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~ blogs, news and features on mental health and the NHS

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Category Archives: Blogs

Euthanasia and chronic mental illness – an uncomfortable discussion

26 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health

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euthanasia

Many people in favour of legalising euthanasia fail to consider its implications for those suffering from long term mental health conditions. Earlier this month, a woman in her 20s, suffering from several chronic psychiatric conditions, was helped to die by a doctor in Holland. The unnamed Dutch national was the victim of sexual and physical abuse, which spanned over 10 years; she was reported to have been suffering from anorexia nervosa, PTSD and chronic depression. Many who struggle with severe mental illness deal with unbearable pain, while also being subjected to futile treatments that only further diminish their quality of life. But can this ever justify medically ending their life?

In the UK, the idea of a young, physically healthy individual undergoing assisted suicide does not sit comfortably with most people. Yet last year, 56 people in the Netherlands suffering from mental illness received the lethal injection, increasing from just 11 in 2013. In 2015, 13 per cent of the Belgians who were euthanised did not have a terminal condition, and around three per cent suffered from psychiatric disorders.

Without medical intervention, it is certain many of these patients would have taken matters into their own hands: perhaps succeeding, leaving family and friends to deal with huge emotional trauma. Or perhaps failing, and possibly doing lasting physical damage which would only add to their misery.

An article in the New Yorker reported that Dirk De Wachter, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Leuven, reconsidered his opposition to euthanasia after a patient whose request he had rejected set up a camera in front of an Antwerp newsagents and set herself on fire. In contrast to these disastrous outcomes, a formal process of medicalised euthanasia is not only safe but may help loved ones to understand, engage and prepare. The article went on to suggest that some physicians find euthanasia requests useful since they create an opportunity to make therapeutic interventions with patients who may not otherwise have sought medical help. And many, given time and treatment, may decide they want to live.

The interactions between autonomy, nonmaleficence and beneficence are both ancient and intricate. Discussion in the UK surrounding euthanasia for psychiatric conditions remains hypothetical – although there are stories of people in Britain receiving assessments by the Swiss clinic Dignitas, under such circumstances. This is an imaginably painful scenario for friends, family and the of course the patients themselves. And while capacious patients’ wishes are ultimately infallible, our thoughts should also go to who must carry them out. Ethics aside, any physician who approves or performs such a procedure will surely be left with lasting internal conflict – is it too much to ask of a single profession, that it both save, and take lives?

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L.G.C is taking a break

11 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs

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Clamour

Dear readers,

I will be taking a short break from littlegreycells to focus on Clamour Magazine where I will still be writing about mental illness and the NHS.

To read more from me and the other writers at Clamour. Please follow this temporary diversion. Thanks for your support.

Diversion_11

 

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Should children be taught about Mental Health?

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health

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children's mental health, depression, mental health

850,000 children in the UK have mental health problems, according to the children’s mental health charity youngminds. This equals around three children in the average classroom. 

Continue reading →

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Have your Parents ever asked you about your Mental Health?

30 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health, Uncategorized

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Your Dad picks you up from Uni for the Christmas holidays. You get in the car, he asks how you’ve been, you say fine. He knows you’ve been finding things tough but it doesn’t seem like he really wants to hear about it. Sound familiar?

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Remembrance: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

11 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health

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anxiety, GP, H4H, health, help for heroes, mind, poppy, PTSD, war

As November arrives the poppies come out. They can be seen on lapels and jackets across Britain. They represent the flowers which bloomed on Flanders Fields following the bloodshed of World War I. Continue reading →

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Suicide Prevention

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health

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116123, mental health, misconceptions, samaritans, suicide

In last week’s post LGC confronted the prevalence of suicide in society.

This poster deals with a few common misconceptions and things to do if you think someone may try to hurt themselves: 

SUICIDE PREVENTION POSTER

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7 Great Songs about Dealing with Mental Illness

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health

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depression, james taylor, john martyn, johnny cash, mental health, music, nervous breakdown, pink floyd, pixies, suicide

Discussing mental illness can be extremely difficult. As a victim it can be impossible to describe how you feel.  As the friend or partner of a victim it can be hard to choose your words sensitively. It is in situations like this where sometimes only artists have the power to express what we mean beyond words alone.

Don Mclean – Vincent

A tribute to Vincent van Gough who’s long battle with mental illness ended in his suicide. Van Gough’s genius was only recognised after his death. This song reached number one in the UK.

John Martyn – Solid Air

Written in support of a friend who suffered what Martyn described as “a nervous breakdown”.

Pink Floyd –  Shine on you crazy Diamond

A tribute to former frontman Syd Barrett who left the band while reportedly struggling with schizophrenia.

Pixies – Where is my mind

Supposedly inspired by Francis’s experiences scuba-diving. It was also featured in the soundtrack to fightclub.

James Taylor – Fire and Rain

The first part of the song deals with the suicide of his childhood friend Suzanne Schnerr. Later Taylor describes his own battle with depression.

Nirvana – Lithium

Cobain suffered from bipolar disorder, lithium is commonly used to treat it

Johnny Cash – Hurt

Written by Nine Inch Nails (I much prefer this version). The song confronts living with depression and self harm.

Please add any songs that spring to mind in the comments!

Featured image accredited to Kip Dudden

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The Happy Nature of Nature

01 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health

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anxiety, deer, goats, green space, mental health, mind, nature, Richmond Park, rural, sheep

There are several studies that indicate how close you live to green space  has a significant effect on your risk of mental illness.

