Participants: Jennifer Jill Schwirzer (Host), Christina Ceccoto, David Guerrero, Dr. Jean Wright II, Eric Camarillo
Series Code: MOC
Program Code: MOC000024A
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00:26 We are listening with empathy today
00:29 to the struggles of those 00:30 who have been affected by mental illness. 00:33 The title of our Program today is: 00:35 Losing my Father to Schizophrenia. 00:38 It's not a happy topic but it's one that affects many of us, 00:42 let me tell you a little bit about Schizophrenia. 00:44 Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder 00:46 characterized by hallucinations which can be auditory or visual 00:51 and delusions which are basically 00:54 bizarre false beliefs 00:56 and social isolation 00:58 sub-types of schizophrenia include catatonic... 01:02 paranoid and disorganized... 01:04 so there are various manifestations of this thing. 01:06 The prevalence of schizophrenia is surprisingly high... 01:10 about one percent of the population suffers 01:12 from this devastating illness 01:14 but the reality is that many of those people 01:17 withdraw from Society 01:18 because one of the symptoms is withdrawal... 01:20 and so often they end up living... 01:22 they are homeless people 01:24 many homeless are schizophrenic 01:25 and so, there's a lot of... of that kind of factor. 01:29 Schizophrenia is heritable 01:31 so, we can see it in the family tree... so to speak, 01:35 evidenced by the fact that 01:38 first order relatives are more often affected. 01:41 So what about the prognosis and treatment of schizophrenia? 01:45 Schizophrenia is not considered curable 01:47 although I've heard miracle stories, we all have... 01:51 but it is manageable through anti-psychotic medication 01:54 and sometimes lifestyle measures can help 01:56 and so, it isn't a death sentence. 01:59 When an individual is diagnosed with schizophrenia, 02:02 there can be life after schizophrenia 02:04 but tragically not always 02:06 and so we want to hear the story today of Eric Camarillo, 02:09 thank you for joining us and talking about 02:12 this very difficult part of your life 02:14 and you have a lot of courage to show up 02:16 and be willing to open up and share for the benefit of others 02:21 because many are affected by this. 02:23 So, welcome Eric. 02:24 Eric is from Orlando... 02:26 he's my homie in Orlando where I just moved... 02:28 and he runs SALT Ministry 02:30 so hopefully we'll be able to talk to you a little bit 02:32 on what you're doing with that 02:33 because you have blessed a lot of people through that ministry. 02:36 And today... on our Panel of Counselors, 02:39 we also have David Guerrero, 02:40 he's a Biblical Counselor from Wisconsin, 02:43 we have Licensed Professional Counselor, 02:45 Christina Cecotto from Georgia 02:47 and Dr. Jean Wright from my hometown 02:50 before I moved to Orlando... of Philadelphia... 02:52 so we're so thankful each one of you 02:55 have come to our Program today 02:57 and let's get right into the story, Eric... 02:59 when did this begin when the tragic title: 03:02 Losing my Father to Schizophrenia... 03:05 he's still alive but you lost him 03:07 in terms of his presence in your life 03:09 emotionally... mentally... when did this begin? 03:12 Yeah, I was... I was in Second Grade 03:15 I remember waking up one morning 03:18 and walking to the living room and my youngest brother, 03:21 he was, I think, two at the time 03:23 and he was ripping up a note 03:24 and so, when I... when I walked up to him, 03:27 I saw there was writing on the note... 03:29 he pieced it together... and it was a note from my father 03:31 and he basically said in that note, 03:34 "I started to hear voices like my mother... 03:37 and I think I might have what she has... schizophrenia. " 03:40 Jennifer: So his mother had... Eric: Yes. 03:42 Christina: How old was he? 03:43 Eric: He was in his late 20s... I want to say, he was 28... 03:47 28... 