MAGAZINE FOR WELLBEING
SPRING 2012 / ISSUE 44
38
Pag
Spe
e
cia
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George Harding Artist
2011
SPRING
ISSUE 44
>> Haringey Food Bank >> The Lobotomist Review >> Recovery Narratives >> Gail Hornstein and Bobby Baker >> Mental Health in Asian Communities
Equilibrium Patron Dr Liz Miller Mind Champion 2008
Front cover artwork: by George Harding
disclaimer Equilibrium is produced by service users. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without the prior permission of the Equilibrium team. Products, articles and services advertised in this publication do not necessarily carry the endorsement of Equilibrium or any of our partners. Equilibrium is published and circulated electronically four times a year to a database of subscribers; if you do not wish to receive Equilibrium or have received it by mistake, please email unsubscribe to equilibriumteam@hotmail.co.uk
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2 EQUILIBRIUM
editorial Big news: Equilibrium will now be available on our blog www.equilibriummag.com where it can be read in chunks, you can read back issues and we can post updates whenever we want. This should be a really good thing. You can still read it on www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium as well as www.issuu.com and search Equilibrium Magazine too. Multiplatformed indeed! Here in 44 there’s a good goulash of stuff for spring: Pumla on dolphins and gender dysphoria, Tizzy’s been around and about - to Yayoi at Tate Modern and the Fantastist at the Blue Elephant, as well as Cooltan, Angela’s recovered from her time in the chest hospital (where they took and saved Fabrice Muamba) and she writes about that and reactions to stress, Kate and Mahalia give us contrasting beautiful poems, and I went to Manchester and heard the great panjandrum Gail Hornstein in conversation with performance artist Bobby Baker. We include a piece about philosophy at Stuart Low and Dev collects his thoughts on the South Asian community and mental distress. The very wonderful Dorset Mental Health Forum provided us with their super newsletter - from which we extract a piece on recovery. All we need now is some rain and you can curl up over your PC/ *insert electronic device here* and read the mag!
the team Facilitator: Polly Mortimer. Editorial team: Pumla Kisosonkole, Angela, Siham Beleh, Tizzy McKenzie, Dev Chatterjea Graphic design: Anthony Parké.
contact us Equilibrium, Clarendon Centre, Clarendon Road, London, N8 ODJ. 02084894860, equilibriumteam@hotmail.co.uk. We are in the office on Friday mornings 10-12, but you can leave a message at other times and we’ll get back to you.
contributions Wanted: contributions to Equilibrium! Please email us with your news, views, poems, photos, plus articles. Anonymity guaranteed if required.
EQUILIBRIUM
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newsbites
Andy Burnham: Dismisses Cameron’s ‘happiness agenda’
Andy Burnham shadow health secretary has dismissed Cameron’s ‘happiness agenda’ (each authority measuring the happiness of their residents with a 200,000 sample). ‘Talking about mental health in terms of happiness has become the modern way of talking about mental health:’mental health is happiness’. And I don’t think it is. It is slightly in danger of becoming a middle-class construct’. The WHO predicts that by 2030 more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem. Britain spends 1.7% of its national budget on mental health care.
Pause For Thought
Scientists at Edinburgh’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine have created brain tissue ‘from patients suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar depression and other mental illnesses.’ They make neurons from a scrap of skin genetically identical to those in that person’s brain. This is ostensibly to test platforms for new drugs. What do you think? What if someone recovers? is the disorder still in ‘the brain’?
The Matthew Elvidge Trust
Newish charity worth following The Matthew Elvidge Trust supporting and making people aware of the signs of depression and how to deal with it. Also fundraising. www.thematthewelvidgetrust.com
Charlotte’s Blog on bipolar I’ve been undergoing a course of CBT with a National Health Service clinical psychologist. We’ve been working on recognising the thoughts and feelings that go with my bipolar mood states and devising strategies for managing my behaviour. Finally I am getting to the point when I can say to myself, “uh-oh, that’s not Charlotte thinking – that’s hypomania in the driving seat!” Hypomania has been a particularly state for me to get to grips with because until last year although I recognised my depressions only too well, I had no idea that many of the behaviours I felt the most ashamed of were due to hypomania or bipolar irritability. I’m starting to be able to challenge my own thinking, and am just beginning to take steps to curb the worst of my problem behaviours, but it’s going to be a long, slow road. www.internationalbipolarfoundation.org
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Summer/ Issue 38
newsbites
Alleviating Some Of The Symptoms Of ‘Schizophrenia’ Scientists at the Uni of Manchester are working on tests for antibiotic use for alleviating some of the symptoms of ‘schizophrenia’ – very early days, and as Robin Murray (Institute of Psychiatry) says: “Infection or inflammation might be involved in a minority of people with acute psychosis and minocycline might counter this. In depression inflammatory markers go up and in Alzheimer’s too.”
