Every aspect of the book has been created with a reader who is struggling with depression in mind.
This book is written as if the author is having a conversation with the reader.
The book is short, a total of 114 pages, as are the chapters, which is intentional as a symptom of depression is having a limited concentration span.
The short chapters mean that the book is easy to dip in and out of. Depressive Illness covers a lot and doesn’t waste a single word.
The book covers:
What depression really is and the historic diagnosis and treatment of depression.
What causes depression.
What the clinical research around depression says.
Managing and treatment options for depression.
Recovery and staying well in the future.
The politics of depression – why we as a society need to be more open, honest and have dialogue about it.
Cantopher’s believes that if you have done too much, been too strong and tried too hard for too long it will lead to clinical depression. This isn’t a failing in the person, in fact quite the opposite.
It’s a wonder that anyone can be so strong for so long. This approach is very empowering for the individual with depression and very true to real life. It is often those that just keep going, those that are there for everyone else who eventually burn out and find themselves in the unpleasant land of clinical depression.
I read this book during a severe episode of clinical depression and was able to do so, by using the chapters to do little and often.
Depressive Illness – The Curse of the Strong is an essential book around clinical depression and should be read by all those interested in mental health and mental illness. For health professionals – particularly in the mental health and illness field this book should be required reading.
During my working and personal life I have met people who have told me that they are on the autistic spectrum or have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. But I’ll be honest, I don’t know that much about autism or Asperger’s syndrome.
So I’m writing this Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome Series to educate myself and others.
What is Autism?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the name for a range of similar conditions, including Asperger syndrome, that affect a person’s social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour.
In children with ASD, the symptoms are present before three years of age, although a diagnosis can sometimes be made after the age of three.
It’s estimated that about 1 in every 100 people in the UK has ASD. More boys are diagnosed with the condition than girls.
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What is Asperger’s Syndrome?
Asperger’s Syndrome is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder that falls within the autistic spectrum. It is a life-long condition, which affects about 1 in 200 people, more commonly in men than women. Those with Asperger’s Syndrome are usually of average or above average intelligence.
The condition is characterised by difficulties with Social Interaction, Social Communication and Flexibility of Thinking or Imagination. In addition, there may be sensory, motor and organisational difficulties.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms include difficulties interacting with others and unusual thinking patterns. Behaviour is likely to be affected, as explained below:
Examples of Autism Spectrum Behaviours:
Communication
Echoing words/phrases without context
Taking an adult to the biscuit tin rather than asking or pointing
Taking language too literally
Social Interactions
Preference to play alone
Difficulty relating to other people
Not understanding other’s thoughts and emotions
Repetitive behaviours
Hand flapping
Toe walking
Spinning wheels
Lining up cars
Restrictive behaviour
Eating only yellow food
Insisting on walking the same route
Only watching Thomas the Tank Engine
…
People with autism may or may not have the following:
Exceptional attention to detail
Sensory differences, this is most noticeable when children are over-sensitive to stimuli e.g. distress at loud noises
Trouble with co-ordination
Unusual eating behaviour such as only eating certain foods
Additional learning disabilities
A very small percentage have unusual abilities for example with music or memory
People with autism and Asperger’s syndrome are at higher risk of developing or have these other conditions: learning disabilities, ADHD, epilepsy, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, OCD, depression, anxiety, bipolar, sleeping problems, Tourette’s syndrome or other tick disorders.
Diagnosis
People get diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s syndrome by their GP referring them to a Specialist Team. These days people are often diagnosed as children. The specialist team usually includes a Paediatrician, a Psychologist, a Psychiatrist, a Speech & Language Therapist and a Occupational Therapist.
Treatment Approaches
As every person with autism or Asperger’s syndrome is different, the treatment for each person is different; depending on the individual’s needs. However treatment includes interventions around developing communication skills, interaction skills, the ability to imagine and traditional academic skills.
It is also useful for parents/carers and other family members to go on a parenting and autism course. This is because these courses are packed with strategies to best support a child with autism.
Parents/carers and other family members can also get peer support which will help them feel less isolated and give them opportunities to learn from others at a local support group. If there isn’t a group locally, there’s lots of message boards online.
