A Day in the Life

So, it seems that the economic "age of austerity" has well and truly begun to bite here in Stoke-on-Trent. And wouldn't you just know it, mental health is one of the first victims of the massive cuts needed in services to reduce our burgeoning budget deficit. According to an article in our local newspaper, beds at North Staffordshire's four resource centres are "under threat" as mental health bosses look to save money by cutting 53% of places used by those with mental health needs. Among the four centres, which each currently have 8 beds, is the Bennett Centre which I attend on a regular basis for our Pathways to Recovery group. The number of beds will be cut by 32 to 15, with all 8 beds at the Bennett Centre going in order for it to become the main base for community mental health service staff in the city. To my mind, this is a real shame, as the beds in question offered a place for respite and recovery both from home life and the more, it has to be sai...

As you who read this blog may know, I have been on the lookout for some form of part-time work. Having worked voluntarily for over 3 years now and having experienced probably 5 years of good mental health, I feel it is time for me to branch out and move on. This is not to say that I would entirely give up my voluntary work, but that I may want to do something else in conjunction with it. I have also said in many blogs that I have often found a lack in mental health services for people in my position. There seems, at the moment, although I know efforts are being made, a lack of provision for those like myself who have been unemployed for a long time through their ill health to help them back in to work. So, as help does not seem to be immediately forthcoming from that quarter, I decided to look to some local mental health charities to see what they might be able to provide. Having acquired some literature from two such places ( I will avoid mentioning any names here), the outlook seem...

I can, today, say that unequivocally, without any shadow of a doubt, I am feeling pretty good. After changing my diet and beginning to exercise I have lost something in the region of 2 stones, 9 lbs. That feeling of sluggishness has gone and I can now at least walk some distance without getting out of breath. It is refreshing just to be able to walk up stairs without undue exertion. My clothes are beginning to get baggier and I can, finally, face the world without being too embarrassed about my weight. Indeed, many people, mostly staff members at my local residential unit, have remarked on how "well" I look. Even my blogging and now 3D friend, Gary aka klahanie , remarked that really, I was "quite a good looking guy", who had something of a Robin Hood look about him. I was not wearing green tights and brandishing a bow and arrow when Gary made this remark, but I found it flattering all the same. And, as someone once said, "flattery will get you everywhere"...

It's difficult sometimes when speaking of mental ill health not to get bogged down in negativity. The prejudice, the stigma, the discrimination; not to mention the debilitating and harrowing nature of mental illness itself. So, it is my joy to announce, that according to some recent statistics, the experience of stigma and discrimination amongst those who have experienced mental ill health may be on the wane. This new research has come from the organisers of the "Time to Change" campaign, of which I have spoken in this blog before. Time to Change is a national campaign, funded by both Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund to the tune of some £20 million. The campaign is a national one and is truly wide-ranging, or, to use the modern jargon, "multi-platform". It has 35 projects in all, including local community projects, a high-profile national campaign, a mass-participation physical activity week, legal test cases, training for student doctors and teachers, an...