Product Description
Mental illness has been my life. It began with deep dark feelings of internal horribleness at age 10 and culminated with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder in my late 30s. What is it like to live with a mental illness? Confusing. For years I could not decipher between real and not real. Dreams, hallucinations and real life blended into one reality. My hallucinations mostly consisted of my being raped. It could happen at any time. Voices would tell me to do things such as drive into a wall or shred my skin. Still, until a major breakdown at age 34 where I discovered I had no self, I was able to hide my terrifying life.I've been hospitalized 2 1/2 times and one year I took medical leave from my job. Proper diagnosis took years. My diagnosis history included Histrionic, Major Depression, Multiple Personality Disorder, and finally Schizoaffective Disorder. With the right therapist, and time, came the correct diagnosis; with the correct diagnosis, came the medication that helped bring my life under control in a good way.

The journey has been a long one. Writing my story has been one of physical and emotional need. I had to write it. My message is one of hope. My therapist has written her perspective, too, adding to the completeness of mystory. I want people to have a better understanding of mental illness. I want people to know how horrible a mental illness can be, and that there can be hope. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A compelling and inspirational read.
Discombobulated is a compelling read. The journal entries the author uses to show her decline into mental illness gives the reader an insightful view of the internal workings of the mind in such a decline, as compared to the external appearance of a person experiencing such. The reader is both shown (through the journal entries) and told (in retrospect) of the descent into and ascension from mental illness. Ms. Compton's descriptions are vivid, and her recounting is heartfelt.

A Poweful Read
Discombomulated is a powerful story of one woman's experience with mental illiness.Commentary by the therapist which parallels the author's perception of therapy is very insightful.This well written book provides a realistic portrait of life with mental illiness.

Review of Discombobulated
I found "Discombobulated" to be a very heartbreaking and yet inspiring story of the author's experience with mental illness.It was wonderfully written and literally takes a person inside the head of the author.This book should be read by anyone whose life has been touched by mental illness in any way. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a "Digest" from the original Visions for Tomorrow curriculum to provide basic information to the general public.There is a series of these "digests", each covering a mental illness in the VFT curriculum, providing basicand valuable information for families who are dealing with a first time crisis or still trying to getinformation to better provide for their child's needs. ... Read more

Product Description
Schizoaffective disorder is a perplexing mental illness distinguished by a combination of symptoms of a thought disorder or other psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions (schizophrenia component) and those of a mood disorder (depressive or manic component). The coupling of symptoms from these divergent spectrums makes treating patients who are schizoaffective difficult. Schizoaffective disorder has features of both schizophrenia, including hallucinations, delusions, and distorted thinking, and a mood component, such as depression or mania. This new book brings together leading-edge research in the field. ... Read more

Product Description
Despite related controversies and argument, schizoaffective disorder is a crucial mental illness that demands attention and study from both scholars and clinicians. However, most of these discussions are merely debates focused on diagnosis, etiology and genetics of persons with schizoaffective persons. Although there is a long awareness of the uniqueness of schizoaffective disorder, comparing the rich theoretical underpinnings in schizophrenia and mood disorders, the studies of schizoaffective disorder are thin and insufficient. After a long history of conceptual development, these two groups of mental illness are profoundly studied, explained and articulated by biochemical, psychodynamic, cognitive, existential, phenomenological, sociological, cultural and humanistic perspectives.In each perspective, there are numerous accounts, and research in describing persons with schizophrenia or mood disorder.Schizoaffective disorder is increasingly common in various countries around the world; this book tries to capture the situation in defining, understanding, intervening and rehabilitating clients with schizoaffective disorders in various countries, in particular in Europe and North America, Asia and Australia. ... Read more

Product Description
Move over reality TV shows! Chad Stafford has just invented a new medium in The Sublime Detour. In this groundbreaking book, Mr. Stafford bravely takes you down a path where few others have dared to venture--a path that drives through the heart of his own skewed thoughts as his sanity slips before your very eyes. Rarely has a book so starkly portrayed conflicting truths about the human condition or given such an honest and eye-opening account of the mysterious inner workings of a schizoaffective's mind. Driven by his own true hallucinations, the plot of this book is mired in sex, violence, and the observations that can only be made by a man who has split with reality. The Sublime Detour is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered what it's like to be mentally ill. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fascinating Insight!
I think we all see bits and pieces of this disorder in society - we see homeless people on the streets and wonder what got them there.
We hear of criminals on the news and wonder how they got there.I think this book explains and shows us how all this happens without subjecting us to a bunch of psychobabble that doesn't explain anything.It is a very brave expose of a good brain gone bad and the struggles to cope with all that is entailed.Thanks for the great book!

Great insight
Being a psych nurse, I wanted to gain insight into what some of my patients experience.This is a great source of information.

Author's Note
My book is not for the modest, and it is not for mental health consumers who are seeking support in their own recoveries.When I wrote The Sublime Detour, my goal was to tell the story my hallucinations told to me as accurately as I could.I felt like I just had to get that experience down on paper before I could move on with my life.If you want to enter the mind of the person living with schizophrenia, I wrote my book for you!

