Comments by Mary Ellen Copeland, PhD

Showing 14 of 14 comments.

  • Hi Michael, Thanks for your validation of the horror that happened to my family. In those days we were either shunned, or the subject was avoided. A hard, hard life for me, my siblings and my Dad, and of course most of all for my Mom. It is absolutely incredible that she made her way out from the “back wards”, horrible, horrible places.
    You will hear more from me. it is nice to be connected. There are some very wonderful things about technology. Again, thank you for your validation. People don’t realize the hurt families like mine experienced. It goes on for generations. Mary Ellen

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  • Thanks so much Dan. It is so good to hear from you. I appreciate so much your affirmation of my work. All of us, working together, and listening, listening, listening, can create the change that leads people to simple, safe alternatives and to recovery, and away from “treatments” that take away people’s lives.

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  • Thanks William. She was a strong and remarkable woman. I grieve for all the people like her who never got out, and who had their will totally taken away by the awful things that happened to them. Our job is now to let people know there is another way, and to guide them so they choose it at the beginning, when they first began to experience distress, so they don’t resort to “treatments” that take away their hope and their life.

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  • Hi Carol, I like to think of my mother as the person who discovered the value of peer support. It was a concept that was unheard of at that time. And not accepted. Even when I was hospitalized myself years later, I was warned not to interact with the other patents as they might have a bad effect on me. Imagine. We, as patients, gave each other the strength to get ourselves discharged and take over responsibility for our own recovery. One of the other patients and I “sneaked” off the grounds so we could sit by the river. We figured out how to get away with it by watching the schedules when people would check on us. We are both still very good friends. And we have both done very well. She is now a college professor. Mary Ellen

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  • No thanks necessary. Hearing stories like yours is what keeps me going. I think we all need to keep sharing and sharing and sharing until everyone understands that there are simple, safe resources that we all have that can lead us out of the dark places. I am glad my work has been so valuable to you. Even though I am now well past the age when people retire, I can’ stop doing what I do.

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  • I am so, so glad you will be sharing my mother’s story with your patients. Listening is incredibly important, and so simple, and totally non-invasive. It gives us the space to heal ourselves. For me, the talking seems to help me organize my thoughts and figure out what I have to do to help myself through rough times. It is especially valuable when it is uninterrupted. I can understand your frustration with the inability to prescribe supplements. Following my mother’s experience, I have relied on them as one of the many facets of my own recovery. I have an excellent MD who advises me on what I should be taking and does the supportive testing. But he can’t prescribe the supplements either. I hope that changes someday. Mary Ellen

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  • I am absolutely delighted that you will be sharing this with others in your Network. I hope it helps lots and lots and lots of people to see that there is a different way out of the hardest of times–and that each of us has, within ourselves, the strength to make the journey back. Mary Ellen

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