29... something like that 03:50 and so, so yeah he... 03:54 so that happened... I went to my mom 03:56 and told her about it and she was shocked 04:00 and I didn't know what to think, you know, 04:04 I was eight years old... but... 04:06 Jennifer: What did he actually say on the note? 04:07 Eric: He said something along the lines of... 04:09 "I have what my mother has, I think, 04:12 I'm starting to hear voices, 04:14 I checked myself into the hospital... " 04:15 Jennifer: Okay. 04:16 Eric: So that's kind of the gist of what he said 04:19 and then from there, he came back 04:21 he tried to battle with it himself for a little while 04:27 he didn't really fully... 04:29 he wasn't really fully convinced that he had it, 04:32 maybe he was in denial 04:33 but definitely wasn't consistent on medication at that time, 04:36 and that's kind of when everything started. 04:40 So, he's in his late 20s... I think, you said, 04:43 which is kind of what we call late onset 04:46 because typically males onset in early 20s 04:48 and the women onset in late 20s... 04:50 but... so he's late onset... 04:52 he's starting to have a totally different personality, really, 04:56 and you started having 04:57 a totally different day-to-day experience with him 04:59 than you ever had before. Eric: Right. 05:00 Jennifer: So what are some of the changes? 05:01 Yes, so, we started... 05:04 one big change is, he became physically abusive 05:07 when we would... he was in denial about his sickness 05:12 and so what he would do is, he would hear something 05:17 or maybe see something... 05:18 and he would ask me and my brothers 05:20 if we heard or said the same thing 05:22 but his doctor would tell... would tell us, 05:24 "Hey, don't admit to hearing or seeing the things 05:27 he's hearing or seeing because it will make him worse" 05:29 so out of love for him... 05:31 even though he got physically abusive if we denied it, 05:35 we stuck through to... you know... to that. 05:38 Jennifer: So, let me ask you, Dr. Jean Wright, 05:42 would you... what would you tell a kid in that situation 05:44 would you tell the kid to agree with the hallucinations? 05:45 What would you do? 05:47 Jean: It's never safe or healthy to agree with the delusion 05:50 okay, because then you're feeding in to that delusion 05:53 so the doctor that gave him that advice was on point... 05:56 the problem is, you're eight... 05:57 Eric: Right. 05:58 Jean: Okay and your brothers are younger than you... 06:00 you're the oldest... the eldest of the children 06:01 and so, it's a difficult thing for children to carry out 06:04 but on the surface, that was the right advice 06:06 for a doctor to say. 06:08 Jennifer: What would you do... would you say, 06:09 just remain silent or... 06:11 Jean: I think what Eric did, I think, 06:13 and you shared with us offline 06:15 that he protected his younger brothers 06:17 by having them go out of the room 06:19 and then tried to protect himself 06:21 as best as you could at eight... Eric: Right. 06:22 Jean: And that's really what a child can do 06:24 but if an adult... your parent-figure 06:26 is asking you directly, 06:28 "Did you see or hear A, B, C or D?" 06:29 You're really at a disadvantage 06:31 and so, an older person could have a different answer. 06:35 Jennifer: My heart is just breaking for you in that moment, 06:37 a little eight-year-old boy 06:39 and you're being forced by your dad... almost to lie... 06:42 and the other authority figures are saying, 06:44 "Don't lie... " and you're just... 06:45 you know, you're going to get hit... 06:46 Jean: All of that lying is 06:48 if he admits to seeing or hearing the same thing... 06:50 then a follow-up question comes and you can't continue to... 06:53 Jennifer: Exactly and you just have to keep... 06:55 you could get swept away. 06:56 Christina: What about the physical abuse? 06:58 Jean: Well, physical abuse is addressed by what Eric did, 07:00 I mean, I'm amazed at your courage at eight years old 07:02 to first think of your brothers 07:03 and your folks younger than you 07:05 and then to, unfortunately, 07:06 have to take the brunt of it yourself 07:08 so, God bless you for that 07:10 and we're so glad that you survived 07:11 but that is the thing... 07:13 the physical abuse is something that is not typical 07:15 of everyone that has schizophrenia... so... 07:17 Jennifer: Yeah, we don't want to give the impression 07:18 that they're all just violent... you know... 07:20 Eric: He was physically abused as a child as well 07:23 so, I guess, maybe his defense was down when he got sick 07:27 and he just... it just triggered everything. 