Newsletter
Stories of Success
Those familiar with the Rehabilitative Day Program at Mental Healthcare of Cullman know Rick Yantzi. He has been a part of that program for many years. Now he has made his mark on another program, the Culinary Arts Program at Wallace State College.
Rick has lived with Schizoaffective Disorder since just after high school. Looking back at age 51, Rick has been working hard pursuing recovery for many years through consistent treatment and an unbreakable desire to learn and grow. He has long been a source of support and humble, hands on, leadership to others in the Rehabilitative Program who live with mental illness. Now he is achieving new success through education and working with food!
Since beginning at Wallace State in 2007, Rick has had to work through reoccurrences of symptoms while keeping up with his classes. He has learned that by maintaining support and treatment through the mental health center he can manage his symptoms while pursuing new goals in life.
Rick has excelled in the Culinary Arts Program. He has been on the President’s List twice, and invited to be inducted into the Honor Society. He has also received a personal recommendation for scholarship from Chef Chris Villa, who noted his leadership, professionalism and ability to work under stress. These commendations are valuable to anyone, but to someone living with a serious mental illness they are a double victory!
Rick we are proud of your hard work and never give up attitude. We look forward with you to your future.
6 Keys to Coping with Depression
Practice Thankfulness—There is real power in the old saying about counting your blessings. Whether you make a list, or express thankfulness to people around you. Being thankful lifts our mood out of the negative into positive.
Schedule Your Day—Time management is important for everyone, but it is vital when you are feeling depressed. Knowing what comes next in your day keeps your brain focused, and completing tasks provides a sense of accomplishment that is so important when fighting with feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness.
Be Active—Often, depression makes us feel like we just need to rest. Fatigue is overwhelming, sleep is never enough. Inactivity is like quicksand which pulls us deeper into depression. Research shows again and again that being active, even when we don’t feel that we can improves depression. Keep you feet on the floor, keep moving, Stretch, and exercise any way you can to keep depression from taking control of you.
Talk—Isolation is another major trap of depression. Depressed people tend to hide away from friends and family, and talk less, even at work. Talking to others has multiple benefits. It promotes your feeling of belonging to a group. It opens you up to encouragement from the experiences of others, and talking also helps your mind work through depressive thoughts which otherwise circle inside your mind growing stronger.
Be Kind to Yourself—How we talk to ourselves is frequently unkind. This negative self-talk is critical or sets unreasonable expectations for ourselves or others. Negative self-talk creates feelings of failure. Instead try setting goals you can reach, praising your positive qualities, and talking to yourself as you would a dear friend.
Help Others—The best way to pull yourself out of a cloud of depression is to focus on others. Depression turns our focus inward and paralyzes us. Look outward to others and find a way to help. Volunteer, help out family and friends, or even be a good listener to someone who needs to talk. Then notice how you feel while you are helping.
Practice Thankfulness—There is real power in the old saying about counting your blessings. Whether you make a list, or express thankfulness to people around you. Being thankful lifts our mood out of the negative into positive.
Schedule Your Day—Time management is important for everyone, but it is vital when you are feeling depressed. Knowing what comes next in your day keeps your brain focused, and completing tasks provides a sense of accomplishment that is so important when fighting with feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness.
Be Active—Often, depression makes us feel like we just need to rest. Fatigue is overwhelming, sleep is never enough. Inactivity is like quicksand which pulls us deeper into depression. Research shows again and again that being active, even when we don’t feel that we can improves depression. Keep you feet on the floor, keep moving, Stretch, and exercise any way you can to keep depression from taking control of you.
Talk—Isolation is another major trap of depression. Depressed people tend to hide away from friends and family, and talk less, even at work. Talking to others has multiple benefits. It promotes your feeling of belonging to a group. It opens you up to encouragement from the experiences of others, and talking also helps your mind work through depressive thoughts which otherwise circle inside your mind growing stronger.
Be Kind to Yourself—How we talk to ourselves is frequently unkind. This negative self-talk is critical or sets unreasonable expectations for ourselves or others. Negative self-talk creates feelings of failure. Instead try setting goals you can reach, praising your positive qualities, and talking to yourself as you would a dear friend.
Help Others—The best way to pull yourself out of a cloud of depression is to focus on others. Depression turns our focus inward and paralyzes us. Look outward to others and find a way to help. Volunteer, help out family and friends, or even be a good listener to someone who needs to talk. Then notice how you feel while you are helping.
