of generosity and kindness. However, what is not donated must be purchased. Since thirty per cent of food is contributed (and greatly appreciated by Hope) from our City’s widely diverse population and religious institutions, the remaining seventy per cent is a detrimental cost factor, especially with the 4% inflation rate on food products. ( Most of the food arrives from the Food Bank – lower than market price but still affected by the inflation rate).Through these difficult times, a remarkably high ninety-four cents out of every dollar donated goes towards their clientele.

Those served are the working poor, the immigrant, the physically and the mentally ill, many with dual diagnosis. They are our neighbors and maybe family members.  The working poor represent a growing eighty per cent of their clientele because the minimum wage has not increased with inflation. Currently, this wage, is actually worth $2 less than it was in 1968, when adjusted for inflation, according to a June study by the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute.

“We can no longer trust in the unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market. Pope Francis.

The Food Pantry Six hundred children are on the list “of 1,062 of New Rochelle’s low income families, homeless individuals, seniors and the disabled” receiving food. Their pantry distributes carefully, chosen, neatly packed, nutritional shopping bags to New Rochelle residents, with identification, every other Wednesday.  In 2012, 426,380 meals were provided, through the distribution of 18,700 nutritionally balanced bags of food. Those wanting to receive must present a Medicaid Id card, proof of residence for the last 9-12 months and a photo Id. They will then obtain a separate ID from Hope with a bar code that is scanned upon each visit through their own computerized validation system. The amount a family receives is determined by their individual situation. Currently, on average, 600 hundred bags are distributed every two weeks.  More are handed out in the winter as summer seasonal jobs end.

There is an unbelievable amount of behind the scenes work and logistics that goes into food distribution, where an assembly-line processing. Every corner and niche is utilized to the fullest with goods stacked and arranged on pallets. At 7:30 am the line begins to form for the 9 am opening. By the afternoon – the work from two weeks of effort has been completed – all by volunteers. For Thanksgiving, 735 bags and 700 turkeys were distributed.

The Soup Kitchen One of the first things a visitor notices about the dining room are the brightly colored, table clothes, which adds a warm and welcoming feeling to this old, clean, simply adorned, adjacent basement room that now brings needed joy, companionship and of course nutrition to a sometimes hidden segment of our society. Three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and the last two Mondays of the month), congregates from New Rochelle, gather pleasantly and orderly for a fresh and healthy meal. Eighteen tables, ten neighbors per table, averaging 150 individuals per day (including 25-30 children), and increasing, are lives on this journey being uplifted out of personal misfortune. The soup kitchen served 36,630 of our neighbors in 2012. Here, Hope staff are able to sit and talk in a comfortable, non-threatening atmosphere, reaching out to individuals and their families, delving into deeper issues, seeing if further assistance is needed.

The Social Programs The issues of assistance are more complex than previous generations realized. Now, our society recognizes that an individual’s needs extend beyond the want for nutrition. There are health issues, both physical and psychological requiring attention. Handing out food without treating underlying issues does little to help long-term problems. Our Hope Community Services has developed programs to deal with situations that extend beyond food assistance.

Addressing the changing environment and deeper tribulations, Hope established the Community Outreach and Self Sufficiency Program serving 1,490 clients a year from the growing Hispanic community and 100 new immigrants. For people with HIV/Aids and housing issues, counseling services are provided. To address domestic violence issues, another program provides housing and case management. Finally, they connected with HUD and DSS to keep many families from becoming homeless. What is accomplished is a witness that our world can reach out profoundly on a local level.

The Future Funding is always tenuous and precarious, with twenty-five per-cent originating from various government sources, the remainder must be conjured by private sectors such as religious institutions, foundations and individuals. Grants are obtainable, but the availability of cash has been decreasing. Cash flow is challenging with virtually no cushion. Collecting 600 toys for children for the Holidays is a short-term issue and the need for a larger facility is a long-term concern. Also, they do not have any substantial program for the home bound – another hidden segment.