In the next post in this Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome Series I’ll be listing useful websites around autism and Asperger’s syndrome.
This is the second blog post in a series titled Wonderful Websites. The first post focused on General Health websites and can be read here. This post focuses on the most wonderful websites for mental health and mental illness.
1. Mind’s website is a treasure trove of mental health and mental illness information. It has an A-Z listing of mental health conditions, information about treatments, advice on how to support someone with mental illness, legal advice, urgent help advice and stories of people with mental illness.
CALM offers support for men who are feeling low or in crisis. They campaign for a change in culture, encouraging men to talk about how they are feeling and aim to eliminate the stigma of men seeking help due to mental illness. They hope to prevent as many male suicides as possible and also offer support for those affected by suicide.
3. SANE is a mental health charity credited with the Black Dog Campaign and the #EndTheStigma hashtag. The phrase black dog comes from Winston Churchill who described his depression as a black dog. SANE has also worked with Ruby Wax who coined the term Black Dog Tribe.
4. Head Meds tells you everything you ever wanted to know about medications for mental illness. It also gives information about conditions and shares people stories of mental illness. What I particularly like about this website is that it tells you how the medications affect sex, alcohol, weight, sleep and just about everything else.
A useful website that I always visit before medication reviews or at times when there’s discussions about changing my medication.
5. Bipolar UK has a great online eCommunity. I use it all the time and find it a very useful resource. People on the eCommunity are friendly and share their experiences around a wide range of topics.
The eCommunity goes a long way to making you feel less isolated and reassures you that you’re not the only one to be experiencing what you are. They also have support groups that are run by volunteers who are people living with bipolar. I used to go to a local group before it shutdown and found it invaluable on my road to recovery.
6. The Samaritans offer support by telephone, in person, email or by writing to them. Their telephone number and email is open 24/7/365, being a lifeline to people in a mental illness crisis.
7. Time To Change aims to end mental health discrimination. They do so by education in schools and by supporting employers. They have a wealth of information online including myths/facts, conditions, how to support your friend and a quiz to test your knowledge on mental health.
8. The Mental Health Foundation’s website has some informative publications which you can download or order a printed copy. Their vision is for everyone in the UK to have good mental health.
9. Anxiety UK has been around since the 70s and provides a wide range resources around anxiety. It’s website is informative, they offer an info line, a text service and training to organisations and companies.
Are there any wonderful websites for mental health and mental illness that I’m missing? If so, please leave a comment.
In the next post in my Wonderful Websites series I’ll be listing shopping websites.
Whenever the temperature really drops, like it has today, I think of people that are homeless. No scratch that, I think of people who I see as homeless – those that sleep on the streets.
I usually donate to my local homelessness project The Brick and hope that those sleeping on the street keep themselves warm enough to survive the bitter and bleak night.
If I’m totally honest: I find it utterly shocking that the UK, as one of the richest countries in the world, has homelessness and rough/street sleeping. At first glance homelessness could be easily resolved by ensuring suitable accommodation for everyone.
But the truth is that homelessness is a complex issue. Why? Because people are complex. There are also a range of complex issues that lead to people becoming and remaining homelessness.
The causes of homelessness or contributing factors include:
Poverty, being unemployed, being underemployed or losing source of income.
Unmanageable debt.
Addiction to alcohol, drugs or gambling.
Mental illness – including depression, anxiety, bipolar, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and personality disorder.
Domestic Abuse – including violence.
Breakdown of relationships – both romantic and with family, friends or others.
Chronic physical illnesses or diseases.
Physical, emotional, sexual, financial abuse or neglect.
Having a family history of homelessness (according to Shelter).
Transformation or regeneration of areas – leading to unaffordable house prices, mortgages or rents.
Criminal and/or antisocial behaviour including being in prison.
Being in the care of Social Care or being in the Armed Forces.
Changes to benefits and social security administration and/or payments.
Poor social support networks or isolation.
Death of carers for dependents.
Having no right to work or claim benefits/social security.
A combination of the above.
