BeyondNow - Suicide Safety Planning

Had a post from beyondblue show up on my Facebook page a few minutes ago. It could be something a few around here could find very useful.

"Today we’re proud to share our Australian-first suicide safety planning app, BeyondNow.

Safety planning is exactly what it sounds like – creating a plan to stay safe during those really difficult moments. The BeyondNow app makes this suicide prevention tool even more valuable by putting your plan in your pocket – you’ll always have it on hand if you need it. It can be hard to think clearly when you’re in a suicidal crisis or having thoughts or feelings about suicide. Having all your warning signs, coping strategies, reasons for living and support listed in one place means you can focus on working through the steps until you feel safe. We hope that you and your loved ones will never need this app. But if you do, we hope it can guide you through the tough times.

You can download the app from the App Store or Google Play."

You can find our more on the BeyondNow web page.

I haven't looked at it fully myself but it looks good & perhaps it can be used for other types of crisis or distress too. Hopefully this is something that will help when we need it most.

Take care all.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Internal Acceptance Movement!

I ran across this site the other day for the Internal Acceptance Movement (I. A.M.). It was started by a young woman, Daniell Koepke, and has the simple motto of You exist, and therefore, you matter. I'll let her describe about it in her own words:

I came up with the idea while I was in treatment for an eating disorder in the summer of 2009. My initial goal was to spread eating disorder awareness and promote body positivity.

After creating a space on Tumblr, I decided that I wanted the I. A.M. to encompass something more broad — I wanted the blog focus on helping people heal from any struggle; to offer encouragement and validation; to remind people that they aren’t alone and that the things they struggle with don’t have to be a source of shame; to provide self-care tips and coping skills; and to offer hope that things can and will get better. 

Daniell is studying psychology with the goal of becoming a therapist. I think she will make a great one. Her own writings & thoughts have some great insights and are full of encouragement & support for all. Highly recommended.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Dandelions & Bad Hair Days: Now on Kindle

Dandelions and Bad Hair Days, a collection of poetry and prose edited by Suzie Grogan, has been mentioned here several times in the past. Released in October 2012, the book is finally available on Kindle from Amazon.

For those who don't know, the book is a collection of pieces written by sufferers of various mental illnesses. I am lucky enough to have two contributions in the book, a copy of a guest post I did for Suzie's No More Wriggling Out of Writing site & a poem, 'Loneliness', which Suzie found in my Scribd collection.

The book is a look at the world as seen by those that live each day with mental illness. It's not just a book for other sufferers, but for carers, friends, family & the community. It may help people understand our daily struggles better.

Additionally all profits from the sale of both the paperback & digital versions of the book go to SANE UK & other nominated charities. So by purchasing the book, you not only get a great read, but are supporting mental health charities.

I hope you will take the time to spend a few dollars for a good cause and some enjoyable, insightful reading.

Take care
Mark 

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

NSW Mental Health Services Cut

New South Wales Mental Health minister Kevin Humphries says the federal government has drastically cut new treatment services for the mentally ill in the state.

NSW Mental Health Mister
Kevin Humphries

Funding had been secured to create four Early Psychosis Prevention & Intervention Centres in NSW, which would haven given a large portion of the population better access to treatment if they began to develop a psychotic disorder.

But two years of planning & negotiations were wasted when the now former federal Minister for Mental Health Mark Butler announced in a press release last month that NSW would only get one centre to be run by the charity Headspace - the National Youth Mental Health Foundation.

It is thought that difficulties in negotiating agreements has led to the federal governments decision. This was despite already approving four centres in NSW & opening negotiations for two more.

Source & full article: The Sydney Morning Herald (01 July 2013)

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Dandelions and Bad Hair Days: Cover released.

Suzie Grogan, the driving force behind the upcoming release Dandelions and Bad Hair Days, has made public an image of the cover for the anthology. The cover artwork is by Ingrid Eva Creative and is a brilliant pictorial representation of the title.

The book is a collection of articles, stories & creative writing from sufferers of mental illness (including me!). Due out early October, all profits from the sale of Dandelions and Bad Hair Days will go to mental health charities such as SANE UK. A great book for a great cause.

Cheers

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Bipolar 1 & 2, What's the difference?