 “A man should always bear in mind that his desire for profit is for the purpose of being able to donate to Charity.” Likkutei Etzotyh ha-shalem by Rabbi Nachman Bratzlaver.

HOPE Community Services, (914) 636-4010, info@hope-cs.org

#1128

Published in the Westchester Guardian, August 2013

With instant and various forms of communications, it is still amazing that ignorance and obliviousness exist to such an extent, but just listen to talk radio and it feels if our culture has taken a step backward. After focusing on certain aspects and individuals with mental illness, it’s time to flush out some myths and misconceptions of bipolar disorder which are applicable to most other mental health conditions. Life is too precious to waste on narrow-mindedness and arrogance.

Bipolar is just a mood disorder. Everyone has their ups and downs, so mine aren’t that serious. Normal mood swings don’t disrupt one’s daily functions, responsibilities and relationships. Bipolar disorder mood swings are more frequent, severe, longer lasting, trigging anxiety and sleep issues.

Like depression, bipolar disorder is just a state of mind. One of the worse statements anyone can say about any illness. Mental health disorders are not signs of weakness or personality flaws! A pure lack of understanding and a display of ignorance. It is not a choice. Would one state this in regards to more physically predominate diseases?

Mania is a great high. Maybe true for a very few, but mania can lead to drug and/or alcohol abuse, spending sprees, intense sexual drives and a loss of control of thoughts and actions. As the mania progresses the individual becomes irritable and nervous.

Bipolar is characterized by drastic, rapid mood swings. “The average bipolar person will be depressed more often than manic.” The mania can be very subtle and depression is more observable, “overlooked by both patient and psychiatrist.”

Treatment is a cop-out for people who are too weak or lazy and aren’t trying hard enough. Treatment, medicinal and/or talk therapy, is difficult, financially, emotionally stressful and time consuming with many challenges and obstacles. Treatments can be complex, involving various medication combinations, individual therapy, group therapy over long periods of time – if the inflicted have good insurance and/or a generous amount of cash.

Talk therapy is just about whining and complaining. Will be said by someone who may never had a trained therapist or group therapy. By investing time, emotions and a lot of soul searching, the participant is willing to face challenges and difficulties to grow, to change, developing a new outlook of life. Therapy helps identify triggers, avoid life style deviations, discover positive changes and offer opportunities previous unnoticed. (I started writing and volunteering leading to many unforeseen benefits.) The inflicted can learn new skill sets that the general population might be oblivious to. (See my article on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, March 2012)

Medications are the only treatment and will take care of everything. Medications help build consistency of moods but many other factors should/must be taken into account on the road to stability and recovery. Factors, short and long term (spirituality, family, work) support and are supported by medicinal benefits. Concerns inhibiting growth (relationship problems, financial, triggers, etc.) are softened by medicinal benefits. Other treatments include professional therapy (group and/or individual, I have both and a good state sponsored insurance), improving ones’ life style/daily routine from nutrition to exercise and sleep. Importantly, add spirituality, religion, faith to all levels of recovery for confronting the many diseases and life’s hardships.

Medications don’t work.  Maybe for some few, but mainly it takes time, patience. For mental illness, there are no blood tests to confirm its existence, type of mental illness and which medication(s) to use. Medications should be administered gradually in low dosages under careful observation and slowly increased. Additional prescriptions and combinations should also be administered gradually. This will occur over agonizing periods of hoping, praying. As one who was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, on various medications and combinations, the tribulations can overwhelm. The uncertainty is formidable. I’m scheduled for a medication adjustment/change and it scares me.

Medications are habit forming and can change one’s personality. A few may have addiction tendencies, but properly prescribed, administered and used they are not habit forming. Neither are they ‘happy’ pills. Medications help stabilize the individual and do not cloud and affect one’s judgment or personality like street drugs and alcohol. The self, the soul is not affected, but enhanced with the right meds.

Medications cause a tradeoff between a reduction of mood swings and a lower quality of life. Totally false, but recovery, progression takes time. Medications along with supports (family, friends and professional) are extremely important to growing, helping one find a new life path, opportunities, and a clearer vision. Patience is always advised as side effects and manifestations may lessen.

