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Welcome to Mind's blog

Each week we'll be posting items on a whole range of topics relating in some way to mental health. We hope to stimulate debate and get you thinking about mental health and Mind's work in a new way.

We welcome comments and questions on our posts, but have a few ground rules to keep the site welcoming and interesting to every body. The first rule is the most important: be respectful of other commenters and bloggers. Read the rest of our comments policy.

Please note that some blog posts may not reflect official Mind policy.

  • 27 August 2010
    It's time to get moving

    It’s 8am and I’m on holiday. The temperature is already climbing to the mid 70s. And I’m running down a track surrounded by olive trees and being chased by a couple of friendly(ish) dogs. 

    To be honest I can’t quite believe it, but this is what happens when you sign up for the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. With only a couple of months to go, and some serious training needed to reach any kind of fitness, I’ve been running on my holiday every other day. And to my surprise, it’s quite good fun. Yes, it’s very hot and sticky, but the scenery of Northern Spain is superb and the running isn’t too bad either. According to my training schedule I’m only about a week behind now.

    This is just as well – 10/10/10 is approaching. It’s the start of our Time to Get Moving campaign week, where up and down the country tens of thousands of people will be meeting up to take part in physical activity together to improve their mental wellbeing.  

    This is important because it breaks down barriers and improves the nation’s mental health (why not take a moment to find an activity near you). You meet people doing physical activity, it’s good for your body, and it’s good for your mind. I’ve noticed that since I started running I’ve become more alert. 

    There are lots of people who are getting moving for Mind at the half marathon – 470 in fact, our largest running team ever. People like Paul Cornell and Lauren Mitchell, who each have their own reasons for using this race to raise awareness of mental health. If you've ever wondered why someone would run a half or full marathon for a charity, take a look at their stories.

    Now that I’m back from my holiday, I’m still running but have had the first of my “niggles” with a sore Achilles. This has led to a strange mixture of terror that this might be a proper injury, and secret excitement that I can even have a niggle. I was, however, brought back to earth when a friend said that problems with Achilles were common for “someone of your age who doesn’t run much”. 

    Meanwhile the best of luck to my colleagues Becky and Colin doing the Great North Swim next week, and all Mind supporters cycling to Paris and climbing the Three Peaks in September.

    Paul Farmer is Mind's Chief Executive. You can sponsor his run here.

    2 Comments
  • 20 August 2010
    Jump for Mind - Jenny's story

    My mum battled with depression for many years and in 2009 sadly took her own life. She committed suicide by walking out of the house one morning in the dark and freezing cold, walking a mile from home in a flimsy nightie, with no shoes on and plunging herself into the deepest darkest lock of a local canal. Anyone who knew the strong and wonderful person my mum was would realize how ill she would have to be to do such a thing – how irretrievable she must have felt her life had become.  

    I was planning a sky dive with colleagues as a personal challenge and fundraising exercise and after my mum died I decided to organise a jump for Mind. 

    Depression is a poorly understood disease.  Society shuns it as something people should be able to avoid by “pulling their socks up and getting on with life”. If through Mind’s work we could reach out to even one person and help them, then the jump would be worthwhile.   

    I opened the jump out to all of my colleagues at the veterinary company I work for, and brilliantly 24 of us signed up. The 20 minute climb up to 10,000 feet was beautiful, the sun dipping in the clear blue sky. After the darkness and despair I had felt about mum's suicide, although I was very emotionally affected, the beauty of the panoramic scenery seemed fitting as a tribute to the wonderful person she was. 

    Parachuters

    We managed to raise £5,000 for Mind with the jump. All my colleagues fundraised in different innovative ways. We had a JustGiving page, Ebay auctions, car boot sales, charity hair cuts, supermarket bag packs and in clinic charity boxes. 

    I felt that the day had been a magnificent tribute and that we had achieved something special by raising so much money to help Mind and the people they support every day. It was a mind blowing experience and I would do it again and again were I to have the opportunity. 

    Mind supporter Jenny Walton

    Mind is looking for more people with an adventurous spirit to take on a sponsored parachute jump this summer. It’s a fantastic opportunity to combine raising vital funds with an exhilarating experience of a lifetime.

    Over the coming year we hope to raise over £30,000 through parachuting alone to help fund our important work. To be a part of this fantastic fundraising challenge for Mind – get in touch today.

    You can find out more about sponsored parachute jumps on our website, by calling 0871 872 1144 or by completing this short form today.

    3 Comments
  • 12 August 2010
    The mental toll of disability hate crime

    As the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) continues its inquiry into disability-related harrassment this summer, David Stocks from RADAR shares his personal experience of the devastating consequences hate crime can have on mental health.

    Find out what you can do.

    To understand how far-reaching the effects of hate crime can be I will first pose the question: what is hate crime? Is it a crime on someone who the perpetrator hates?

    The answer to that second question may well be yes, but it doesn’t address why the victim is hated or the reason the perpetrator feels the need to target that person in a vindictive way.

    I was bullied at school, not an unusual story I am sure you say. However mine wasn’t physical bullying, it was verbal bullying. I was shy and withdrawn as a child and because of this I was seen as different. I was taunted with chants by most of the school, such as “they are going to take him away” or “the white van is coming”.

    This, although I didn’t realize it at the time, was a form of hate crime. I was singled out and my only crime was that of being different. Luckily for me I was strong enough to stop any physical bullying, but the verbal bullying had its effect.