Bipolar Disorder (formerly called manic depression) is an illness that at times even the sufferer doesn't fully understand. Most people don't even realize there are couple of forms of bipolar, or if they do, they don't understand the differences. So here I will attempt to detail the differences between bipolar 1 & bipolar 2.

Both forms of the disorder have 2 things in common which helps with the initial diagnosis of bipolar. First, you must have suffered episodes of clinical depression, which is often the only thing you will be treated for initially. I found that getting a new diagnosis after being diagnosed & treated for depression (which didn't help at all) to be very difficult. Secondly, you must have had periods of feeling 'high' (mania). Everybody feels happy or sad at times, but bipolar sufferers feel these emotions far more deeply, and the swings between the highs & lows are usually extreme & can occur quite suddenly.

Coming Soon: Dandelions & Bad Hair Days

Back in March I did a guest post for Suzie Grogan, the author of No more wriggling out of writing...... Well, while I've been lazy over the last few months, Suzie has been very busy. She has been putting together everything required for the upcoming release of Dandelions & Bad Hair Days, a collection of poetry & prose dealing with mental health.

The book will include a selection of the guest post articles from her website as well as other material contributed by some quite talented & creative people. She has even taken the time to get a new blog going about Dandelions & Bad Hair Days. So if you want to find out more about the book (due out in October I believe), head over to Dandelions and Bad Hair Days and see what the fuss is about.

The book has been endorsed by SANE UK, with the forward written by Chief Executive Marjorie Wallace. All profits from this book will go to SANE & other nominated charities. So check it out - just maybe you may end up indirectly helping someone you know.

Cheers 

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Back to school - it's never too late

Returning to the halls of learning is something I've considered on & off for years but never followed through with. Over the years I've even signed on for a few courses but the steam quickly ran out and they fell by the wayside. It's pretty hard to keep going with depression continually pulling you down. I would get a lot done in the first few weeks while the energy was up, but when it was gone, nothing.

I think a lot of the problem was I was trying to do it all by distance education so I wouldn't have to face sitting in a classroom situation with a whole lot of strangers. The problem for me was that there was no structured learning. What I was doing was easy for me but I couldn't keep myself grounded with the need to get things completed & sent in for assessment. I also had no-one around to encourage & support me

So this time I'm biting the bullet & trying a return to the classroom if possible. In my mind I'm a lot better now than at any time I've tried studying previously and I also have some great support close at hand. I'm also hoping the more structured environment will assist in keeping me motivated, or at least to get things done for fear of failing!

Talk yourself up: Self Affirmation

A couple of weeks ago I posted Mind Over Matter, about a press release suggesting what a person thinks about an illness plays an important role in their health outcomes. With mental illness, could this be even more important? What is self affirmation and how can it be used by a sufferer to help improve their life?

Self affirmation is nothing new, it's been around for decades and is a major part of many self-help books. Dr Norman Vincent Peale called it 'The Power of Positive Thinking', one of the most famous books on the subject. It's not a complicated procedure & you don't really need a book to tell you how to do it. All that's involved is telling yourself, usually at least once a day (the more the better), something good & positive about yourself. It's something anyone can do.

Computers to identify the at risk?

The other day I posted an article about the possibility that a blood test could help identify those with depression, a great step forward. Now it looks like the researchers are getting computers involved in identifying those at risk of mental illness.

A press release by the Welcome Trust suggests that a computer programme may be able to identify those at risk of mood disorders & anxiety. According to research published in PLoS ONE, an open access journal, computers can be 'taught' to differentiate between brain scans of adolescents to identify those most at risk of psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety.

With most mental illnesses typically manifesting themselves during the adolescent years & early adulthood, the earlier that those at risk can be identified the better. Early intervention could result in a delay or even prevent the illness appearing in those at risk.

Facebook: Is this any place for the not-so-self-assured to make friends?

From the Los Angeles Times:

Facebook, the social networking giant that connects 845 million people to one another, may be a jolly gabfest for the self-assured. But for those who suffer from low self-esteem, it appears to be a rather nasty trap, luring such people into self-disclosures that prompt many a Facebook friend to agree with their low opinion of themselves.