People cannot get better. History has shown otherwise for any mental illness. A difficult path, quality of life can be improved upon.

Bipolar is caused only by chemical imbalance. Simplistic explanation omitting life’s complexities and stressors.  One’s genes, biological makeup, family and history are strong influences.

Bipolar and depression, also known as unipolar are completely different. They may represent two ends of the same spectrum according to one source.

One should be able to ‘bounce’ back after a severe episode (hospitalization). Pure ignorance. Who would say that to someone after an operation? From my experience, leaving hospitalization is only the first step to recovery.

There is a bipolar test. The only test is a genetic one, looking for specific gene and incomplete. The best method of diagnosis, for now is a careful review by a doctor of patient’s history, behaviors and symptoms.

Bipolar is a rare condition. About 5.7 million Americans suffer. Certainly not rare to the afflicted, their families and the overbooked hospital staffs.

Those inflicted are dangerous. Another ignorant statement. The scary ones are those walking the streets, working, etc., believing they are “normal”, immune, above it all. People with mental illness are more likely to be victims of crimes.

The inflicted should not have children. They will pass on the illness and will not be good at parenting. It’s more than just genetics. And a very un-Christian statement. The mystery of life should it be denied? With skills, training awareness, begotten through therapy, we can have a more “normal”, giving family life.

Remember, you are not alone. Our pain can be relieved. Most of my information can from webmd.com, healthcentral.com and psychcentral.com and NAMI.

#1029

Published in the Westchester Guardian, January 2013

I have a mental illness.  Today, I can admit this, come forward, because I have a job, because I have family support and I have some degree of self-confidence and a small degree of financial security. I have some very good friendships. I receive quality professional therapy. I have some Faith. I am very fortunate and lucky and I try not to give a damn about what others (most but not all) may think. For now these fantastic supports enable me, but I do not know what tomorrow may bring and that scares the hell out of me. Most who suffer do not have any of these supports. After the Newtown tragedy more of us, the inflicted and even their families, may have even greater reluctance coming forward. The stigma has grown ever stronger.

How can we, especially our youth admit to these illnesses and be labeled, categorized for the rest of their lives? Imagine the peer pressure, the ridicule, the teasing our school children will face every day if they are “exposed” as having mental illness. (This lack of compassion is a sad reflection of our culture.) They and their families may face the battle alone and suffer alone. They will face the torturous pain in the secret of their dwellings. They may seek ways to ease the pain through self-medicating (alcohol and drugs) and isolation. And the illness is not the fault of their making. It is no one’s fault and what family is really prepared to face such challenges?

Every infliction on the brain differs greatly along the mental illness spectrum. Even individuals with similar diagnosis will differ greatly in symptoms, in treatment, in reflection, in resilience. We do not want to be labeled. We want to be assisted. We want to be cured, but we need your help. We would like to be seen as individuals with mental illness not as mentally ill individuals, for we have hope and potential just like others who suffer from biological and chemical diseases related to the human condition. Our illness does not truly define us.

The National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI) has the following sobering statistics:

• Twenty-five percent of adults experience a mental health disorder in a given year.
• One in seventeen adults lives with mental illness.
• Anxiety disorders affect 18.7% of American adults and frequently co-occur with depression and addiction disorders. (The total U.S. population is over 300 million)
• Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S. (See my article, June 9, 2011)
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between ages 10 t0 24.
• Mayor depression disorder affects 6.7% of American adults.
• Twenty-four percent of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have a recent history of a mental health disorder.
• The percent of youth in the juvenile justice systems with at least one mental health disorder is 70%.
• Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, 75% begin by age 24.
• Racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to receive proper access for mental health care and if accessible will receive poorer care.
• Male veterans are twice likely to die by suicide as compared to their American peers as per a July 2007 report.

