MENTAL HEALTH

The Facts and the Fiction

A Patient's Perspective

Banishing the MythsA Personal Perspective

Perhaps........ Perhaps the most worrying aspect of mental health

problems for the patient is the reaction of other people to their 'condition'. Often the reaction is one of embarrassed silence. For this reason, I say I have been in 'hospital' and avoid saying why or naming either Marchwood, Melbury Lodge or Connaught House. It would be easier to explain a burst appendix.

The Patient's Perspective

Entering the system

For most this starts with

a visit to the GP

NHS or Private Mental Health Provision

Melbury Lodge – NHS Winchester

Marchwood Priory - Private

The Main Differences to me between the Private and NHS Mental Health Hospital

Marchwood Priory PRIVACY

Lovely rooms with en suite facilities and television in rooms

No locks on bathroom doors!

Plenty of staff so if you needed to talk you could always do so

Regular/daily appointments with counsellors/psychiatrists, etc

Melbury Lodge Staff did not wear uniforms

so relationships less formal perhaps

Much larger patient:staff ratio and no regular counselling sessions

I felt very lonely – this is different to wanting to be alone – there was very little privacy

Less attractive surroundings

The Main Differences to me between the Private and NHS Mental Health Hospital continued ...

Marchwood Priory I could hide if I wanted to and

be left alone without intrustion or intervention – that mattered a lot to me

Here I felt I could take life at my own pace

Melbury Lodge Bathrooms did have locks on

doors!!!

CV involved staff even coming with you to the loo!!

Here I felt under pressure each day at least to demonstrate some pretence of wanting to move forwards – I felt it was the only way I could get out – the only other route was suicide which one patient chose whilst I was there

Consultant Psychiatrist

Occupational Therapist Care Worker Psychiatric Nurse

THERE ARE, OF COURSE, OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WHO

BECOME INVOLVED GP CASUALTY OFFICERS THE DUTY OFRFICER AT THE MENTAL

HEALTH UNIT THE CRISIS TEAM THE SAMARITANS# RASAC and other voluntary organisations

The Consultant Psychiatrist

A problem solver – the problem being YOU the 'client'.

OK I'll admit it – these people make me scared

They have the power to turn my life upside down

I'm frightened of decisions they can maker about my care – about powers they may exert simply because they feel they had to 'do something' because their job tells them to

When maybe I just need to stand still ..........

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The role of the Occupational Therapist

A heavily disguised Health Professional!!

The Occupational Therapist

These are really 'good guys'. They are teachers of life skills; they are great listeners; they can be putting you through your paces on an anxiety management course one minute, and partnering you in badminton the next. They get you 'back on track' so-to-speak.

Difficult to spot – may be dressed in 'classic' clean cut straight out of public school attire, or promoting the 'alternative' life-style of pony tail and tie-dyed t-shirt.

These guys do not judge you.

I SO DO NOT NEED A SOCIAL WORKER OK?

That was before I met Len

The role of the Social Worker

He listens and doesn't judge

He's a friend He makes things

alright He doesn't carry a

hidden agenda Nothing I do or say

causes him to flap! - and I have tried!!!

He's just a normal kind of guy who takes me out for coffee like I'm just a friend

He asks the right questions and knows when to stop

Nothing is ever too much trouble for him

DAY CARE

For most people who have been patients in the NHS system, this is the main route back to 'normal' life after a spell in hospital.

The disadvantage for the person who has been in a private facility is that they can be returned to 'normal' life with no support or further provision.

CONNAUGHT HOUSE Home to an

assortment of Health Professionals and 'clients'

'If you can tell the difference between the Health Carer and the Client – then there's something wrong' Chris Wagg, OT

Making the Transition

Clients at Connaught House are encouraged to access a range of activities and courses designed to build confidence, physical well-being, social skills and skills which may help with future employment.

COPING SKILLS

Learn positive ways of coping Relaxation Challenging negative thoughts Anxiety management Learning to set realistic goals – the

following demonstrates this ...

STORY OF A LIFE IN FIVE CHAPTERS

CHAPTER ONE

I walk down the streetThere is a deep hole in the pavement

I fall in, I am lost, I am helplessIt wasn't my fault

CHAPTER TWO

I walk down the streetThere is a deep hole in the pavementI pretend I don't see it. If fall in againI can't believe I'm in the same place

But it isn't my faultIt still takes a long time to get out

CHAPTER THREE

I walk down the same streetThere is a deep hole in the pavementI see it there, I still fall in, it's a habit

My eyes are openI know where I am

It is my faultI get out immediately

CHAPTER FOUR

I walk down the same streetThere is a deep hole in the pavement

I walk around it

CHAPTER FIVE

I walk down another street

oooOOOooo

THE BENEFITS

Obvious – exercise

Less Obvious – contact with others and building of social skills

THE BENEFITS

Obvious – exercise

Less Obvious – contact with others and building of social skills

IT

MIND come to Connaught House with lots of laptops

They work with each service user

Each session is tailored to the individual's needs

CRAFT GROUP

A whole range of activities – painting, knitting, model making etc – and you can do whatever you like – or just sit and watch someone else

SOME GENERAL THOUGHTS

ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESSFROM WHERE I STAND NOW

SELF HARM

I am a self-harmer

I slash my arms

Sometimes I cut my face

You might think that I should be ashamed or embarrassed – but I'm not thinking of others when I do this – but I am desperate for the release it provides which is a positive feeling for me

I have to confess I often find myself peering closely at myself in the mirror looking for signs of 'madness' – some kind of distant look in the eye or the wild, uncontrollable edge of a typical James Bond style villain.

Actually, when things are really bad looking in the mirror is something I avoid – because I am frightened that I will see exactly that

STANDING STILL ... If I keep very very very still may be I can make sense

of what is happening to me If I don't move my head I might be able to work out

which things in the room are real and which are in my imagination

I don't have to answer that question because the person asking it is only a shadow

.....These are some of the thoughts that pass through my head – could you help me?

Medication

Mirtazipan Venlafaxine Lorazepan Quetiapine Zopiclone

These are some of the medicines that I take

The Tangible Effects of Medication

FACT – I Like my medication FACT – I like feeling supported FACT – I like having the 'curtain' of medication

to hide behind

CRISIS

So can the average mental health professional really understand the feelings and state of mind of someone on

the point of a crisis?

How can they tell when someone is really on the edge of something or a feeling that they can no longer tolerate?

How can the mental health professional help when the patient no longer has the will or the energy to articulate their thoughts?

I'm not sure I know the answer to this one

How can they possibly know how bad this is' – I used to think – a bit like listening to an ante-natal class leader who has never actually given birth describe the pain of childbirth|||

It has to start with trust.

WARNING!!!

PLEASE TAKE NOTE!

Never underestimate how much the mental health professional is needed

Sometimes talking is too much, too painful Sometimes threatened suicides are not 'just

a cry for help' or emotional blackmail and do become a reality

Don't assume that textbook case scenarios apply to your client

Please avoid 'labels and psycho-babble

SO... Can you be still? Can you listen? Can you hear the hidden truth that someone

is saying behind the words they speak aloud?

Can you develop that trust?

Some of the things that have made a huge difference to me

The real respect and kindness shown to me – even when things have been wholly hopeless, and I know that the OT's for example must know my situation, but they just carry on as usual

The way the staff laugh with you NEVER at you

The sense of 'mucking in' and being one of the 'family'

Back to me ....

I've been 'ill' for quite a long time now

I don't know when I'll be better

I do know that there is some support out there

I'm not alone on this jouney and I can trust