    Disability hate crime exists purely because the victim is perceived as being different from the norm or the status quo. Rather than embracing and celebrating that difference, it is targeted by ignorant people, with long lasting and hurtful results.

    In my adult life I have developed a long term bi-polar mental health condition. My insecurities come to a head in the massive mood dips I experience as part of the cycles of this condition. These insecurities may well root back to my childhood and the verbal abuse I suffered at school.

    Now that I have a mental health condition, I remain the target of the ignorant. I am still considered by many as mad, not quite right in the head. While presenting many barriers in my life, it hasn’t stopped me being successful. I have published three books and I am currently finishing my fourth, with a further two books in the pipeline. I have had a successful IT career. I have spoken in Parliament and at Party conferences. I have coached tennis and won many trophies. I have appeared in the national press, on the radio and TV. Not bad for someone they call mad.

    Disability hate crime has to be stopped. It is targeting brilliant people just trying to get on with their lives. It can have a profound effect on their mental health. Yes, hate crime has it physical scars, but it is the mental ones that can have most effect. Mental wounds are hard to dress and take a long time to heal.

    Let’s stop disability hate crime now. Through the empowerment and leadership work I do with RADAR, I help people with Injury, Ill Health or Disability (IID) to achieve their ambitions; doing things differently. Now is the time to show the world what we can do and take more action to stop other people’s lives being irreparably damaged by disability hate crime. There is no excuse for disability hate crime, together we can stamp it out!

     David Stocks, Empowerment Manager, RADAR

    Mind is responding to the EHRC’s inquiry – but we need people to share their experiences directly with the EHRC so the voices of people with experience of mental distress are heard by decision-makers. You can respond to the Inquiry here before 10 September or share you story with Mind directly by contacting action@mind.org.uk. 

    31 Comments
  • 9 August 2010
    A ludicrous idea

    At the time it seemed like such a ludicrous idea. Having been diagnosed as suffering from depression and anxiety in mid-September last year, when a friend of mine suggested in early October that I ought to look at joining a gym I could not think of anything I would be less likely to do.

    Back then sleeping for 12 hours a night was common. A 14-hour stint was not unheard of, and on top of that I was sleeping during the day too. Just going from my bedroom to the kitchen seemed like a massive effort, so the concept of any form of physical exercise seemed totally alien to me.

    However after further discussions with my friend, who I had known since my school days and I was 36 at the time, it transpired that he too had suffered from depression and he swore blindly that joining a gym was the best thing he had done. With plenty of time on my hands having been signed off work, I thought to myself what have I got to lose?

    Like probably too many people my age I had neglected to do any sort of regular exercise for far too long. Added to the fact that I was not exactly the most sociable person at the time so heading to the gym for the first time after signing up seemed incredibly daunting. Once there though for my initial assessment to establish how fit I was – better than I was expecting – and my apprehension was lifted further when the guy who was showing me how to use the equipment told me that his sister too suffered from depression and he assured me that physical activity was one of the best things I could do in my battle to get better. He could not have been more right.

    Over the next few weeks my visits to the gym became part of my regular daily pattern. Nothing too strenuous, but I quickly became all too aware how much I was benefiting from spending half an hour or so on an exercise bike a few days a week. From my initial fears and apprehension, it soon became something I looked forward to as it was obvious I felt so much better – not only physically but equally if not more importantly for me, mentally – after a workout.   

    Fast forward to the start of this year and on a visit to the excellent Mind website, I saw that they were after volunteers to run for the charity in the Royal Parks Half Marathon on World Mental Health Day, October 10.

    Seeing this as an opportunity that would benefit not only me but also Mind I wasted no time in signing up.

    Thankfully my regular visits to the gym over the previous few months stood me in good stead when I embarked on my 16-week training programme. I am not going to lie and say it has been easy so far – this is the end of week seven as I write – but give or take one or two niggly injuries it has not been as bad as I had expected. Besides, on the days when I am aching, and there have been a few, I just think about how far my mental health has improved due to my exercising and also how the money raised for Mind by all of us taking part in the run will benefit others like me, and those who don’t have the support of such understanding friends and family. Pounding the parks and streets of London on the second Sunday in October that will be firmly in my thoughts.   

    Paul Eacott, news reporter for the Racing Post newspaper

    13 Comments
  • 30 July 2010
    Training diary

    "Why?" My friend asked me as I told him I'd entered the Royal Parks Half Marathon "you hate running".

    "Why?" Asked my colleague as she printed off the training schedule and looked at me rather nervously. I have to admit as I got up at 6am yesterday to go on a training run (well training jog would be more accurate)  that I was thinking the same thing. I'm not exactly built like Mo Farah, Britain's latest athletic hero, I do a busy full time job and have a family. Finding time for anything is a challenge, let alone a challenge of this scale…

    But there's a wave of athleticism in Mind at the moment, with our hard-working staff doubling up as fundraisers and literally supporting the cause every minute of the day - my colleague Becky is training to swim a mile in Lake Windermere (I didn't even get my 50 metres badge – this is serious commitment). Our Media Officer Vicki is cycling to Paris, and Head of Policy Vicki also doing the Royal Parks. So what's going on? 

