1 in 4? Or ALL of us....?

One of my colleagues made an interesting comment this week about the "1 in 4" mantra which is so regularly quoted.... in the sense that 1 in 4 of us will experience mental problems, or illness, or distress (it's that language question all over again....) She said, "...actually, I find that the "1 in 4" term is discriminatory, as it implies that 3 out of 4 people won't experience mental distress in their lives, and I believe all of us do to some degree at some point." So that's an interesting comment in itself, and well worth debating.

But, anyway, the fact is that people are now starting to tell their own personal stories in a bid to reduce stigma and discrimination, and it is clear that the "1 in 4" term can be useful in helping this process along a little. Just yesterday on the Time to Change Wales blog  several of our Welsh Assembly Ministers wrote about their own experiences.

Llyr Huws Gruffydd AM said: "Nearly ten years ago I had been diagnosed as suffering from depression. Standing in a room crying for no apparent reason isn’t something a 30 year old bloke would usually admit to – but that is where I found myself at that time."


He and other Assembly Ministers Eluned Parrott, David Melding and Ken Skates then spoke in the Welsh Assembly chamber in a debate about stigma and discrimination.

You can find out more and watch the video of the debate on the BBC website here.

Mental Health First Aid - good news and bad

It's Monday, the start of the week, I'm going to begin on a positive note! I did a Mental Health First Aid course in 2009 with Mid Powy Mind - and particularly as I was relatively new to the mental health sector it was brilliant. Just what I needed at the time. 

It seems loads of other people have also now received their training - according to a Welsh Government report today - 10,000 people across the country as a whole:

The course teaches people about mental health problems and gives them the skills they need to help people in crisis. It covers common mental health issues including alcohol, drugs and depression, crisis first aid for suicidal behaviour, first aid for anxiety and panic attacks, and other issues such as self-harm.

You can read more, including Health Minister Lesley Griffiths' comments on the course, here.

So far, so good. 

Monday ticks away by, and during my lunch break whilst browsing the BBC news website, I notice another important report, this time from the mental health charity Gofal. 

It starts - "Gofal is calling for improvement in healthcare workers and GPs' attitudes to mental health problems in Wales." The survey of 1083 people also found unacceptable waiting times for treatments, and a high level of drug prescribing for people experiencing mental distress.

The first question which comes to my mind is - I wonder if all these health care workers and GPs have been on the Mental Health First Aid course? And if not, why not? Because the Gofal survey implies that there are still a huge number of people out there, many working professionally in the health sector, who urgently need this training.

But ..... even the bad isn't all bad, hopefully. Together for Mental Health, the Welsh Government's new strategy for mental health across Wales, was published last month, and Mental Health First Aid is to be a priority:  "... the highly successful Mental Health First Aid programme will continue helping people to recognise the signs and symptoms of someone with mental health problems." Doubtless those 1083 people Gofal surveyed would really hope so.

Meanwhile, you can find out more about Mental Health First Aid courses here.

If you have been on the course we would really like to know what you thought of it, so please let us know.

AMOUR

“...the unavoidability of death is a matter frequently evaded by euphemism and clouded by sentimentality.”

I am away for much of the next few weeks, so this blog may fluctuate a little. I did however, want to just write a few words about mortality before I vanish. I’m currently working with my colleagues Steven Gartside, Zoe Watson and Valeria Ruiz Vargas to curate an extraordinary exhibition here at in Manchester’s Holden Gallery, next July. The exhibition will bring together the work of some iconic contemporary artists whose work touches upon Mortality: Death and the Imagination.