A new study, set to be published in the journal Psychological Science, explored the dynamics of friendship on Facebook to see what benefits or pitfalls the site might offer to a population that could use the propping up of a few new friends: those who think poorly of themselves, fear judgment by others and are prone to social isolation and depression.

Enlisting a slew of undergraduates for three separate studies, they found that those with low self-esteem are encouraged and emboldened by Facebook's capacity to provide a forum for social interaction that doesn't risk awkward face-to-face communication. They established that, given the opportunity for such social interaction, those with low-esteem do engage in the kind of self-disclosure that is thought essential for friendships to take hold and deepen.

Read the complete article online.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Fight Stigma

Stamping Out the Stigma of Mental Illness

It is an undisputed fact that individuals who experience mental health issues are often faced with discrimination that results from misconceptions of their illness. As a result, many people who would benefit from mental health services often do not seek treatment for fear that they will be viewed in a negative way. The World Health Organization agrees and says that in the 400 million people worldwide who are affected by mental illness, about twenty percent reach out for treatment . The World Psychiatry Association began an international program to fight the stigma and discrimination many people hold toward individuals who have mental health issues.

It is the 21st century, and though evidence-based research has shown us that mental illness is a real medical disorder, stigma is on the rise instead of on the decline. David Satcher, US Attorney General writes, “Stigma was expected to abate with increased knowledge of mental illness, but just the opposite occurred: stigma in some ways intensified over the past 40 years even though understanding improved. Knowledge of mental illness appears by itself insufficient to dispel stigma.”

Mental illness: myth versus fact

Here are some common myths that may be used to justify negative feelings about people with mental illness:

MYTH:	Mental illness is fairly rare and doesn't affect average people.
FACT:	Mental illness is quite common. According to the American Psychiatric Association, one in five Americans suffer from a mental disorder in any given year. Mental illness can strike people of any age, race, religion or income status.
MYTH:	People with mental illnesses are dangerous.
FACT:	This powerful myth has been fed by the media. In fact, the vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not dangerous. They are much more likely to be the victims of violence and crime than the perpetrators.
MYTH:	If you have a mental illness, you can will it away. Being treated for a psychiatric disorder means an individual has in some way "failed" or is weak.
FACT:	A serious mental illness cannot be willed away. Ignoring the problem does not make it go away, either. It takes courage to seek professional help.
MYTH:	Depression and other illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, do not affect children or adolescents. Any problems they have are just a part of growing up.
FACT:	Children and adolescents can develop mental illnesses. One in ten children or adolescents has a disorder severe enough to cause impairment.
MYTH:	Most people with a mental illness are receiving treatment.
FACT:	Only 1 in 5 persons affected with a mental illness seeks treatment.
MYTH:	Mental illness is more like a weakness than a real illness.
FACT:	Mental illnesses are as real as other diseases like diabetes or cancer. Some mental illnesses are inherited, just as some physical illnesses are. They are not the result of a weak will or a character flaw.
MYTH:	People with mental illnesses can never be normal.
FACT:	Science has made great strides in the treatment of mental illness in recent decades. With proper treatment, many people with mental illnesses live normal, productive lives.

How you can fight stigma

We can all do our part to reduce stigma and make life easier for the millions of people who struggle with mental illness. Here are some ideas:

1. Educate yourself about mental illness. Having the facts can help you challenge the misinformation that leads to stigma.
2. Be aware of words. Don't reduce people to a diagnosis. Instead of "a schizophrenic," say "a person with schizophrenia." Correct people who use hurtful language to describe people with mental illness, such as "psycho" or "crazy."
3. Challenge media stereotypes. Write letters to any newspapers, TV or radio stations that promote negative portrayals of people with mental illness.
4. Support those with mental health issues. Treat them with respect. Help them find jobs or housing. Encourage them to get or stick with treatment.
5. Share your story. If you or someone in your family has had a mental illness, speak up about it. Your example could help someone else.

"Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all."
Bill Clinton

From the Mental Health Foundation of Australia (Victoria) website.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Vitamin D to fight depression?

Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to depression, according to UT Southwestern Medical Center psychiatrists working with the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. It is believed to be the largest such investigation ever undertaken.

