Incidences of chlamydia found in patients suffering from schizophrenia may reveal a link between viruses and mental disorders. Chlamydia is already known to cause considerable human misery. Not only is one strain of the micro-organism responsible for Britains epidemic of sexually transmitted disease, but another variant can cause a serious respiratory-tract infection similar to Sars. Now comes the surprising finding by a German research team that Chlamydia may be linked with Schizophrenia. Dr Rudolf Wank, an immunologist at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, has reported recently that Schizophrenic patients are much more likely to be infected with one or more variants of Chlamydia. More importantly, he found that targeting the bug with specially treated immune cells improved the patients symptoms dramatically.About 40 per cent of the 75 patients he studied were infected with Chlamydia, compared with 6 per cent in the control group (ie, people who did not have Schizophrenia)..Meanwhile, Dr Ruth Itzhaki, at the University of Manchester, has been investigating a connection between Alzheimers and the Herpes 1 virus the one usually associated with cold sores on the lips, although it can cause outbreaks elsewhere. She has found signs of the virus in the brains of Alzheimers patients, and in a paper earlier this year reported that those who were infected and had the gene ApoE4 were more likely to develop the disease.

The love of a good woman:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1279201/How-live-husband-manic-depression.html

Having a severe mental illness can sometimes make it difficult to manage finances on your own or look after your assets. Carers often take in these responsibilities for their loved ones, but what happens when you are no longer around?

Rethink Trust Coporation is an option.They can set up a trust for you that will not affect your beneficiary's entitlement to state benefits.

Give them a call today on 0845 456 0455.

Email info@rethink.org

www.rethink.org

http://www.patient.co.uk/ 

Useful source of information.

"Well [in the context of health] is the equilibrium of mind, body and spirit." - Sister Gallie senior nursing tutor quoted from period 1975/76.

The Recovery In-Sight Centre is a service user-led socially-orientated company which offers training products and training services, self-help and peer support, research, and advisory services on practice and service development in the area of recovery. The Centre also offers voluntary opportunities enabling people with mental health challenges in their recovery and their job skills as a way to return to work. Our team are all academically-trained mental health service users and people who care for service users. We are supported by our Advisors, experts in the field of recovery and business management.

The Centre is based on the ethos that people who have lived experience of mental health issues are more aware of what is needed to recover and more able to offer appropriate quality services to enable those who are in recovery, and in so doing, they also progress on their own personal journey of recovery.

In offering advice and research on practice and service development, and in offering training services to mental health teams and training and self-help services to service users and carers, this lived experience coupled with highly-trained and experienced trainers and researchers, The Recovery In-Sight Centre aims to progress the standard of care provided to all people in their recovery from mental distress. Its spearhead training, Recovery In-Sight, is accredited with Middlesex University (Level 3, 20 pts) and its effectiveness is demonstrated in on-going research studies. The Recovery In-Sight Centre is already viewed as a pioneer of new mental health services.

As a socially-orientated enterprise, The Recovery In-Sight Centre provides a vehicle for a new way of enabling people in the community. From the website design to the training materials, from the research undertaken on the effectiveness of the training and from work undertaken in practice and service development, to training the current staff as trainers, researchers and peer supporters and the welcoming of new volunteers - all team members in The Recovery In-Sight Centre have lived experience of mental health issues.

The Recovery In-Sight Centre won first prize for Best Business Plan in the University of Hertfordshire’s entrepreneurial competition FLARE, held at Tower Bridge in London in May 2009 and won first prize for Recent Graduate Award from the Federation of Small Businesses in June 2009. It has since won several other business and entrepreneurial awards (see News).

On 1st September 2010, it moved into its own offices located in The Old Free School in Watford (see photos) - partnering up with the leading UK-established company Retail Human Resources plc. To mark this move as an important date in the calendar of developments, The Recovery In-Sight Social Enterprise (R.I.S.E.) Limited has been formed to forge ahead with the excellent work on recovery and social inclusion that the team has achieved in the last 16 months with The Recovery In-Sight Centre. The new legal status of social enterprise, formed by users for users, is set to build a growing reputation in the field of recovery over the coming years.

Launching at an exclusive conference organised by the team in April 2010, at which 8 UK and internationally reknowned supporters, advisors and friends presented on “Users in the Lead” in recovery, several team members, together with BBC film-makers, created three films - what the Centre is about, the business aspect to the Centre, and the future of the Centre. Please click on the link below to view the films and find out more about how The Recovery In-Sight Social Enterprise (R.I.S.E.) may help you. The new e-learning pages illustrate the films made from the presentations.

At the office warming held on 7th October 2010, MP for Watford Richard Harrington attended to demonstrate his support for the social enterprise and its activities, and Mayor for Watford Dorothy Thornhill has nominated the enterprise as the recipient for all sales and donations from her Christmas cards in 2010. The Reverend Graham Knotte, vicar of St Mary’s Church opposite the Old Free School, also attended the office warming in support.

To find out more about how R.I.S.E. may help you in your recovery plans, contact us on 01923-297122 or write to us at:

The Recovery In-Sight Social Enterprise (R.I.S.E.), The Old Free School, George Street, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 0BX. 

or email us at contact@recoveryin-sight.com

Web site:  http://www.recoveryin-sight.com/welcome-to-recovery-in-sight/ 

 Caffeine can affect the Lithium level in your body if you are on Lithium medication. It is generally accepted that the therapeutic level for Lithium medication is 0.4 to 0.8.
 
Any lower than 0.4 and the dose becomes ineffective and you may become ill. Any higher than 0.8 and the dose becomes toxic and yes you guessed it, you may become ill.
 
My consultant psychiatrist was concerned that my Lithium level had dropped to 0.45 over the period of a year. In passing he mentioned that caffeine could affect the Lithium level. My wife said: "He's drinking decaffeintaed coffee so that's alright." Doctor: "No, you will be lucky to get half the caffeine removed with decaff." Me: "Well, Earl Grey is weak so that's okay." Doctor: "Earl Grey as well."
 
So I've stopped consuming products with caffeine; tea, coffee, cola and choclolate.
 
Subsequently I had a blood test and the level returned to normal at 0.63 - middle of the range.
 
Well, I'm glad we got that sorted out!

For more information concerning Stevenage Survivors, contact Roy Birch, 156 Gonville Crescent, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG2 9LY (Telephone 01438 225377).

http://www.florid.org.uk/

Often, following a diagnosis of bipolar and acceptance of having the condition, there is a financial burden to deal with in addition to the maze of finding the right medical help.

Resources which may be useful include:

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service who provide free, impartial and realistic support regarding debt. Tel: 0800 138 111 or visit www.cccs.co.uk

The National Debtline who provide free confidential and independent advice on debt. Tel: 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.co.uk