    Well, here are five reasons why entering the Royal Parks Half Marathon is a great idea:

    1. It's on World Mental Health Day – in fact it's 10/10/10-you should do something special. 
    2. It's the culmination of Time to Get Moving, a key part of our Time to Change campaign, with around 50,000 people up and down the country taking part in physical activity, meeting people and learning about mental health.
    3. Research shows that being physically active, especially outdoors, is good for your mental health.
    4. It's raising money for Mind – we'll have around 500 runners at this event. A few places are still available from our fabulous events team.
    5. I've never done a half marathon – the last mass run I did was the Feed the World 10k in 1985 – better do one while I still can! 

    I've been to a number of London Marathons to watch and thank our Mind runners – now this is serious and fantastic commitment from people who just want to help us. I'm totally in awe of them, but also felt I should play my own small part. Leading from the front if you like – although in this case it's rather more like leading from the back. 

    And as I was puffing my way around the Bunny Park in Hanwell, I could begin to see the attraction of running, but also the scale of the task ahead of me.....

    Paul Farmer is Mind's Chief Executive. He'll be blogging regularly during the run up to the big event. If you want to join Paul and hundreds of other runners at the Royal Parks Half Marathon, you can join the Mind team by signing up here.

    3 Comments
  • 28 July 2010
    Music, cats and talking therapies

    Observant readers of the Mind blog will know that I have a bit of a thing for cats. I also work in the policy and campaigns team at Mind that fights for mental health services users to have better access to effective therapies on the NHS.

    You can imagine my glee when kittythese two important areas of my life came together in this article. It turns out that meditation music helps cats relax. Apparently, just 40 minutes of this music will have a dramatic effect on a cat’s ‘stress score’.

    Brushing aside my initial shock in response to the fact that cats actually have a ‘stress score’, I can’t help but wish that I knew this information a couple of years ago. My cat at the time, Sherbert (may she rest in peace), was diagnosed with anxiety. Yes, you read that correctly. She had bitten off half her coat after weeks of harassment from the neighbour’s overly-aggressive cat. The vet prescribed a course of antidepressants that did nothing but raise my anxiety levels whenever I had to force feed them to her each morning. If only she’d been offered music therapy our lives would have been much simpler!

    Unfortunately, the situation for us humans isn’t always that much better. Many people still need to wait far too long to access alternatives to antidepressants, the range of therapies available is often extremely limited and, in some cases, medication is the only treatment option. That is why Mind is leading the We Need to Talk campaign that is calling for the NHS to offer a wide range of evidence-based psychological therapies to all that need them within 28 days of requesting referral. Sadly for my cats, this campaign is strictly humans-only.

    To find out more about the We Need to Talk campaign, click here.

    Mariam Kemple is a Policy and Campaigns Officer for Mind

    4 Comments
  • 22 July 2010
    What's in a name

    We all belong to groups, both by choice and by chance. Some of them shape and define us more than others, but it isn’t always us who get the chance to decide which groups others choose to judge us by. Male or female, young and old, optimist or pessimist, we all try to fit ourselves and others somewhere and interpret behaviours accordingly.

    What about the group you’re put into when diagnosed with a mental health condition? Read Seaneen’s post about when she was told by a psychiatrist that she didn’t have bipolar disorder but should instead have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Her diagnosis had affected so many aspects of her life and had become part of the way in which she as well as others interpreted herself and her emotions and behaviours.

    As Seaneen puts it:

    I allowed my diagnosis to become the prism through which I explained and understood some of the stranger and more destructive/florid aspects of my personality. 

    Dino Girl came to an agreement with her health professionals that she shouldn’t have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder but rather a mood disorder, but it still shook her to deal with a change of diagnosis (reducing her medication literally shook her more).

    Seaneen wrote about how she felt when asked in an interview to give her experience of mania:

    the [diagnostic] name does not matter, not really, it’s experiences that do. But in these kind of settings [interviews], the name does matter because the name is what people will use to find information.

    We have an urge to group, to classify, to simplify. If we didn’t, we’d be overwhelmed but sometimes a name can be all that we see.

    Anne Marie Brian wrote in Mental Health Today that she was given a diagnosis of schizophrenia when, as she now knows, she has bipolar disorder. As a result of the first diagnosis, she was placed on antipsychotic medication that left her struggling to function and increased her depressive symptoms. She had to fight to get someone to step back and look at her and her symptoms again rather than just see things that conformed to what they expected to see, based on the group they’d put her in, the name they’d given to her condition. 

    It isn’t as if there is flawless categorisation by health professionals. Looking at people admitted as emergencies to hospital a study found that 27 per cent had a psychiatric diagnosis but ward staff identified 31 per cent of admitted patients as having psychiatric symptoms, identifying some patients with only mild symptoms and not identifying others with more severe symptoms. 

    There was only moderate agreement between psychiatrist and nursing staff about overall classification (58.8 per cent) and even less agreement about which patients were ‘cases’ (14 per cent).

    Two psychiatrists working in London wrote that they have experienced an increase in people coming to them with a self diagnosis of bipolar disorder. They say that some people ‘want to be bipolar’ and might not grasp that this diagnosis comes with negative consequences and that not everyone who experiences individual symptoms of the disorder such as mood swings or chaotic behaviours may have bipolar disorder. Surely it is a good thing if, as the psychiatrists suggest, increased awareness of mental health issues means that people are recognising signs of distress and seeking support? We are encouraged to look after our physical health  and report changes (appearance of moles or lumps and bumps) so why not mental health? 

