wrap and recovery books provides: training manuals, books, articles and other resources

www.mindfreedom.org www.WRAPandRecoveryBooks.com

WRAP and Recovery Books provides:Training Manuals, books, articles and other resources

www.WRAPandRecoveryBooks.com

Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery for:Speakers, and all levels of Training & Facilitation

www.CopelandCenter.com

Essential Learning Complete selection of on-line learning options

www.MentalHealthRecovery.com


Mindfreedom is an important organization, one that shares our values and mission:

The mission of Mary Ellen Copeland's Mental Health Recovery and WRAP is to promote personal, organizational, and community wellness and

empowerment.


March 3, 2011

2pm EST

Taking Charge of Your Mind

and Making Your Life Go Well

Janet Foner Al Galves

Presented by:MindfreedomInternational


http://www.mindfreedom.org

MindFreedom International

celebrates its 25th year as an independent

coalition for human rights and humane

alternatives in the mental health

system.

MFI President is Celia Brown.

http://www.mindfreedom.org/

http://www.mindfreedom.org/


MFI has a vision of a peaceful revolution in mental health care. You are encouraged to sign up for MFI's

free human rights e-mail alert system.

www.mindfreedom.org/mfi-faq/MFI-news-public-email-alert/

http://www.mindfreedom.org/mfi-faq/MFI-news-public-email-alert/



MFI Choice Campaign has a searchable Directory of Alternatives for mental and emotional

support. Those listed have agreed to MFI Principles.

www.mindfreedom.org/directory

http://www.mindfreedom.org/directory


While most MFI members identify as psychiatric survivors, MFI welcomes all who

support human rights including professionals, advocates, family members, and the public.

Judy Chamberlain


A program for Taking Charge of your Mind and Making Your Life Go Well

An exercise in reacting and controlling your attitude towards your thoughts

What is Mindfreedom and how to learn more about us

What we’ll be talking about today…


Natural Healing

Human beings are born with a natural emotional healing process.

When babies are born, they cry and rage when they are upset,10 or 15 minutes later they’re all smiles wanting to snuggle.

Later they get socialized away from this natural healing process, but if you watch a young baby closely you will see what peopledo to heal.


Our healing process gets damaged and eventually buried because of the number of times we get hurt, try to use it for healing, and are not able to continue to do so.

We can reclaim that process for ourselves.

Natural Healing


The Healing Process

How do we reclaim that process for ourselves?

Mainly by taking turns to listen to each other tell our stories about what happened to us.


You eventually get to talk, cry, tremble, rage, laugh, and yawn your way through how you got hurt-releasing the effect of the hurts.

Reclaiming the Natural Healing Process

What happens during the process?

Your mind will be able to sort through the hurts and figure out new ways to respond instead of repeating old ways of behaving that always got you in trouble.


Confidentiality

Fully listening



Our society is focused on production, not on taking care of people’s needs, emotional or otherwise.

This means that we have to set up time and space for ourselves, both to reclaim our healing process and to make our lives go well.



Personal Story

Having a hard time growing up

A family in crisis

Hospital experience

Creating a better life


A New Way of Doing Things

A mutual peer support/leadership project

In order to be able to heal the feelings and not get sunk, that is, not be sad all the time, I gradually figured out a system of focusing attention on the good things in life that allowed me

to get my life back in shape.


5 Major Things…

5 major things that work in combination

All have to be done all at once to work well

Each point I will talk about is a different way to work on feeling better

When you feel bad, you may need to do one or more of these five types of things.

If one thing doesn't help, try another


When you’re feeling bad

Sometimes when you feel really bad, trying to get out of that feeling by doing something fun doesn't help.

It's at that point that you really need someone to listen to you talk, cry and laugh your way through the bad feelings.


Point 1- Support System

Having lots of time every week to heal from past hurts and having lots of time with friends

and family that are supportive



How much listening support do you need?

It’s up to each person

More than our society expects us to have (which is 0)

Ask yourself “how much listening time do I need in order to handle what I am trying to accomplish?”



We need a lot of people in our network because if two people are out of town, a third person is sick, and two others are very busy, we can still call on the sixth or seventh person when we need them

How many people do we need in a support system?