07:28 Christina: Could you describe what Jean was explaining 07:31 that had happened to you 07:32 and what did you have to do to protect yourself specifically? 07:35 Eric: So when that would happen, 07:38 I'd have my brothers go into a room, 07:41 they'd lock the door... 07:42 at least most of the time, I would try to do that. 07:45 My second youngest brother, he's autistic 07:49 so... and he also had ADHD... 07:51 so it was hard for my dad to have patience with him as well 07:54 so there were some issues in me trying to defend him 07:57 because it was a little harder 07:58 but when it came to me defending myself, 08:01 I mean, he would start to... 08:03 we could tell when he's acting a little strange, 08:05 when he's peeking out the window 08:07 or when he just kind of stared off into space 08:09 then, I would know, okay, it's about to come... 08:11 so I told my brothers to go hide 08:13 and I'd just hang out there and do my thing 08:16 and then eventually he would ask 08:19 and that's when... 08:21 Jennifer: And you knew what was about to happen. 08:22 Eric: Right. Jennifer: Ahhh... 08:24 Eric: Yup. 08:25 Christina: Was your mom aware? 08:27 David: I was just going to ask, 08:28 where were the other adults in your life... at this time? 08:30 Eric: Yeah, so my mom... 08:32 my mom worked as a nurse... 08:33 so she worked a lot of shifts and she worked overnight 08:38 so, it was... she wasn't awake or there a lot of the time 08:42 and so, we would tell her... 08:45 for a while... she denied it... 08:49 but yes, it was just... us and him. 08:53 Jennifer: We love you Eric, 08:56 thank you for having the courage to talk about this, 08:59 I know it's hard... 09:00 but it's helping people out there 09:02 that are struggling through the same things. 09:03 David: Absolutely, absolutely. 09:05 Jennifer: So, where did it go from there? 09:08 Eric: So, I... we dealt with that for a while 09:12 till I was about 14... 15... and that's when I was... 09:18 I actually had started working out 09:20 and part of that reason was to be able to defend myself... 09:23 and so, it was about... at 14... 09:26 and I actually learned how to box 09:29 as a 14-year-old, I'd go into my friend's basement 09:32 and we would... we would learn... 09:34 I didn't... I wasn't too open with a lot of my friends 09:36 about what was going on, 09:37 but... but yeah... when I learned how to defend myself, 09:43 and actually around the same time, 09:45 my dad had fallen down the stairs 09:47 he had a broke... tore a ligament... 09:50 and so, he was... he was injured as well 09:52 and... and so, it was... 09:55 it was little easier to defend myself at that time, 09:57 he started to get less... less aggressive... 10:00 but when we moved... we ended up moving to Florida, 10:04 we were at Chicago at that time, 10:05 and we moved to Florida, 10:07 and when we first moved to Florida, 10:08 it seemed like for a temporary amount of time, 10:11 there were no symptoms... 10:13 because he was convinced 10:14 it was the "neighbors" at that time... 10:16 that were doing all this... 10:18 Jennifer: In Chicago? Eric: In Chicago. 10:19 Jennifer: And then you moved to Florida, 10:21 and the neighbors were gone. 10:22 Eric: The neighbors were gone... but then... temporarily... 10:24 until a couple of months later, 10:26 the neighbors again... 10:28 and then it started all over again. 10:30 Jennifer: Did you ever have a break, 10:31 like, when he was on his medication... 10:33 the symptoms were controlled, were there ever any...? 10:36 Eric: Even... and unfortunately, 10:38 maybe it was just my case, 10:39 but the medicine never really seemed to make a difference 10:43 in my perspective... there was always... and who knows 10:48 maybe it would have been a lot worse 10:50 if there wasn't... 10:51 and I don't know that but... 10:53 Jennifer: Or maybe it wasn't the right med... 10:55 because this can be controlled. 10:56 David: Do you know how often they changed the medication 10:58 or was it always the same? 10:59 Eric: Yeah, they changed the medication often. 