Low levels of vitamin D already are associated with a cavalcade of health woes from cardiovascular diseases to neurological ailments. This new study – published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings – helps clarify a debate that erupted after smaller studies produced conflicting results about the relationship between vitamin D and depression. Major depressive disorder affects nearly one in 10 adults in the U.S.

Dr. E. Sherwood Brown and MinhTu T. Hoang

“Our findings suggest that screening for vitamin D levels in depressed patients – and perhaps screening for depression in people with low vitamin D levels – might be useful,” said Dr. E. Sherwood Brown, professor of psychiatry and senior author of the study, done in conjunction with The Cooper Institute in Dallas. “But we don’t have enough information yet to recommend going out and taking supplements.”

Read the full article on the UT Southwestern Medical Center website.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Ex-Wallaby Clyde Rathbone Battles The Black Dog

On Tuesday (31/01/2012), 30 year old Clyde Rathbone, a former international rugby union star for the Australian Wallabies (15 tests between 2004 & 2006) made a startling post on his Facebook wall revealing his personal battle with mental illness.

In the post, Rathbone speaks openly about his past & how emotional abuse as a child left him battling mental illness throughout his life. He asked that his story be distributed in an attempt to help others deal with similar situations.

It is with thanks to people like Clyde that the issue of mental illness is being brought out into the open. His candid story can only help in raising awareness of mental health issues & the stigma associated with these illnesses. I would personally like to thank him for this frank & deeply personal post & wish him all the best for the future as he continues to face his problems.

Here is his story, in his own words:

“Sometimes we have to take risks, be terrified and do it anyway. Julian Smith wrote this: http://inoveryourhead.net/100-tips-about-life/ so I decided to contact him, below is what I wrote. Just like I’ve asked Julian I’m asking you all to send this to somebody you know if you think it might help them.

I’m not really sure where to start, if this appears as unlettered and rambling as I fear please accept my apologies …

I first heard about you whilst listening to Robb Wolfs podcast, from there I found your blog, read every single post, downloaded & read “Flinch” which resonated with me in ways I’m not nearly well enough equipped to articulate so I’m forced to drag out the cliché that it changed my life, but fuck it it did!

I know my story is neither as boring or as interesting as I think it is, I hope you’ll bare with me and read it (there’s an idea at the end, and I know you like those) but if you decide not to I’m fine with that too.

I was born in South Africa 30 years ago I’m the oldest of 4 boys, I had a difficult childhood, I was abused emotionally by someone who should have been looking after me. And it had a huge effect on me. A number of things can happen when you’ve been emotionally abused. Every negative thing I heard about myself, things that were said repeatedly to me became my truth, I started to believe that negative voice until it became ingrained, it affected me in nearly everything that I did and every decision I made. Usually people who are exposed to this abuse have extremely low confidence and low self esteem, In my case that was certainly true but those that knew me in high school may well describe me as arrogant, my defence mechanism was to project an image of myself that most protected me.

I was lucky in a sense because the abuse I suffered was inconsistent and definitely not as bad as many others are exposed to. So I ended up a confused, conflicted & pretty angry child and I know what saved me was that I was always good at sports, I was good at just about any sport I tried and gradually over time I started to challenge some of these negative thoughts that I had by performing well in sport. Ironically I used those negative thoughts as a driving force, as if every time I achieved success it was a reaffirmation to myself that those negative thoughts weren’t true. Every time I trained hard or played well I felt I was winning the battle against those thoughts.

And I did this most of my childhood and adulthood, this unlikely process turned me into a world class athlete, I captained the South African National U21 team to victory in the 2002 Rugby World Cup. Shortly after that I was offered a contract to play for the Brumbies rugby team in Australia. And since I knew my family planned to immigrate to Australia soon I decided to take up the offer. It was not long before I was playing for the Australian National Team, travelling the world and basically living what I thought were my dreams. The thing is I was never happy, I felt guilty that I could not appreciate the life many others could only dream of. By this point I had convinced myself that what I had gone through as a child was not that bad and I basically tried to forget about it. The fact is those issues never left me completely, they would express themselves in many ways. I would be angry or irritable or feel tension and stress and not really know why but for the most part I would say I functioned as well as I could and anyone who met me would think I was completely “normal”. And I maintained that fictitious existence for years.

