A Day in the Life

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 he...

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 (i...

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 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 Allo...