I'm still alive!

Apologies for the long absence.  Life has been a little hectic, with Christmas parties, the third anniversary of my 21st birthday recently and the short arrival of Christmas.  I may not be able to post much up until February as my husband and I move out of Londinium to the Garden of England in January.

If that is the case I would like to wish everyone a wonderful and a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous 2014.

How to stay happy and healthy during winter

 The long, winter nights can bring on a lull in all of us, whether we suffer from a mental illness (especially Seasonal Affective Disorder – or SAD) or not.  I become quite apprehensive of the winter months when autumn sets in, more so because of the short days rather than the miserable weather and cold that comes with it. 

The reason why the long nights affect our mood is because when it becomes dark our brain produces a hormone called melatonin, which makes us sleepy.   When sunlight hits our eyes this triggers the production of melatonin to lessen, to make us more energetic.  This is why you may feel sluggish and tired by six or seven in the evening in December.  There are other theories as to why peoples’ moods are affected and why people suffer from SAD, like the over production of melatonin and disruption in our body clocks.

If you feel that the long nights are affecting you, whether it’s your mood, sleep or overall health, then the following tips can help you to elevate the symptoms.

• Wake as the sun rises.  It’s important to get as much sunlight as possible.  If you are a particular late riser then it may be beneficial to wake up earlier, even if it’s by an hour or two.  The sun rises around eight in the morning during December.
• Keep active.  Even if it’s laborious housework, a stroll to town or gentle exercises at home, exercise releases endorphins which are known as a ‘happy hormone’.  This will make you feel generally better about yourself, as well as giving you more energy.
• Purchase a light box.  Light boxes emit a light wave similar to the sun that helps to reduce the production of melatonin.  Depending on the manufacturer and instructions from health professionals a session of thirty minutes a day is enough to help relieve symptoms.  Bear in mind that there are debates whether light therapy does work.
• Eat healthily.  It is easy to munch on mince pies and chocolates, especially around the festive season, but it is important to maintain a healthy diet.  Consume the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals, especially fruit and vegetables.  Alcohol should be avoided, or at least reduced, as it is a natural depressant.
• Go out during midday.  Midday is when the sun is at its highest and strongest.  Having a twenty minute walk outside will expose you to enough sunlight to help reduce the production of melatonin. 
• Take breaks outside.  If you work inside, especially during the small hours of sunlight, then ensure that you take some of your break outside to expose yourself to sunlight.  Same reason as above.

If you start to feel worthless, guilty, tearful, difficulty concentrating, irritable, have sleeping problems, eating problems, and so on then please see your doctor as you could be suffering from depression.  Once recognised it can be treated.

We Still Need to Talk - Report and petition from We Need to Talk campaign

We Need To Talk is a coalition campaign for better access for talking therapies for those who need it.  Mental health charities, Royal colleges, service providers and professional organisations have come together with a common belief that talking therapies are effective for treating mental illnesses.

Recently, the campaign published the report We Still Need To Talk.  It explains how people feel regarding the current state of referral, waiting time and quality of talking therapies under the NHS and how beneficial talking therapies are.  It reveals shocking statistics, like ‘One in five people with severe mental illness are waiting more than a year to get psychological therapies’ and ‘58 per cent of people weren’t offered choice in the type of therapies they received’.  Whilst the NHS provides a choice of treatment and place of treatment for patients with physical illnesses this is still not happening with those receiving treatment for mental illness, one survey responder saying ‘We were referred to a bi-weekly full day group therapy programme almost 50 miles away from home. This is not do-able.’

I am a firm believer that increasing the availability of talking therapies would greatly help those to stay or to return to work.  A better mental health means less days off sick and better productivity.  The report showed these statistics:

‘In 2008, it was estimated that £1 billion in economic benefits could be achieved each year by extending NICE-recommended treatments to all those with depression, with treatment costs vastly outweighed by higher government revenues and reduced welfare payments, as well as wider social benefits.’

                www.rethink.org/media/869903/We_still_need_to_talk.pdf, p10

I urge people to read the report (link below) and to sign the petition to introduce a waiting time for talking therapies – from time of referral – to 28 days, or sooner in serious circumstances.  It is appalling that the NHS has no target or maximum waiting time for talking therapy or treatment for those with a mental illness.  With an introduction to a target or maximum waiting time treatment for those who desperately need it will become more available, having a much lesser effect on peoples’ personal lives and employment, as well as avoiding the risk of developing a serious, and more long term, mental illness.

