Tardive Dyskinesia (TD) is a condition of involuntary, repetitive movements of the jaw, tongue or other body movements. It frequently is a side effect of the long-term use of antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It is almost always permanent. I’ve been told Vitamin E might help a bit. Benzodiazepines have also been used with mixed results on a short-term basis.
Some examples of these types of involuntary movements include:
Grimacing
Tongue movements
Lip smacking
Lip puckering
Pursing of the lips
Excessive eye blinking
(Wikipedia)
I recently was diagnosed as having TD after the use of Zyprexa. My version is my lower jaw moves from side-to-side, unless I concentrate on not doing it. I quickly revert to this involuntary movement when I’m not aware of it. I recently saw a video of myself (with my family) and sure enough there I was, doing the ‘jaw thing.’ It was very obvious. It was also very embarrassing. (I have the ‘lithium jitters’— where my hands always shake, but TD is different.)
There are a couple of things I might mention:
1) I’ve discovered that there is a real social isolation with this TD stuff. To be doing this in public is “not acceptable.” I have had people come up to me wanting to know what’s my problem. Since I can’t control the movement I just say, “It’s my meds— they affect me this way.” In a way it’s like wearing a neon sign saying, “I’m a fruit cake.” Having a mental illness is stigma enough, but the TD just puts a new edge on it.
2) As a natural introvert the isolation has only deepened. (I avoid crowds and most social engagements.) I guess if the truth be told, I’m uncomfortable when others look at me strangely or whisper to each other. My standard ‘paranoia level’ has taken a new twist. I feel I’m compelled to explain. I guess I’m embarrassed when others are embarrassed.
3) I settle myself down in my faith to cope. I know I’m not alone in this– the Lord Jesus is always with me. He holds me tight through all these twists and turns. Since I isolate myself so much, I savor the connection I have with a few friends who have become inured to my condition. Social media helps out— Facebook is a big help, as well as my two blogs.
4) One of the things I try to remember are the issues of selfishness and pride. I keep reminding myself it’s not about me all the time. One of the significant areas mentally ill people deal with is self-absorbed thinking. It seems it comes with the illness.
5) I try to keep a sense of humor everyday. It breaks down the mental pain to tolerable levels. We can take ourselves too seriously sometimes. Be more patient with yourself. I know I have to.
I ask that you remember me in prayer from time-to-time. I’m in ‘uncharted waters’ (it seems) and I sometimes feel all alone with my mental illness and all its tangents. I want good to come out of this. (An instantaneous healing would be o.k. But, I’m not too finicky.) Sorry for so much.
If you can’t pray, don’t feel at all impinged upon.
“O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.”
Song of Solomon 2:14, KJV
“The dove is in the cleft of the rock”—that is, the open side of our Lord. There is comfort and security there. It is also in the secret places of the stairs. It loves to build its nest in the high towers to which men mount by winding stairs for hundreds of feet above the ground. What a glorious vision is there obtained of the surrounding scenery.
It is a picture of ascending life. To reach our highest altitudes we must find the secret places of the stairs. That is the only way to rise above the natural plane. Our lives should be ones of quiet mounting with occasional resting places; but we should be mounting higher, step by step. Not everyone finds this way of secret ascent. It is only for God’s chosen.
The world may think we are going down. We may not have as much public work to do as formerly.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
Matthew 5:3
It is a secret, hidden life. We may be hardly aware that we are growing, until one day a test comes and we find we are established.
Have you arrived at the place where Christ is keeping you from willful disobedience?
Does the consciousness of sin make you shudder?
Are you lifted above the world?”
~~A.B. Simpson
Albert Benjamin Simpson, (Dec. 15, 1843 – Oct. 29, 1919)
FOUNDER OF THE Christian and Missionary Alliance, Albert Benjamin Simpson was born in Canada of Scottish parents. He became a Presbyterian minister and pastored several churches in Ontario. Later, he accepted the call to serve as pastor of the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. It was there that his life and ministry were completely changed in that, during a revival meeting, he experienced the fullness of the Spirit.
He continued in the Presbyterian Church until 1881, when he founded an independent Gospel Tabernacle in New York. There he published the Alliance Weekly and wrote 70 books on Christian living. He organized two missionary societies which later merged to become the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”
1 Thessalonians 3:12
“Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.”
Andrew Murray
There is an awesome need for Christians who can be interrupted. They have learned that their personal plans and agendas should be set aside for the acute need of the moment. People like that are becoming receptive people–people who have learned to submit their wills to the Lordship of Christ.
