Schizophrenia: Three Moms in the Trenches Randye Kaye

Hakeem Al-Zayyidi is an Islamic motivational and inspirational speaker. Hakeem is a graduate of Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.
It took Hakeem ten years to obtain his four-year undergraduate degree in Business and Sustainability.
His heroes and those who have motivated him to succeed include Malcolm X, LeBron James, Mohammed Ali, and Elyn Saks.
Hakeem has been dealing with schizophrenia since his early 20s.
The path he has chosen is to highlight the plight, stigma, and stories of himself and others who have mental illness.
His fascination with all that is basketball mirrors his quest to take shot after shot in his mission to speak to the uniqueness of mental illness in this world.


Questions:
Before you share your story, can you tell us what you most want our listeners to learn from you today?What is your mission?Tell us your story - about 10 minutes (we may ask questions as you go)What are your 5 basketballs?Does your Islamic faith help with your inspiration?What do you most want to inspire people to do?Links:
https://hakeeminspires.com
facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/kareem.alzayyidi.96
Instagram/twitter - Hakeem Inspires!



Hakeem interactive speech
https://youtu.be/Lbw8NrlBKRU
Make A Change Canada Success story
https://youtu.be/YQLsZIp9oe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sd4xm-gudM



Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/
Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/
Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/


Hosts:
Who:
Randye Kaye - was a morning Radio Personality bringing humor to CT families when her own son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now she is still a Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (Ben Behind his Voices, Happier Made Simple)
Miriam Feldman -  is an artist, writer, and the mother of an adult son with schizophrenia. Her book, He Came in With It chronicles her family's story and was released to rave reviews on July 21st, 2020.
Mindy Greiling - Mindy Greiling was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. She helped found the nation's first state mental health caucus, which successfully lobbied for a significant increase in Minnesota's mental health funding Her acclaimed memoir is Fix What You Can.

Guest:  Brian Stettin,  senior advisor to NYC Mayor Eric Adams administration on severe mental illness.
Brian  drafted the legislation that became Kendra's Law when he was an assistant attorney general in 1999, after a young journalist, Kendra Webdale, was shoved into an oncoming train by a young man from Queens with a long history of mental illness.
The  Adams administration's new push is to have more severely mentally ill people brought to hospitals for psychiatric evaluation with or without their consent, and to change the state laws about the length of the stays.
This law is designed to apply to those who can't recognize their mental condition or take care of themselves, not just those who present an immediate threat to themselves or others.


Questions:
Can you explain the plan in brief, and why it’s different from what has been happening in the past?What has been in support of this?What has been the opposition to this?Is there a plan in place to address the lack of hospital beds, supportive housing options, or other forms of long term care available for those people in need of help?https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-11-29/mayor-eric-adams-says-nyc-will-treat-mentally-ill-even-if-they-refuse
“These New Yorkers and hundreds of others like them are in urgent need of treatment, yet often refuse it when offered,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference, noting that the pervasive problem of mental illness has long been out in the open. “No more walking by or looking away,” the mayor said, calling it “a moral obligation to act.”
more on Clubhouses:
https://www.startribune.com/mental-health-system-must-be-able-to-help-those-who-dont-know-they-need-it/600256700/
Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/
Randye and her book: https://benbehindhisvoices.com/
Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/


 




Hosts:
Who:
Randye Kaye - was a morning Radio Personality bringing humor to CT families when her own son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now she is still a Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (Ben Behind his Voices, Happier Made Simple)
Miriam Feldman -  is an artist, writer, and the mother of an adult son with schizophrenia. Her book, He Came in With It chronicles her family's story and was released to rave reviews on July 21st, 2020.
Mindy Greiling - Mindy Greiling was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. She helped found the nation's first state mental health caucus, which successfully lobbied for a significant increase in Minnesota's mental health funding Her acclaimed memoir is Fix What You Can.

Guest: Kyleigh Leddy, author of “The Perfect Other: A Memoir of my Sister”
“I wish my sister gets better” - that became part of our guest's yearly birthday wishes, and more often too.
Our daughters have probably made that same wish - or at least they used to.
In 2019, Kyleigh won the New York Times Modern Love college essay contest for an essay she wrote about grieving her sister, Kait - and now it’s a book.
All Kait Leddy had ever wanted was a little sister. When Kyleigh was born, they were inseparable; Kait would protect her, include her, cuddle and comfort her, and, to Kyleigh, her big sister was her whole world.
As they grew, however, and as Kait entered adolescence, things began to shatter, and Kyleigh could only watch in horror as her perfect sibling’s world collapsed around her. Kait was institutionalized with what would eventually be diagnosed as schizophrenia, leaving Kyleigh and their mother to handle the burden, shame, and guilt alone.
Then, in January 2014, Kait disappeared. 
Her sister tells us about the loss, their bond, the story, the stigma - in her latest book.


Questions:
1- what do you most want people to know from your story, your family story?
2 - tell us what Kait was like before SZ, and as it developed.
Did kait’s concussions cause her SMI? 
3 - you and your parents - how are you now?
4 - does Kait leave a  legacy ?
5 -is the sibling experience often ignored in SMI? What is unique to sibs? 
6 - your writing process etc. and links 




Links:
https://kyleighleddy.com/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/03/style/modern-love-sister-vanished.html
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0358469341?tag=harpercollinsus-20



Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/
Randye and her book: https://benbehindhisvoices.com/
Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/


Hosts:
Who:
Randye Kaye - was a morning Radio Personality bringing humor to CT families when her own son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now she is still a Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (Ben Behind his Voices, Happier Made Simple)
Miriam Feldman -  is an artist, writer, and the mother of an adult son with schizophrenia. Her book, He Came in With It chronicles her family's story and was released to rave reviews on July 21st, 2020.
Mindy Greiling - Mindy Greiling was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. She helped found the nation's first state mental health caucus, which successfully lobbied for a significant increase in Minnesota's mental health funding Her acclaimed memoir is Fix What You Can.