Use your creativity to figure out how to setup your support system…



Agreements

“Let’s not interrupt each other”

“I won’t give you advice”

“Let’s listen attentively & lovingly”

“I won’t bring up what you say with you

or anyone else later”



The more you listen to each other, the more safety will be built between the two of you so you can feel more comfortable with your emotions.

At the end of the listening time it is also important to bring your thoughts away from theold hurts and on to the present situation

With experience doing this, it will become easier and easier to feel what you need to feel, release the emotion and heal from your old hurts.



You are in charge of your mindYou can figure out how to make things work

well in your life

If you have difficulty finding friends that means you need to do healing work in that area.

It doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with you because you don’t have friends.

Even finding just one friend will be a big benefit, and eventually you will have more


Point 2- Making the Repeated Decision to Refocus Onto Rewarding Things

Spend at least some of your listening time repeatedly making the decision to keep your mind on the good things in your life.

Make the decision to set aside some time(s) daily or weekly to deal with how you got hurt and healing from that, and the rest of the time to just be able to enjoy your life.

" I now decide to stop putting my attention on upsetting things and instead to focus my attention on enjoying my life, and that

means. . .."


“…and that means…..”



"I don’t have time to focus my attention on my distress, there are so many other things I would

rather be doing (sometimes I name some of those things).

So I now decide to focus my attention off distress and on to wonderful, rewarding things, and

that means. .."



Point 3- Make Time for Fun Every Day

Another aspect of your life to address is how much fun do you have every day?


Ways to find fun

Use listening exchange time to:…strategize on how to bring fun into your job…list things you’d like to do

What’s fun for some, isn’t for others.

Point 3- Make Time for Fun Every Day


Point 4- The Art of Telling Your Story Without Believing the Old Messages

When you are having time with your listening partner or partners, try to always notice the good

things in life while you are talking about hard things.


It is an art to develop your own process of being able to talk to somebody about what happened to you without

believing all the old messages that came to you from that event.

Try to figure out what will keep you "afloat," and keep you remembering the good things in life.

Point 4- The Art of Telling Your Story Without Believing the Old Messages


Point 5- Setting Goals to Make Your Life The Way You Want It

Oftentimes our parents, or other adults who were around us when we were younger, had ideas of how our lives should be. Sometimes we ended up doing things to make them happy.

Sometimes there are real difficulties in changing our lives around, but..

If you can wake up in the morning and take a look at what you have to do today and be excited about what you are going to do,

that is the life you want.


While you’re being listened to, think aloud and release emotions about deciding what you really want

Set goals and have listening times around achieving those goals

Set long range goals AND short range goals

Point 5- Setting Goals to Make Your Life The Way You Want It


Here’s How I Changed My Life to Be the Way I Wanted


Making a habit of the 5 points

Making a habit of using these five points on an ongoing basis is a workable way to make one's life go well.

I hope you will try it and see how you can apply it to your life.


An exercise on breathing and noticing

What is the purpose of this?

What can I expect from this exercise?


The Focusing on the Breath Exercise

You are more than your thoughts.

You can learn to control your attitude towards your thoughts and your reaction to them.


Setting

Comfortable

Relaxed

Solid

Calm


Even More Relaxed and Calm


The Breath

Bring your attention to the steady in and out of your breathing.


Breathing in a warm, pink, cleansing air


Breathing

Breathing out all the tension and tightness in your body


How do you feel?

Notice any feeling associated with the thought.

What is the feeling telling you?


Try it!!

Two 10-minute sessions each day in a calm, quiet place.


MindFreedom International is one of very few totally independent activist groups in mental health, with no funding from the mental health system. The United

Nations accredits MFI as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).


• MFI Shield sends out alerts to thousands of people concerned about human rights violations. http://www.mindfreedom.org/elizabeth

• Elizabeth Ellis is a member who has been court ordered to receive involuntary outpatient electroshock.

http://www.mindfreedom.org/elizabeth


MFI has campaigns to celebrate "Mad Pride," to build affiliates internationally, and to question

the undue influence of the drug industry in mental health care. To be notified, sign up for

MFI's free alerts. http://www.mindfreedom.org/mfi-faq/MFI-news-public-email-alert/




• MindFreedom International is open to membership of all who support human rights and alternatives. You are invited

to join today! www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate

http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate


Questions?

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