With our work unfolding, and the commitment of some great artists and thinkers of our time, who I'll announce very soon, its not surprising I noticed that the film critic Philip French had written a stunning review of a film I haven't yet seen, but which leaves me with such anticipation, I must flag it up. I’m taking a punt on something that my instincts (and now the critics) tells me, sounds quite unique. Amour is a film by Michael Haneke, and French believes it will -

“...take its place alongside the greatest films about the confrontation of ageing and death, among them Ozu's Tokyo Story, Kurosawa's Living, Bergman's Wild Strawberries, Rosi's Three Brothers and, dare I say it, Don Siegel's The Shootist. It's worthy of being discussed in the same breath as the novels and plays of Samuel Beckett, of which Christopher Ricks wrote in his bitingly perceptive Beckett's Dying Words: "We know about our wish to go on being, we human beings, our wish not to die. Samuel Beckett, who rigged nothing, fashioned for himself and for us a voice, Malone's, at once wistful and wiry: 'Yes, there is no good pretending, it is hard to leave everything.' These are the accents of a consciousness, imagining and imagined, which braves the immortal commonplace of mortality."

I'll leave you to read his full article by clicking here, and watch the trailer for the film above.

If life permits, I will attempt to blog something from the fourth Arts of Good Health and Wellbeing conference in Fremantle.

Thank you as ever for following the blog...C.P.

The Abandoned Illness

"The message that comes through loud and clear is that people are being badly let down by the system in every area of their lives." 
Professor Sir Robin Murray, Commission Chair, The Schizophrenia Commission

This week saw the publication of The Schizophrenia Commission's year long enquiry into schizophrenia and psychosis. It was carried out in England, but is clearly of interest here in Wales, where many of the issues will be relevant. It concluded that a major overhaul of schizophrenia services was required.

You can read and download the report here on the Commission's website. 

There is a BBC news story about the report here.

I first heard about the report early on Wednesday when I woke to Robin Murray speaking on Radio 4's Today programme about how schizophrenia is often triggered by a traumatic life event. He suggested that many people may be genetically vulnerable to developing schizophrenia, but not all do as they may never experience the trauma which could spark the schizophrenia or psychosis. Others do, and that trauma could be anything from bereavement, to losing a job, to witnessing a crime - well, anything traumatic in effect. 

Hafal, the mental health charity, has some useful information about schizophrenia here.

Do you have any experiences of schizophrenia services in Mid Wales? Let us know what you think.

Sleep Hygiene: 5 practical tips for more refreshing sleep

By Arshya Vahabzadeh, M.D. Follow @VahabzadehMD

Sleep is an essential part of our lives. Unfortunately, a growing number of Americans are not getting enough quality sleep. Some 70 million Americans have diagnosable chronic sleep problems. Key symptoms include reduced daytime alertness and disturbed sleep at night.

The effects of poor sleep can impact every aspect of our lives. Lack of sleep has been associated with problems at work, difficulties in relationships, medical and mental conditions, and an overall reduced quality of life. While some of these problems would benefit from a visit to your doctor, there are practical tips you can try for improved sleep. In this post on “sleep hygiene,” I discuss a useful set of practices for better sleep.

1. Resist coffee & other caffeinated drinks close to bedtime.

Caffeine is a stimulant and will keep you awake. Caffeine can be found in a range of products including coffee, tea, soft drinks, herbal supplements, and chocolate. Some people find it difficult to stop drinking coffee or soda. In that case, consider reduced or caffeine free versions. Also, drinking these products earlier in the day may reduce the effects of caffeine when it’s bedtime.

2. Don’t watch TV in bed.

Your body needs to associate your bed with sleep. Working, watching TV, or playing computer games in bed can disturb this association. This may lead to confusion for your body about what you want to do when you lie down in bed.

3. Keep your bedroom comfortable.

Make sure you have a suitable bed that’s comfortable; check the temperature of your bedroom; and remove any sources of bright lights or loud sounds. Bright lights close to bedtime can breakdown melatonin, a chemical which helps to regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

4. Exercise!

Being physically active or exercising can help to tire you out so you fall asleep more easily. But you should not do any strenuous exercise right before bedtime because this may be counterproductive. If you want to exercise close to bedtime, try something relaxing like yoga.

5. Establish a sleep routine & stick to it.

Go to bed and wake up at the same times every night and day. Avoid daytime naps or staying up late and sleeping in on weekends.

If you’ve tried these tips and still struggle with sleep, you should talk to your doctor. Depression and anxiety can cause disturbances in sleep. Your primary care physician or a psychiatrist can help find a solution.