40 Years of Mental Health in Alabama (posted 6/07)
2007 marks the 40th anniversary of Act 310 which is the Alabama law that created 310 boards and community mental health centers. These community centers were designed to partner with the Department of Mental Health to plan and provide community care for citizens with mental illness, mental retardation and substance abuse.
The Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards represents most of the 310 boards in our state. It is comprised of 30 members which employ over 6000 mental health and substance abuse treatment professionals. In a single year over 150,000 Alabamians are served. In the 40 years of Act 310, mental health centers have developed a wide range of services to meet the needs of Alabamians.
These services include:
· Outpatient therapy for adults and children
· Medication treatment
· Case management
· Residential services
· Crisis services, including a 24 hour crisis hotline
· Specialized addiction treatment and residential services
· Programs for mental retardation and developmental disabilities.
· Services in nursing and assisted living facilities
· Outreach teams to provide frequent treatment at a consumer’s home
· Psychological evaluations for probate courts and local hospitals
· Prevention programs focused on preventing the abuse of alcohol and drugs and the social problems that follow.
Community mental health centers have also saved the citizens of Alabama hundreds of millions of dollars by reducing the number of people committed to state hospitals from over 5000 in the late 1960’s to under 1000 today. This is despite a drastic increase in population.
To learn more about Alabama Mental Health centers log on to www.accmhb.org
Aftercare Now Offered (posted 3/07)
For years, Mental Healthcare of Cullman has offered special outpatient treatment programs for addictions and serious mental illness. But the question remained, “ What happens when people finish these programs?” “Will they gradually lose the progress they made without on-going support?”
For this reason, aftercare groups have been developed for the Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program and the Adult Mental Illness Rehabilitative Day Program.
When clients graduate the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), they often find that they have very little support for staying clean and sober outside of the IOP group. Aftercare provides a once a week meeting offering accountability, refocusing on personal goals, and support for a new life in recovery. This group has been meeting for several months.
The success of IOP Aftercare is now being replicated in the Adult Mental Illness Rehabilitative Day Program (RDP). Clients in this program often have trouble connecting with others. For people with serious mental illnesses, social skills and social support are second only to good medication compliance, as factors for keeping people stable and living independently.
Aftercare for RDP will be a once a week, 4 hour program that will reinforce skills learned, and encourage an active lifestyle focused on maintaining stability. Aftercare will also provide an opportunity for the friendly social interaction that some clients find nowhere else. These groups are scheduled to start later this month.
For this reason, aftercare groups have been developed for the Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program and the Adult Mental Illness Rehabilitative Day Program.
When clients graduate the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), they often find that they have very little support for staying clean and sober outside of the IOP group. Aftercare provides a once a week meeting offering accountability, refocusing on personal goals, and support for a new life in recovery. This group has been meeting for several months.
The success of IOP Aftercare is now being replicated in the Adult Mental Illness Rehabilitative Day Program (RDP). Clients in this program often have trouble connecting with others. For people with serious mental illnesses, social skills and social support are second only to good medication compliance, as factors for keeping people stable and living independently.
Aftercare for RDP will be a once a week, 4 hour program that will reinforce skills learned, and encourage an active lifestyle focused on maintaining stability. Aftercare will also provide an opportunity for the friendly social interaction that some clients find nowhere else. These groups are scheduled to start later this month.
Addiction Treatment: A Story of Success (posted 3/07)
Cheri Woodall was born into addiction. From birth, drug use and distribution was a normal part of life in her family. Over the years her drug of choice became methamphetamine. It has been the hardest drug to kick.
Approximately 3 years ago she was convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine. Ordered to treatment, she became very hostile. She did not understand how a court could tell her that the way she was raised was wrong, and that she could no longer use drugs.
Cheri has tried different forms of treatment without success. She failed inpatient rehabilitation and could not stay clean in 12 step support groups. Then she was ordered to the Intensive Outpatient Program at Mental Healthcare of Cullman. This has been the place where Cheri has been able to make the changes she needed to get clean and stay clean.
With 6 months left to go on her probation, she has now been clean 2 years and 7 months. She has graduated from the Intensive Outpatient Program but continues in the aftercare group, which provides ongoing support to program graduates.
Since getting clean success has come her way. She is now engaged to be married and has started her own business, and has recently become a licensed dealer (of cars). A fact that gives those who know her a chuckle.
If you ask Cheri her advice for others who are addicted to drugs or alcohol and want to get clean, She will say,
You have to do it for yourself. Not for someone else. You have to want to be clean more than you want the drug. And you have to have help from a higher power.
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