Buckinghamshire Mind
a Mental Health charity
OUR FEATURE ARTICLE:
Do You Believe In Miracles?
ALSO IN THIS
ISSUE
Day Services & Support Clubs
The Decline of Community Care
Advocates
Where, What, When & How
Tranquilized Tim Looks At KARMA
Do You Believe In Miracles?
by
Mark Sampson
Do you believe in
miracles? If you do then you clearly are not the only one. Because the very
same people who keep cutting the funding to mental health services expect these
same services to produce results that are not in the least bit realistic, and
end up doing more harm than good.
Yet, unlike the Son of God (if that’s your system of belief), the mental health system sadly lacks the divine powers needed to bail themselves out of this mess. This, of course, is the same mess the government put them in the first place by imposing on them crippling budget cuts.
And without
trying to get too political, I get extremely worried when, in order to win
elections, political parties will make pledges like “we’re going to reduce
taxes”. The problem with this is that, while possibly putting a few more pounds
in the average voter’s pocket, this cuts into the money these governments have
to help those most desperately in need.
The only
“miracle” we’re going to see soon is patient’s names magically disappearing
from mental health waiting lists because they’ve committed suicide because they
haven’t been able to get the help they need. Yet this is not going to reduce
those waiting lists because we are living in a material society that is
bringing more and more social pressures on people. As a result of this more and
more people are getting severe long-term mental health problems, which in term
also need treating.
People are taking
higher paid jobs, which are putting unreasonable pressures on them, and all so
that they can have a fancy house and be able to afford expensive birthday
presents for their children. Employers are working people into the ground and
then, when the pressure gets too much for those people, discarding them like
old rag dolls.
Yet my question is this: why cut the funding to mental health services, when more and more people are going to need to access them?
So lets repeat the question I asked at the beginning: Do you believe in miracles? Then get on your knees and pray… things are truly getting that desperate!
Day Services or Social Support Clubs, As I See Them
by
Paul Nelson
"Day Service
provision is unfashionable and yet remains the central means of providing care
in the community”
Being diagnosed
with Manic Depression and subject to frequent hospitalisation, I was
effectively barred from the labour market and found that listening to the radio
at home only went so far when it came to sampling life’s riches.
Fortunately a
range of day service provision was on offer.
I really tried
hard to train for work, do various jobs and then went to Clubhouse for their
“work ordered day”. This I found useful for building social confidence more
than work training per se. Other clubs like TocH (no longer running) were also
useful for this purpose.
The main social
club, that combined two previous day centres, was called “Wings”. This was run
by the “Bucks Association for Mental Health,” now “Bucks Mind”. “Wings” is a
place where people feel safe and supported by each other and by the dedicated
staff.
It cannot be
over-emphasised how life-facilitating and therapeutic such a venue is. I am
sure that several of us have been spared hospitalisation due to this lifeline.
Various agencies
come and go on the mental health scene and always the same two questions are
asked:
To stop the first
question from dominating mental health agencies for next several decades, might
I suggest that service users are people and want what other people want:
dignity, security, money, love and friendship.
As to
integration, that is a complex issue and deserves its own article; but let’s
just say that a lot of service users have tried and failed to sustain work, due
to health symptoms, the negative attitude of fellow workers and the paucity of
work available when you’ve been hospitalised and are finding the managing of
symptoms a full time job.
Yes, see what can
be done to make people more employable, but let’s not be blinkered in this or
too discouraged if big hurdles require long term strategies and some people
never make it back fully into the mainstream.
Which brings us
back to Day Care – Social Support centres.
This is the main
or the only social engagement for many people. This sort of social engagement
and confidence building is a necessary first step to any other kind of social
integration and will continue to be so. It is of great value to society and its
mentally ill fellows to keep Day Care provision going, to keep it in the hands
of those with dedication and a proven track record of making it work, rather
than wrapping it up in red tape and giving it up to the expediencies of
political correctness.