    The implication from the psychiatrists is that no one should want to be in the ‘people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder’ group. However that does rather miss the point that having a diagnosis and being put in a group can be a positive thing. Realising that there are explanations for your disrupted thoughts and behaviours, that you are not alone, that there might be help and support available can bring a measure of relief for many. Of course it helps to be given the right label and be placed in the right group so that you get the right support. 

    Is it just the alternative to being given a label (being left without explanations or support) that makes being given a diagnosis a good thing? There is also the sense of belonging that can come with being in a group. Dino Girl wrote about the sense of community that can develop with other people with the same psychiatric diagnosis, when pondering the fact that she no longer had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder: 

    It's a bit lonely out here, in the non-bipolar world.

    Do you think that having a diagnostic label is a help or hindrance? Have you found that the quest to get the “correct” diagnosis took over from the quest to lead a healthy life? Mind is re-launching Openmind and would like to hear about your experiences. Comment below or contact us at Openmind@mind.org.uk  

    Bridget O'Connell, Head of Information

    13 Comments
  • 14 July 2010
    'Dialogue was not the norm'

    A guest post from Social Action for Health Executive Director Elizabeth Bayliss.

    Here at Social Action for Health we've just published a report called Hear I Am.

    It describes a pilot project that began as a means of exploring new ways of engaging patients in their own care planning, applying a community development approach.

    In order to fulfil our brief we planned to introduce patients on a men's acute psychiatric ward in East London to Multi Media Profiling (MMP). Multi Media Profiling is a creative way for people to communicate their needs and potential using video, stills and sound. We hoped it would help patients to engage with their care planning and to tell their stories in their own way at CPA meetings.  

    We produced profiles with two patients, with positive benefits, and are keen to explore the potential of these further. However, something else was happening too. During regular reflective sessions, the project team found that their attention was focused more and more on what they were witnessing on the ward.

    What they were seeing was guys who were bored, with very little going on. The men were frustrated and spent a great deal of time just hanging around waiting hour upon hour for someone to accompany them outside for a breather. They saw how quickly the men's spirits and expectations were raised by something as simple as bringing in fruit to share. But what the project team found themselves reflecting on most was the lack of engagement between ward staff and patients.

    The men were clearly hungry for dialogue. They wanted to talk and exchange with other patients and staff, and yet ward life was almost totally arelational. Dialogue was not the norm.

    The usual rules of social life did not seem to apply. Ordinary greetings like "hello" and "how are you" were not used. Questions were ignored and answers were not followed by action. This lack of any meaningful engagement between staff and patients made life difficult and stressful for all.

    This was an emergent project, so we were free to change our focus. We decided that since the context of ward life is such a key aspect of care planning for in-patients, we could legitimately reorient ourselves. Now during our twice-weekly visits we simply aimed to build relationships with the men. We listened, talked, chatted, laughed and played games. We wanted to understand what it meant to be a human being in the mental health system.

    We saw that the wards were separated, segregated airless places that weren't doing anything other than suspending people while they took their medication. The patients didn’t seem to be in therapeutic relationships. They were not involved in a process, they were just hanging around.

    By the time the project ended after 12 months we had concluded that this way of conducting ward life aggravates and enervates both patients and staff, rather than creating the sort of stabilising and empowering situation that promotes care and recovery.

    Our response was the Hear I Am report. It says that things need to change fundamentally and essentially around the way people on our mental health wards are related to. Patients need to be given the chance to talk and to be listened to.

    In order for this to happen the wards need to be more permeable so that people can come and go and talk about ordinary things like the football or weather. Put simply, the wards need to open up.

    Elizabeth Bayliss, Executive Director of Social Action for Health. 

    4 Comments
  • 8 July 2010
    Festivals - a survival guide

    A guest post from Zarathustra

    The festival season is in full swing at the moment. We've already had Download and Glastonbury. Still to come are Latitude, WOMAD, Reading, Leeds, Creamfields, V, Bestival and many others. I love festivals, but they’re a physically and mentally demanding affair. Alcohol, sleep deprivation, bad food, sunburn and being on your feet for long periods can all take their toll. I understand that there may also be a toll taken from certain acts of amateur pharmacology, but I’m sure you lot are clean-living and wouldn’t know about that.

    There’s also a number of psychological stressors – crowds, queues, noise. Hence, if you have a mental health problem, there’s a few common-sense tips that might come in handy to stay out of trouble while at a festival. Thanks to Into The System and Kankurette for providing some of these tips.

    1. Consider your festival options. All festivals can be stressful, but some are more stressful than others. Glastonbury, with its enormous site and vast crowds, can be particularly high-stress. Reading and Leeds, while not as huge, still have very large crowds, including a lot of drunk, obnoxious teenagers, and the traditional end-of-festival riots are hardly calming. But these aren't your only options. In recent years there's been an explosion of smaller festivals. Some of these, such as Bestival and Shambala, have won considerable praise for their fun atmosphere and eclectic lineups. The crowds aren't as massive, and it's a lot easier to get back to your tent if you're starting to feel overwhelmed.

    2. Try to avoid getting blatted. My advice if you have a mental health problem would be to only drink sensible quantities of alcohol, and avoid illicit drugs altogether. However, I’ve spent long enough as a CPN to get used to the experience of people not taking my advice. If you must indulge, try to use a dealer you know and trust – that pill some bloke on the festival site sold you could be anything from Vitamin C to elephant laxative. Avoid mixing substances. I had fun a while back trying to calm down a panicking girl who’d had a cocktail of alcohol, weed and pills and was now convinced her teeth were falling out.

