What could be different in mental health care, what helps, and what have you found to be useful reading?

[OwFriggingOw]

First off - this is a thread inspired by another thread - not about another thread.

I am a lecturer who teaches mainly MH nursing students, but also Adult, Child and Learning Disability field nurses about MH, and also occasionally medical students. I have no agenda for this thread bar a genuine desire to listen, share ideas, and have an open discussion about what is helpful / less so. I worked in NHS MH for 13 odd years.

In case anyone links the other threads that inspired this thread - I have been comissioned to edit a book about people's experiences (service users and carers / family / friends) within MH services and with MH issues. NONE OF THE POSTS HERE WILL BE USED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM FOR THIS BOOK. You have my ABSOLUTE word on that. Similarly, NONE of the posts here will be used in any of my teaching.

My aim in starting this stems from several PM's and several on-thread comments about how this would be useful/ I hope it can be a helpful, supportive and productive meeting place for thoughts and ideas about what people have found helpful with regards MH care / services / support (statutory and non statutory) and what has been less helpful. Most importantly with regards the less helpful - what can be done differently?

And - beacuse I like books - maybe we can share reading ideas :)

Would it be helpful if I shared parts of my long thread from earlier regarding what I see as needed, without any other details from the thread?

Also for those depressives amongst us

The practice of mindfulness afaik ( alongside medication, therapy whatever helped your path) Can help reduce the reoccurrence rates and levels/ depths of depression massively.

Have a go.
We are not what we think.

Some general thoughts on this thread:

1/ The general stigma surrounding MH issues means that many people feel uncomfortable discussing treatment (successful or otherwise) with people in RL. Threads and boards like this can be a useful way to be able to openly express thoughts - and explore potential future treatment options.

2/ Triggering is a huge issue - but from my own personal experience once you are in a situation where triggering is a real risk - the triggers can come from aboslutely anything. Eg a totally innocent comment from someone in the street, a loud noise, a newspaper article, a tv prog etc etc etc

3/ As an on off user of MH services and treatments over the last few years I have a huge variety of treatment / support. From a genuinely life saving counsellor, supportive GP and knowledgable psychiatrist - to an absolutely appalling (one off) CPN and a dangerous Psychiatrist who was evetually suspended and sacked because of his treatment of patients. With a physical illness I dare say I would have had the same range of skill/competence and human kindness - but I can absolutely guarantee that my views on that treatment would have been taken more seriously.

I have a successful management career - and when I am well I absolutely look and sound the part. So rightly or wrongly people listen to me. Yet after my last episode of depression they didnt listen to my concerns about some aspects of my treatment until i was well again, my hair was clean and i could string a sentence together without crying. But I was still the same person - and I 'knew' some things werent right about the way I had been treated. But my concerns were pushed aside because I was 'very anxious'.

This wouldnt have been the case if it had been a physical illness.

4/ Anywhere where you can share tips on how to improve symptoms is a good thing.

5/ Anyone who is in severe distress and at risk needs to see /speak to a dr and responsible posters should always point this out.

Hi all...new to forum .
Mindfulness is the only helpful thing that has helped me to cope alone without mental health services .Jon Kabat Zinn is excellent ........as is this book .

www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343332121&sr=8-1

This is from a background of acute anxiety and depression which has haunted me all my life with hospitalisation in the past .

this illness makes you so alone doesnt it ? not right .
Good thread OP .......thank you .
l

Mindfulness has also been recommended for me. My psychiatrist/CPN say that it's not that effective at reducing OCD per se but it can help with certain aspects e.g. to get some distance from "magical thinking" or thought-action fusion where you believe something will happen because you thought it. Didn't know it wasn't useful for paranoia/delusions but that makes sense.

fluffy really glad that you were able to have that conversation today.

Ok, off to get my boys to bed now. Have been ignoring them as they're happily watching olympic football way past their bedtime. Just want to say how glad I am that we can talk about mental health stuff. It's because people are willing to share their experiences (good and bad) that I know I'm not doomed, that I'm not alone, that I'm not making this stuff up and that telling myself to pull my socks up is worse than useless. I continue to search for ways to live with my depression and not let it hurt me and mindfulness is changing my life. Be kind to yourselves! Night night. :)

Hi bassetfeet there are lots of helpful threads within this board. You might find them slightly less contentious than this one .