Report: http://www.rethink.org/media/869903/We_still_need_to_talk.pdf

Petition: http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=32&ea.campaign.id=24068

*All statistics and information gained from the We Still Need to Talk report.

The importance of proper breathing

A lot of symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety are induced by shallow breathing.  Symptoms include dizziness, impaired senses, pins and needles and more.  Without medicalising this too much the reason for these symptoms are an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, caused by hyperventilating and shallow breathing.

Some sufferers of panic attacks develop a habit of shallow breathing, which creates these symptoms during and in between attacks.  This is similar for anxiety sufferers, who practise shallow breathing during periods of high anxiety.  Once recognised the sufferer should begin practising proper, abdominal breathing which, in turn, can reduce anxiety and panic symptoms.

Before I move onto proper breathing I will give you a quick biology lesson on why proper breathing can reduce anxiety and panic symptoms.  Our nervous system is broken up into two systems:  peripheral and central nervous systems (PNS and CNS respectively).  The PNS is broken up into more systems, one being the autonomic nervous system (ANS) which is what controls the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (SNS and PSNS respectively).  The diagram below should help with the ordering of these systems:

The SNS is what reacts during the fight-and-flight response.  This is what is responsible for your symptoms of anxiety, stress and panic.  When the threat has gone the PSNS is responsible for rest-and-digest and feed-and-breed, meaning it relaxes the body and takes it off guard.

When anxious or panicking in a situation that has no danger to us (like shopping) there is no use to us for a guard to be up, so to switch off the SNS and switch on the PSNS.  Although everything in the ANS is controlled subconsciously (like digesting our food and reflexes) we have an indirect control over our SNS and PSNS.  To reduce the symptoms of anxiety and panic proper, abdominal breathing can bring our heart rate down, resulting in other symptoms to reduce, i.e. sweating and dizziness, and eventually stop them.

Now you understand how important it is to practise proper breathing let me explain how it is done.  Proper breathing is deep, slow and rhythmic.  Whilst hyperventilating is concentrated in the upper chest proper breathing concentrates in the abdomen.  Breaths in cause the abdomen to expand outwards and retracts when breathing out.  Placing your hand on your abdomen you can tell if you are breathing properly.  Different organisations, groups and people give different breathing rates, some say breathe in for five seconds, out for seven, three in and three out or two in and five out.  I will not give a specific number as people have different lung capacities, one method could cause over breathing for some or it could cause under breathing for others.  Experiment to see how long you prefer.  Remember to pause during breaths.  Here is a step by step process:

• Relax and untense yourself, sitting somewhere quiet
• Breathe in, feeling your abdomen expand outwards
• Hold for a few seconds
• Breathe out, feeling your abdomen retract
• Hold for a few seconds – and start again

It is most beneficial when you practise proper breathing at home.  Set aside some time to practise your breathing, preferably somewhere quiet and comfortable, and practise for a few minutes.  Once the fundamentals have been learnt this can be done in front of the television or on the bus.  That way you prepare yourself for when you need to regulate your breathing and it has a higher chance of working.  Do not be disheartened if it does not work the first time, like many techniques it takes practise.  As this becomes second nature you will find symptoms like chest pains and dizziness will start to lessen and subside.

Intrusive Thoughts

Intrusive thoughts can be very distressing to the sufferer, as their mind creates images and ideas relating to harm, violence, blasphemy and cheating.  They can become so distressing that the individual will avoid people, places and situations that are related to the thoughts.

The vast majority of the public are unaware of what an ‘intrusive thought’ is, many probably experience them and dub themselves as evil and psychopathic.  An intrusive thought is a thought of the individual committing a horrendous act, such as physically or sexually abusing somebody, saying something or reacting very inappropriately to a situation (for example, laughing when somebody has said they have lost their job) or doing or saying something blasphemous.  These thoughts are linked to people who suffer from anxiety, OCD, depression and PTSD, although those with no apparent symptoms of these conditions can also suffer from them.

Many people will get these thoughts and dismiss them as so.  But when they become constant and distressing to the individual it can disrupt their quality of living.  Those who have these thoughts of harming a relative may avoid coming into close contact with them, despite the fact that they would never act upon the thoughts.

Whilst people are now becoming more comfortable talking about mental illnesses those suffering from intrusive thoughts will very much keep the thoughts to themselves, or if they do disclose them they do as with minimal detail.  I’ve seen many topics of discussion on internet forums regarding intrusive thoughts (mainly those asking for advice, rather than a discussion) and some begin to believe that they are a cruel person and a psychopath for even conjuring up these thoughts.