    3. Maintain your sleep levels. This is easier said than done. It’s no mean feat getting a good night’s kip when you’re in a cold tent in Brown Camp at the Reading Festival, a bunch of numpties are out on the roadway crashing shopping trolleys into each other and another Mexican-wave shout of “BOLLOCKS” has just swept across the festival site (why do they do that? It wasn’t funny in 2003 and it still isn’t funny now.) In between bands, schedule some power-naps for an hour or so mid-afternoon. To prevent your tent becoming too hot for power-napping in the daytime, bring some tin-foil blankets to the festival and tape them over your tent to reflect the heat.

    4. Consume plenty of water and calories All that walking and dancing will cause you to sweat a lot of fluid and expend a lot of calories, so you need to replace these. If it's a hot day, carry a water bottle and refill it regularly from the water points. Eat plenty of carbs. If you have an eating disorder and find it difficult to increase calorie input or limit physical activity, watch out for signs of exhaustion.

    5. Don't forget your medication Take spare meds and store it at one of the lockups or at the medical centre. There will be medication storage facilities at the medical point or in the disabled camping field. If you have any medication that you take as-and-when required, keep it on you at all times. For some of these, such as diazepam, it may be advisable to keep it in the packet with the prescription label on it, to avoid over-zealous attention from security staff.

    6. Know your triggers, and act accordingly. Crowds, noise, having someone behind you – if those are the sort of things that give you a panic attack, maybe being on the barrier with a crowd of 20,000 behind you is not the best place to be. Sometimes there are ways to approach a stage without getting swamped by the crowd – try approaching from the sides rather than going through the middle. Failing that, stand back and watch the show on one of the video screens.

    7. Know where your friends are, and keep your mobile phone charged. You need to keep in contact with your mates, so at some point in the festival, you’ll probably need to head to a mobile phone charging point. Queueing for an hour to charge your phone with a silly bike-pedalling machine might not be what you came to the festival for, but it’s a sensible precaution and it’ll give you something to do while N-Dubz are playing. Alternatively, invest in a solar or wind-up mobile phone charger, available from camping shops. As a flip-side to this point...

    8. Don’t be afraid to say no to your friends. They might want to head down into the mosh pit during The Prodigy, but if you’re not feeling good and don’t want to, this is not advised. You could get stuck there and have a panic attack pretty quickly. Stay on the edge of the crowd, maybe find yourself a seat or a bench and agree to meet your friends back there at the end. This also goes for peer pressure on the drink/drug front. Know when to say no more.

    9. Look for quiet areas that you can escape to for a chill-out and get your head back together. A place of (relative) peace and quiet that you can nip out to if it’s all getting too much is another thing that sounds easier said than done, but they do exist. Try the Green Fields at Glastonbury, the ActionAid tent at Reading, the woods at Bestival.

    10. Only fools and horses take Ketamine. Seriously, whoever was it that thought, “Hmmm, this is a veterinary tranquilizer they give to horses. So clearly it’ll be an enjoyable experience if I swallow it”? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who said they found Ketamine pleasurable, and if you can walk through a festival crowd and find people wearing t-shirts declaring what a bollocks drug it is, then it’s definitely one to avoid. Just say neigh.

    11. Know what support facilities are onsite. Festival Medical Services, who supply the medics for Glasto and Reading, provide a mental health team of psychiatrists, mental health nurses and substance abuse specialists. In addition, festivals will usually have a welfare point that you can go to for help. Samaritans will be on site at big festivals. They are always next to the Orange Chill and Charge tent at Glastonbury. They have a little tent and they are always happy to listen if you’re struggling. If you receive DLA (probably only mid/high rates, although not necessarily), you may be entitled to register for the disabled facilities, including a PA (carer’s) ticket. You will usually need to apply a long way in advance and will have to explain what things you may have difficulties with and why you need support. You will need to provide your latest DLA letter, which states why you are awarded the level you are on. It can also be possible to get access to the disabled viewing platforms if you have anxiety problems

    12. If in trouble, approach a steward. If you can feel yourself going into crisis, and you don’t think you can make it to the medical tent or welfare point, then go to a steward and explain your situation to them. It’s their role to keep punters happy and safe, and they’ll be able to radio some help for you or get you to the medics or welfare. If you're attending the festival as a steward, it might be helpful to tell your employer any mental health issues you may have in case you’re asked to do any work that could be considered potentially triggering, such as having to stand in the middle of a dense crowd. Also, be on the lookout for awkward punters. During the day they’re generally OK, but as the day progresses people get drunker and more and more irritating. It might be helpful to ensure you always have another person with you so you’re not having to cope on your own. Dealing with lots of people and queries can be stressful and exhausting.

    13. Don't watch Paramore at Reading/Leeds Because they suck.

    Zarathustra, Mental Nurse

    10 Comments
  • 6 July 2010
    Local charity hero

    Charity shop volunteer Luke Gaunt, 25, is a volunteer at the Mind shop in Brighouse. Luke has been helping out for two years after being diagnosed with a brain tumour that left him partially sighted and unable to work. 