There seems to be a lot of believers who have isolated themselves in order to avoid ‘complications’ of the Spirit. Over the years they have cultivated a life without entanglements from others (at least, greatly reduced). The basic root of this is not sin, but it quickly slides into an isolation that is not just threatening, but dangerous.
We are built for fellowship. We need it— like my goldfish needs its water.
Our brothers and sisters need us, and we most definitely need them. In the Apostle’s Creed we read, ‘I believe in the Communion of the Saints’. This takes a supernatural faith. This dynamic of the Body calls us to fellowship with other believers, which is our desperate need of the moment. Deep within, we crave human contact. We need to touch someone else.
Being interruptible establishes several things. I think these questions are a simple starting point.
First, I have become approachable and tractable?
Second, is Jesus really Lord over my life? (Or do I have my ‘own thing’ going?)
Third, do I really believe ‘something’ is going to happen when I begin to fellowship?
Fourth, is it really worth it?
Fifth, what is more important: People or my schedule?
Years ago I learned that every servant who really excelled had become a man or woman that could be interrupted. And they respond in grace and kindness to every issue that came. You’ll never hear them get frustrated or even irritable over being disturbed. They simply have surrounded themselves in the will of God, and are His servants.
What is more important: a schedule or people?
There are ‘skills’ we need to learn for Christian community. We have touched on some as we have matured. We have practiced with this holy concept, and caught glimpses, many which translate into our present spiritual lives.
“Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God’s people.”
Charles Spurgeon
God’s great quest is to make those who have been redeemed into a cohesive body. He takes a special delight in the harmony of His Church. He is very passionate about this. His proclivity to unity must be noted. We must adjust and do all that is necessary to make it happen. This dear one, is His will.
“And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.’
Mark 6:31, ESV
Our Savior would never drive us to do things with a whip. He is not a taskmaster, and he will not insist or impose his will over us. Nothing about him is brutal or demanding. (He could, really– if he wanted to.) But no, we learn how to serve him from our loving hearts.
It is interesting that it was Jesus that was very careful, and aware of his disciples needs. No one suggested a break from the work, but Jesus initiated the break from the massive press of the crowds. He knew intensely what his disciples needed.
“Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest.”
Mark 6:31, NCV
The presence of so many people had put the disciples in a very hard place. The NCV describes the crowds, as “coming and going.” If you have ever been on the London Underground you will understand just the sheer number. Everyday, 2.93 million people ride the trains. I remember travelling from the backwoods of Alaska, with just a backpack, and hitting the crowds on “the tube” in London, UK.
The intense masses were way beyond anything I ever imagined. Talk about a “culture shock! I saw more people in just 3 minutes than in an entire year of living in Alaska. It was like an amazing giant ant-hill; I would stop, and just stare. Nothing prepared me for this. But I knew His presence was with me.
Jesus is more concerned about the living freshness of his disciples. He shuts things down in order to rest with his followers. Often the tendency will be the opposite, especially when the leader is weak and immature. “Work harder, and even more hours!” Jesus did not have the need to be available 24/7. And he certainly didn’t expect his disciples to. His heart is committed to his followers.
He “orders” his disciples, come apart and let’s rest!
“But so many people were coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone and get some rest.”
Mark 6:31, CEV
I don’t know if you can grasp the sensitivity, or see the nuances of Jesus shepherding his disciples. He has a deep awareness of them; he doesn’t get lost by people pressing in from every side. He loves the world of men and women, but his followers are his “specialty.”
He tunes in on their frequency, and knows our spiritual capacity.
What gives his followers strength, is to be close with Jesus, and to separate from the needs that were densely surrounding them. We can be flattered by being needed, but that can be very corrosive or destructive. I’m guessing but I believe that a few of the disciples may have been annoyed by this break in the action. They found it hard to remove themselves from the action. Some may have been frustrated, perhaps maybe even slightly irritated by “Jesus’ retreat.”
When you are pouring out, you will find there is only a certain capacity before you run dry. You may think this is “noble and praiseworthy” but it is nothing of the sort. It is a form of arrogance and pride. In order to really mature as a believer, we must shake this off and not to entertain our seeming indispensability to the cause.
We must keep on following Jesus into the quiet places.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Albert Benjamin Simpson, (Dec. 15, 1843 – Oct. 29, 1919)
Broken Believers 