Having struggled with my own mental health this year (see Finally…in Recovery and getting Back to Life), it’s unsurprising that two of my charitable donations have been to mental health charities:
Mind is a UK mental health charity that states that it won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.
I gave another donation to JDRF who are an international charity that fund research into a cure for type 1 diabetes. Currently one of the things they’re funding is smart insulin, which could be life-changing for diabetics.
They have great Christmas cards and wrapping paper in their shop, all the proceeds of which go to them. So I stocked up.
My final donation was to The Brick Project, which supports homeless people in the Wigan borough (my hometown). Through circumstances and life events anyone could end up homeless. I’d never want to be homeless and like to support any charities that help people to rebuild their lives.
The self-acclaimed poster girl for mental health Ruby Wax went to Oxford University and completed a Masters in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy. Wax wanted to understand the neuroscience behind her own mental health and maybe find a better way to manage her mental health.
On completion on Wax’s Masters she wanted to share her own mental health story, along with what she’d learned at Oxford. So she embarked on a tour of mental institutions, before widening the tour to the general public.
Sane New World is a funny, informative and captivating book on the subject of mental health. It’s easily the best book I’ve ever read on the topic. So it is a MUST read for anyone interested in or whom has experienced poor mental health.
The Functions of Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, Cortisol and Other Chemicals in the brain and body.
How Our Brains Grow and thought/behavioural/emotional patterns can be changed.
The basics of Mindfulness.
Some good, but brief mindfulness exercises.
Alternatives to Mindfulness (if it isn’t your sort of thing or doesn’t work for you).
Throughout the book as I have mentioned Wax tells her story. Sane New World includes some wonderful illustrations that give an insight into how Wax operates and is relatable to all. After all, we are all human beings and all being stretched by life to the point of breaking. If we’re not careful we might actually break. We need to take hold of the reins in our minds and in our life and if necessary make some changes.
Sane New World will improve your understanding of mental health, teach you how to be and remain mentally and emotionally healthy and be an enjoyable read, all at the same time. It will teach you how to be in control of your mind, rather than it being in control of you. Definitely worth the investment in my humble opinion.
After reading the unique and brilliant novel The Humans by Matt Haig, I decided to Google him to learn more about this extradorinaiy Author.
I discovered that he had suffered with poor mental health in the past and was releasing Reasons To Stay Alive on the topic of mental health. So I immediately ordered Reasons To Stay Alive to see what he had to say on the subject.
In Reasons To Stay Alive, Haig shares his own experience of anxiety and depression, starting with a note to the reader explaining that these are his experiences and that other people might experience anxiety and depression in differing ways.
His book is split into five sections. His first is Falling where he writes about symptoms, suicide (including some of the reasons why men are more at risk of suicide) and the facts about depression and anxiety.
Throughout Reasons To Stay Alive there are little gems of good advice. In Falling for example, Haig writes about The Bank of Bad Days (see below). I have found having a Bank of Bad Days extremely useful.
Bank of Bad Days
WHEN YOU ARE very depressed or anxious – unable to leave the house, or the sofa, or to think of anything but the depression – it can be unbearably hard. Bad days come in degrees. They are not all equally bad. And the really bad ones, though horrible to live through, are useful for later. You store them up. A bank of bad days. The day you had to run out of the supermarket. The day you were so depressed your tongue wouldn’t move. The day you made your parents cry. The day you nearly threw yourself off a cliff. So you are having another bad day you can say, Well, this feels bad, but there have been worse. And even when you can think of no worse day – when you are living in the very worst there has ever been – you at least know the bank exists and that you have made a deposit.
The second section is Landing where he writes a lot about some of his key experiences, as well as the warning signs of depression and anxiety.
The third section is Rising where Haig covers panic attacks, the importance of love, how to be there for someone with depression or anxiety and famous people that have suffered from depression and anxiety. This entire section aims to tell someone experiencing poor mental health that they are not alone.
Living is the fourth section of the book and focuses on recovery from depression and anxiety. This section covers the importance of slowing down, lists reasons to live, lists things that make Haig’s mental health worse and sometimes better.
