People living with repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries (RmTBI) report difficulties in brain function which does not show up on standard structural scans. RmTBI causes microstructual damages, too small to be seen on modern brain scans. Consequently, people living with RmTBI must get neuropsych testing to measure changes in brain function. Access to comprehensive RmTBI [...]
Photo credit: PsychologyToday used under the "fair use" principle for educational purposes. Many ECT recipients report problems with access to testing for brain injury. Cellular damage caused by repetitive mild traumatic brain injury from high field strength electrical trauma cannot be captured on standard scans. How do you know which test is [...]
Most people think shocking people in mental hospitals stopped decades ago. It's alive, well and growing in popularity. Doctors and hospital websites say it is safe and effective, but did you know the FDA never required safety testing? Were you aware that ECT has no standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for the "method of administration?" One [...]
My brother made this silly photo showing my upgrade from Utah red to BYU blue... as I looked at it, the "upgrade" just seemed so ironic as I'm gradually losing mobility and independence due to electrical injury caused by electroconvulsive therapy. So while I do love my BYU Blue chair ... I've stared at [...]
Shawn Rapier, host of the Latter-day Lives podcast poses with Sarah after their interview. After nearly two decades in a mental health system which doesn't recognize spiritual experiences as anything more than a form of mental illness, it's rare that I share my personal perspective and beliefs about my recovery journey. However, not [...]
Dr. Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist whom I view as a living legend, invited onto his weekly radio hour as an official guest. He's worked for decades shining a spotlight on unethical psychiatric treatments and their affect on patients. It was an honor to be invited to share my story with his listeners. Dr. Breggin [...]
If your psychiatrist told you "They haven't invented the medication that will help you yet," what would you do? Join Sarah's exploration of "Wellness Tools" as she works to recover a life lost to symptoms of severe mental illness and a memory lost to psychiatric electroconvulsive therapy "shock" treatments.
Celebrating three years medication-free and thriving Background July 24, 2018 I celebrated my 3rd anniversary of living psychiatric medication-free. This happened even after living nearly two decades with mental illness symptoms meeting the diagnostic criteria for schizoaffective disorder bipolar type with catatonia and PTSD. Many well-trained psychiatrists treated my symptoms with psychiatric medicine, [...]
In 2016, The University of California San Diego invited me to be the keynote speaker for May’s Mental Health Awareness Month lighting ceremony. Little did they know, my journey involved seeking effective mental illness treatment not involving psychiatric medication. Perhaps they'd seen my success and assumed I was on medication. I wasn't. The eyes of the [...]