But this all began to gradually change about 5-6 years ago when I picked up some serious rugby injuries which ultimately forced me to retire @ 27. That was a catalyst for a flood of all those negative thoughts I had pushed to the background, many I had not had for years slowly began coming back and over time I slipped further and further into depression until I was chronically and severely depressed.

Though my body was broken I agreed to play some minor level club rugby, I injured myself in a match and needed surgery to insert a titanium plate in my face. I was on a lot of painkillers and I would go days when I would hardly get out of bed. I felt despairingly low all day, I had no motivation or optimism, I began having suicidal thoughts. And I want to say this about depression, I always looked at it as something that happened to “other people”, until I become depressed it never even crossed my mind that it could happen to me. What I’ve learnt over time is that any of us can become depressed given the wrong mix of experiences.

In that state, in the deepest of my depression my marriage began failing, I become short tempered and verbally abusive to my wife, there was never physical abuse but there is no doubt she suffered hugely emotionally. I completely neglected her and her needs. I did not know how to climb out of the hole I felt I was in, I did not even know where to start. Finally in Late 2010 I told my wife what I had gone through as a child, 10 years after our relationship began and 5 years into our marriage she was learning this for the first time.

And while it felt initially better to finally tell someone what happened, in some ways it made things worse because I began to see how much of my life had been affected by what happened to me as a child and it brought a lot of anger and resentment to the surface.

By mid May of last year my wife had had enough, she came to the conclusion that she could not help me. She had tried everything she knew to try and nothing seemed to change. She packed a bag and left to stay with her friend. Going through depression is difficult enough, but since I’ve recovered I’ve begun to realise just how tough it must have been for my wife to observe the person you care about most struggling for as long as I did while nothing my wife tried seemed to work. I think often we forget about the toll that depression takes on the people who are caught trying to help those suffering from it. If there is a hero in this story it’s how my wife has managed to remain as strong as she did for as long as she did.

Carrie leaving devastated me, that’s is both the most difficult and most valuable thing I’ve been through, because it was the first time I felt as though I was going to lose the most important thing in my life. It focussed my mind for the first time in a long time. I was at a crossroads, either I do whatever I must to completely rid myself of depression or it was likely going to cost me my marriage and probably ultimately kill me.

So as Carrie had been bugging me to do for ages I went to see a psychologist, I went to 5 sessions and they were incredibly valuable in helping me focus on the things I have control over and challenging the way I was thinking about things.

After I started getting some help the main thing I developed was consistency. I started working out again, dialling in my diet, working and reading like I was starving for knowledge and I began seeing old friends again.

For the last 6 months I’ve been completely free of any sort of depression, I experience the general ups and downs of life and every now and again you get a curve ball thrown your way but at no point have I ever felt as though I’m becoming depressed or that I’m slipping back into old habits. I think of my mind in the same way I think about a broken bone that heals stronger than it was before. I feel indestructible, I rarely flinch and when I do I make sure forge ahead anyway.

Today I will finally share this story with my brothers and parents, that will be both painful and cathartic. On the 10th Feb I’ll be sharing this with a few hundred people at a speaking engagement I’m doing through work (I own a corporate health business: www.healthfutures.com.au) I feel as though by talking about it at least some good can come from a bad experience, that maybe some of the people I talk too are struggling or know someone that is and perhaps hearing my story might help them to take come action.

All of this brings me to my wife. Carrie is far and away the best thing that ever happened to me, she’s the most kind, gentle, generous, smart, funny, beautiful soul. She sees the world differently to most of us. No matter how dark a situation seems her strength of character and spirit see her through. Her strength ultimately wore her down, when I was ill she told nobody, she took every single burden of my depression squarely on her shoulders and she did everything she could. By the time she left she was literally done, I had been emotionally shut down for years and I had worn her down to the point where she had to choose between becoming depressed herself or staying in an abusive situation. She did the right thing in leaving.

Since then I’ve made incredible progress, I don’t recognise myself. I’ll send you a picture taken in Jan 2011 and another taken a little while ago in November. Transforming my mind has allowed me to transform my body. I’ve never in my life felt as capable of anything I decide to do as I feel today. I seek out things that scare me and I attack them. I feel things deeper than I ever have and my mind is always searching for that next morsel that might just change the way I view the world. Julian, I feel lucky to have found your blog, to have learned who Robb Wolf is and to have been exposed to Mark Sisson’s work. I feel enormously enlightened and humbled by the works of Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. The internet is fucking amazing, I guess I just feel lucky.