There are two different types of homelessness: 1. People that are sleeping rough on the streets, park benches or doorways. 2. People that are living in temporary accommodation. People in temporary accommodation maybe housed by their local authority in a bed and breakfast or cheap hotel, or maybe sofa surfing staying with relatives or friends.
We don’t have a handle on homelessness in the UK. We don’t have accurate figures of people that are sleeping on the street. Local Authorities are once a year required to go out and survey the population of people who are sleeping rough in their communities.
It is too easy to ignore or forget about people that are homeless. I’ve ignored people sat on the street when I’ve walked through the High Street of various town centres. The cold weather triggers me to think about people who are sleeping on the streets. But most of the time, if I don’t go into town centres, I forget about people who are homeless.
Here are some ways, that wont cost you a penny, to prevent people that are homeless from being ignored or forgotten:
Educate yourself and others around homelessness.
Use your skills, talents or hobbies to promote awareness of homelessness. A good example is this blog post, I’ve written it to raise awareness.
Email your local politician and ask them to campaign for people that are homeless and raise the issue in parliament. Politicians have the power to make positive changes to reduce and prevent homelessness.
Donate old items to charity shops that specifically support homelessness projects.
Volunteer your time in homeless projects.
I once heard someone say: You are only ever two paydays away from being homeless. I can’t remember who told me this, or the find the first person to say this on the internet. But I believe it to be true.
Like I believe that anyone could end up becoming homeless, it would just require the right causes or circumstances to become present in your life.
So take action for people that are homeless, because one day it could happen to you. Or to someone that you love. You wouldn’t want yourself or someone that you love to be ignored or forgotten.
Are you a Doctor, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or Other Healthcare Professional? Or a Student?
Ways The Human Body Can Go Wrong covers every system of the body, what can go wrong when the body malfunctions or fails, symptoms (including why these happen) and cures/treatments available.
It includes knowledge around essential skills for Clinical Excellence such as Assessment, All Age Observational Norms, Models of Care, Communication/Handover Tips, the role of Specialities, Medication Tips, Dealing with Errors, Documentation Advice and a list of Useful Resources.
It is written in plain English, but highlights important medical terminology. It has been written at a level where someone from a non-medical background can pick it up and learn, but that it is still valuable to those with significant Clinical Experience.
My dear friend Roy decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and enlist in the Royal Navy.
I wanted to maintain our friendship, to continue to support Roy, to make him laugh and to entertain him. So I came up with the idea of sending him a weekly email on random topics.
These emails were on a variety of topics, always being entertaining, sometimes being interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally being serious.
Topics included: Jokes, Puzzles, Inspirational Quotes, Future Technology to Be Excited About, How to Fight A Shark, How to Woo A Turtle, Some of the Most Amazing Jobs in the World, Facts About Castles, Do Aliens Exist?, The Kindest Humans, A List of Cakes, 13 Weird Body Facts, 20 Super Space Facts, Ancient Egyptian Curses, 10 Weird Olympic Games, The Great Emu War of 1932, Quiz: Flags of the World, Legendary Characters from the UK and others.
My Royal Navy Friend is a copy of these emails. In total, there are 52 emails. Dispersed throughout the book are also Royal Navy facts and stories.
This workbook has been designed for anyone that is struggling with alcohol or has struggled with alcohol in the past.
It is written in a Motivational Interviewing style, one of the key therapies used to support people with alcohol issues. It has been designed using a trauma-informed approach and is strength–based.
What you will find in this book is more than just worksheets about alcohol. You’ll find all the tools someone needs to get into recovery from alcohol and stay there. It’s a therapy-based book, not an alcohol-based book.
SpellCast is a comprehensive compendium of spells, oils, charms and talismans. It is purely a book about magic, folk magic for the 21st century. The spells are ones that are tried and tested, with some that will stand the test of time.
In SpellCast you will read about the power of Instant Magic, of Banishment & Bindings, Blessings, Cleansing, Communication, Death, Employment, Finance & Money, Fertility, Friendship, Happiness & Joy, Health, Love & Relationships, Luck Magic, Protection, Transformative Magic and WishCraft.
This book will change your life. Your life will be abundant in all meanings of the word.
This book contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness. Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
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