    Hi, I’ve been volunteering at the Mind Shop Brighouse for the last two years and I’ve found it to be a really positive experience. I started after I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour when I was 22. A month into treatment my eyesight deteriorated and I was left partially sighted. Five months later I began to volunteer.

    My work involves sorting the donations that the shop receives. I find this rewarding because not only does it help raise money for Mind, it’s also helping through recycling items no longer wanted. The saying “one person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure” couldn’t be more true.  

    I also enjoy the opportunity to meet and talk to new people; as having a visual disability can be isolating at times. The fact that I’m contributing to the charity and society raises my self-esteem. Something that suffers when you are unemployed and on benefits.

    Luke Gaunt, Mind shops' Young Volunteer of the Year and runner-up for the Association of Charity Shops Young Volunteer of the Year Award 2010 at yesterday’s award ceremony.

    Start the discussion
  • 2 July 2010
    Welfare reform: what we're doing

    We’ve heard loud and clear from our supporters in response to our blog post on the budget: welfare reform is a huge concern for many people with experience of mental distress and there is a feeling that we are not doing enough to address this issue head-on.

    Let me assure all of our supporters that we care passionately about this issue and that, from the vital contribution of those who contact us, we are acutely aware of how fundamental the impact of changes in this area can be for people’s lives.

    We are appalled by the language being used towards benefit claimants as the Coalition’s plans for reform are slowly made public. Very little in the way of concrete details have been announced, which makes it difficult for Mind to be comprehensive in its criticism, but also creates serious anxiety amongst those who may be affected. However, our CEO Paul Farmer has stated publicly what we want to see from any reform to welfare, whilst in response to the language being used, Policy and Campaigns Manager Emma Mamo spoke out on Radio 4’s World at One this week.

    Meanwhile, as we wait for greater detail on what exactly is being proposed, we are working behind the scenes to try and influence the direction of travel. This is a highly complex and politically charged process, and we must make sure of ourselves before taking action. Working with around 30 other charities and organisations in the Disability Benefits Consortium we are presenting a united front on behalf of all disabled people to argue that the benefits system needs to be fair, transparent and accurately reflect the real-life circumstances for those in need of Government support.

    It’s also important to remember that these are not new issues for us. For a long time, Mind has expressed concern that disability benefits were often used as an excuse to make no real effort to help people with mental or physical difficulties to be able to play an active part in society. Offering real dignity, support and assistance, to allow people to work or engage in other meaningful activity was being shunned in favour of simply paying the bare minimum to keep people off the unemployment count.

    The previous Government, and the current one, have made a point of referring to Mind’s involvement in contributing to the development of the assessment for determining if someone is fit to work as some kind of badge of honour. Indeed, Mind was consulted about the development of Employment Support Allowance and the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and the subsequent review of the WCA, as we are on many policies relating to mental health. However, we have been far from satisfied with the consultation process and the outcome, and have been public in our condemnation. Although our involvement can lead to accusations of consent even when we did not agree with the final outcomes, it is also worth considering the possibility that the test would be even less suitable without our input.

    So what happens next? There will almost certainly be a Welfare Bill later this year and we will be extremely active in trying to ensure that it is sensitive to the needs and wishes of people with experience of mental distress. With something firm on the agenda to debate, we will publicly and privately campaign towards this goal, looking to involve our supporters wherever we can. As part of this process we will also focus on encouraging a drastic rethink of the WCA before the migration of Incapacity Benefit claimants begins later this year.

    Tom Pollard, Policy and Campaigns Assistant — Mind

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    25 Comments
  • 29 June 2010
    In praise of day centres

    A guest post by Marion Janner, founder of the Star Wards project

    Despite enormous progressive changes over the last decade, there continues to be ill-informed prejudice and perplexing stigma, inferring or conferring inferiority on those associated with it. My immunity to this stigma for the seven long years that I’ve been severely mentally ill has recently collapsed and I am using this opportunity to bravely come out in public. [Clears throat, extends herself to the full available 4’9” and announces:]

    I go to a day centre. A day centre for mentally ill people. A morning a week, sanity permitting.

    When I’ve told friends about this, all but one have laughed merrily and started to make requests for baskets for their picnics, pets or poker sets. I asked the dissident why she didn’t regard me going to a day centre as being a bad move, and she replied: “Why wouldn’t I be enthusiastic about you volunteering at a day centre?” When I cleared up the misunderstanding, she laughed merrily but stopped short at placing a basket order.

    I have to confess that I was also a bit iffy about day centres before I started going to one. I knew that the relatively few that have survived changes in fashion and funding don’t actually have hundreds of people sitting at assembly benches, in gloomy light, bunging widgets into tiny plastic bags. But I did have lurking doubts about whether there was something – er, inadequate about these services and even perhaps the people that use them. There had to be, really. Progressive services don’t ‘congregate’ people who happen to share a label. My approach was Marxist: I didn’t want to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members, just like Groucho didn’t.

    And then I went to a meeting with some of the big-wigs at Jewish Care to discuss Star Wards. It ended rather inconclusively in relation to work, but with me deeply enthusiastic about starting to go to one of their ‘well-being centres’. And two months later, I’m benefiting way beyond what I’d hoped for by going to Kadimah, their Hackney centre. Kadimah is Hebrew for ‘forwards’, usually slightly shouted in a “Let’s go”, or “Onwards” sort of way. It’s also the name of the centrist, liberal party in Israel. I like it that my centre is similarly inclusive and accessible to such a diversity of people, located in one of the heartlands of the ultra-orthodox community, Stamford Hill, but happily embracing everyone from the traditionally garbed to those adorned with tattoos, self-harming scars, bling…. Black, white, old, young, train-spotters and trainee potters.