11:00 My mom would always request, like, 11:03 "Hey, you got to change this medication 11:04 this is not working... " 11:05 Jean: Did you ever change the diet 11:08 or... bring in any holistic remedies or anything like that, 11:13 try anything like that? 11:14 Eric: So, the one thing that did seem to work in my case 11:18 was what we had mentioned, we actually... 11:21 I did a lot of research and in my own research, 11:25 I noticed that gluten might affect symptoms 11:29 and some... I think it was a small percentage... 11:31 and I'm sensitive to gluten so I'm like, 11:35 "Okay, maybe... " and I had to cut out gluten, 11:36 I noticed a change in me... and so I'm like, 11:38 "Okay, maybe I got this from my dad, 11:40 well, let's try cutting out gluten 11:41 and let me put him on a plant-based diet. " 11:43 He had his worst episode at that time, 11:46 I remember... they had to drag him off... 11:48 I mean, he was... he thought my mom was a demon... 11:51 he called me Jesus, 11:54 he... he... I mean, he... and he thought 11:57 everyone was just demons surrounding him and... 11:59 Jennifer: He had the worst episode 12:01 when he was off the gluten or before? 12:03 Eric: No... this was before... he had this episode 12:06 and he went to the hospital, they changed his medication 12:10 and when he came out of the hospital, 12:12 he had some clarity of mind for a second 12:14 and in that time, he told me, 12:18 he's like, "I want to lose weight... " 12:20 I'm like, "Okay, I can help you with that" 12:22 and he was actually willing, 12:25 I've always talked to him about eating healthier, 12:26 when I became Adventist, 12:29 I started to eat healthier myself. 12:30 Jennifer: You were now an Adventist at this point 12:31 so you had learned about the health message... 12:33 Eric: Exactly... Jennifer: Okay. Eric: Exactly. 12:34 Jennifer: How old were you when you became an Adventist? 12:35 Eric: I was 22... 12:37 Jennifer: Okay, and you're still at home? 12:38 Eric: Ah ha... yeah. Jennifer: Okay. 12:40 Eric: Well no, I'm sorry, at that time... 12:41 at that time, I was at home for a year 12:43 but when this episode happened, I was... I was moved out... 12:46 Jennifer: Okay. 12:48 Eric: Yeah, so, he had the episode... he came out, 12:49 he said, "Yes, I want to lose weight... " 12:51 I'm like, "Okay, let's change your diet, 12:53 I can help you, I can teach you how to cook, 12:54 we can go and take walks, you know, 12:56 sleeping is important... " so we kind of did all that 12:59 and he continued on his medication, 13:03 but after about... within a week, 13:06 the symptoms were no longer there, 13:08 he didn't hear anything, he didn't see anything, 13:11 he wasn't paranoid... 13:12 he was focused on just eating right, 13:15 I mean, my mom even told me, you know, 13:18 we went out to the movies and he actually went out 13:21 no issues... we watched the movie... 13:23 we had a good conversation 13:24 and she felt, for a moment, that she had her husband back. 13:27 This happened for about three months, 13:30 two months was... me going there every two days 13:33 and I cooked four meals breakfast and dinner 13:36 and then breakfast and dinner 13:37 and then I come back the third day... 13:39 do the same thing... 13:41 David: And he was getting his exercise. 13:42 Eric: He was getting his exercise, 13:43 we'd go for walks every other... every other day... 13:45 Christina: Now you had described that before... 13:47 that he wasn't able to watch movies... 13:49 could you describe a little bit about what... 13:51 when he watched movies before, what would happen? 13:53 Eric: Oh yeah, when he watches TV... movies... 13:54 even when my brothers are playing 13:56 a video game in the living room... 13:59 anything that has any kind of sound... 14:01 like... sound like someone talking... 14:03 Jean: External stimulus. 14:04 Eric: Yeah, he starts to hear other things... 14:06 and so, but... but... 14:09 Christina: So he wasn't hearing those things... 14:11 Eric: He wasn't hearing those things, 14:12 it was just a normal... like, it was just regular... 14:14 and so, for two months I did the cooking 14:17 and preparing... food prep... 14:19 and then the next month, 14:20 I figured, he'd know how to do it himself 14:22 and he did... he was cooking himself... 14:24 I bought them a crockpot... a juicer... 