Service users
have found Day Centre social support to be life-enhancing and a powerful
positive contribution. As such places grow in strength so do they become better
able to do more and reach out more.
Wings has evolved
a social strength and cohesion, its magazine run by service users, two art
classes and a guitar class. More is expected and if past performance is
anything to go by, more will be delivered; but organically and sustainably, not
in a violent wrench or by sudden diktat.
Advocates
by
Adam Makeham
One of the frustrating things about being in the Mental Health system is the lack of support you sometimes get. You try knocking on doors to get help with your issues, but a lot of the time people don’t seem to want to know. So when there somebody who does give you help and support you need, it is only right that you sing their praises. That’s what I’m doing now, that why I think advocates are great!
But first let’s
be specific about the kind of support advocates can give. Generally they can’t
advise you on things of a medical nature, or treat you for your mental health
issues, but nonetheless they still fulfil a need that people like myself have.
The role of an
advocate (be they a paid worker or a volunteer) is to represent vulnerable
people in society who are not always able to communicate effectively. More
often than not people in this category have either (if not both) mental health
issues or a learning disability.
Take me for
example. If I had to deal with paperwork on my own, I would get stressed and
not be able to take all of the information in. So I take it to my advocate, and
they can either help me fill it in (if it’s a form) or, if it’s a letter,
explain to me what it is I need to do with it.
An advocate can
also speak on your behalf in certain issues. When I’m in stressful situations,
I find that I am unable to express myself clearly and often get things muddled,
which can sometimes cause even more problems. By reading this article, you may
think I have no trouble expressing myself, but the truth is I can’t do this on
my own. I need to have somebody alongside me to translate what’s in my head
into a coherent article, but I always get the final say of what goes in it!
Also I do not
have the confidence to speak up for myself and stand up for my rights. The good
thing about having an advocate is that they are someone who can stand up for
you when you are not able to do so yourself.
Like when I had a
landlord who wasn’t fulfilling his obligations to me as a tenant, my advocate
was there fighting my corner, and eventually managed to help me move to
somewhere better.
Yes, it’s reassuring to know that there are people out there still willing to fight the corner of people like me who desperately need it.
The Decline of Community Care
by
Neil McMillan
I have been a user of psychiatric services in Aylesbury for well over 20
years, and for much of that time I’ve been happy with the services provided to
me by the authorities. For many years I was visited regularly by Social Workers
and Rehabilitation Officers who were only too willing to give me all the help
and support I needed, both emotional and practical. The help I was given helped
me to maintain a reasonable level of stability with my mental health problems
and also greatly enhanced my quality of life. When you are struggling daily
with paranoia, obsessions, anxiety and depression, it is a tremendous help to
be able to talk to a supportive professional every week.
However, in recent years the support I receive from the psychiatric
authorities has declined drastically. This is in spite of the fact that my
mental health problems have worsened and I am on higher doses of medication
than before. I still have a Care Manager, but I am no longer visited on a
regular basis by Social Services staff. I feel I’ve been dumped by the
authorities, and that they no longer take my problems seriously. There have
been times in recent years when I have been literally suicidal, but the
psychiatry hospital where I am an outpatient does not seem to care. I have life
long serious mental health problems that are not going to “get better” and as
such I expect to get life long input from Social Services.
I still see a Psychiatrist at the psychiatric hospital every three
months, but even with that there are problems. A few years ago my regular
Consultant Psychiatrist, who was very good, left saying she could no longer put
up with the burden of work the hospital trust were putting on her. Since then I
have seen a whole series of locum doctors, some good, some appalling. Even with
the good doctors the situation is highly unsatisfactory, as they are never
around long enough for me to build a rapport with them.
My main source of professional support is now the Wings Support Centre,
which I have attended for many years. The staff there have bent over backwards
to help me both practically and emotionally. I also find the friendship and
companionship of my fellow clients at Wings very supportive. However, in
today’s climate of mental health care being rationed, of constant negative restructure
of it being all about targets and money instead of peoples lives, I just hope
and pray that this service will not be changed or scrapped, as this would be a
disaster for me and dozens of other mental health clients in Aylesbury and
surrounding areas.