    The staff are wonderful - expert, warm, funny, human/normal/friendly. And completely accessible. Unlike so many services where we have to gear ourselves up to knock on the office door expecting to be told to come back in x minutes, the Kadimah staff are constantly around in the lounge, schmoozing with us.

    There are rules, but mainly along the lines of we must feel able to come as frequently or occasionally as we want, take part only in the activities that we’d like to do that day etc. (Of course, eating lots, telling jokes and overstating the achievements of the kids in our life are core expectations.)

    The groups are very enjoyable, from a mellowly therapy-lite women's group to the Jewishish film group where everyone's talking at the same time and there's no shortage of opinions. And brace yourselves for this one! We’re welcome to take part in the activities of the day centre for elderly people in which Kadimah is based. Not only do I not find it peculiar or let alone stigmatising being based, lunching and hanging out with ancient Jews, but it feels inclusive and heimisch (homely). And the elders have great guest speakers, music sessions and nice sweets in the bags dangling from their wheelchairs.

    Kadimah’s magazine, Shemesh (sun) is remarkable. Edited by the award-winning, geniusly witty and creative member, David Filabon, its 32+ pages are full of articles I feel motivated rather than obliged to read, are a visual pleasure and another regular boost to my patchy morale. Star Wards is hoping to have the honour of publishing Shemesh on our website. (A few more high-calorie enticements for David and team and I hope to have clinched the deal.)

    I’m lucky to be well-endowed with social and psychiatric support, but Kadimah combines the best of all these and is now an essential part of my life. Friends have stopped the basket jokes and several are openly envious of my being able to go whenever I want to what feels more club than centre, where I can relax with interesting, friendly, supportive people, enjoy the activities and recharge. With a continuous supply of food and jokes.

    Marion Janner

    Marion was awarded an OBE for services to mental health care in the New Year Honours list 2010.

    6 Comments
  • 25 June 2010
    The cost to mental health

    I don’t envy George Osborne. I’ve just worked out the division of bills in my flat and there was no positive element to that task at all – it will remain two painstaking hours of my life that I can never get back. And so I imagine the Treasury’s last month of sums was no picnic. But the troubles of developing this budget count for nothing against the troubles it could potentially cause.

    Clearly, the country’s spending is no longer sustainable. However, modern politics should have come far enough that every party ensures the most vulnerable in society are supported, and definitely not the hardest hit. And that’s exactly what Mind fears most: that the consequences of this budget will be most acutely felt by those who most need support.

    Although NHS funding has been protected, it would be a false assumption to think that this will ensure mental health service users do not have to worry about cuts. Mental health should to be seen as an issue that involves all aspects of life and all parts of society. Taking this perspective, it becomes evident that the cuts proposed to other areas of the public sector will have a deep and enduring impact on the mental wellbeing of this country.

    Around half of all people claiming benefits because of illness have mental health problems. We are opposed to any assumption that the welfare system is riddled with undeserving people who somehow need to be ‘found out’. The announcement that all Disability Living Allowance claimants will be subject to a medical assessment from 2013/14 onwards accentuates this assumption.

    Furthermore, with the current Work Capability Assessment for employment and support allowance being unfit to assess how people’s mental health affects their ability to work, we are not confident that this new assessment will be any more adequate. Instead, it could end up compelling people into positions that may compromise their mental health and wellbeing if it does not learn from the failures of our other benefit tests.

    However, the most immediate and disturbing change to the benefits system will be the linkage of benefits to the Consumer Prices Index (currently at 3.4 per cent) as opposed to the Retail Prices Index (currently at 5.1 per cent). This means that the amount of benefit paid will not increase as much as is needed to keep up with rising prices. This will lead to a significant cut in living standards for households that are dependent on benefits –  which are among the poorest in our society.

    Aside from benefits, the effect of cuts to other areas, such as job losses and changes to our communities, may impact on our wellbeing, resulting in an increased need for mental health care the government can’t afford.

    For example, reductions in police funding could end the good work started as part of our Another Assault campaign and public sector redundancies and the consequent rise in people’s debt levels will undoubtedly lead to increased rates of mental distress.

    This budget could cost the mental health of this country dearly – is it a price our society can afford to pay?

    If you’re concerned about the impact of the budget on your local services, write to your MP and ask them how they will fight for the needs of mental health service users.

    Mariam Kemple, Policy and Campaigns Officer

    Update: please note that some of the comments below may be triggering for some readers.

    65 Comments
  • 18 June 2010
    Get physical

    Men's Health Week urges men to get moving.

    The World Cup has started and men around the country are gathering on sofas in living rooms and on chairs in pubs. I'm told that being a World Cup fan is a strenuous, full-time activity. Your heart rate increases every time the ball edges towards the goal, the throat gets a complete work out through constant yells and screams of jubilation or despair and there's always the frenzied scramble to grab a beer from the fridge without missing any of the action. As an England supporter myself, I understand the psychological and physical angst of cheering on our side but am also aware that there's a wide gap between watching a sport and getting involved yourself.

