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Read what I have to say about mental illness and pot. Read the personal stories from fellow crackwalkers
Some of the major disorders discussed and explained.
Helpful ways discussed in how to heal the soul
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Psychiatric medications I am familar with discussed in here
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Crackwalker.ca - THC Cafe a place to exchange thoughts over a toke and a coffee. A "Bring Yer Own" atmosphere. C'mon light one up and stay for a visit. We'd love to hear from you.!! Come for a soft shoulder, come to give strength, come to take about your meds, tokes, the weather... what ever grabs you at the time. We'll be here waiting. Feel free to join us anytime.
Three States of Mind - Wise Mind, Emotional Mind and Rational Mind
Three States of Mind
Taking Hold of Your Mind
Have an awareness when out of control emotions and bad behaviours are strong
STATES OF MIND
There are 3 states of mind. REASONABLE Mind, EMOTIONAL Mind and WISE Mind
Its easier to be in REASONABLE Mind when you feel well
EMOTIONAL Mind --- Influencing mood and behaviour
- intense love/hate/devotion staying with difficult task, sacraficing (running through fire)
- High emotional mind - intense passions about people /causes/ beliefs
A certain amount of emotion is desirable
Problems occur when EMOTINAL Mind is exacerbated by:
1). Illness
2). Sleep deprevation
3). Drugs/Alcohol
4). Hunger, bloating, overeating, poor nutrition
5). Environment stress (increased demands)
6). Family dysfunction
WISE Min - Integration of REASONABLE Mind and EMOTIONAL Mind
- true and valid
- focused
- clarity of events, answer is clear to you.
The WISE Mind does not allow REASONALE Mind to overpower or EMOTINAL Mind to overpower
Creates a balance - Yin Yang in effect
You cannot over come EMOTION with REASON
You cannot create EMOTION with REASON
You must learn to integrate the two. (The whole is greater than the sum of its parts)
WISE Mind is that part of each person that can KNOW and EXPERIENCE Truth.
-it is where the person knows something to be valid and true
- it is almost always quiet/certain peace, know something in a central way
WISE MInd is wisdom, wise knowing:
- integration of all ways of knowing something
- observation
- analyzing
- sensory/kinetic
- by what we do
- intuition
WISE Mind is similar to intuition
- more than reasoing/or what is directly observed
- immediate knowing
- understanding the meaning (signifigance of truth of an event without having to analyse it intellectually)
- when it all makes sense
- good or bad
WISE Mind is like a well in the ground built in stages, each stage separated by a door
The trap doors impede the process of learning, some doors are locked and need a chisel and hammer to open
WISE Mind is something experienced in the center of the belly, head, between the eyes.
EMOTIONAL Mind vs WISE MInd
Knowing the difference
- both have a quality of felling
- if intense emotion is obvious suspect EMOTIONAL Mind
- if overtime certainty remains especially when feeling calm and secure suspect WISE Mind
MINDFULNESS is focus
Focus: To be in control of one's mind is LEARNING to be in control of attention process - that is:
- learning to be in control of you mind instead of it controlling you.
- learning what one pays attention to. How long one pays attention to it.
Not being in control creates problems:
- unable to stop thinking about past, future, current, physical pain
- inability to concentrate on task or to stay on task
- inability to focus on another person
Mindfullness skills require PRACTICE, PRACTICE
- Mind over matter - learning to take control
- meditation (power over chronic pain and stress management)
Behavioural practice
-Includes practicing control over ones mind, attention, overt behaviour, body, emotions.
Mindfullness reguires two SKILLS
- WHAT SKILLS - what to do (observe, describe, participate)
- HOW SKILLS - how to it (Non-judgmentally, one mindfully, effectively)
WHAT SKILLS
OBSERVE
- Just note the experience. Notice without getting caught in the experience. Experience without reacting.
- Have a "teflon mind" letting experiences, feelings and thoughts come into your mind and slip right out.
- Control your attention, but not hwat you see. Push away nothing. Cling to nothing.
- Be alert to every thought, feeling and action
- Step inside yourself and observe. Watch your thoughts coming and going. Notice each feeling, rising and falling. Notice exactly what you are doing.
- Notice what comes through your senses. Your eyes, ears, nose, skin, tongue. See other's actions and expressions.
- smell the roses
OBSERVATION Mindfulness exercise
- Hold a rasin or a jelly bean in your hands
- Place your hand on a cool surface
- Stroke your upper lip then stop notice how long it takes to stop sensing your upper lip
- Watch first 2 thoughts that come into your mind
- Imagine your mind is a conveyor belt observe the thoughts and feelings coming down the belt
Observing involves stepping back from a situtation to within yourself
Observing is not dissociating
DESCRIBE
- Put words on the experience.
- When a feeling or thought occurs, acknowledge it --for example say in your mind "sadness has just enveloped me" or "Stomach muscles are tightening"...
- Put experience into words. Describe to yourself what is happening.
- Put a name on your feelings. Call a thought a thought, a feeling just a feeling. Don't get caught in content.
PARTICIPATE
- Enter into your experiences. Let yourself get involved in the moment, letting go of rumination - become one with your experience. Completly forgetting yourself
- Act Intuitively from WISE Mind. Do just what is needed in each situtation - a skillful dancer, a musician, be absorbed.
- Actively practice your skills as you learn them until they become part of you where you use them intuitively
PRACTICE
- changing harmful situtations
- changing your harmful reactions to situtations
- accepting yourself and the situtation as they are.
Psychiatric medications I am familar with discussed in here