Now more than ever society must come forward and reach out to us. We want, we need to be welcomed into the fold of our culture, but we need your help to live better lives. To admit to mental illness means to be labeled for a lifetime as being abnormal, dysfunctional even feared without concern and reflection of the individual’s condition, their abilities and capabilities and this must change!

We want to work. We want to contribute, to belong, to give. We do not enjoy being unconstructive members of our various communities. We do not enjoy being alone, doing nothing. Being involved is so important for self-identity, self-worth and self-respect. From society we need not only the material, but also the psychological and spiritual encouragement. Have faith in us and our faith in ourselves will grow; our Faith can overcome fate. We all must slowly reclaim the self, the soul and see the goodness inside the inflicted, not the cultural bias that has claimed the stigma for far too many years. That is what our various Faiths tell us.

#730

Published in the Westchester Guardian, July 2013

“L’Arche is indeed a place where many vulnerable men and women who are threatened by the judgmental and violent world in which they live can find a safe place and feel at home.” Henri J. M. Nouwen.

There are small glimmers of hope for humanity, small communities, where the weakest teach the strong about faith, strength and love.  They will not be in our history books, they may not be known outside their local communities, they may not be remembered generations from the now, but they will leave a mark on the souls of many. These are special places where humanity exceeds the expectations of our human standards, but accomplishes what God expects from all of us. They will create a paradigm in the soul of any individual, community or society willing to reach out, willing to take that leap of faith.

Responding to the massive social problems of institutional isolation, Jean Vainer offered a home and friendship to two men with intellectual disabilities. Through this experience, he discovered, “Love and service is an irreversible life choice; and like those two men, he was transformed”. From this simple and powerful idea, in 1964, in the French town of Trosly-Breuil came the communities of Light and Faith and described below, L’Arche (French for The Ark).

This mustard seed will soon be celebrating 50 years of friendships, care and love in approximately 140 communities in 36 countries on six continents, from Uganda and Syria to the U.S. the United Kingdom and Canada. A community can consist up to eight homes in a specific city with each home having three to four core members and three assistants. A typical home can take three to five years to fully establish. Erie, Pennsylvania is the site of the first home in this country where there are now 18 communities. The greatest challenge is setting up a house, building mutual relationships and understanding one another. Port Jefferson, Long Island is the site of a future community facing the many challenges.

A simple idea, each community, independent and operated locally enables people with and without intellectual disabilities to share their lives in homes of faith and friendship. Those with intellectual disabilities, called core members and assistants share lives together, 24/7 and are transformed through relationships of mutuality, respect and companionship There are three factors vital in home life: eating together at the same table, praying together and celebrating together, to laugh, to have fun, to give thanks as one body, giving priority to relationships. “Everyone is a friend, teacher companion not clients, patients or recipients. Communities are either of one faith or inter-religious. Those that are Christian are either of one church or inter-denominational. Each community maintains links with the appropriate religious authorities and its members are integrated with local churches or other places of worship.” “Communities of faith, rooted in prayer and trust in God.”

Many U.S. communities are supported through government funding and fundraising, relying on the generosity of individuals, foundations, congregations and other establishments. Each is a registered 501(c) (3) nonprofit company.

The aims and principles of their Charter, abbreviated below, displays their love. Their words explain their principles better than I can. It’s worth a read.

Aims: 1.To create communities that welcome people with intellectual disabilities, responding to the distress of those who are too often rejected, giving them a valid place in society. 2. To reveal the particular gifts of people with disabilities and others by sharing their lives. 3. L’Arche knows that it cannot welcome everyone who has an intellectual disability. It seeks to offer not a solution but a sign that a society, to be truly human, must be founded on respect, welcoming the weak and the downtrodden. 4. In a divided world, its communities, its covenant relationships, between people of differing capacity, social origin, religion and culture, seek to be a sign of unity, faithfulness and reconciliation.