In conclusion, I would like to say that mental health services in Aylesbury have deteriorated very badly in recent years, and that the mental health and quality of life of me and my fellow users has declined as a result.
HEY
YOU!
Want
To Write For The Eccentric Times?
If
you’re someone with a mental illness and you want to write an article for the
Eccentric Times then we’d love to hear from you. Please send your article
either via post or e-mail (you’ll find our contact details on the back page). All we ask is that you bear the following in
mind:
· We can’t pay you in money, but you will earn our eternal gratitude (non-taxable) and we’ll all think what a wonderful person you are!
Where,
What, When and How
What do people
think when someone tells them that they have suffered or are suffering with a
mental illness? How do people respond to this? Most people look or act towards
them in a funny way, as if the person with the problem has two heads.
The truth is
however these people can be normal people and could have mental health issues
for a number of different reasons, which can include harsh and unjust treatment
from a sometimes cruel and uncaring world.
How would these people feel if
the shoe was on the other foot? Everyone needs be part of the world or a
community in some way, not to be stuck at home all the time like a social
outcast.
Where do people
go with mental health problems such as depression? First they can go to their
GP, who would naturally be the first port of call with any kind of health
problem the person has. Sometimes the GP may give the person antidepressants
and other medication to help lift their mood.
Yet sometimes it
is necessary to go a bit deeper than this, and the GP may arrange professional
support for you, including counselling, a support worker or a CPN, although
sometimes either this is not possible (due to the Health Authority’s lack of
staff and/or money) or you have to go on a long waiting list.
While these
services are undoubtedly helpful, there are some cases where the person’s
problems are too acute to be just addressed by them alone. In some instances a
stay in some kind of residential home or specialist hospital unit can be
appropriate. But this in itself does not provide a “magic cure”, some people
have to cope with serious mental health issues (such as clinical depression)
for the rest of their lives.
But what about
the people with mental health problems, while out in the community, aren’t well
enough to hold down a job? Where can these people go?
Well there are
hospital-based activities, with group things to do. These can help the person
build up confidence and make new friends. There are also Day Centres that
people can attend. But the problem is that it’s hard to access any service
these days without a referral. Even if you want to use a befriending service
you still will have to be referred. There have been a lot of rule and
regulations been made over the last few years, which should IN THEORY make
things better, but instead just make these services harder to access.
Some people are
able to get better and are capable of living a life as near as normal as
before. Yet sadly this isn’t a possibility for everyone, and some people have
to spend the rest of their lives in residential homes or supported living
accommodation.
For some people who
do get moved out of the environment of a hospital or residential home into
independent living, it can be very bewildering stepping out into the big bad
world, having to fend for themselves again.
Who can this
happen to? It can happen to anyone you pass in the street. It even could be
your next-door neighbour, a friend, maybe even a family member. You can’t
always predict who mental illness is going to affect. We all have our ups and
downs in life, and nobody should look down on anyone who’s struggling with such
issues. We all have to fight battles in life, and while every person may try
and keep their head “above water”; this is not always possible, which is when a
helping hand really becomes useful. So next time you know somebody who has a
problem, don’t run them down, help them pick themselves up again and carry on.
Tranquilized Tim
Looks at
KARMA
If you
wish to contact us you can do so at the following address:
The Eccentric Times
Buckinghamshire Mind (Wings)
Aylesbury
HP20 2RQ
E-mail: [email protected]
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but please note that letters may be edited for the sake of space and clarity.
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We would like to thank
Buckinghamshire Mind
The Eccentric Times Roll of Honour
The Eccentric Times Team
Mark Sampson - Editor
Paul Nelson - Deputy Editor
Danya Day – Chief Motivator
Adam Makeham - Public Relations Officer
Eve Chaloner – Researcher
Neil McMillan
A Message
From
Tranquilized Tim
HEY
BUSTER!
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