Schizophrenia As I Live It (audio)
I discuss navigating the labyrinth of paranoid schizophrenia as a personal and Informative journey.
I'm Diana Dirkby, and I'm living with paranoid schizophrenia. In this podcast, I'll open up about my experiences with this complex brain disorder while also providing a comprehensive overview of schizophrenia itself. Despite sharing common symptoms, each individual's journey with schizophrenia is unique. We all seek tools and strategies to manage our symptoms within the context of our unique lives.
As mental health consumers, we are responsible for sharing our experiences openly and honestly. By doing so, we can help combat the stigma associated with schizophrenia. We can empower listeners to understand what psychosis truly feels like, dispelling the fear and misconceptions that often surround it. While a schizophrenic episode can be an intense and overwhelming experience, it's important to remember that the person experiencing it is usually not a threat to others.
Beyond my experiences with schizophrenia, I'll also share aspects of my life that transcend my mental health condition. This serves as a reminder that mental health consumers are multifaceted individuals, not defined solely by their diagnoses.
My fiction novel, "The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia," is based on a deeply personal exploration of my own experiences and those of my mother. It's available as a Kindle and paperback book (visit https://www.amazon.com/author/diana_dirkby or search for "Diana Dirkby" on Amazon). An audiobook version will be released soon. For more information, please visit my website: https://overliveschizophrenia.com/.
Part 1 of this podcast aired during the prepublication phase of my novel. Now the book has appeared, Part 2 assumes you have access to it. You can still follow along without having read it. However, reading the book will help you understand and appreciate my podcast.
Together, we can break down barriers and promote open conversations about mental health. Thank you for joining me on this journey.
#schizophrenia #psychosis #schizoaffective #caregiver #schizophreniaawareness #schizophreniarecovery #schizophreniasupport #schizophreniatreatment #schizophreniahelp #schizophreniamanagement #brainhealthadvocate #brainhealthsupport #brainhealthisimportant #brainhealthawareness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthadvocate #mentalhealthsupport #mentalhealthrecovery #mentalhealthsupport #mentalillnesstreatment #mentalhealthmanagement #family #relationships #motherdaughter #daughtermother #fiction #fightthestigmaofmentalillness #fightthestigma
Schizophrenia As I Live It (audio)
April and Abuse Prevention
Correction: In the podcast, I talk of Dina Martinelli as the author of "Everyone Was Silent." Diane Tarantini wrote this book. My apologies!
Mental illness rarely exists in isolation. Living with paranoid schizophrenia presents daily challenges, but when childhood trauma enters the equation, the struggle intensifies in ways many don't understand. My personal journey with schizophrenia is deeply intertwined with my experiences as a survivor of sibling and parental abuse – when one flares, the other follows, creating a complex web of symptoms that can be overwhelming.
April serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of prevention, designated as both Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Throughout this episode, I share how these initiatives connect directly to my mental health experience and why I'm passionate about raising awareness. From wearing teal on April 1st to support survivors of sexual violence to donning blue on April 4th for child abuse prevention, these simple acts create visibility for causes that remain stigmatized despite their prevalence.
I'm excited to highlight incredible resources that have helped me and can help others, including Feather Berkower's Parenting Safe Children workshops happening April 5th and 12th. These sessions provide practical tools for parents and caregivers to protect children from abuse. I also recommend several books and websites including stopitnow.org and safesiblings.org that offer valuable information. My own book "Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies" explores sibling abuse through fiction, providing another avenue for understanding these difficult experiences. Whether you're a survivor seeking validation, a parent wanting to protect your children, or simply someone who cares about ending abuse cycles, I hope you'll find valuable insights and resources in this deeply personal episode. Join me in breaking the silence around childhood trauma and its lasting effects on mental health.
#WearTealDay #SAAM2025 #VALOR #NotMyShame #ActToEndIt #StressAwarenessMonth #UnitedWeChange #TogetherWeAct #ChildAbusePreventionMonth #WearBlueDay #EveryChildNeedsAHero #bodysafetyconversation #childsexabuseprevention #parentingsafechildren #bodysafetytalks #parentworkshop #EndChildSexualAbuse #adultresponsibility #offlimits #grooming #CourageousConversation #OffLimits
Pastime With Good Company by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company
Pastime With Good Company, composed by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company
Hello, my name is Diana Dirkby and I live with paranoid schizophrenia. You are listening to my podcast "Schizophrenia As I Live It. The title of today's episode is April and Abuse Prevention. You may wonder why this falls under the subject of this podcast. It's because I was also a victim of sibling abuse and parental abuse and it does have an effect on how I experience a relapse of my schizophrenia. If I have a relapse of my schizophrenia, the PTSD from my childhood experiences kicks in and makes matters much worse. If you are following this podcast, you will know that I have published a book "Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies," about three types of sibling abuse: emotional, physical and sexual. You can find it on Amazon.