First sight – Yayoi Kusama – Tate Modern London There was a crescendo from smaller paintings and pencil drawings to larger, bold paintings to large sculptures on the floor to rooms you could walk through. Half way through the exhibition were the ‘infinity nets’ which looked painstaking and which I actually quite liked, because they looked so labour intensive and you could imagine shapes caught in them. There were bright, almost aboriginal style paintings and there were the sculptures made of potato like objects which had sexual connotations. The highlight for me was the room full of lights and mirrors which made you feel as if you were in an infinite forest of hanging multicoloured globes. Tizzy
EQUILIBRIUM loved the latest edition of Asylum: Spring 2012 vol 19 number 1. This magazine is essential so subscribe if you can – only 15.00 p a. www.pccs-books.co.uk. Star pieces include Sami Timimi on the abolition of psychiatric labels, Brenda LeFrancois on ‘being psychiatrised’, Bob Sapey – a social worker – on challening psychiatric coercion as well as reports from China Mills on NGOs in India and human rights violations, Sabah Siddiqui and others on Indian models of healing and Lavanya Seshanyee on recovery from ‘schizophrenia’. Dean Smith writes of his research in Kenya with those who hear voices. There is more – first person accounts on anxiety and shades of madness. Long may it last..a vital document.
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
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newsbites
EQUILIBRIUM READ THE NEW SCIENTIST
EQUILIBRIUM WOULD LIKE TO READ...
Kate Ravilious wrote a piece about the idea that ‘homo sapiens rose to dominance over other hominins because of a greater tolerance for psychiatric conditions that produce unorthodox ways of thinking…’ In the editorial accompanying that issue (2837 November 2011) the editor put forward a case for the benefits to modern society of being more accepting of mental illness (Gosh, really?). There
From Melancholia to Prozac: a history of depression. By Clark Lawlor. OUP 14.99 From Guardian review by Jenny Diski:
followed a critique of DSM, and the idea that the ‘bewildering array of conditions’ could be replaced by a similar framework of ‘dimensions’. – scores for traits along continuous scales. ‘That would reinforce the view that these is no clear dividing line between mental health and illness.’ ‘Will discarding the concepts of ‘normal’ and ‘mad’ lead humanity to new heights, mirroring the advances that might have stemmed from earlier tolerance of unusual thinking? Perhaps not. But it should definitely promote a clearer and more compassionate view of the misfit minds among us. That must be a good thing.’ This editorial was actually truly revolutionary –and extraordinary coming from a science viewpoint.
‘’It is most valuable as a history of thought about the varying degrees of sadness and despair that have been consistently experienced from antiquity to the present day. Timothie Bright’s 1613 description of the effect of excessive black bile ‘which shut up the hart as it were in a dungeon of obscurity, causeth manie fearfull fancies…. whereby we are in heaviness, sit comfortless, feare distrust, doubt despaire, and lament , where no cause requireth it’…is as good a picture of depression as I know it as any I’ve heard or read.’ Skating over the author’s reckoning that depression is nothing but a ‘chemical imbalance of the neurochemistry of the brain’, it sounds like the historical accounts are fascinating, and he is robustly critical
Read Kate Ravilious’ article in New Scientist 2837 – usually available in public libraries.
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of the DSM/drug companies grip over the ‘treatment’, Definitely worth a look.
Summer/ Issue 38
Photo right: Polly, Royal London
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
EQUILIBRIUM
talk
Photograph: Katherine Rose/Observer
Talk: Gail Hornstein & Bobby Baker
Gail Hornstein (author of Agnes’ Jacket, below) and Bobby Baker (author of Diary Drawings) in conversation at the Whitworth Art Gallery Agnes Jacket now available in paperback! PPCS publishing. Diary Drawings by Bobby Baker published by Faber.
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM 9
Summer/ Issue 38
talk
I
would travel over Siberian plains and
When she collapsed psychologically in
up to the foothills of Popacatapetl to
the late 90s she self referred to a day
hear Gail Hornstein talk. Her sensible,
centre for 3 weeks (which turned into 11
rich ways with words combined with a
years)..Out of her psychic pain came
vast well of knowledge and a lifetime of
711 drawings, which were pruned by
teaching and writing combine to make a
Bobby and her daughter for the very
fabulous listen.
successful exhibition at the Wellcome (reviewed in Equilibrium 2009 Autumn
Here she was talking to Bobby Baker,
along with Agnes’ Jacket – see www.
mistress of all things performance-art-
haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium).
with-food-ish and creator of Diary Drawings: Mental Illness and Me, among other
Gail’s story of Agnes jacket (embroi-
things, which was the subject of an exhibi-
dered by Agnes in an asylum in the
tion at the Wellcome Institute Gallery in
early 1900s) and many others telling
London in 2009.
their stories and trying to make sense of non-sense is a gem; it stands alone as a
This talk was an initiative platformed by
testimony and testament to those with-
CIDRA of the University of Manchester –
out mainstream voices.
a cross-disciplinary group throughout the university trying to get arts, technology
‘trying to capture the inarticulable’.
and science to interweave more ( my interpretation!).
