Language & Stigma

Everyday language is peppered with amusing, ironic, pejorative, abusive words & phrases about mental illness and the mentally ill. Those who experience psychological & emotional distress are amongst the few societal 'groups' still deemed acceptable targets as the butt of joke, disrespect, & exclusion.

A recent, if wordy, guest blog by David Steele in the Guardian online raises some very interesting discussion points (click here). In light of MSM's re-commitment to the Time to Change agenda, this is a conversation we may well be having in our groups & localities.

Check out the Time to Change website to explore ideas / activities of destigmatisation & inclusion of the 'mental health community'.

  

You just might LOL!

A researcher in the US found texting has a mental health application: as a form of treatment or support for people experiencing mental health issues.

Prof. Adrian Aguilera, clinical psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, has devised a text messaging service for patients with depression & other mental disorders. People are sent automated messages asking them to think & reply about their mood, about their responses to both positive & negative daily interactions, as well as reminding them to take their medication.

When the service was stopped after a few weeks, 75% of the recipients requested they continue to receive messages; one person reported the service made them feel 'cared for & supported' when stressed or in difficulty.

Aguilera's patients are mainly low-income Latinos, who experience significant challenges in their daily lives, & often lack ready access to alternatives. He says the texting concept was mix of technology and therapy; many of his patients had a mobile phone on a prepaid monthly plan, & many had trouble translating the lessons of therapy into their daily lives. In addition, finances denied a lot of patients regular internet access... 'so I thought about using mobile phones to send text messages to remind them to practice the skills covered in therapy sessions'.

The psychologist added the patient response demonstrates the positive impact of regular contact with their support team - even if it’s nothing more than a 140-character hello: 'we are harnessing a technology that people use in their everyday lives to improve mental health in low-income, under-served communities'. 

 

Mind CEO quits Government panel

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, quit his government role in protest against the flawed Dept for Work & Pensions reforms in assessing benefit claimants fitness to work. Farmer, Mind's representative on the 4-man panel appointed to improve the Work Capability Assessment, said his position was 'no longer tenable' (Guardian article).

In a blog outlining his reasons for resigning, Paul writes... In July 2010, I joined a the Harrington Scrutiny Panel, set up to oversee the work of the WCA Independent Review team. My role was to give advice & criticism regarding the areas the review was looking at & the changes they are recommending.

The DWP has committed to making some changes arising from the Independent Review, but these will take time, & some fundamental changes required haven’t even started to be addressed. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are being reassessed using a test which is still not fit for purpose. Around 50% of people are appealing against the decision, & a remarkable half of those appeals are being upheld, meaning as many as one in four tests are wrong. The cost to the taxpayer of the tribunal system alone is £50m, around a half of the £100m a year being spent on reassessment.

I spent some time last week at Mind’s InfoLine. Call after call was coming in from individuals with a mental health problem, or a member of their family, anxious about the reassessment letter, concerned about having to appeal & the potential impact on their lives. We’ve heard about Job Centres who are shocked when someone who is clearly unwell turns up having been told they are fit for work.

The callers to our line were not benefit scroungers - they were ordinary people whose health had put them in a very vulnerable state. Ordinary people desperate to recover & be able to work, but who just weren’t yet well enough. Instead of offering support & help to recover, then find & stay in work, the WCA process is making their health worse & so, ironically, the prospect of a job even less likely.

We at MSM meet a lot of folk who are truly fearful of the threat these reforms might bring to their lives, if you have such concerns, or just want to know a little more, the Mind website goes into why the WCA isn't working.

British Summer Time

 “Spring forward, Fall back.”

British Summer Time (BST) starts each year on the last Sunday in March & ends on the last Sunday in October. In 2012, on Sunday 25th March the clocks will go forward at 1.00am, meaning we lose an hour; BST ends on Sunday 28th October. 

Summer time changes on standard dates throughout the EU, so Britain & Ireland constantly remain an hour behind most of Central Europe.

In 1907, Englishman William Willett, campaigned to advance clocks by 80 minutes. He wanted to see four moves of 20 minutes at the beginning of the spring & summer months, with a return to Greenwich Mean Time in a similar manner each autumn. The following year, the House of Commons rejected a Bill to advance the clocks by one hour during the spring & summer months.
 
Summer time was first defined by Act of Parliament in 1916: clocks were moved one hour ahead of GMT from the spring to the autumn.  During the Second World War, double summer time - two hours in advance of GMT - was introduced & lasted until July 1945.  Since the 1980s all of western & central Europe co-ordinate the date & time of their clock changes; accounting for Britain & Ireland maintaining their hour behind.

2012: 25th March & 28th October. 
2013: 31st March & 27th Oct. 
2014: 30th March & 26th Oct

MSM April ECM & BIG Walk change

The building work, school holidays, & Easter Monday Bank Holiday impact directly a number of Mid Staffs Mind activities & have led to the following date changes:

Executive Committee meeting will take place Monday 16th April, instead of Monday 9th.

MSM BIG Walk will take place Friday 27th April, instead of Monday 2nd.

Cannock building disruption

Due to building work to upgrade disabled facilities at Mid Staffs Mind's Cannock base, from Monday 27th Feb to Monday 12th March our services in Cannock will be relocated as follows:

@ Cannock Community Fire Station...

Monday 27th Feb 5.00 - 8.00pm Out of Hours+Plus Service
Referral only: please see your GP or CMHT for details

Thursday 1st March 10.00am - 1.00pm Oasis

Saturday 3rd 10.00am - 1.00pm Out of Hours+PLUS Service
Referral only: please see your GP or CMHT for details

Monday 5th 5.00 - 8.00pm Out of Hours+PLUS Service
Referral only: please see your GP or CMHT for details

Thursday 8th 10.00am - 1.00pm Oasis

Saturday 10th 10.00am - 1.00pm Out of Hours+PLUS Service
Referral only: please see your GP or CMHT for details

@ Cannock Library...

Wednesday 28th 10.00am - 1.00pm Work Club

Wednesday 7th March 10.00am - 1.00pm Work Club

… as of Monday 12th March we anticipate returning to our previous service pattern.

NB: the Badminton Club will continue getting together for a weekly social contact, prior to badminton commencing again at Cannock Leisure Centre on Tuesday 20th March.

Phil G's tune - at long last!

Sometimes you need to acknowledge an unsung hero - so here's to a great bloke, who had good taste in music, great respect for people, & was sharp as a snake... if you knew him, you'll know why, if you didn't - just enjoy... click