A Day in the Life

Today, 10th October 2013, is World Mental Health Day, an annual occasion on which mental health, for this brief period, is forced, or should be forced, to the top of the agenda. So, in recognition of this auspicious day, I thought I'd just print a few thoughts on whether we are progressing in our goals of bettering the representation and treatment of those with experience of mental illness. In terms of how mental illness is represented in the media, it would seem that any progress on that front has taken a blow with the recent Sun  front-page headline, "1200 Killed by Mental Patients". Mental health campaigners have been enraged by such sensationalism. Once again, the link is made between mental ill health and violence, and, as I've often said in these pages, while one cannot deny that those with mental illness sometimes commit violent acts, it is an absurd misrepresentation to suggest that violence is some kind of symptom of mental ill health. Stories of recovery an

Recently, UN special rapporteur Raquel Rolnik came to Britain to investigate the so-called "bedroom tax", the controversial government policy that sees people facing a reduction in their housing benefit for having "spare" rooms. Rolnik had five years experience of carrying out housing investigations in countries such as the U.S., Croatia, Argentina, Israel, Rwanda, Palestine, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Israel and Algeria, and the conclusions she came to about the situation in Britain were, to my mind at least, not that surprising. She observed that the "bedroom tax" is causing great hardship and distress to some of the most vulnerable in British society. Some people she spoke to were reduced to tears by the situation they found themselves in, while others spoke of even contemplating suicide due to having nowhere to downsize to because of a lack of smaller housing. Rolnik stated that the policy could, then, form a possible violation of human rights and Britain

It seems like  a veritable age since I wrote my last blog. Indeed, it's coming up to around two months since I last put finger to keyboard. So what, I hear you all ask with eager anticipation, has provoked such an unusually long hiatus? Well, for a start, I seem to have hit a period of writer's block. I simply cannot think of what to write. And, as I once wrote a blog about  not being able to write (entitled "Writer's Blog"), I can't even write about that! So once again I trawled the Internet for possible subjects. My main topic of mental health was again in the news recently, with the revelation that doctors were sectioning patients not because of clinical need, but just so as to get them hospital treatment. This apparent impingement of rights was being done because professionals could see no other way to get patients treatment in an otherwise over-burdened service. It was a good story about a system pushed to the brink by cuts, but I felt I wanted to write

A short while ago, my good friend Gary, over at his blog, Klahanie , wrote of how our coalition government is re-assessing those receiving disability benefits and, in the process, causing a great deal of needless suffering. Gary had a personal interest in this subject for he is currently going through the re-assessment process himself, and, unfortunately, it is also causing him unnecessary distress. After filling out the re-assessment form and then going for a face-to-face assessment, Gary was awarded his benefits, only to find that just two months later, after receiving another re-assessment form, he will probably have to go through the whole process again. To Gary, who has experience of depression and anxiety, this is a nightmarish situation. Perhaps he feels a little bit like he is caught up in a bureaucratic Groundhog Day, or some sort of Sisyphean punishment, rolling a rock to the top of a hill, only to have it fall back to ground-level and have to push it up the hill once again.

I have sometimes written in this blog about celebrities "coming out" as having had experience of mental illness, and how I felt such openness has been an aid to alleviating stigma. Among the most well-known of these is Stephen Fry, who recently admitted to attempting suicide only last year despite, seemingly, having it all. To my mind, such things show how mental illness can affect anyone, even the most talented and successful. However, in an article in "The Observer" newspaper by Barbara Ellen entitled "Severe depression is hell, even if you are famous", it was argued that increasing instances of celebrities suffering from mental illness are actually creating "compassion fatigue" and leading to "a whole new level of stigma". Ellen argues that because of an often-felt contempt for the famous, when they are open about their mental health they are perceived as "over-diagnosed, over-indulged, attention-seeking fakes". Her argume

For those who don't know, and for those who do, room 237 is the room in The Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's film version of Stephen King's novel, "The Shining", which the character of Dick Hallorann warns Danny Torrance to stay away from. It is also the room which Jack Nicholson, playing Danny's father, Jack Torrance, enters, only to find an alluring, naked woman in a bath. As she stands up and moves towards Jack and they embrace, however, it becomes clear that, in fact, she is some kind of malevolent spirit, and soon she reveals her true form. For those who've seen the film, I needn't remind you of what happens. But, "Room 237" is also the title of a recent documentary about "The Shining" in which various commentators reveal what they think are the hidden meanings and messages in the film, and I have to say that I found it fascinating, not least because of my own experience of mental ill health. I was once delusional. And, I

A while ago I wrote a blog about a report from the Schizophrenia Commission. The report, entitled "The Abandoned Illness", argued that those with a diagnosed psychotic disorder were being let down by a broken and demoralised system. But that is not what I'm going to concentrate on here. Rather, it is just one small part of that report that has got my attention this time, for in it, the head of the Commission, Professor Sir Robin Murray, stated that the days of the "ideological disputes" which had surrounded mental health had now gone. The disputes to which he refers were, I believe, to do with whether mental illness is better viewed as being caused by biological, or environmental/social/personal, factors, and Murray argued that it was now understood that both biological and social factors had a role in mental ill health. However, in "The Observer" newspaper on 12th May, it was reported that the British Psychology Society's division of clinical psy

