I am a family man, enjoy being with my children, significant other, and have many hobbies including: drawing, gardening, riding my bike, and candle making in addition to other mostly arts - craft and outdoor activities. I've been a medical professional for nearly 20 years - and still am a Registered Nurse (RN) of 10 years after being a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) for 2 years, mental health and direct care workers for 4 years. I also, take pride in caring for my parents, however my father passed away with hospice from kidney failure three years ago at the age of 86 years. I enjoy reading medical information and am health conscious.

I keep mentally, spiritually, and physically healthy by using what I've learned in life's experiences and what makes sense in my learning while reading and studying medical research, social, and religious affairs. I've been involved with the Greek Orthodox Church even as a young boy being in the altar and traveling to nearby cities to help the priest. I was also involved in the Greek dance group, and played Little League baseball for 10 years with 2 of those years being on All-Star teams and most valuable player. In addition, I've volunteered in the medical field while in High School transporting patients within nearby hospitals.

I wrote this book for several reasons and hope the reader becomes inspired in being the best you can be and don't let other people make you think that you're anything less than what you truly believe yourself to be. After all, you're the "captain of your own ship" and know all of your turmoils and triumphs!

This book described personal experiences in mental health over the last 30 years both as a patient and professional offering suggestions to improving the process from family/friendship socializations, petitions to involuntary psychiatric hospitalization in efforts of being better understood. I hope this book will inspire you to attain personal growth and help make amends with the mental health system in changing its current practice and viewing the patient as understood and not misunderstood by friends, family, or psychiatry.

I wrote this book to describe my personal "difficulties" with the field of Psychiatry, but with resolutions which I think will help alleviate unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations and stressors encountered by mental health patients and staff.

It is further hoped that psychiatry no longer will be a "quick fix" for society in treating patients as psychiatrists today carelessly mostly only prescribe medications instead of listening to their patients as was evident in my psychiatric experiences as a patient for nearly 30 years! Patients have reasons for behaving and thinking like they do due to common human needs not being met like personal socialization, food allergies, being listened to and understood, other factors will later be explored during the reading of this book.

Psychiatrists today base their "therapy" on medicine without trying to understand the patient. Psychotropic medicine is considered a "quick fix" or band aid covering a sore that doesn't get to the core of the psychiatric issue and each and every time was met with personal opposition.

In addition, it saddens me to think that certain family members would rather I be taken away and locked up in a psychiatric hospital then forced to take medicine as opposed to taking the time to listen to what I had to say and trying to understand what I've been trying to convey in resolution of a distraught past. A distraught past with no resolution has caused me to be misunderstood which further caused wrongful psychiatric admissions as felt from personal anguish, stress, and distress.