I have learnt a lot through my ME/ fibromyalgia (described at length in yesterday’s post https://fivemilesout.home.blog/2020/11/28/got-a-secret-in-plain-sight/ ). Some of it not even related to the condition. Dr Berkovitz talked at length about the brain being an organ like any other in the body. Yet if something goes wrong with the brain people view it in a completely different way to any other organ problem. He was not of the belief that ME was a mental illness, but he was explaining that stress and other issues, including depression, cause more strain on the brain and that will not help. (Having ME is a stressor in itself so that can be a vicious circle).
Mental issues are slowly becoming more tolerated and understood in wider society – at least Victorian bedlams are no longer with us and people are not stigmatised as much as they once were. There does remain a stigma attached to these conditions that people (many through ignorance) subscribe to – as illustrated here in this graphics.
It is more than likely that someone in every family has mental issues – if you do not know anyone who has may mean they are hiding them due to the perceived stigma. I have been offered anti-depressants in my life twice and declined both times. I chose to deal with my problems because I did not understand this may not be the right approach. I was lucky that was right, but I could well have been a victim of my own prejudices.
Many famous people throughout history have been subject to mental health issues. Vincent Van Gogh is just one of many who took his own life. Widely considered one of the greatest artists in history, I was not really aware of his story until I saw Vincent and the Doctor – a story that brought tears to my eyes.
As a society we are still not understanding enough about trauma, depression and loneliness. It is particularly important in times of lockdown that we ensure that people stay in touch, that no one feels isolated and unloved.
Our College spends a lot of money on personal mentors and counsellors to help students. This is vitally important as teenage years are traumatic of themselves and it is vitally important to ensure early intervention and support for young people. The MindEd Trust was founded to support young people with mental health issues.
https://www.themindedtrust.org/
Ed Mallen was a hugely talented young man, who seemed to have the world ahead of him and was taken over by depression for no apparent reason. Despite the appalling loss for his father, Steve Mallen, he has done something about it by founding the trust and campaigning on this issue. This despite a loss than is almost too unbearable to conceive.
If you can help the charity it is an incredibly worthy cause. Losing a child is something no parent should ever have to experience.
This song is brilliant, but the lyrics are grim. Whilst I love it, if I listen to it when I’m miserable it really does not help my mood.
Billy’s Smart Circus
Playlist
- Sheriff Fatman
- Midnight on the Murder Mile
- Crimestoppers A Go Go
- Billy’s Smart Circus
- Bloodsports For All
- Falling On a Bruise
- After the Watershed
- Only Living Boy in New Cross
- Do Re Me, So Far So Good
- Skywest and Crooked
Five Miles Out 