Fundamental Principles: 1. We all are bound together in a common humanity. Everyone is of unique and of sacred value. Everyone has the same dignity, the same rights: to life, to care, to a home, to education and to work. The deepest need of a human being is to love and to be loved. Each person has a right to friendship, to communion, to a spiritual life. 2. Human beings, as individuals, need an environment that fosters personal growth, enables relationships within families and communities, live in an atmosphere of trust, security, and mutual affection and be valued, accepted supported in real, warm relationships. 3. People with intellectual disabilities often possess qualities of welcome, wonderment, spontaneity and directness. They are able to touch hearts and to call others to unity through their simplicity and vulnerability. 4. Weakness and vulnerability in a person fosters a union with God and through weakness, recognized and accepted, the liberating love of God is revealed. 5. In order to develop the inner freedom, to grow in union with God, which all people are called, each person needs to have the opportunity of being rooted and nourished in a religious tradition.

They will not dispose unjust governments, bring down corrupt institutions or solve problems of global malnutrition, but they are changing the world one person, one home, one community at a time. “L’Arche gives witness to the vision that people of differing intellectual capacity, religion and culture can come together in units, faithfulness and reconciliation.” A sign of hope, a model of mutual relationship and friendship in a world that often rejects people who are weak, any sign of weakness. All who enter are sure to be transformed, enabling one with the audacity to go forward along an unknown road.

In many places the social stigma that prevailed in France and around the world in 1964 is still very much alive where isolation and segregation of ‘different people’ is still justified by the need to ‘protect them.  Jean Vanier is now 83 and convinced than ever that those who are powerless and vulnerable attract what is most beautiful and most luminous in those who are stronger.

L’Arche’s information: “Living Gently in a Violent World” by Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier, and “The Road to Daybreak” by Henri Nouwen. Web sites: www.larcheusa.org. For the Long Island community see www.friendsoflarcheli.org.

#1047

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Contact notes at end of the article.
Ellen on 6/20 tele 202-543-0630

Published in the Westchester Guardian, September 2013

Senator Pete Domenici (R.NM) stood up and begged, “Will we let insurance companies operate on the ridiculous presumption that people with schizophrenia are not sick?”  The Senator was seeking equal health care treatment for his daughter suffering from a mental illness. The Republican controlled committee of the House refused to listen, or maybe they listened but refused to act and vote in committee – for mental health and illness to have parity with physical illness not thinking that biology, bio-chemistry and genetics were related to both diseases. The vote was along party lines and failed to pass in committee. That was nearly 12 years ago. Looks like nothing has changed.

I was one of those patients how had limited therapy until I finally crashed and hospitalized (five times) and went on Social Security Disability, Medicare and Medicaid. My medical treatment was limited to a certain number of visits per month.  Maybe with more appointments, I would have been more proactive and not reactive with life’s twists and turns. Maybe I would have not been misdiagnosed, given the wrong meds and more meds on top that. Would my life have been better? Maybe I would have recuperated a lot sooner with a lot less cost being absorbed by the government. In other words, early treatment and preventive treatment, being more productive, giving back a lot sooner and less taking. A lot of uncertainty and a lot ifs for a lot of people with chronic illness. There was no parity. There is no parity. But there is a lot of pain.

With more therapy, I could have been a better worker, a better supporter, husband and parent. Insurance companies still seem to control our destiny, telling patients with mental illness how often they could see a doctor. Worrying so much about the bottom line caused our nation to lose so many capable individuals to treatable chronic illnesses. Greed, concern for the bottom line by insurance companies combined with a narrow vision, still haunts us today.  And one disease can wipe out the entire lifetime earnings of a family.

This is just one small instance displaying the failure of our healthcare system. With the complex Heath Care Affordability Act being threatened to extinction, again by the Conservatives, I dare those in favor of its removal to go to a healthcare facility, see the world in actuality, see the pain, see the struggles and tell us why you are going against Judea/Christian values of our society. Tell us why we should not get the care needed for a healthy life. I understand the concern over the cost of implementing this Act, but the cost of inaction is a lot greater as I have shown and why should cost consideration should come before human consideration. What will are children think of us as we let chronic illness and expenditures continue? Will they say thanks for saving us money and balancing the budget or would they say “Why did you let our parents suffer so much for the value of a buck, of the material. Weren’t their lives important? We know how to sacrifice”

