Defying Mental Illness changes the conversation about mental illness recovery

Jan. 25, 2012 - PRLog -- According to the author, “Recovery is not really about the diagnosis or the treatment. It’s about engaging in the struggle and finding a way to move forward.”

What’s unique about this book is its strength-based planning strategy that helps people with symptoms and family members collaborate and support each other. Defying Mental Illness makes mental health disorders and treatment understandable.

The book is about recovery, so it focuses on strengths that endure despite the presence of symptoms. It asks four main questions:

- What helps you make the most of your talents?

- How can you reduce the areas where you are vulnerable?

- How can you improve your ability to cope with stress?

- How can you deal with the risk of something going wrong?

According to Komarek, a nonprofit consultant and adjunct faculty member at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, “These are the key issues in recovery. People recover from these disorders and lead meaningful lives, but must start somewhere. People need to know what they are dealing with, so the book has background information on all the major illnesses, like schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and even autism."

The book discusses ordinary variations in child development and temperament, and helps parents identify the very severe situations that might require further evaluation. The book discusses talk therapy and medication, and difficult issues like violence, suicide prevention and involuntary hospitalization, and more.

The author notes "It’s what a person needs to know to get started with recovery, what family members need to know to support recovery,  and what faith-based or community groups need to know to get started helping the people they serve.”

Defying Mental Illness: Finding Recovery with Community Resources and Family Support  by Paul Komarek and Andrea Schroer is available in print and in all eBook formats at Amazon.com, local bookstores and online retailers.

To purchase a copy, visit http://www.amazon.com/Defying-Mental-Illness-Community-Re...

For more information visit http://www.churchbasement.net  or http://www.facebook.com/defyingmi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUiXXaYjsjY



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Church Basement Press publishes books that support the work of faith-based and community organizations and help people make progress in their lives. It's first release: Defying Mental Illness: Finding Recovery with Community Resources and Family Support.