Tweet

...the BIG BANG

So here are some of your thoughts on part one of manifesto - all red and green - and yes of course, in glorious Black and White too!

                   It's here for you to digest and  g r o a n   o v e r   - what, no bullet points - no action plan - a nice little framework perhaps?

     No, NO a thousand times NO. You can pick one of those up from any fly-by-night, five-a-day, quick fix consultants. In for a penny, in for a pound. £

                   Grease me palm with your hard fought-for coffers and I'll tell you what you want to hear. Elixirs, miracle cures? The arts'll solve it all - heal your wounds, cure your aches and pains and tuck you up in your bed at night?

                                                        Instrumental - temperamental?     Fine art - pop art? Reductionist - Irrationalist?

         It's a point in time. Histrionics? Maybe  -  but born full-term and bursting for a fight. 

                   Enlightened and Romantic without a seconds glance back to your bean counting gibberish..."we want to weight it, measure it and standardise the little beauty."

        Oh, but the market my dear,  the fragile economy, the BIG things, the STUFF... the words and important THINGS about our fiscal state - of policy being informed by the finest STUFF...you know: research informed policy!       Yes that's it, policy made on the basis of the finest research - ahhh the randomised controlled trial - the GOLD standard...a model of pharmacological impartiality and rigorous analysis - the midas touch.

        Oh yes, that's the one - only it's not - and has no pretensions to be - it's a baby; a big FAT baby, born of a 1000+ loving parents! 

                           A thousand mothers and fathers thrown into the gene pool...the progeny and lineage are all messed up. There’s my none-too-perfect DNA and yours too.

                         Beautiful hybrid eh?

     ...and is it a Northern child, ruddy cheeked and all flat vowels? Is it European? Eurasian? Venusian? It's an exotic little fellow...and it's still mutating....

                                 Have a cup of coffee - a glass of red - better still, a bottle of water

        Go On...A Toast!        To you, and you and us...

            Where to now for this baby? We need to bring it up, of course...how we do it - well, its for us to decide...

                                 mmmmmmm, how will we do it?

   SCENARIOS, SCENARIOS - lets start to imagine some scenarios

                           S C E N A R I O S:  in arts, health and wellbeing JANUARY 2013  across our

     GLORIOUS NORTHERN LANDS...

                                 dates coming soon...

...a new song by Scott Walker. I recommend it highly...

What you said about the Powys Vision for Mental Health

In an earlier post I spoke about the consultation work that my colleague Freda Lacey and Eleanor Barrow from Powys Mental Health Alliance had done around the draft Powys Vision for Mental Health.

Well - people turned up to the events that were organised and spoke passionately about their views on mental health services. They told their personal stories, spoke about what worked and what didn't, about changes they would like to see, and the gaps in service provision (such as an out-of-hours service in the North of the county).  They raised other issues such as benefits, transport, and housing, for example, and explained how these also impacted on their lives and their ability to recover from mental distress.

"The key message from ..... across Powys is that people keep saying the same things. Overwhelmingly, the voice of individuals across Powys is, "HOW? How are the aims of the "Vision" going to be translated into tangible results? How is Powys teaching Health Board going to provide services as close to home as possible, out of hours/crisis support, enable people to build up their personal power and strength in relation to their mental well-being, learn what individual recovery means, receive the information, support and services they need?"
 
You can download and read the full report here.

National Stress Awareness Day

Here is an informative article on how do deal with stress from Mental Health Today:

People experiencing stress should share their concerns and seek support, a doctor has said ahead of National Stress Awareness Day (NSAD) on November 7.

Stress levels have doubled in the UK over the past four years, according to a recent survey by AXA Insurance. 

The theme of this year's 14th annual NSAD is 'Defining outcomes for wellbeing at work' but Dr Steve Eccles, from Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, said that any area of a person’s life can be a source of stress.

“People experience stress when the demands that life places on them exceeds their ability or perceived ability to cope,” he said. 