14:26 like, all these different things 14:28 and so... but after that third month, 14:30 he started to relapse... he ate meat again 14:34 and that... that escalated more and more 14:36 into him eating more and more unhealthier food 14:39 and the symptoms came back. 14:40 David: So it wasn't the meat alone... 14:43 it was eating... 14:44 Eric: It was just eating unhealthy lifestyle... 14:47 eating too frequently but... 14:50 Jennifer: And he was quite overweight, you said. 14:52 Eric: He was overweight, in that period of time... 14:54 in that three-month period, he lost... if I'm not mistaken, 14:57 between 60 and 70 pounds... 14:59 he no longer had to take his Type-2 Diabetes medication 15:03 he had Diabetes at that time, 15:05 and his high blood pressure... 15:06 his blood pressure was normalized and... 15:08 it just... it was a huge change 15:10 because not only did the symptoms 15:12 go away from schizophrenia 15:13 but, I mean all those other things as well. 15:15 Jennifer: And so, this is the thing that we wrestle with 15:17 we'd like natural methods, I mean, 15:19 we like remedies and things that we can do at home 15:23 and we like to avoid medication if possible, 15:26 because it always has side effects, almost always... 15:29 and yet, with schizophrenia, 15:32 we find, it's a battle to keep people on the medication 15:35 and so, what you're saying is that, 15:38 the medication didn't seem to work very well 15:40 or if it did, it wasn't working as fully 15:43 as you would have liked it, 15:44 and the lifestyle measures brought in 15:46 really made a difference 15:48 so, this is how we roll 15:50 as Mental Health Providers that believe in health 15:52 is that... we think medication is sometimes necessary 15:55 but we like to supplement it 15:56 with as many lifestyle measures as possible. 15:58 David: Because if you listen... well, as I was listening... 16:01 this is what I heard that... yes, he did the exercise... 16:03 yes, he engaged in the right diet... rest... 16:06 but he continued to take his medication. 16:09 Eric: Hmmm... hmmm... yeah... throughout that time 16:10 he continued to take his medication. 16:11 David: So that was part of the regiment here... 16:13 and that's what helped... 16:14 Eric: Yeah, and I know that 16:15 there are schools of thought out there... that say, 16:19 "Oh, stop the medication and do this... " but... 16:22 Jennifer: They never lived with someone with schizophrenia. 16:23 Eric: Yeah, that's one thing and the other thing is... 16:27 and I don't know... one thing is... 16:29 when you're eating a healthy, high nutrient diet, 16:33 it helps to neutralize the medication anyway in itself... 16:38 it kind of balances it out... 16:40 and that's my understanding based on what I've read, 16:42 and I... that might not be... 16:43 but I know particular psychotic medication... 16:46 anti-psychotic medication seems to balance each other out 16:50 but that's my... 16:51 Jean: That's absolutely true, 16:53 I think, the good thing about eating a high nutrient diet 16:56 is that it really mitigates many other things 16:59 that you've mentioned 17:00 and so it helped with the schizophrenia 17:02 but as Jennifer has mentioned as well, 17:03 it helps overall body chemistry 17:05 and overall mental or mind chemistry... 17:07 the cognitive functioning... the ability to think... 17:10 the frontal lobe area is replenished if you will... 17:12 and so, I think that that is something 17:14 that is really important 17:15 and I know, you've talked about it many times. 17:16 For me, I mean, I go down... I get to... 17:18 I have a history of depression 17:20 and I go down... very seldom these days 17:22 but when I go down... I go down hard 17:24 and I feel like I'm losing my mind 17:26 but I know... because of years of experience 17:29 that in about three days, 17:31 my brain chemistry will kick in and correct itself, 17:34 but during that three-day period, 17:35 I'm exercising... I'm reaching out for help... 17:37 I'm connecting with people, I'm reading uplifting literature 17:40 I'm eating extra healthy, 17:42 you know, all the things that are going to minister 17:45 to that recovery process 17:46 but typically what people do when they go down 17:48 or they start suffering or being in distress 17:51 is they start junk-food eating or watching... binge watching... 