But these thoughts are a clear demonstration that those who are repulsed and or distressed by them are in fact sympathetic people.  A person who is diagnosed as a psychopath does not possess the ability to sympathise or empathise with others but themselves.  If somebody with an intrusive thought can feel distressed by them then they do not exhibit psychopathic qualities.

What we must remember is that these thoughts are not created independently or voluntarily.  These thoughts are very fleeting and can feel very sudden and out of the blue when they arrive, feeling very much out of the control of the individual.  If they become distressing enough to reduce one’s quality of living then treatment should be sought, usually in the form of CBT, exposure therapy or medication.

If you suffer from an intrusive thought then take it from me, you are a normal, loving human being.

Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners's negative message

I've watched Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners on many occasions, not for entertainment, as it seems to be the purpose, but to analyse the message it gives.  And with a second series now being aired it still does not reduce my frustration.

For those who aren't aware Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners is a documentary that takes those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who have compulsions to keep their homes germ free or minimalistic to help declutter those who hoard (who also suffer from OCD).  It is clashing two extremes of OCD.  The only aim I could get from the program is to allow those with OCD in minimalising and cleaning to tone down their obsessions by meeting those who are the complete opposite, and to induce some of their obsessions onto them.  If that really is the aim then it infuriates me.

On the last series I remember reading captions at the end of each episode, the ones that panged my heart were captions saying ‘It has made their OCD worse’.  How is this acceptable to happen?  Those who suffer from OCD experience anxiety when their obsessions are not satisfied by compulsive behaviours, for example somebody who is phobic of germs who cannot access a hand washing basin or anti-bacterial hand gel will experience anxiety and a fear of being contaminated.  Although exposure therapy is a proven technique to work for some people with different anxiety disorders this level of exposure is incredibly over the top and extreme.

I was intrigued to know what the public felt towards this program.  I went onto Twitter and was appalled to read the tweets.  OCD is often seen by the public as somebody who likes to keep themselves and their home clean, not understanding the anxiety that comes with it.  I've read tweets from people saying how they or somebody they know ‘MUST have OCD’.  Not only is it a pet-hate of mine to hear people self-diagnosing themselves with a mental illness but it shows that the level of understanding of OCD is still very poor.  Tweets that demonstrate how far we have to go in anti-stigma campaigning are ones that call the participants on the program ‘mad’ and ‘weirdo’s’.  I find that language unacceptable.  Not to mention the volume of tweets finding the program ‘amusing’, ‘hilarious’ and ‘funny’.  Only a few tweets showed understanding and compassion to those with OCD.

Channel 4 has made a massive mistake airing a second series of Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners.  It promotes a negative image of OCD and does not explain or show what OCD really is.  Channel 4 has taken a group of people, suffering from a serious illness, and put them through unnecessary anxiety for the purpose of entertainment.  This is not acceptable and I am shocked that Channel 4 think that this is acceptable.  Even if the participants agreed to be involved in this program this is still sending an inaccurate message of what OCD is, creating more stigma and discrimination to those who suffer from it.

‘Asylum’ and ‘mental patient’ themes – too PC or is it reinforcing a stereotype?

Looking on Twitter, Facebook and the BBC website I see articles and blogs reporting on how Thorpe Park’s The Asylum maze is stigmatising mental illnesses and portraying psychiatric wards negatively.  This comes weeks after supermarket chains Tesco and Asda removed their ‘mental patient’ themed Halloween costumes when they were deemed too stigmatising (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24278768).  There is a clear definition between mental health charities and anti-stigma campaigners who agree that there should be a name and theme change, but some of the general public have commented that this is becoming too politically correct and it is just a popular Halloween theme that has caused no issues in the past.

As an anti-stigma and anti-discrimination campaigner myself I can see both sides to this issue.  Firstly, I do agree that it is stigmatising.  Recently I spoke to people regarding mental health treatment and they often used the words like ‘psycho’ and ‘mad’ to define those needing treatment and describing the psychiatric wards as ‘mental homes’, ‘loony bins’ and ‘asylums’.   It always leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I hear these words as it describes these wards as scary, dangerous and dark, how ‘asylums’ are depicted in the media.  It’s also a reminder of the atrocious care that those with mental health problems received decades ago through electrical compulsion therapy.  Therefore I believe these themes reinforce the whole mental illness spectrum, and those with mental health problems, as an area of uncertainty, instability, danger and fear.  Rethink Mental Illness conducted a vote on their Twitter page for or against the ‘asylum’ theme, which shows a overwhelming ‘No’ (http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%23asylumOK&q2=%23asylumNO&via=Topsy)