Guest: Michelle Hammer 
Michelle Hammer is a Schizophrenia Activist and spends her time passionately fighting stigma.
Michelle was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 22 after a misdiagnosis of bipolar at age 18. 
At 27, Michelle decided to use her artistic talents and fearless personality to do something that could benefit the mental health community. 

She founded Schizophrenic.NYC -  a clothing brand with the mission of reducing stigma by starting conversations about mental health. 


We Ask
What did Schizophrenia feel like for you? What is your story?
How are you now, and what treatment works for you?
NYC Mayor Adam’s homeless initiative - thoughts?
What are your thoughts about involuntary hospitalization?
How important is coordinating discharge planning once a person is in the hospital?
Do you think it is wise to have cops make determinations of mental fitness?
The connection between homelessness and mental illness.


Links:
https://www.schizophrenic.nyc/
https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/video/video-living-with-schizophrenia
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-bipolar-a-schizophrenic-and-a-podcast/id1594381452


https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/01/eric-adams-mentally-ill-homeless-nyc-hospitals.html



https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-11-29/mayor-eric-adams-says-nyc-will-treat-mentally-ill-even-if-they-refuse


“These New Yorkers and hundreds of others like them are in urgent need of treatment, yet often refuse it when offered,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference, noting that the pervasive problem of mental illness has long been out in the open. “No more walking by or looking away,” the mayor said, calling it “a moral obligation to act.”




Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/
Randye and her book: https://benbehindhisvoices.com/
Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/
Hosts:
Who:
Randye Kaye - was a morning Radio Personality bringing humor to CT families when her own son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now she is still a Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (Ben Behind his Voices, Happier Made Simple)
Miriam Feldman -  is an artist, writer, and the mother of an adult son with schizophrenia. Her book, He Came in With It chronicles her family's story and was released to rave reviews on July 21st, 2020.
Mindy Greiling - Mindy Greiling was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. She helped found the nation's first state mental health caucus, which successfully lobbied for a significant increase in Minnesota's mental health funding Her acclaimed memoir is Fix What You Can.

Seven listeners share their stories of SMI (Serious Mental Illness) in a loved one - and, in one case, in themselves.

This episode grew out of a facebook post. We had so many volunteers to share their powerful stories that we may do more episodes like this, if you find it valuable and moving. I know we did.

Show notes:
Judith Smith's Support group info:
 judithrsmith@difficultmothering.com

Look Again podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/look-again-mental-illness-re-examined/id1557736942

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/
Randye and her book: https://benbehindhisvoices.com/
Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Linda's "manual":
I’d like to share some of my manual that I’ve created along the way:
·       Learn how to distinguish healthy language, judgement and behaviors from unhealthy or unsafe ones
·       Listen between the lines-try to understand what’s really being communicated-even when it seems so illogical
·       Clarify what is acceptable and what isn’t, for you, in your life.
·       Create a ‘board of directors’ for yourself…who will you turn to for various aspects of managing your loved one’s condition.
I now engage only with the healthy parts in conversation especially if it starts to escalate. Ignore the unhealthy.
I provide what I can to keep my family member safe, fed, housed, etc.-- When I’m too burned out, I allow myself to say, sorry I’m not able to do that now. I can do it later, tomorrow, etc.
I’ve reclaimed my home and decide when I can interact with him and when I cannot. Keep limits clear, factual rather than punitive, and make logical sense, rather than a knee jerk reaction to  frustration.
FInd ways to connect and love in the face of adversity, unfounded anger and blame



Hosts:


Randye Kaye - was a morning Radio Personality bringing humor to CT families when her own son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now she is still a Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (Ben Behind his Voices, Happier Made Simple)
Miriam Feldman -  is an artist, writer, and the mother of an adult son with schizophrenia. Her book, He Came in With It chronicles her family's story and was released to rave reviews on July 21st, 2020.
Mindy Greiling - Mindy Greiling was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. She helped found the nation's first state mental health caucus, which successfully lobbied for a significant increase in Minnesota's mental health funding Her acclaimed memoir is Fix What You Can.

What if, for families coping with SMI (serious mental illness) in a loved one, the holiday season is "the most difficult time of the year"?

The 3 Moms Discuss - Holidays past, in joy, crisis or grief - and how we currently celebrate what is...the best we can.

Some tips we share:
Lower Holiday expectations and Marketing Myths (e.g., perfect holidays)Plan Ahead - even for possible disasterHave a Plan B - and maybe C, D...Include Your Loved One as Much as Possible, Especially if They Can HelpDon't Let the "Unsqueaky Wheels" feel ignoredCherish the Good Moments - Find the PositivesBe Willing to Change Traditions as NeededSet and Enforce Limits  - Know Your BoundariesImagine How it Is for Your Loved OneFamily Love Matters - You Do Make a Difference
Happy (and Realistic) Holidays to You All!

Want to Share Your Story in a Voice message?
https://benbehindhisvoices.com/tell-us-your-story/

Resources:
Look Again Podcast: https://www.bcss.org/lookagain/
Tips from NAMI: https://www.nami.org/Blogs/From-the-CEO/December-2021/The-Most-Difficult-Time-of-The-Year-Mental-Health-During-the-Holidays


Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/
Randye and her book: https://benbehindhisvoices.com/
Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/