“We all experience stress to varying degrees throughout our lives and generally this isn’t a problem. However, it can become a problem and affect our mental and physical health when it is excessive and/or lasts for prolonged periods of time.

"The possible causes of stress can stem from any aspect of life, whether financial difficulties, worries about health, work-related pressures, or relationship problems.

"It is well known that particular life events that involve great change such as bereavements, getting divorced and moving house are associated with high levels of stress. It is also important to recognise that people may also experience stress due to a build-up of lots of smaller contributory factors."

When people are experiencing stress they may exhibit a range of signs and symptoms including poor concentration, changes in sleep pattern and an increase in smoking, drinking and drug use.

"Unfortunately, once stress develops it can become a vicious cycle in which our ability to cope is further undermined," Dr Eccles added.

"For example, stress can lead to tiredness and increased alcohol use which reduces the ability to cope and thus leads to more stress. The fundamental things to remember are to focus on reducing the things that cause you stress, develop skills to manage stress and ensure you have access to activities or situations where you are able to relax."

Dr Eccles has compiled his top 10 tips for managing stress:

* Organise your life - develop a balanced and structured routine to your day or week that allows time for work, sleep and undertaking activities you enjoy.

* Identify your stressors - allocate time to think about which parts of your life are making you feel stressed. It can help to make a list of the key stressors in your life and identify those that you have some control over. The key is to be specific about what it is that you are finding stressful. The more specific you can be, the more likely you can identify them and make changes.

* Learn to say “no” - being able to say “no” to people and have some control over the demands that are placed on you is invaluable in managing stress. So, before you say “yes” to people, ask yourself “do I want to do it?” and “do I have the time/energy to do it?”

* Improve your diet - ensure that you are eating a balanced diet of three meals a day. Also, make sure you are not drinking too much alcohol (21 units for men and 14 units for women per week).

* Maintain a healthy balance - undertake regular physical activity as this can provide a vent for excessive nervous energy and help you to relax. This doesn’t mean you have to join a gym, as you can incorporate a little more physical activity into your day, such as walking.

* Catch up on your sleep - a common sign that people are stressed is waking during the night or early morning and then lying in bed, worrying about whatever is stressing you. Dealing with your stressors in the daytime should help with this.

* Learn to relax - being able to relax is a skill that requires regular practice. Make space in each day to take regular short breaks. Listening to music, watching TV or reading can be relaxing if you can concentrate. There are many simple relaxation exercises available in books and on the internet that can be used to practice relaxation.

* Get some perspective - when we feel stressed and overwhelmed we tend to underestimate our ability to cope. This leads to feeling even more overwhelmed, meaning more stress. A useful technique can be to take each stressor in turn and think about how a friend might react and deal with the problem.

* Share your concerns - people generally experience less stress if they feel they have the support of other people. An essential buffer against stress is a good support network of family and friends. It can be really helpful to talk to our family and friends about how we are feeling. They may be able to offer practical support and solutions, but their emotional support by offering a friendly ear can be just as valuable.

* Seek professional advice/support - if stress continues for lengthy periods of time it can have a profound effect on a person’s mental and physical health. This can be particularly problematic if a person starts to feel hopeless about their future and feels unable to manage his or her way out of the situation. In these instances, professional help from your GP and wider health services is an essential way forward and the key to managing your recovery.