And I need your help. I need this story broadcast, I need everyone I know and everyone I don’t to read this. I need that for me but mostly I just need to tell my wife that I love her and that I’m sorry, and that anything she chooses to do for her happiness is the right decision. I need her to know that she should never settle for happier than she’s been in 10 years when what she deserves is happier than she ever imagined you could be.

So what I’m asking is that you post this on your blog, send it to anyone you can, comment on it or don’t. I just need it out there…

Thank you,

Clyde Rathbone”

I hope Clyde's story encourages others to face the problems associated with mental illness.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

New Hope For Depression

Another sleepless night for me but making good use of it. I don't watch much television at all, news & current affairs programs in particular. I just find them generally too depressing so half the time I don't know really what's going on in the outside world - not always a bad thing I think.

Was chatting on the phone with a friend earlier and they mentioned a report on a local current affairs program Today Tonight about a medical procedure now being used to treat deep depression here in Australia. It appears a treatment for Tourette syndrome & Parkinsons disease is proving successful in treating deep depression.

The procedure involves inserting 2 electrodes into the brain connected to a pace-maker type battery to stimulate the brain. The operation takes about 6 hours & you remain awake through-out it. Now that sounds fun. It appears the operation is available in all states except NSW where it has been banned.

The procedure is performed by Precision Neurosurgery.

You can view the full story on the Today Tonight website.

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

SANE UK: Blue Mood Month

As part of its 25th anniversary, SANE UK has launched it's Black Dog Campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues during its Year of the Black Dog. To kick it off they announced Blue Mood Month where celebrities such as Stephen Fry were asked to contribute playlists 'of their favourite sad songs that make you happy'.

Sounds like a bit of a contradiction, sad songs making you happy, but I understand what they mean, at least to me anyway. When I get depressed I attach a lot of emotion to music and a good sad song can get me crying. But this is a release of emotional tension & stress for me and the end result is I can feel better after letting it out. And many songs can make you feel you're not alone, there are others out there who feel like you do - it's not the end of the world, it can get better.

Now, I am far from a celebrity so I will never be asked to contribute a list & can't access Spotify to add my list to their public ones. So I'll list mine here, with links to YouTube. So these are my 'sad songs that make me happy' in no particular order:

You'll Never Walk Alone - Jerry & The Pacemakers
Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.

Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues - Elton John

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - George Michael & Elton John

Travelling Soldier - Dixie Chicks

Gravity - John Meyer

Never Gonna Be Alone - Nickelback

Key Largo - Bertie Higgins

True Colours - Cyndi Lauper

He Ain't Heavy - The Hollies

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

Lullaby - Nickelback

Every Rose Has A Thorn - Poison

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

Yesterday - The Beatles

Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton
The Living Years - Mike & The Mechanics

That will do for now - could list many more. Next time maybe I'll just do a list of 'good time songs' that can lift my emotions.

So what are your 'sad songs that make you happy'?


Cheers

The information contained in this blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Finding An Outlet

Over the years, when I've been right down in the pit of my depression, I find myself with a need to write. It's an urge that just happens - I get an idea in my head, maybe a line or two, that just won't go away until I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Sometimes it's just those couple of lines that I'll write and maybe come back later to expand on, to make it something that may be worth reading. But most times I can't stop until I have a finished product.

I have no real control over what I write & never know what to expect. A number of years ago I was going through a really bad period around Christmas. One night I sat down & wrote a poem that left no doubt what my state of mind was - The Storm is a dark way to describe my depression. Yet the next night, Christmas Eve, when I think I was feeling worse, the need to write struck again.

The end result this time was Christmas Is, a poem with a religious message about how the meaning of Xmas is being lost in the modern day. It is a poem of hope, faith and love that in no way reflected how I was feeling at the time. And I am far from a religious person, only going to churches for weddings & funerals. It just shows how little control I have when the mood hits - instead of some bleak, depressing, suicidal prose I got this.