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln.     I read recently in a book by the journalist Jon Ronson (who, incidentally, also authored "The Psychopath Test", on which I based a previous post entitled, "Do Psychopaths Run the World?") that the genius film director Stanley Kubrick had a great distrust of those in power. After talking to Kubrick's widow, Christiane, Ronson states that the couple's "great principle in life" was to "always be suspicious of people who have, or crave, power". I have to say that I think I share Kubrick's point of view, and as I watched "The Politician's Husband" on BBC2 the other day, the first scenes of which depict David Tennant's character's failed bid for power, I began to wonder just what makes people want such power, and what does it do to them when they get it? To use a contemporary exam

In my last post I spoke about a new direction for this blog, but as I have some sad news to relay concerning mental health, I will be returning to my main topic, at least for this post. And, the sad news is that the local mental health charity that I worked for voluntarily for over five years has now closed. The Media Action Group for Mental Health closed its doors for the last time on 28th March 2013. The group began in December 2000, and developed as an independent user-led charity with a remit to promote positive perceptions and awareness of mental health issues by working with the media in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. Indeed, when I joined the group as a volunteer in 2007, we were taught how to interact in a positive way with the media as part of the group's "Talkbank" project. Many letters of protest were written, many interviews given, and as part of our training we even got to go to Staffordshire University where we made short films about mental health

I don't know what it is, but this blog seems to be becoming less and less about mental ill health. The aim of this blog was, of course, to explain some of the misconceptions surrounding mental illness, and by doing so, attempt to dismantle some of the stigma which is still a burden to many. But, as I have gotten better and more time has gone by since my last episode of ill health, my preoccupation with mental illness has abated. Now I find that I've virtually exhausted the subject, at least from my own point of view, so I look around, feverishly trying to think of things to write about. I suppose that this, really, is a good sign (at least for me), as I now look to other areas to spark my interest. You could say that it's just another episode on a journey, a journey which has taken me from being very unwell and almost defined by my own illness, to one who now sees himself as very much his own person once again. I hope, then, that this blog reflects an ongoing progress (ind

After my last post about me giving up smoking, my hairy, hippy friend, Gary, remarked that I seemed to have "dumbed down" somewhat. So, being a little flustered by this observation, I thought I'd write something about the phenomenon of "dumbing down". When, for example, did this phrase start being so widely used? And, also, why? Being a relatively new phrase, could it be that it describes something peculiar to our own times? Well, according to Wikipedia, dumbing down describes "the deliberate deminishment of the intellectual level of literature, film, schooling and education, news, and other aspects of culture". Apparently, the phrase originated in the 1930s, when it was used by motion picture screenplay writers as slang to describe the process of revising a screenplay so that it would appeal to those of little education or intelligence. Indeed, judging by most mainstream Hollywood output, it would appear that the "dumbing down" of movies is

OK, so it's a pretty bad joke. "Nosmo King" of course translates as "No Smoking". And, for those of you who don't know, I used to be a smoker. But, having come to the conclusion that the cigarette is basically an evil invention, as well as expensive, I have decided to try to give up. My last puff was taken on Thursday morning, which by my calculations means that I haven't had a cigarette in five days. So used am I to reaching for a packet of fags, though, that I think it's the psychological impact of the absence of the things that has been most significant. The act of smoking itself, the whole movement of hand to mouth, had, I think, become such a ritual with me that it's been quite hard to get used to not doing it. Withdrawal from nicotine, then, is, I believe, only one part of giving up smoking, you also have to get used to the fact that it may have actually taken up your time or alleviated boredom, and as I sit here now, I remember that one o

After a brief spell of quite mild weather for the time of year, Britain has been deluged with snow. I don't know how other countries with more severe weather conditions than ours (say, Russia, for instance) manage to cope with such things, but here in my homeland it seems that even with only a bit of snow, things begin to grind to a big, crunching halt. People have trouble getting about, with road, rail and air traffic all affected. Schools close. Businesses lose money. People stock up on supplies for fear that their food will suddenly run out. Football matches, meetings and other gatherings are all cancelled. Yes, folks, it's snowmageddon! And, if you're wondering what snowmageddon looks like, here is a little picture of round my way for your delectation.       Yes, I know it's not exactly Siberia, but you'd think, by our reaction to all this, that it was. So, let's close all schools, cancel all meetings, buy extra dog food so our pets don't

Some time ago now I wrote a post called "A Road to Nowhere", in which I stated that although "recovery" from mental illness, particularly from psychotic disorders, is, of course, desirable, there were, to my mind, still significant issues to be addressed. Recovery is great, I suggested, but recovery to what end? Do we recover, as I seem to have done, only to be left poor, economically unproductive, and with little to actually do? Perhaps I should begin by explaining what is meant by "recovery". In the mental health field, "recovery" seems to have become the new buzz word, and, as far as I understand it, the concept of recovery in mental health encapsulates three major tenets: 1.) the provision of hope that a person can get better, rather than the suggestion that, particularly in terms of more severe diagnoses, this can mean the end of a person's useful life. 2.) the promotion of the idea of "living with" an illness, rather than bei

At the end of my last post on this blog, after saying that cuts to mental health services and benefits had been a cause of dismay for many, I asked the question, what else can go wrong? Well, just in terms of my own predicament regarding benefits, it seems that the answer to that question is plenty. It all started when, after receiving the relieving news that I was to be transferred from Incapacity Benefit to the new Employment and Support Allowance, I got another form in the post. This time it was a form called an ESA3. I had already filled out the ESA50 form regarding my reassessment, and, as I say, had been granted the new ESA benefit. But now it appeared I was being asked to fill out yet another lengthy form (coming in at 49 pages long). I was somewhat confused by this, as on the front of the form it stated that the DWP had sent it to me because either a) I had told them about a change in my circumstances, or b) I wanted to claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance. It