17:53 crummy media or isolating from people. 17:58 What have you done to kind of make sure that... 18:01 I'm sure there is some kind of element of fear there 18:03 that it can potentially happen to you, 18:05 have you done anything to... 18:07 to make sure that doesn't happen 18:08 or have you researched that? 18:10 Eric: Yeah, so, I actually researched it when I was 14... 18:13 I just started high school and I realized, 18:16 like, "Hey, this could happen to me 18:18 and not only to me but to my brother... " 18:21 so, I need to know how to... because my... 18:23 my... he has it... my aunt has it... 18:26 another uncle has it... 18:28 you know, so it's... and his mother had it... 18:32 so it's there and so... as... 14-year-old... 18:35 I wasn't a Christian at that time either, 18:37 I'm just like, "Okay, what can I do?" 18:39 And so, I researched and found that the three major triggers... 18:43 and again, you guys can correct me if I'm wrong, 18:46 but the three major triggers are: 18:47 one drug abuse... any mind-altering drug... 18:50 one is isolation... and another one is a... 18:53 is a... a highly stressful event 18:56 and when all three of those are combined, 18:58 the percentage is... is just... 19:00 is very high... if it runs in your family. 19:02 If it's just one... it's a little low... 19:04 two... it's higher 19:06 but with all three... it's... 19:07 I mean, you're almost there. 19:08 Jennifer: And is it... aren't... 19:10 you know, street-drug use 19:11 does not that often trigger the first psychotic episode, 19:14 like that's the onset... 19:15 as when someone took LSD or... yeah... 19:18 Jean: Yeah, a specific type of illicit drug is really important 19:21 you mentioned LSD... any type of hallucinogen period 19:24 obviously would be... 19:25 Jennifer: And Pot... right... I mean, isn't there some... 19:27 Jean: Yeah, it could be a hallucinogen... 19:28 Jennifer: It's kind of a hallucinogen... yeah... 19:30 Jean: I think the stress aspect is one 19:31 that if you would explore a little more with us 19:34 because, we live in a world of stress... 19:36 and I often tell people that 19:38 there are three main areas of stress... 19:39 people, places and things... 19:41 so, where do we go... right? 19:42 and so, having that predisposition 19:45 from a genetic standpoint is one thing 19:46 but I think you hit on some things... 19:48 if you could share with our audience 19:50 how you helped your dad at the time 19:51 and yourself... and your brothers... 19:53 mitigate some of the stress that you're dealing with. 19:55 Eric: So, I'm the only Christian in my family... 19:59 and so... but I believe strongly that 20:02 when I became a Christian, 20:04 those three factors were no longer relevant... 20:06 they were no longer a risk if you will... 20:09 Jennifer: But, wait a minute... 20:10 don't Christians experience stress? 20:12 Eric: Yes, yeah, yeah, I'm glad you pointed that out. 20:14 Jennifer: But you're handling it a different way. 20:17 Eric: And so, here's... here's where the stress comes in. 20:19 Jennifer: You're stressing me out right now... 20:20 Eric: Here's where the stress comes in 20:22 is... is... believing in God and believing that... 20:26 and putting my faith in Him... 20:28 in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verses 3 and 4... 20:36 God is described as a God of all comfort 20:38 and He can comfort us from all our tribulations 20:42 and so, I reach out for that comfort when I'm stressed 20:47 and I'm able to... 20:48 to be comforted knowing that, "Hey, Romans 8:28 says, 20:52 'For all things that happen 20:54 are for the good of those who love God. '" 20:55 Christina: And now look where you are. 20:57 Eric: Right... and so... it's... it's been... 21:00 it's been a journey but yeah, 21:02 as far as stress goes, that's... 21:05 and now, for my family, that's another thing. 21:07 I mean, my brother, for example, 21:08 my youngest brother, I'm worried about him the most 21:11 and the reason why I'm worried is 21:14 because he's in isolation... 