Flipping the coin, I can see why the general public think that this is political correctness taking over.  Thorpe Park commented that their The Asylum maze, for their annual Fright Nights Halloween theme, which has been operating for an eighth year running, has not caused issues in the past (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24278768).  We have to take a step back and view the Halloween themes, vampires, walking mummies, werewolves and other well-known Halloween characters.  These are all unreal with their intention to be perceived as scary and frightful.  The feeling towards the stereotypical ‘mental patient’ and ‘psycho’ fits this theme.  Games like Batman’s Arkham Asylum takes the player to a psychiatric prison for the criminally insane where the Joker, who has always been depicted as a psychopath, has caused trouble.  Films, that are popular to this day, like Silence of the Lamb and The Shining, have psychopaths as the villain.

I am sitting on the fence when it comes to this issue.  I, personally, am not a fan of the ‘psychopath’ and ‘asylum’ themed rides, events and media, whether that’s because of it’s stereotypical connection to my illness or as a matter of taste.  Members of the public (especially if you read comments on articles regarding this issue) think that mental health charities are taking this issue too far, some going as far to say that they are reinforcing the stigma and making it more of a taboo themselves.  I can see why they think this is so, but I do believe that this fantasy image of mental health is too imbedded into popular belief.  Mental health units and psychiatric wards are not places of danger or fear, but a bright place of safety and help.  I do believe that once the general public see mental illness and wards the way they deserve to be depicted then these ‘asylum’ and ‘psycho’ themed costumes and rides will become more acceptable.

Recovery takes 90% YOU

So what do I mean by the title?  Well, any form of recovery takes work from the patient, whether it’s resting a sprained ankle or ensuring that antibiotics are taken correctly.  We ask a health professional for help but once the help has been given it is up to us whether we use that help and to what extent.

Despite poor treatment of mental illnesses there is help and it comes in many forms.  The doctor can prescribe medication, refer you to tests or mental health services or offer some advice and information.  Many charities and internet forums offer a bounty of advice and support.  If we look for help we will find it.  And with all of that support out there, whether it’s reading self-help books or receiving talking therapy whilst on medication we are all responsible of our own recovery, probably a lot more so than if we were suffering from a physical illness.

As someone who is recovering from a serious anxiety disorder I am not speaking out of term.  After receiving different forms of treatment and reading many articles on the internet I have learned that once we have been given the tools we must use them outside of the doctors surgery or support center.  I am guilty of being given tools and never using them, like relaxation techniques, and wondering to myself why I wasn't recovering.  Persistence with recovering techniques will work eventually.

It is hard to see improvement with a mental illness when coping strategies or treatment plans are new, in fact it may feel like it’s getting worse.  It’s easy to drop something if it doesn't work the first time.  But with determination, persistence and tolerance it will begin to show that it works.  Changing the way you think, from ‘I can’t do this!’ or ‘What if?’ to ‘I can do this’ and ‘Have I?’ to ‘I have’ takes a lot of practise, it won’t work the first, second or third time, but it will begin to work by the fourth time and work better each time.  Exercising may seem tough, especially if you’re suffering from depression, but once the wall has been broken it gets easier and starts to show improvement. 

Mental illnesses like the anxiety and depressive disorder require the person to change their way of thinking for recovery to begin.  It also means putting the person in situations that may cause distressing experiences, like a panic attack, anxiety or distressing thoughts.  Recovery, at that stage, can be very difficult and uncomfortable.  It takes small, simple steps at a gradual pace.  Eventually the symptoms will become bearable and manageable to take on new steps.

To be mentally healthy means that we can cope in challenging situations and adapt to change, this all means we can think rationally.  If we are to achieve this we have to challenge our thoughts and strive to change them to a healthier and proactive way.  Unfortunately, there is no magic pill or magic phrase that will make this happen, it takes us.  With an arsenal of tools out there we can begin to change our way of thinking and slowly recover.  I am by no means excusing the poor level of treatment, because even with excellent mental health services recovery still requires a change in thinking and hard work from the patient.  

Why The Sun's headline was irresponsible

On Monday 7^th October popular tabloid newspaper The Sun published on their front page ‘1,200 killed by mental patients’.  When I went onto Twitter that morning my feeds were full of tweets regarding the headline from mental health charities and other followers.  It shocked me so much I didn’t believe it at first, until I went onto the tabloid’s website.