This weekend I had the pleasure of returning to my native Somerset. Going home reminded me of the peace of mind you can take from time in nature.

In May, GPonline reported that Dr James Cavanagh, from Brook Green Medical Centre in London, has been prescribing gardening to patients with severe mental health issues.

Dr Cavanagh said: ‘I have at least three patients whose families have come to me and said it’s made an enormous difference to their relatives – they’re happier and more confident”.

photo 3

The University Medical Centre in Amsterdam looked at the health records of 350,000 people across Holland. The annual prevalence of anxiety disorders for those living in a residential areas containing 10% green space was 26 per 1000. For those living in an area containing 90% green space it was 18 per 1000.

Strolling across open fields allows the mind to wander away from the troubles of modern life. Attention restoration theory states nature’s “soft fascinations” like rustling leaves or passing clouds can effortlessly draw attention.

photo 2

The UK charity Mind investigated  “ecotherapy”  in  2014 – 94% of those involved said green exercise activities benefited their mental health.

Animal Therapy

Time spent with animals is also said to be good for mental health. According to the Biophilia hypothesis, our interest in animals stems from early humans’ dependence on signals in the environment indicating safety or threat. This means seeing animals at rest or in a peaceful state indicates personal safety and results in feelings of well-being.

goat

Not everyone is lucky enough to have these beautiful landscapes on their doorstep. Now living in London I have to go out of my way to find the green space I was blessed with in Somerset.

If you are also in London and you have a free day Richmond Park is stunning and the deer are very tame!

If want to find some green space near you follow the link below and enter your postcode:

https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-park

Featured image accredited to Kip Dudden

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The paradox of empathy

20 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs

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empathy, paradox, philosophy

A philosophical interlude

The paradox of empathy was going to be the title of yesterday’s post “the empathy trap”. Thankfully however before publishing Google revealed the true definition of a paradox.

Paradox:  “A statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true (or wrong at the same time)”.

For example: “Nobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded.”


Jane marries John and they take their honeymoon on the beautiful island of St Vincent. While they are sunbathing together a coconut drops from a great height killing John. Jane flies home early in floods of tears and is inconsolable.

Her close friend Jess, who is also widowed, tries to comfort her and tells her she knows how she feels. The presumption leaves Jane incandescent with rage. How could she know how she feels, what she is thinking? No one can no how anyone else feels.

Here’s the clever bit: If Jane claims that Jess cannot know how she feels, she is making an assertion about how she feels!

This story was adapted from an article by Ramsey McNabb in Philosophy Now. He adds that according to logical purists this is not quite a genuine paradox. But it still creates a serious question: How is empathy possible when every person’s experience is so unique?


McNabb also takes an extract from Chang Zu composed 4th-2nd century BC that deals with the same concept.

Chuang-Tzu and Hui Shih were strolling on the bridge above the Hao river. “Out swim the minnows, so free and easy,” said Chuang-tzu. “That’s how fish are happy.”
“You are not a fish. Whence do you know that the fish are happy?”
“You aren’t me, whence do you know that I don’t know the fish are happy?”
“We’ll grant that not being you I don’t know about you. You’ll grant that you are not a fish, and that completes the case that you don’t know the fish are happy.”
“Let’s go back to where we started. When you said, ’Whence do you know that the fish are happy?’, you asked me the question already knowing that I knew. I knew from up above the Hao.”

(Chuang-tzu, chapter 17, translated by A.C.Graham)

Featured image Paradox Box Face accredited to Imagenerator

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Anxiety & Depression – The Empathy Trap

19 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by kipdudden in Blogs, Mental Health

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

anxiety, depression, empathy, mental health, mind, misunderstanding, talking, timetochange

Empathy:  “The experience of understanding another person’s condition from their perspective. You place yourself in their shoes and feel what they are feeling.”


Depression and anxiety are common medical conditions that afflict millions of people across the world. According to mentalhealth.org they account for nearly 20% of all GP appointments in the UK

What is confusing for many is that these conditions share their names with normal emotions that everyone experiences at some time or another. For example someone might feel anxious about starting a new job or moving to a new city. Equally someone who has never suffered from clinical depression will have felt despair, perhaps following the death of a loved one.

This insight should in theory provide friends and families [if not society at large] with a better understanding of these diseases. Ironically when it comes to discussing these conditions a fundamental misunderstanding can lead to two common failures of empathy amongst those who are not familiar with mental illness:

“I don’t understand what you are anxious/depressed about?”

“I’m so sorry. I know EXACTLY how you feel, I remember before this job interview…”

In an attempt to relate to someone’s suffering people see things through the lens of their own experience. Both these statements reflect a lack of knowledge rather than a lack of empathy. For now, this may be their best efforts to step into someone else’s shoes.

Even so, these responses can be difficult. The stigma around mental illness means it can take a lot of courage for people to talk about their condition. Once this has been done anything that feels belittling or patronising can be understandably very frustrating.


BUT

If you have reached out to someone and heard these words don’t be defeated.  With a bit more knowledge people who make the effort to empathise can be supportive. If you take the time to send them a link on Facebook and in the future explain a little more, their understanding will improve. Hopefully then, not only can they support you when things are tough but it might be that bit easier for the next person who has to explain what they are going through.

Here are some resources that may be helpful:

http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/ 

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/talk-about-mental-health/telling-someone-about-your-mental-health-problem 

Featured image: Edvard Munch – Anxiety

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