21:16 he does things that alter the mind... 21:19 he's always stressed out... being around my dad 21:24 and being... you know... and so... 21:25 there was a time where he was 21 years old... 21:27 he was in the house... and he wasn't doing anything, 21:31 I mean, all he would do was play video games 21:32 and that... that would be it, 21:34 and so, I remember, 21:35 I remember one day telling him, "Look... " 21:38 because he was depressed and I'm like, 21:41 "Look, come to my house for a week... 21:43 stay with me for a week... we'll apply for three jobs a day 21:47 and if we do not find a job in that time, 21:49 then you can keep doing whatever you're doing. " 21:51 The first job we applied for... the first day... he got... 21:53 he worked at a Golden Corral as a dishwasher... 21:56 and... and now I got him a job... 21:58 I worked at Wholefoods for a while, 22:00 I got him a job at Wholefoods, he got a 3-dollar-50-cent raise 22:03 and so now... he's... he's... he's working... 22:06 he's feeling confident... he's building his self-confidence 22:08 and he's around people now... so it's helping 22:12 but I can only do so much... it really depends on them. 22:14 Jennifer: You are an awesome big brother... 22:16 don't you guys think that? You're an awesome son. 22:18 Jean: Yes, absolutely. 22:19 David: Praise the Lord. 22:21 Eric: I can be better. David: I think we all can. 22:23 Jennifer: So tell us... we don't have a lot of time 22:25 but you have really made major lemonade 22:27 out of a lemon here... 22:28 and started a ministry of your own 22:30 to, you know, a population... 22:32 I mean, I just served with a homeless ministry 22:34 and a lot of that population is people with mental illness 22:38 so, you've really ministered to people out of your pains... 22:42 tell us just briefly about SALT Ministries. 22:44 Eric: Yeah, so, SALT Outreach... 22:47 it's an acronym for Service and Love Together 22:49 and just briefly... the reason why we started was 22:52 because we saw lack of... 22:53 in Orlando, there are so many Adventist Churches 22:56 and we saw a lack of unity and purpose... 22:58 and purpose as far as... 23:01 each church kind of doing their own thing... 23:02 the other thing was... 23:04 we saw a lack of outreach projects going on 23:06 and if we did see outreach... 23:07 like, practical outreach projects going on, 23:09 we didn't see relationships being built, 23:11 it wasn't consistent 23:12 so, at SALT, we wanted to be able to... 23:14 we created a network of Outreach Projects 23:17 that are led by young adults, 23:18 they have a network of growth groups, led by young adults, 23:20 and this... the umbrella of SALT, 23:23 we are able to provide volunteer management resources, 23:25 fundraising resources... 23:27 different things to support our Outreach Projects 23:29 so that the Leaders... 23:31 the Leaders themselves... the young adults... 23:33 they don't have to worry about volunteer management, 23:35 we can help with... with that... 23:36 so that's kind of... 23:38 and one of our projects as you mentioned 23:39 is with the homeless population, 23:41 we work with a Section-8 Complex with the kids and their families 23:43 and also at the hospital. 23:45 Jennifer: It was just last Sabbath I was with you... 23:47 Jennifer: It was incredible... 23:48 like a 100 or so homeless people... 23:51 we gave them breakfast and then we gave them a lunch... 23:53 and they were so happy and so pleased 23:56 and there were so many volunteers there 23:58 and there was such a great spirit... you know... 24:00 Eric: Right. 24:01 David: It is amazing because Eric... earlier on... 24:04 you said that you wanted to do whatever you could do 24:07 to avoid from getting into the same situation as your father, 24:11 and what's powerful is that in Ellen White's writings... 24:14 in Ministry of Healing... 24:16 in the chapter of Mind Cure... 24:17 she said that there are some things that we should do, 24:19 but one thing that she talks about is service... 24:21 she said... we should look to serving others 24:24 and God has worked through your experience 24:26 that in your pain... you made a choice... 24:28 and you said, "I'm going to serve others... " 24:30 you served your father... 24:31 you served your brother... you served your mother... 24:33 now you're serving the community and the world... 