Diana Dirkby:April is a designated month for several types of abuse prevention. It is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM. Both of these April themes include child sexual abuse, also known as CSA, and many concentrate on April as Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Month. Sexual Assault Awareness Month has a Day of Action and Teal Day on the first Tuesday of April, so that's falling on April 1st in 2025, which is today. On this day, you can show your support for survivors of sexual harassment and abuse by wearing teal the color of sexual violence prevention. I myself am wearing teal today. Another way to show support is to use, where relevant, the hashtag #SAAM 2025 on social media. Other common hashtags are #U nitedWeChange #TogetherW e Act. This year, the organizers of Sexual Assault Awareness Month specifically ask for the usage of #VALOR as a hashtag to recognize the work of ValorUS, which advocates for sexual abuse prevention. Advocates for child abuse prevention hold a Go Blue Day encouraging people to support child abuse prevention by wearing blue on the first Friday of April, so April 4th 2025. I will be wearing blue on that day. Common hashtags on social media used for Child Abuse Prevention include #Child Abuse Prevention Month #Wear Blue Day and #Every Child NeedsA Hero.
Diana Dirkby:Some advocates for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Month make billboards to encourage victims to break their silence. For example, the advocacy group End1In4. org, whose website is End1In4. org, where one and four are the numbers, not the words, has a "See the Signs campaign in April, placing large roadside billboards to get people thinking about child sexual abuse and supporting survivors. Some of the billboards, for example, show a child looking very sad and the title is your Child Sad or Sexually Abused. Among the relevant hashtags for social media posts are Act to End it and Not my Shame.
Diana Dirkby:Although I have written a book that closely reflects my real-life experiences of sibling abuse and included incidents of parental abuse in my previous novel, "The Overlife, available on Amazon, I still have a long way to go in discovering other people's writings on child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse. I read many relevant references before writing "Three Kidnapped, three Siblings, three Furies, but much more is available, mainly in practical advice for parents and memoirs. As I discussed in my last Episode, I wrap my actual experiences and accurate facts about abuse in fiction, which has the potential to reach a wider audience and has been a fruitful genre in my case.
Diana Dirkby:A fierce advocate for child sexual abuse prevention who I have met recently via social media is Feather Berkower, who founded Parenting Safe Children. A good place to visit if you want to prevent your child from being a victim of child sexual abuse as a parent is Feather Burkauer's website ParentingSafeChildren. com. You can also check out her Instagram account, @parentings afec hildren.
Diana Dirkby:Feather Berkower runs a live Zoom workshop on April 5th, 2025 and April 12th, 2025, marking April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Here are the details of the workshop, which I strongly urge you to attend
Diana Dirkby:Parenting Safe Children Parent Workshop.
Diana Dirkby:Parents, caregivers, extended family and anyone who cares for and about children will receive a certificate of attendance and materials.
Diana Dirkby:Here are the details of the times of the workshop
Diana Dirkby:Part 1 on April 5th, 2025. It runs from 9am to 11.30am Mountain Standard Time, which is 11am to 1.30pm Eastern Standard Time. Part 2 on April 12th, 2025, from 9am to 11.30am Mountain Standard Time, which is 11am to 1.30pm Eastern Standard
Diana Dirkby:Time. c.
Diana Dirkby:. safesiblings. stopitnow.
Diana Dirkby:This Parenting Safe Children workshop is presented live by Feather #body via Zoom #Child individual person present in#parenting is #body to purchase a#parent. #end child sexual buy a#adult, go#off parentingsafechildrencom.#grooming Backslash#courageous. If you cannot attend the live workshop, you can register for a pre-recorded option on the same webpage a pre-recorded option on the same webpage For the live workshops. The cost is $65 plus $4.57 fee. Sales end on April 12, 2025. The ticket price includes a five-hour workshop plus workshop material handouts. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable to other workshop dates. I have my ticket and I am looking forward to the workshops.
Diana Dirkby:Another Berkower website that advocates for child sexual abuse prevention is stopitnoworg. I also recommend the Instagram account siblingabuseforeverended. Siblingabuseforeverended has a website safesiblingsorg. Common hashtags Feather Feather uses in her social media posts are body safety conversation. Child sex abuse prevention,
Diana Dirkby:parenting safe children Berkower body safety talks, "Off workshop end child sexual abuse, adult responsibility, off limits, grooming
Diana Dirkby:courageous conversation.
Diana Dirkby:3. Babs Walters. "Facing Burkower Jaguar"
Diana Dirkby:4. Risa Shaw. "Not kind enough to
Diana Dirkby:5. Alice Perle. "Resolve "L authors
Diana Dirkby:6. Liz Kimchen who "L written
Diana Dirkby:memoirs
Diana Dirkby:There's child sexual abuse and who here didn't know. Thank you, feather. Examples of her recommendations and books Berkower found while I was buying this literature are 1. Feather will and Sandy Verteler. Off Limits
Diana Dirkby:As Guide to Keeping Kids Safe from Sexual Abuse. 2.!
Diana Dirkby:By Jane Epstein I Feel Real Guilty. I feel real guilty. She runs a support website, siblingsexualtraumacom. Facing the Jaguar Not Child's Play. Resolve Six by Liz Kimchen, light in Bandaged Places.
Diana Dirkby:I am grateful to Feather for directing me to these other books and the women who wrote them. This list has helped me find other child abuse books, such as Everyone Was Silent by Dina Martinelli. It's encouraging and comforting to witness all these brave and practical efforts to protect children and comfort survivors, encouraging them to speak out. If you read my book Three Kidnapped, three Siblings, three Furies, you will learn that it fits into this context, even though it is a fiction novel, so there's a lot to think about there, and I really hope you will attend this workshop organized by Feather Burkauer. I think it will be a great learning experience and may help a lot of people. So, as always, let me end by thanking you for listening.