Over the years I've found that this writing is a release for me, a way of getting tangled emotions & thoughts out. It's a personal therapy. Even this particular post is, it's coming out the same way as my other writings - just something I have to write at this very moment. This is my release for today.

Now I'm trying to get in the habit of writing even when I'm not depressed or waiting until the 'have to do it' feeling hits. I have found it a great outlet for everything that I would normally keep bottled up inside which would just leads to me feeling worse & worse if I didn't get it out. It is simply a way to help me deal with the situation. And I do think it does help.

Do you have an outlet to help you? If you haven't, maybe finding what works for you will help through the roughest parts of life. For me it's writing, but everyone is different so finding what works for you is trial & error. For me it was easy really, I just had the feeling that I HAVE TO DO THIS! It gets in my mind and becomes a compulsion, an obsession.

There is so much out there that can be used as your outlet. You could paint, draw, exercise, write or any number of things. Be creative in what you look at, it could be something that even you don't understand properly. If you get a feeling that there is something you just feel the need to do then give it a try, expand on it. Let it grow & feed it if you find it helps.

Have you found an outlet for your emotions? What do you do? Let me know, maybe your ideas & suggestions will help others by giving them ideas to work on. Your suggestions & thoughts could do more than you think - they may just save a life.

You can find more of my writings - my outlet on My Scribd Page.

Until next time......

The information contained in blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

A goal of therapy.

After the previous post, I came across an article on the Counselling Connections site that deals with one of the goals of therapy. It discusses how it's in relationships that therapy is put to the test.

"To some extent individual therapy is about working out a hypothesis of our own inner life. It is in relationships outside of therapy where we put this to the test. Our work and love lives are the places where we try to put into practice what learn in our therapy. We work things out in the privacy of the therapy room and even test them out on the therapist. One aim of therapy then would be to try to work firstly on our relationship with our own self. This is done in the presence of and with an active relationship with the therapist. Good relations with the world may mean working things out on several levels including bringing meaning and purpose into our daily lives. Each of us has to work out these values for ourselves. This is a personal journey but not one which requires that we have to go it alone."

Read the full article here: A goal of therapy.

The information contained in blog can not be considered medical advice. These are only my own thoughts, feelings & ideas. If you or someone you know are having problems with mental illness please seek qualified medical advice.

Mental Illness: Still a Dirty Secret

As someone who suffers from depression & bipolar disorder, it's hard at times to deal with the stigma many people still associate with the diagnosis. Sufferers will not admit to having a mental illness for fear of being labelled as crazy, be accused of faking it or being shunned & ridiculed in other ways. Even worse is when they won't admit it to themselves, these people can become a danger to themselves & those around them.

On the other side is people who don't recognise the signs and blame it on other things. This is the group I fell into, not knowing what severe depression or bipolar was. Many uninformed people think it's just a case of being sad most of the time & totally crazy at others. Those that suffer from these illnesses know it is much, much more than that.

It is vital that information about mental illness be made as widely available as possible & an attempt be made to get people discussing the issue openly. Being able to recognise signs of possible mental health issues in yourself or those around you AND to be able to get the required help without fear of ridicule or scorn could save a life, maybe yours!


Thankfully today many people, including celebrities, realise what an important issue Mental Health is and the effects it has on society. A number of celebrities have put there names behind campaigns to raise public awareness of the issues and others have come out and spoken openly of their personal experience with depression, bipolar & other mental illnesses.


Mental illness isn't the domain of the weak, the unknowns, it is also part of daily life for many of the rich and famous. And at all levels of society, every day, mental illness costs lives, a lot of the time because the sufferer or those around them fear discussing it, or fail to recognise it for what it is. Times are changing, but how many more lives, great & small, will be wasted before the stigma of having a mental illness is lifted, allowing people to feel comfortable discussing their problems & openly seeking help.


Most major Mental Health websites have celebrities involved in raising awareness of mental health issues. Add your voice so that in the future sufferers, their family & friends can openly find the support & information they need to perhaps save a life.


Mark K.

Blog Update

Just added a number of links to the Mental Health Links available on the right. These sites are from all over the world & offer help, support & information on mental health issues & treatments.


Eventually I will need to move these links to a new page with more information about each site.


Cheers