If you are afraid of the transfer of wealth, the social economic consequences, tell us why you have not put forward an alternate plan. Tell us why you have failed to enact any major health care improvement even prior to this presidency. Tells us why you are not submitting viable bills to challenge and change just a few aspects of the bill, especially the pro-abortion aspects of which I strongly disagree.  And tell us why you would rather destroy and dismantle and not build toward a common goal.  Maybe all those who vote should learn about, memorize the Paradoxical Commandments especially those by composed by St. Mother Theresa. Remember, the cost of our moral obligation and values by our inaction will extend beyond this generation and extend to our final judgment.

#649

Published in the Westchester Guardian, April 2012

Now that another winter has passed and at the urging of my family and friends, I am coming forward to tell the entire public of my household tips that saved me a bundle of money.  Like the creators of the internet who shared their wonderful invention with humanity, I too am here to share my knowledge to benefit the world or Westchester, which is the center world anyway.

While the winter was a mild one, this did not prevent me from saving this small fortune and even selling electricity and gas back to Con Edison. (I wonder if this sale of electricity and gas is a tax issue. Maybe a capital gains tax or subject as revenue via a 1099 form. As long as I don’t say too much, I should be okay. Con Ed is so big, that I will probably get lost in the paper work)

When the fall season arrived, we were told to start preparing for winter using some simple techniques and various tools available at your local store. Those were good but mine are better. For example, to plug up small holes and cracks all you need is to make some homemade paste by combining water and cornstarch and if you or someone you know has a pet that’s great! Adding pet hair to this cornstarch mixture reinforces and strengthens the bonding power.  Dog hair is good, short cat hair is best. I haven’t gotten around to trying the hair from ferrets and hamsters.

If you still have some pet hair lying about, do not throw it away. Save it and when enough is accumulated insert into used stockings or pantyhose. Then lay them side by side into the attic or crawl space for installation, replacing that itchy cumbersome hard to install fiberglass matting.

Since our community lives between to great waterways, you may have noticed how boats are wrapped in plastic for the winter months. Why limit these wraps to boats. Obviously, we cannot cover our cars for doing so will cause severe line-of-vision limitations. However, we could certainly cover our homes! I tried two methods, covering the entire house and covering just the top floors. Your choice depending how often you use the various entry ways, how much light you want, etc. Clear plastic is better but more expensive. Choose white, it still lets in some sunlight. You can customize these wraps by drawing designs on them or stylizing them into any shape making each one unique. Like quilts.  Best of all, they are reusable.  Be careful of squirrels and possums, they have a habit of crawling into them and nesting for the winter.

Home innovators take notice. Solar panels are still just outside the reach of the average  home owner, but cheap pocket calculators are not. I was able to collect a few calculators and other trinkets that have those small solar panels. I dismantled them, then soldered the panels together, positioned them outside and hooked them up to my electric panel. Savings about $2/day, $730 a year. A great return on an investment of just a few dollars and a Saturday afternoon.

A large segment of our population likes to exercise.  Homes are equipped with stationary bikes, treadmills, etc. What a waste in not applying that pedal power into something more useful besides burning off that ice cream and dark chocolate. I hooked up my bike to the television – the more entertaining the show, the faster I bike. The faster I bike the better the picture. When I get my Kindle or Nook, they too will be powered by bike. The more suspenseful the story the faster I pedal saving and conserving battery power.

Many more ideas are in the planning stage. Here’s one: Years ago an office building had their revolving entrance doors connected to the water pumping system.  Every time someone passed through, one gallon of water was pumped from the basement to the water tank.  I don’t have a water tank but I’m sure I can somehow connect a revolving door to receive free generated power. I wonder what permits will be needed.

Remember, there is no limit to home innovations. Ideas can pop up anytime, anyplace. By just observing one can discover so much. And each discovery lowers our carbon footprint. There are many great ideas out there, let’s hear from you for my next column!

#730