Being is the last section of the book and gives forty pieces of advice that Haig feels are helpful.
The presentation of the book is good. It’s a small white hardback book, with small chapters (some only a page long), which because of his writing style as easy-to-read and engaging.
Reasons To Stay Alive is one of the better books written about poor mental health on the market. It is a quick and easy-to-read book that is well worth a read.
Recently I’ve really not been well. Here is the saga thanks to my body that seems to be falling apart:
The Clinical Depression
Earlier in the year I struggled with severe clinical depression, before getting myself into Recovery. But this wasn’t to be the last of my health problems.
The Recurrent Dental Abscesses
Over the past few months I’ve had recurrent dental abscesses in a wisdom tooth. After several courses of antibiotics and regular Paracetamol and Ibuprofen (painkillers), the tooth had to be extracted.
Then I got a dry socket infection. It was the weekend so had to see an Emergency Dentist who prescribed me more antibiotics and recommended regular painkillers. Luckily this time the antibiotics worked and touch wood (touches bedside table), I’ve had no more dental problems.
The Moment of Panic
Next my blood sugars were off, I started to feel exhausted and generally terrible without any trigger. I went into a spiral of panic, thinking that I was getting ill with depression again. This panic only served to make me feel worse. But then a lump appeared.
The Lump – Return of the Jeff
A lump appeared on my right buttock. A bacterial infection, that I’ve had several times before. I always feel terrible before it appears.
I’ve had this lump enough times to name it Jeff and to tell close family and friends that I was going to stick some goggly eyes on it and draw a mouth using a marker pen.
I went to see by GP about Jeff. As usual I was given antibiotics. By this point, I was beginning to feel that I was living on antibiotics. But as always, I took them religiously.
Never one to miss an opportunity to get a laugh at my own expense, I spent several hours creating this on my iPad:
Could be a blockbuster.
I shared it on Facebook, forgetting that most of my Facebook friends don’t know about Jeff, so wouldn’t get the reference. But those that did laughed, so it was totally worth creating this piece of artwork.
The Hospital Admission – For Emergency Surgery
Admitted to Hospital for Emergency Surgery.
After five days on antibiotics Jeff had only seemed to get bigger – looking like he was the size of a gold ball. I was unable to sit, stand or lie down comfortably for any length of time. So I went back to see my GP.
My GP said that I needed to see a Surgeon immediately and referred me to the Surgical Team at my local hospital. He gave me a two week sick note and told me that I’d be off work for at least the next fortnight.
I went to hospital and was admitted to the surgical ward. I was reviewed by the Surgeon and Anaesthetist. It was decided that they would operate on me first thing in the following morning, with me being first on the emergency list on the account of having type 1 diabetes and having to fast.
I went up to theatre about 9am in the morning. I was put under general anaesthetic and next thing I knew I was in recovery and in a lot of pain. Thankfully I had been prescribed painkillers which were administered quickly.
After I had eaten, drank and peed I was allowed to go home with mum. She had to observe me for the rest of the day.
Wound Healing
Initially, I had to have the wound packed on a daily basis by the District Nurses. Then as the wound has got smaller, the District Nurses have been packing it every other day.
Thankfully, so far, touch wood (touches bedside table), there have been no complications such as infection at the wound site or accidental tearing of the wound.
My Experience of NHS Care
The NHS care that I have received has been superb. My GP has been exceptional. The Dentist’s have been helpful and supportive. All of the hospital staff (including the Surgical Team, Nurses, Porters and other staff) were great and efficient. Special mention must must be made of the Anaesthetist who looked after me. I felt that he genuinely treated me like a member of his family. All of the community service staff have been fantastic too.
Thank you to all the staff who have looked after, supported and cared for me this year.
I know the NHS is not perfect. But my recent experiences have been perfect.
Tough Year
2015 has been a really tough year for me health-wise. But Autumn is upon us and is a season of change. Leafs will change to bright colours of red, yellow and orange before falling from the tress. I hope my ill health falls from the tree of life, like one of these leafs and that it leads to a sustained period of good health.