    Although England is a nation of sport lovers, the majority of them male, we are not necessarily a nation of sport 'doers'. 13.5 million people attend Premier League games in each season, 1.5 million people attend Premier Rugby (union) and 1.5 million attend country cricket. Yet, not enough men are getting active themselves. In fact, 22% of men in England and Wales die before they reach 64 compared to 13% of women. Higher levels of physical activity could make a big impact since active men have a 20-30% reduced risk of premature death and up to 50% reduced risk of developing major chronic diseases.

    That's why Men's Health Forum has chosen physical activity as the theme for Men's Health Week 2010. The week aims to encourage more men to become physically active, to improve male participation in sport and to develop the potential of sport settings for delivering health services to men. As part of this, the charity has set the Government, NHS and local authorities the One Million Man Challenge to get one million middle-aged men more active by the 2010 Olympics.

    As part of our Men and Mental Health campaign, Mind fully supports Men's Health Week. Increased activity levels would not only benefit men physically, but it would also have a hugely positive impact on male mental health. As the Time to Get Moving project emphasises, exercise has been proven to increase your energy levels, boost your mood and reduce stress and feelings of depression and anxiety - and that can be after just one session!

    With men accounting for 75 per cent of all suicides in England and Wales, one in seven men experiencing depression after six months of being unemployed and 95 per cent of the prison population being male, it's more important than ever that men are given the opportunities to access exercise and improve their mental wellbeing. 

    So, as you plan the ins and outs of exactly how you will watch the match tonight (COME ON ENGLAND!), make sure to also plan how you'll be getting active this weekend - it could just save your life.

    Mariam Kemple, Policy and Campaigns Officer

    Start the discussion
  • 10 June 2010
    Mental health merry-go-round

    Guest post from Zarathustra of Mental Nurse

    A friend of mine recently phoned me up in a panic, “My GP's sending me to a psychiatrist! I'm so scared. I think they're going to section me.”
    After she calmed down, it turned out to be a routine referral to the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT), as the GP felt that the antidepressants he'd prescribed her weren't helping. I reassured her that this didn't mean she was about to be sectioned, that these referrals happen all the time, and it wasn't anything to be scared of.

    I ended by giving her a note of caution, “You don't need to worry about being whisked away. You'll probably wind up more pissed off about how little they'll do than how much they'll do.”

    A few weeks later,  I spoke to her again. Her previous fear had turned to annoyance and anger. “I had an assessment with a CPN and a social worker.They suggested I might get CBT and an appointment with the psychiatrist to look at my medication options. Then a few days later I got a letter saying they weren't going to offer me a service, and I should just go back to the GP.” She felt dismissed, humiliated and let down.

    I've seen this pattern quite a few times. Somebody is referred to a CMHT with little explanation of what it's for and why. When they arrive at the CMHT, they still aren't given any explanation, and at times are given false expectations. The result is that people are left oscillating between fear about what might happen to them, and disappointment from hoping for a service that doesn't materialise.

    At worst, this can resemble a squalid exercise in buck-passing. The GP has tried a couple of antidepressants. They didn't work, so he's washing his hands of the patient and packing them off to the CMHT. The CMHT fill out their assessment, then write back to the GP and tell him they're not taking the patient, and he should try another medication. Like a bureaucratic exercise in mental health pass-the-parcel.

    In all fairness, there are often good reasons why so many CMHT assessments end with a referral back to the GP. Mental health services are notoriously under-resourced, and when somebody gets offered a service by the CMHT they often remain with them for a long time. For that reason the CMHTs insist they need to have a high benchmark for offering someone a service, so that they can concentrate on complex conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. They also point out that they often have little to offer people with depression and anxiety that can't be offered by a GP. For that reason, they take the view that people with mild-to-moderate mental health problems should remain at the GP level, leaving the CMHT to focus on people with severe and enduring mental illnesses.

    In addition, they also argue that some referrals are genuinely inappropriate. Sometimes a GP hasn't done as much as he or she could have done before referring the patient on. At other times the person being referred can be signposted on to other, more suitable services for their needs – for example a bereaved relative who might be better off seeing Cruse rather than a mental health service.

    These arguments are valid and I don't dispute them. But what I would suggest is that there needs to be clear communication so that people have realistic expectations of what is and is not likely to happen to them. If a GP is referring somebody to the CMHT, then that GP needs to explain what a CMHT is, why they are referring them, and what will happen as a result. GPs need to remember that, although the stigma of mental illness is much reduced these days, being asked to see a psychiatric service is still a deeply frightening prospect for many people. Above all, GPs need to avoid giving people the impression that they're getting rid of them, and need to advise patients that the follow-up from the assessment could be either from the CMHT or back with the GP.

    Just as GPs need to communicate clearly, so too do CMHTs. It's all too easy to promise somebody this or that when they're sitting in front of you in in an assessment, then discuss it in the team meeting the next day, decide you're not going to do anything, and then write the patient a letter that can be summarised as “bugger off”. People shouldn't leave the assessment having been given a set of false promises, and then be left devastated when the letter arrives. Just as GPs need to tell people that a CMHT assessment can often wind up as no more than an assessment, so too do the CMHTs need to give the same message, and give it clearly.

    Ultimately, the brutal truth is that NHS resources are limited, and not everyone can be offered a service. But if that's the case then clinicians need to be open and honest about that, to avoid further distress to an already-troubled person.

    Zarathustra blogs at Mental Nurse.

    7 Comments