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World Mental Health Awareness Day 2019 – Grab Mental Health Wisdom For As Little As £1.99 (Kindle Version)

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Health, ReviewsNo Comments

My book Mental Health Wisdom has been reduced in price to do my bit for World Mental Health Awareness Day, which is today and on the 10th September every year.

The new prices are:

  • £7.49 for a paperback, either signed through buying on the link above (plus £1 for postage and packing) or by purchasing on Amazon. This is a saving of over 37% or £4.50 in actual money.
  • £1.99 for Kindle version by purchasing on Amazon. This is a saving of over 66% or £4 in actual money.

So go on, treat yourself. Want to know what others think of the book? It’s 5 star rated for all review on Amazon. Here are some quotes from the Amazon reviews:

“This book is a serious, yet light hearted, look at anxiety and depression from someone who has battled with this throughout his life…

This is an easy and often humorous read into a subject that impacts on far more of the population that we generally realise or are aware of.

I would highly recommend ‘Mental Health Wisdom’ by Anthony Simpson…”

“Very informative, useful and helpful read, would highly recommend, very reasonable price also.”

“This is a perfect starting point for anyone that wants to get clued up on mental health. It goes through the many different mental health illnesses, symptoms and has so much invaluable knowledge and wisdom embedded in it. It then goes on to list some tips on how to manage and look after your mental health and well- being.”

From: Amazon, Last accessed: 10th September 2019.

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Signed copies available from the official website: MentalHealthWisdomBook.com.

The book will never be at a lower price than it’s current price. This is the absolute cheapest I can make it. I decided to drop the price as the book has been out nearly 9 months. I also accidentally over purchased stock and would like them to find good homes, so that I have space for my next creative project.

Peace and love,

Antony

#MentalHealthAwarenessDay2019 #mentalhealthawarenessday #EveryMindMatters

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Thursday 10 October 2019

My World Suicide Prevention Day 2019 – A Fifteen Day Stay in a Mental Health Ward

By HealthNo Comments
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I got admitted to a Mental Health Ward for a fifteen day stay on World Suicide Prevention Day 2019.

 On Tuesday 10th September 2019 it was World Suicide Prevention Day. It is organised by the International Association for Suicide Prevention and is supported by the World Health Organization. Suicide is a complex issue, but in many cases it can be prevented. Warning signs that someone is contemplating or planning suicide can include:

  • Talking about wanting to die, saying that they feel everything is pointless.
  • Talking about being in unbearable pain.
  • Lacking any apparent care for themselves. Having no plans and avoiding making plans for the future.
  • Having a diagnosed mental illness such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc.
  • Being anxious, irritable, angry or socially withdrawn.
  • Reporting difficulties with sleeping or sleeping for a large number of hours and still feeling exhausted.
  • Increase in alcohol or drug use.
  • Previous suicide attempts.
  • Giving away a lot of possessions.
  • Saying Goodbye to people, as if they will never see them again.

Back to me. I’d been struggling with my mental health for some time. My mood was (and still is at times) so low. I was/still am at times in a very dark place. Showing some of the warning signs above.

So I went to my GP. I was very honest about how I was feeling. My GP referred me to the Crisis Team for immediate assessment. After being assessed by them, I waited to be seen by the Home Treatment Team. I waited for what seemed like forever and just wanted to go home to bed. However I was warned that if I left the Police would be called to bring me back. I saw someone from the Home Treatment Team and in under 5 minutes she decided that I needed an admission to a Mental Health Ward.

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A green observation light directly above my head in bed. Unable to be turned off and required for staff observations, it did not help me get to sleep or stay asleep.

I spent fifteen days mostly waiting on the ward. Waiting for the next meal, the next medication, the next time I would be reviewed by a doctor. There were activities, but I just wasn’t well enough to participate in them, especially at the start of my stay. My limited concentration span and extreme tiredness being restrictive.

The care that I received during my admission, as well as the care I observed other patients receive was quite frankly unsafe and caused physical, mental and emotional harm. There were some good aspects to the care – like that most of the staff were kind and compassionate. But these good aspects did not make up for the poorer aspects of care. I’m still not well, after a fifteen day admission they still haven’t managed to sort out my medication to fully balance my mood.

I plan to write an exposé report with the issues I experienced or observed other patients experience in relation to the care on the ward, along with suggestions on how they could improve the care given. This is a brave thing to do, especially as I will do it knowing I may end up requiring care on this ward again in the future. But as a Nurse I feel it is my duty to do so and that it would be unethical to say or do nothing.

So the update:

  • I’m now on 3 mood stablisers: Aripiprazole (External Link to HeadMeds) – new for me, Depakote (started on this earlier this year) and Quetiapine (put back on this).
  • My mood is good in the morning, but then crashes and is very low in the evening and at night.
  • I’m now struggling to remain asleep and often wake up wide awake several times in the early hours of the morning.
  • I’m seeing someone from the Recovery Team later this week and have already requested a medication review.
  • Steve, my mum and my sister-in-law to be have all been amazing.
  • Worryingly I still see the same warning signs that I was displaying before being admitted to hospital.

That was my World Suicide Prevention Day 2019 and what’s happened since. Take Care & Blog Soon,

Antony

P.S – Whilst researching more about World Suicide Prevention Day for this blog post, I came across this really good Infographic, that you might find useful to know about, by the Mental Health Foundation:

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Click for Full Size Image. Copyright © Mental Health Foundation, 2019.