VERY GOOD!!!
This is a well written and engrossing book.For anyone who suffers from a mental illness, you will be able to relate to his journey.For anyone who knows someone with mental illness, or is curious about what it may be like, this is a must read! ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is a journal article from Brain and Cognition, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Background: Schizophrenia (SZ) and schizoaffective disorders (SA) are associated with cognitive deficits. Generally, a schizoaffective diagnosis is associated with better prognosis on the level of social integration. It is also well established that cognition is an important factor for good social outcome in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that, although patients suffering from SA share symptoms with SZ, they can be differentiated on the basis of neurocognitive function and that SA perform better in several domains. Method: Performances of two groups SA (N=13) and SZ (N=44) were compared on several visual-motor tasks using CANTAB [Motor Screening (MOT), Reaction Time (RTI), Paired Associates Learning Task (PAL), and Stockings of Cambridge items (SOC)]. The two groups were matched for symptom severity. ANOVA with repeated measures was employed to determine whether any difference in cognitive scores during a 2-year period was significantly related to the diagnostic status. Results: A significant and durable difference was observed between SZ and SA on motor screening and explicit memory tests where SA performed better. Conclusion: Neurocognitive tests may be relevant for distinguishing schizoaffective from schizophrenia, chiefly via tests tapping into visuo-spatial and visuo-motor coordination abilities (e.g., paired associated learning and motor screening). ... Read more

Product Description
“This short autobiography of a very serious disorder was fascinating to read. Ms. Nemitz is very brave to put herself in the limelight with such a personal story. It is very apparent that she has been struggling with this for many years. I sincerely hope she succeeds in helping others with her insight and plea for others to get help. Additional information on this disorder can also be found in the New England Journal of Medicine.”—Vicki Schiessl, RN ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Schizoaffective disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by recurring episodes of elevated or depressed mood, or simultaneously elevated and depressed mood that alternate or occur together with distortions in perception. Schizoaffective disorder is a misunderstood illness by the general public and hard to diagnose and sometimes is often misdiagnosed as some other illness. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Hypothalamus, Pituitary Gland, Testosterone, Schizoaffective Disorder, Vasopressin, Acromegaly, Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus, Cortisol Awakening Response, Somatostatin, Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal Axis, Prolactinoma, Hyperprolactinaemia, Supraoptic Nucleus, Autoimmune Hypophysitis, Proopiomelanocortin, Pituitary Adenoma, Allostasis, Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone, Hashimoto's Encephalopathy, Paraventricular Nucleus of Hypothalamus, Arcuate Nucleus, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Posterior Pituitary, Circumventricular Organs, Gigantism, Berta Scharrer, Allostatic Load, Rathke's Cleft Cyst, Subfornical Organ, Sheehan's Syndrome, Ventromedial Nucleus, Empty Sella Syndrome, Magnocellular Neurosecretory Cell, Median Eminence, Pineal Gland Cyst, Organum Vasculosum of Lamina Terminalis, Neuroendocrine, Pinealoblastoma, Pineocytoma, Corticotropin-Like Intermediate Peptide, Pinealectomy. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 218. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. Testosterone is evolutionarily conserved through most vertebrates, although fish make a slightly different form called 11-ketotestosterone. In men, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as the testis and prostate as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle and bone mass and hair growth. In addition, testosterone is essential for health and well-being as well as preventing osteoporosis. On average, an adult human male body produces about ten times more testosterone than an ad...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=30983 ... Read more

Product Description
The article is excerpted fromGale Encyclopedia of Medicine.

Consultthe second edition of this authoritative, comprehensive, in-depthmedical guide for information on more than 1,700 medical topics inlanguage accessible to adult laypersons. Presented in a singlealphabetical sequence, articles range in length from one or twoparagraphs for minor topics, to several pages or more for major topics.Disease/disorder articles typically cover definition; description;causes and symptoms; diagnosis; treatments; prevention; and more.Test/treatment articles typically cover definition; purposes;precautions; preparation; risks; normal and abnormal results; and muchmore. This second edition includes more than 200 new entries, 300updated entries, approximately 650 color images and illustrations, anda comprehensive subject index. New features include biographical andhistorical sidebars throughout the text.