The Sun is completely irresponsible for publishing such a headline.  The headline itself, the phrase ‘mental patient’ reminds me of stories of patients suffering inhumane treatment back in the ’70s and ‘80s.  It’s a term, which is derogatory, means a patient who is suffering from a mental illness and receiving treatment.  According to The Sun I am a ‘mental patient’, along with millions of other Britons undergoing treatment for their mental health problems.  The Sun, along with other media, must make an effort in using more acceptable language when addressing someone who has a mental illness.  Mind, a mental health charity, already has a page on this very subject:  http://www.mind.org.uk/help/media/how_to_report_on_health

It was made clear by other tabloids and media that the statistics used by The Sun were fabricated.  Half of those killed were by people with a mental health problem diagnosed BEFORE the murder, the other half by those diagnosed AFTERWARDS.  But looking at statistics of all homicides committed in the UK in that 10 year time span of 2001-2011 those deaths account for 5% of all homicides.  It is still a tragedy that any murder is committed but if The Sun want a shock factor in high number of deaths then they may want to turn their attention to road traffic accidents and drinking related incidents.

What we all must remember is that this level of violence from those with a mental illness is RARE.  Unfortunately films and other entertainment have branded those with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses as unstable and dangerous when this really is not the case.  With the correct treatment plan they can lead a normal day-to-day life with limited problems.

Charities such as Mind, Rethink and Time to Change have all worked hard to help end stigma and discrimination against those with a mental illness and irresponsibility from tabloids, like The Sun, ruin their work.  I try to be honest about my illness, it’s my way of breaking the taboo, but since this headline has been published I don’t want to risk being discriminated against.  I am also concerned that this headline will make the public believe that those with a mental illness are dangerous, if so I worry for their safety.  After all, it has been proven that those with a mental illness are more likely to be a victim of crime than the rest of the public.

Using the mind to combat pain

Pain is essential to life.  It tells us when we have something wrong in our body, we treat it or avoid extra damage occurring.  It could be as simple as relieving pressure when you have been sitting down for too long in the same position to extreme pain from a fractured bone.  Without pain we would not feel the warning signs that could save our lives, like the itch or burning sensation from an insect bite that could cause septicaemia or gangrene.  But there comes a time where pain becomes chronic and feeling such pain affects daily life and thus has no use.

Since I started puberty at the age of 11 I started experiencing back pain.  My parents and doctors put it down to growth spurts, an unsuitable mattress and my school bag being too heavy.  After making changes to help my back my pain persisted, getting worse in fact.  When I was 13 I was diagnosed with scoliosis, a side-to-side curvature to the spine.  It caused a lot of pain as muscles were being pulled by my spine.  It was not until I was 16 that the pain reduced, but now that I am 22 I still get persistent pain, especially if I stand for too long.  Obviously, I tried many methods to relieve the pain, from over the counter and prescribed pain killers to using a TENS machine to block the pain signals.  But they wouldn’t always work and if they did the relief was only temporary, so I tried my own method.

Whether it is anxiety, depression or pain we have the ability to control our mind to combat it.  People have been known to use their minds to block pain signals, either to reduce the pain or eliminate it all together.  There are different methods used by different people, but I will share my method to you.  It’s hard to do over the internet, so I will do it step-by-step.

1.       Travel to the source of the pain:

Close your eyes.  Travel your vision from your eyes to the source of pain.  Imagine your vision, as it travels, being accompanied by energy.  If you have a pain in your knee imagine your vision travelling from your eyes, down your neck, into the torso, to your groin, down your thigh and ending at the knee.  Now see the pain as a raging flame.

2.       Embrace the pain:

Imagine this energy having arms.  Wrap these arms over the pain and embrace it tightly.  Instead of the flames burning the arms they are containing the flames within them.

3.       Douse the flames:

As the arms contain the flame imagine the flame slowly fading.  As the arms slowly wrap closer and tighter imagine the flame slowly dying, gradually becoming smaller.  The once ravage flames shrink as small as a candle light.

I will tell you the truth; this method is not easy and does take practise.  Try practising it at home or on your way to work on the bus.  You can use this method for depression and anxiety too, visualise the pain in your stomach, chest, heart or mind, wherever you feel the pain, as a flame, or whatever personification suits you best.  As you master this technique you will be able to take control.

*This was originally posted on my old WordPress blog*