P.P.S – A plug for my book:

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Friday 4 October 2019

June Has Been All About Mental Health Wisdom

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Happiness & Joy, HealthNo Comments

June has been all about my book Mental Health Wisdom. Yesterday marked four months since its release. Over 70 copies have been sold, mostly in the UK. However the book has gone international, with a couple of copies sold in Germany & Australia.

The feedback from the book has been awesome. People have described it as: excellent, educational, informative, entertaining. Many have said that they have passed it on to their husband/wife/son/daughter/friends who are struggling with their mental health. Many have opened up and told me their stories of struggling, or their stories of their mental illnesses.

Before I published the book, I thought: if this book helps one person, or one person finds it useful, then all the effort, energy and time I put into the book will have been worth it. I’m proud to tell you that it has already helped more than one person.

So what have I actually done?

Local Book Club Talk – I did my first ever local book club talk. All the people at the book club were awesome, lovely and kind. Unexpectedly, everyone at the book club bought a copy of the book, meaning I sold out of my stock. I have since ordered more stock and it has been delivered.

Guest Blogger on NeedToLive – I was invited to be a Guest Blogger on NeedToLive. NeedToLive is a website aimed at supporting students around careers, education, enterprise, finance, lifestyle and well-being. I recycled some old, but still some of my favorite blog posts and sent them over. They published them all, all at once. Here are the articles they published:

Wigan & Leigh College Keynote Speaker – I was invited to be the Keynote Speaker at Wigan & Leigh College’s annual Student Conference. The presentation was titled How to Survive & Thrive.

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Image From & Copyright © Ball & Berry, 2019.

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Image From @WiganLeighCol on Twitter.

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A Tweet from Wigan & Leigh College Afterwards.

I entertained, educated and even got a couple of laughs from the audience. I’m still awaiting formal feedback from the presentation, but informal feedback has included the presentation being described as “brilliant.” They even talked about inviting me to speak at next year’s conference. They are also going to do some publicity to tell my student journey (me being a former student), which should also help promote the book.

That’s pretty much it. But I’ll leave you with a request: If you’ve already bought a copy of Mental Health Wisdom, I’d be grateful for review on Amazon or Goodreads, even if it’s just a star rating:

An Amazon review would be really appreciated. Amazon lists books with reviews higher than those without. You can leave a review in the UK here: https://amzn.to/2NRPz07

An Goodreads review would be really appreciated. You can leave a review here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44402963-mental-health-wisdom—developing-understanding-empathy?ac=1&from_search=true

Blog soon,

Antony

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Saturday 22 June 2019

Some Mental Health Advice to Madonna After Her Disastrous Performance at Eurovision 2019

By Health, Music & Radio, The Web, ThinkingNo Comments

Madonna recently performed at the Eurovision Song Contest. Here’s a video of her performance:

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Edit: 20/05/19, 08:45 – I had to change the video as the user had removed the original. There was a Vevo video, uploaded to Madonna’s official YouTube channel however it appeared to have been altered to make her performance sound better than it was during the original broadcast. So I went for this video that is more reflective of the original performance.

Madonna has had criticism since, with many calling it a disastrous and possibly career ending performance. People have described her voice as flat or off key, her outfit and the Christian heavy iconography controversial and unappealing.

I must admit that cringed watching it. But I realised something from it: We’re all human. Even Madonna.

We’ve all had times when things have gone disastrously wrong for us. I don’t know much about Madonna to be honest, but I once did see an interview where she described herself as a perfectionist. So I imagine that Madonna is currently in a mental state of self-denial, or one of rumination with her critical inner voice in over drive.

So here’s some mental health advice to Madonna, from my book Mental Health Wisdom:

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Rumination is thinking the same thoughts or replaying memories again, again and again in your mind. Nothing good ever comes from it. It’s like having a song that you hate on full ear-bleeding volume and stuck on repeat. Rumination makes you feel like you are losing your mind.

When it comes to replaying memories, they are usually memories that are emotionally traumatic. Our memory of events is never accurate and always has a negative bias. What you need to remember if you find yourself ruminating is that the event has happened. It’s in the past. It’s gone. You can’t change what’s happened, no matter how many times you replay the video. It’s time to accept what’s happened, how it made you feel, so that you can let it go and move on.

Rumination is a waste of time, energy and effort. Rumination and the Critical Inner Voice go together. The critical inner voice is that voice inside your head that says things like:

  • You’re not good enough.
  • You don’t know what you’re doing.
  • Just who do you think you are?
  • You’re worthless.
  • You screw everything up. You are a screw up.
  • Nobody cares about you.

The critical inner voice is abusive and says things that we wouldn’t dream of saying to our worst enemy. It never says anything useful, nice, good or kind. It tends to get louder and louder if we allow it to. Managing the critical inner voice starts with the choice not to put up with the things it says to you.

I manage my critical inner voice in two main ways. First by imagining a volume control knob. I imagine it being turned down and hear the voice go quieter and quieter until it is silent. Second, I repeat positive affirmations that I know are true. I say things to myself like:

  • I am good at my job. I have a lot of specialist knowledge and thirteen years of clinical experience.
  • I offer a lot to people around me, including humour, compassion and kindness.
  • People value my opinion. I know this because I am often asked for it by others.
  • I am doing the best that I can and learn every day.

Having difficulty coming up with positive affirmations about yourself that are true? Ask people who are close to you: What is positive about me? What do you like about me? Others often see things that we don’t spot in ourselves.

(From: Mental Health Wisdom by Antony Simpson, 2019, pages 97-99.)

So Madonna try not to be too hard on yourself. Learn from the performance, then let it go.

Write soon,

Antony

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Sunday 19 May 2019
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