Disease/disorder articles contain some or all of the following sections:

• Definitions -- brief dictionary-style definition of the disorder
• Descriptions -- overview of the disorder; who gets it and why
• Causes & symptoms -- process, substance or organism thatproduces the condition; any risk factors that increase susceptibilityto the condition; signs and symptoms of the disease
• Diagnosis -- overview of procedures and tests used todiagnose the condition; how the test is done; who should be tested andwhen; time required; cost; whether it's typically covered by insurance
• Treatments -- overview of conventional methods of care ormanagement of the condition, such as drugs, surgeries, physicaltherapy, etc.
• Alternative treatments -- overview of alternative/complementary therapies that may be used to treat the condition
• Prognosis -- probable outcome of the disease
• Preventions -- what actions can be taken to prevent the condition from occurring

Test/treatment articles contain some or all of the following sections:

• Definitions -- brief dictionary-style definition of the test/treatment
• Purposes -- why and when this test/treatment is prescribed
• Precautions -- when this test/treatment should not be prescribed
• Descriptions -- overview of the test/treatment including cost,length of time required, procedures followed, whether typically coveredby insurance
• Preparation -- pre-test treatment procedures, if any
• Aftercare -- post-test treatment procedures, if any
• Risks -- any complications/side effects commonly associated with the test/treatment
• Normal results -- for tests, describes the normal values; for treatments, describes the anticipated outcomes
• Abnormal results -- defines abnormal test values

Published/Released: December 2001

Product Description

The “Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders” is a comprehensive two-volume set providing detailed information on mental disorders and conditions, in an easy-to-use format. It includes entries for all 150 disorders classified in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” and also features entries for prescription, alternative and over-the-counter drugs, as well as the various therapies used to treat mental disorders.

Product Description
Authors: Londa Anderson and Joanna Siefert.Anderson has been living with chronic mental health issues most of her life. Creating artwork is one of her main coping mechanisms that she has discovered. When feeling hopeless, she paints and this brings her hope again by realizing she can share her thoughts and feelings with the world via a paintbrush. Anderson's dream is to touch those who are living with mental health issues. She hopes to inspire people to utilize one's artistic abilities as a coping strength. Anderson and Siefert would like to encourage people to end the stigma surrounding mental illness within one's community, home and within one's own mind. ~With Art, Comes Hope~ ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed., brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 984 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The third edition of this authoritative, comprehensive, in-depth medical guide features information on medical topics in language accessible to adult laypersons. Disease/disorder articles typically cover definition; description; causes and symptoms; diagnosis; treatments; prevention; and more. Test/treatment articles typically cover definition; purposes; precautions; preparation; risks; normal and abnormal results; and much more. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Major Depressive Disorder, Cyclothymia, Bipolar Spectrum, Schizoaffective Disorder, Types of Psychological Depression, Dysthymia, Bipolar I Disorder. Excerpt:Bipolar I disorder Bipolar I disorder is a mood disorder that is characterized by at least one manic or mixed episode. There may be episodes of hypomania or major depression as well. It is a sub-diagnosis of bipolar disorder , and conforms to the classic concept of manic-depressive illness. DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria The essential feature of bipolar I disorder is a clinical course that is characterized by the occurrence of one or more manic episodes or mixed episodes . Often individuals have also had one or more major depressive episodes . Episodes of substance-induced mood disorder (due to the direct effects of a medication, or other somatic treatments for depression, a drug of abuse, or toxin exposure) or of mood disorder due to a general medical condition need to be excluded before a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. In addition, the episodes are not better accounted for by schizoaffective disorder and are not superimposed on schizophrenia , schizophreniform disorder , delusional disorder , or psychotic disorder not otherwise specified. General diagnosis codes DSM-IV-TR Dx Code #: Disorder: Description Treatment Medical Assessments Routine medical assessments are often prescribed to rule-out/identify a somatic cause for Bipolar I symptoms. These tests can include Ultra-sounds of the head, CAT scans , Electroencephalogram , HIV test, full blood count , thyroid function tests, liver function test, Urea and Creatinine and if patient on Lithium, Lithium level are taken. Drug screening including included Cannaboids, street drugs and exposure to toxins.. Bio-Psycho-Social Biological Mood Stabilizers Some Anti-depressants h... ... Read more

Product Description
Schizoaffective DisorderHundreds of thousands of Americans have schizoaffective disorder, an overlap of schizophrenia and manic depression. The illness can cause them to have both mood swings and cognitive symptoms including mania, depression and visual or aural hallucinations, and can be at grave risk of suicide.This week on The Infinite Mind, we explore schizoaffective disorder, what it's like to have the illness, how people have persevered in spite of it, and why it leaves so many doctors confused.Dr. Fred Goodwin's guests include Dr. Nassir Ghaemi, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Eden Evins, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Schizophrenia Program, and Dr. Corinne Cather, a cognitive behavioral therapist and clinical fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital.We'll also hear a gripping account of what it's like to live with schizoaffective disorder and hear a musical performance of Philippe Gaubert's "Nocturne et Allegro Scherzando" from Tracy Harris, a professional flutist living with the disorder, and a remarkable recreation of what it's like to hear aural hallucinations as recreated by a leading Broadway sound designer, based on the descriptions of a young woman who is living with the illness. John and Katie Cadigan discuss their new documentary film, "People Say I'm Crazy," which chronicles John's diagnosis with schizoaffective disorder. And John Hockenberry looks at the steep rise in the number of suicides on military bases, and what the resulting government response can teach the rest of us about the need for access to mental health care.Hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin and produced by the Peabody Award winning Lichtenstein Creative Media . ... Read more