For more on NSAD visit www.isma.org.uk/national-stress-awareness-day/

Posted 04/11/2012 by richard.hook@pavpub.com

The Twin Pillars of Society...are crumbling as we speak

Last November, I spent three days working in the National Gallery of Australia during the Art of Good Health and Wellbeing conference. Over my time there, I had the luxury of slipping out of the proceedings and into the galleries themselves and soaking up Australia’s rich history and visual culture. It was a treat to spend time with people who new elements of the collection and my particular thanks go to Peter Naumann, the Head of Education + Public Programs, and Gallery Educator program co-coordinator Adriane Boag who helped me scratch the surface of my understanding of the vast collection of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander art in the collection. I knew I was ignorant to more or less all aspects of indigenous art, but alongside my complete lack of knowledge of 20th century and contemporary Australian art too, I was in for something of a revelation. It would be easy and trite to compare and contrast the development of visual art in Australia alongside what I knew of European art, but that was never going to be the case. The art that I was exposed to was about a different story, and perhaps again, one that I’m not equipped to tell. Yes there were stories of the human condition, but grounded in this vast and unforgiving landscape. So it was with a degree of excitement that I’ve noticed that The Royal Academy of Art’s big autumn/winter show next year (21 September - 8 December 2013), will be an extravaganza, a survey of 200 years of Australian art. The big names are being trumpeted, so expect Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Margaret Preston, Rover Thomas and Tracey Moffatt to sit alongside the exquisite unknown work of indigenous craftspeople.

For me the artist Howard Arkley best illustrates that unique vision of suburban Melbourne life through its architecture. Sublime stuff.

With the thought of our visual heritage and culture, and the recent speech of our PM to the Conservative Party Conference in mind, it is with some horror that I see the place of the arts on the national curriculum, is falling almost completely of the agenda.

Cultural figureheads have this week begun an attack on the governments English baccalaureate, the Ebacc, the fear being that many state schools will marginailise arts subjects, if they don’t count significantly to the Ebacc. In other words pupils have to attain a GCSE grade C or higher in five subject areas; English, maths, two sciences, and either geography or history. Drama, music, art and design aren’t included! The Cultural Learning Alliance is calling for the Government to add a sixth pillar to the currently planned, 5 subject areas.

Are you shocked? You should be. Everything this arts and health agenda is about, is deeply embedded in education, emotional intelligence and the arts. Others will talk more eloquently than me about the contribution of the arts to our economy and civic society, but we mustn't underestimate the impact that will have on the next generation.

So let me remind you of the Prime Ministers speech and his thoughts on education.

“The transformation has been astonishing – and the methods have been Conservative. Smart uniforms, teachers in suits. Children taught physics, chemistry and biology, not soft options."

But Prime Minister, aren't science and the arts the twin pillars of society?

I’m also mindful of research that I quoted in A Brightly Coloured Bell Jar that explored some of the links between intelligence testing and creativity testing, summarising that enriched environments, notably the USA, had seen a constant generational rise in IQ scores, but a reverse trend in creativity scores since 1990. In their paper, The Creativity Crisis, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman take this theme further, but with an emphasis not on art classes per se, but on how thinking creatively across the curriculum is key to flourishing.

‘Creativity isn’t about freedom from concrete facts,’ they comment, ‘Rather, (it’s about) fact-finding and deep research (that) are vital stages in the creative process.’ The characteristics of successful creative schools is, ‘they alternate maximum divergent thinking with bouts of intense convergent thinking, through several stages… when applied to the everyday process of work or school, brain function improves.’

Grayson Perry shares his thoughts on this latest experiment in education. Click on his photograph for more.

“The idea that art will somehow look after itself – that society will breed untaught geniuses – is rubbish. We'll end up with a cultural sector even more skewed towards the privately educated. A bit like what has happened to politics.”

And like a voice of reason in this liminal world of arts, health, wellbeing and education; enter stage left, the Shadow Minister for Culture and the Arts, Dan Jarvis MP who attended the launch of the Sheffield Arts and Wellbeing Network, and judging by the transcript, spoke rather well about our agenda. Here’s a snippet. Click on the glass eyes below, for the full speech.

“Britain more than ever survives and prospers by the talent and health of its people. Investment in human capital: to allow people to innovate, to create, to think anew and be creative is fundamental to human development and unlocking potential. Plays, poetry, books, films, art, design and crafts can all support innovation, thinking, reflection, creativity and help inspire individuals. Through this process people develop; we come together; we see things differently; we understand where others come from; and when at our most vulnerable, arts and creativity helps us to heal and to cope – to live life even when we feel there is no hope. 

Although we are at a tipping point, we have much to build upon and Britain has previously developed different approaches towards improving population health.  As Shadow Culture Minister, I am seized by the role that Culture – the Arts, can play in the context of health and general well-being.”