Im really interested to hear how useful everyone has found mindfulness. I keep saying that Im going to do it properly (rather than just read two sentences about it

Hi Bassett :)

Mindfulness sounds fascinating and seems to have been helpful for many - guess what I'll be sourcing tomorrow :)

Harrietspy you are not doomed and not alone

Hi kizzie - me too :)

Lots of research has been done. Lots of books have been published. Many have been recommended here by Ow herself, giving the lie to her claim that the sharing of experiences and insights here is useful.

Books on what? How to improve the service? Because that ^ is your response to my statement of "How can a thread about how to improve MH services NOT be a good thing?" And whether there are such books about, it's unlikely that anyone other^ than those that work in the field, would read it.

That is to Math by the way. And I agree with YR when she/he says we get that you think this thread is a bad idea. I assume you've reported. Let MN decide.

I've also bought two books on Mindfulness to read on holiday.

Ooooo forgot to say too - just finished William Styron's autobiographical book on his experiences with depression - awesome, hope-filled book - it's called 'Darkness Visible'. Reminded me of Kay Redfield Jamison's 'An Unquiet Mind' - both really inspiring accounts of recovery from (and, in Jamison's case, living with) MH difficulties.

Futuredream, There has been far too little challenging of the sweeping generalisations about medical staff and procedures, and the extrapolations from individual to general problems, for instance wrt therapy.

'Thank you very much for your contribution' is not the appropriate response to irresponsible posts on the part of someone who claims to be a MH professional with good intentions.

When posts like that have been challenged there have been howls of 'we are being silenced', 'Who do you think you are suggesting that all complaints about MH services are not equal?''

Sharkey --
'How can a thread about how to improve MH services NOT be a good thing?'

Do you honestly think that this thread is going to make one ounce of difference to MH services?

If you do, then you have been taken in by Ow's promises.

I dont know the etiquette here with posting and taking up space .
Just to say thank you to those who acknowledged my post .
thinking of you all out there and taking note of advice and links .

Fluffydressinggown: 'I regularly see people advised to attend A&E or their GP or to ring CRS if they are in crisis. '

Where on this thread have you seen this advice?

I never made any promises to improve services Math. As I said before (can't remember if it's on this or deleted threS) I'm really not that powerful! I hoped this may be useful or helpful. As, it seems, it has been.

WIth regards not challenging - I have been very careful not to inflame or derail the thread by agreeing or disagreeing with certain negative experiences. I have tried to turn each post into something to think about, and to acknowledge people's experiences as being their own, and their right to post about their experiences.

just catching up here. happy to see that others are finding it helpful and off to go research mindfulness myself. i know of mindfulness from a vedantan hindu perspective but not much else. so ty

bassetfeet not sure what you mean? you are v welcome here :)

If the issue of what to do in a crisis had been raised, the response would absolutely have been see your GP, ring your local crisis line, go to A&E and ask to see psychotic liaison, phone an ambulance - whatever was appropriate. But it hadn't been raised. The advice is very sound, and now on the thread re your post earlier, thank you.

No etiquette here Bassett - thank you for the mindfulness links, seems to be really interesting topic for many, me included - very keen to know more about it generally and in relation to MH more specifically, and will be looking tomorrow :)

Math It may do, who's to say it won't? It's clear that many people have received shocking treatment and I for one, will not shy away from recounting my experience. I believe that far too many people are treated badly and on top of that, made to feel like they are the one in the wrong. That it must be the illness talking. Well that's not always the case I'm afraid. I'm not alluding to any particular examples, it's evident that it is more common than previously thought.

Perhaps the more people that highlight the errors and poor treatment whether it be on threads like this or elsewhere on the web/RL etc, then yes, people may listen. It's a start.

And let me reassure you that I haven't been "taken in" by anyone or anything. I think it's a positive thing. You don't. That's fair enough, you have made it clear. Like I said, I assume you have reported the thread. Let MN decide.

Oh my god worst typo ever!!!!! PSYCH LIAISON obviously. Bugger - I want my buttons back on my old nokia phone!

bassettfeet, space is here to be taken up! Welcome to MN!

(It's not normally as shouty as this thread!)

Have a .