24:35 and through that the Holy Spirit is working through you 24:37 and He's keeping your mind in Christ... 24:40 and that's beautiful... 24:42 Jean: Praise God. 24:43 Eric: Yeah... it's definitely Him... 24:44 because if I hadn't entered that relationship with Him, 24:47 I don't know where I'd be right now... 24:49 to be honest... 24:51 I might have had it... I don't know... 24:52 Jennifer: We don't know either. 24:53 David: So all things work together for the good 24:55 and as you're serving God... as you're serving Christ... 24:58 He's keeping your mind in Him... 25:01 Eric: I believe that. 25:02 Jennifer: What would you say to someone 25:04 who's got a first-order relative with schizophrenia? 25:08 Eric: Ummm... David: Hmmm... hmmm... 25:11 Eric: I would say, "Keep trying... 25:15 keep trying to... keep praying... 25:19 keep... keep that relationship... 25:21 it's hard... you have to have so much patience. 25:23 My mom has dealt with my dad... 25:25 I mean, they... they never divorced, 25:26 my mom stuck there throughout the whole time 25:28 and so... " 25:30 Jennifer: He's still alive. 25:31 Eric: Yeah, he's still alive... my mom is still... 25:33 is... is still with him... living with him... 25:36 and it's stressful for her 25:37 and she has to deal with his episodes all the time... 25:42 and so... but I would say, "Don't give up... " 25:46 if we gave up, my dad would be homeless right now 25:48 but... but to have him around and to still... 25:52 it still gives us hope that... that... maybe... 25:55 maybe one day... he'll get better 25:59 but at the end of the day... if he doesn't... 26:01 in heaven... he'll pass the red mark... 26:04 David: Amen. Eric: He'll have the red mark... 26:06 he'll be the dad that I knew before Second Grade and before 26:09 and I look forward to that day... 26:10 that's the thing I look forward to. 26:12 David: Praise the Lord. 26:14 Christina: And you have said that you also... 26:15 for those who could potentially also develop schizophrenia 26:19 that you had done a few things, 26:20 I know you already mentioned some of them 26:21 but one of the things you had mentioned 26:23 that we were talking about off set 26:24 was the caffeine and the effects on the brain... 26:26 I don't know if you already talked about that 26:28 but what you had said really impressed me... 26:30 would you mind sharing a little bit about that? 26:32 Eric: Yeah, just very quickly, 26:33 yeah, caffeine is definitely a mind-altering drug as well... 26:38 I consider that a drug... 26:40 it cuts off blood flow to the brain... 26:42 constricts the blood vessels... so... 26:45 definitely that is... 26:48 Jennifer: Which is why it works for headaches... 26:51 Eric: Right... yeah. 26:52 Jennifer: Because the headaches are too much blood in the brain. 26:54 Eric: Ah ha... exactly... so... anyway, that right there 26:57 is... is something that I cut out right away... 27:00 I had to go through withdrawal from that 27:02 but I was drinking like, five cups a day... 27:04 Jennifer: And it affects dopamine levels... 27:06 schizophrenia is dopamine related so... 27:08 it feels real good I think a wise choice... 27:10 I think particularly for people with mental illness 27:11 they need to be very... you know... 27:13 people without that issue 27:15 may be able to take a little bit of caffeine once in a while 27:17 but it quickly becomes an addiction... 27:19 I wish everybody would avoid it 27:21 but particularly people with mental illness. 27:22 Eric: Right. 27:24 Well, this has been fascinating and very, very helpful, Eric 27:28 thank you so much... 27:29 and thank you... each one of the Panel members. 27:32 He's the God of all comfort and He comforts us 27:34 so that we can comfort others with the same comfort 27:37 wherewith we were comforted of God 27:39 and we've heard a story today from a young man 27:41 who took a tragic situation 27:43 with his father... with schizophrenia... 27:45 and he is serving out of that pain and difficulty... 27:49 serving others... 27:51 many of the same population as his father 27:53 and so we're so grateful to see an example of love in action 27:57 and what God can do 27:58 with a life fully dedicated to Him. |
Revised 2017-10-04