Arts Council England announces details of its new structure, which comes into operation on 1 July 2013.

The changes come as a result of the Government's requirement - made as part of our settlement for 2011-15 - that we reduce our administrative costs, as applied to our grant in aid for the arts by the end of March 2015.

• an overall reduction in staff numbers across the organisation of 21 per cent from 559.5 full time posts to 442 (117.5 posts)
• four Executive Directors, reducing from eight, accountable for delivering the Arts Council's overall strategy, with the Chief Executive
• leadership of artform and cultural policy expertise distributed geographically across the organisation - everyone will have a local and national focus
• property costs will come down by 50 per cent through reductions in the size of offices
• major offices will be located in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol, plus some smaller local offices to keep the Arts Council close to the arts and cultural sector, and to local government
• five areas covering London, the South East, the South West, the Midlands and the North replace the Arts Council's current regions and areas

Call for abstracts for Arts in Health Conference

Deadline 21st December 2012

International conference June 24, 25, 26 2013

www.culturehealthwellbeing.org.uk

We welcome the submission of abstracts for: 

• Oral Presentations
• Poster Presentations
• Participatory Workshop & Performance /Film

Our conference themes include:

• Healthy and Creative Ageing
• Global Health Inequalities and Culture
• Culture and the Social Determinants of Wellbeing

We particularly welcome abstracts that provoke new ways of researching, conceptualising and creating and will encourage delegates to question assumptions and learn about different approaches to current issues and areas of practice, with a particular focus on:

• Research
• The latest research and new methodologies
• The dissemination of international research and evaluation
• Practice
• Museums and Health
• Arts in healthcare settings
• Arts and health promotion/prevention

Further guidelines by clicking on the false teeth

Help a Heart Grants (UK)

The British Heart Foundation has announced that the next closing date for applications through its Help a Heart Grants programme is the 21st December 2012.  Through the programme community and voluntary groups are able to apply for funding of between £300 and £2,000 to promote heart health in their area. Anything that promotes heart health may be eligible for a Help a Heart Grant. The Foundation is particularly interested in original and creative ideas. Projects must be patient led. The more evidence of patient involvement and need applicants can provide, the stronger their application will be.

Read more at: http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/how-we-help/funding/help-a-heart-grants.aspx  

The David & Elaine Potter Foundation 

(UK & International)

The David and Elaine Potter Foundation is a charitable family foundation established in 1999 to encourage a stronger, fairer civil society. It has granted more than £12 million to registered charities in the UK and abroad.  The Foundation's funding is divided into five categories:

• Education
• Civil society
• Research
• Human rights
• Arts.

The trustees are interested in lasting social change, and in forming long-term partnerships with the organisations the Foundation supports.  Grants in the past have ranged from several hundred pounds to grants of up to £2 million. The grant application process is divided into two stages: a letter of enquiry and an application. An applicant is invited to submit a full proposal only if their letter of enquiry has been accepted. 

Applications can be submitted at any time. Read more at:

http://www.potterfoundation.com/index.php

Wolfson Foundation Special Needs Grants Programme (UK)

The Wolfson Foundation has announced that its Special Needs Grants Programme is open for applications.  Through its Special Needs Programme, the Wolfson Foundation, makes grants to charities and special schools that work with people with particular health needs or disabilities.   Over the past three years some £7.5 million has been allocated to nearly 150 different projects.  Grants are made for new buildings, major refurbishment work, equipment or vehicles.

There is a two stage application process.  Initially an outline of the project should be submitted.  Successful applicants at this stage will be invited to submit a full proposal.  Stage 1 applications can be submitted at any time.  The next closing date for Stage 2 applications is the 1st March 2013. Read more at: 

http://www.wolfson.org.uk/grant-applicants/special-needs/

US

Just to say, our thoughts are with you as you head into Presidential elections and following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy on the Eastern seaboard, our thoughts are with the invisible people of Cuba and Haiti too...

Thank you as ever for reading this blog, and feel free to share...C.P.