So many questions came out of the discussion – if you’re mad are you
Bobby Baker ( now in her 60s) has been
always mad? ( I would answer a strong
a performance artist for many years, and
no to that – but many are told they are
was hit by a paralyzing anxiety in the late
irrecoverable by the profs). Is’outsider
90s. Her anguish was only partly alleviated
art’ a commodification? Why should
by ‘distraction and sleep’.
people be scapegoated? What does a diagnosis do? Where is recovery? How
Sizzling talk – Bobby ‘found cake’ in the
can one find ways to be understood
early 70s and made work (often food
and loved?
related) after her own experience.
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM 10
Another strand was a fascinating discourse on
the betweenness (verbal and the visual).
what is fiction? What are lies? How much of
‘Disorder self: use art to order the self’.
peoples’ stories are crafted and constructed – what is the ‘truth value’? Why are so many
Lots of meaty phraseology too – transport
people not believed?
of the affect and the relief of signification. A little bit of translation needed, but it was clear
The next day I went (masquerading as a post-
enough to stick with. Bobby said that the
grad) to a Masterclass at the University of
sensual delight of painting meant that as she
Manchester. After the doling out of a bacon
‘learnt myself, I learnt my story’.
sandwich by Gail to a welcome punter, I was pinned to my chair with awe at the company
Ideas of infantilizing the distressed came up
(inc the revered Griselda Pollock, maitresse d’
and the marginalization. More talk of ‘the
of cultural studies), and deep and wondrous
other’ – Bobby saying she didn’t recognize
ideas flew around the room.
herself from the diary entries.
How to speak the unspeakable? Art lead-
Griselda gave a quick guide of attitudes and
ing to transformation – how to negotiate
thoughts towards the distressed from platonic
the transport station of trauma. The space
ideas in Ancient Greece to the psychologizing
between. The parts that don’t make it to the
of the 20th century.
representation. Can/Is representation do/
I left for lunch with my daughter buzzing with
doing justice to the experiences? The inside/
interdisciplinary vibes and desires to find out
outside, the private, the public.
more, to find answers, to ask more questions and continue to try and change attitudes.
Gail talked of Agnes’ Jacket as an amulet –
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Polly
Summer/ Issue 38
ariel too tempestuous set to on battleship hill
Image: Ariel and Ferdinand by James Henry Nixon
POEM
By Kate James-Moore
when fighting fire with fire meets skating on thin ice the blacked out two way mirror of my heart melts when precision timing crosses my fatal flaw/fault line the mission chose me the inspiralling spiral of the spy ring of peace of mind blue jay dandy was to be set free again, this time from her eastern block flaying thoughts had lifted her high and higher in a tempest of tiny snowflakes of truth cutting through her synapses like hollow glass the direction was set to the spatzer platz forgotten by all but anna leaving behind tiny shoes and smaller still switches that controlled her ever clicking heels the swan river she once swam she now glided across, messiah like in her controlled confidence inching closer to the chink that would confound her it was time that her imagined tattoed wings began to unfurl fear of follyful follicle fire burning through every uv vein would she make it? could her belief burgeon at the precise zeitline she needed it too?
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM 11
newsbites
ADAM ANT DIAGNOSED IN THE U.S
Adam Ant in the Guardian: ‘I was in a very bad state of mind. But you don’t walk into a doctor’s surgery and say I’m nuts – and if you do they just fill you with antidepressants which just turn you into a Tellytubby. Antidepressants are very good, but it’s a clinical cosh really.
WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER
Sometimes you have to be knocked out, just to stop;
AFTER A SECOND
and rest your body and your brain. But being on anti-
when you’re in that state all you want to do is sleep,
BREAKDOWN, HE WAS
depressants, if you’re not careful you can just be sitting
SECTIONED AFTER AN
nothing at all. ‘ Which is pretty much what he did for
on the couch looking at daytime TV, eating and doing
‘AFFRAY’ IN A PUB IN
the next four years. ‘ And I didn’t enjoy it at all’.
CAMDEN.
He talks quite openly about his mental illness, but seems unresolved about medication; he knows he’s not well, but the drugs that stabilize the mind also anaesthetize his creativity, and if that is the price he must pay for sanity, he’s not sure if its worth it. When I ask if he’s taking medication at the moment, he pauses before answering. ’No. But I can if I want to, if I have the warning signs,a nd I know the warning signs, I can go and get them.’ What would be a familiar warning sign? ‘Well, the trouble is, when you look at the list: sexual promiscuity, spending loads of money, flamboyant behavior – well that describes every rock star I can think of. That comes with my profession. So it’s very difficult to know.’
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Summer/ Issue 38
POETRY: WISE OWL Mahalia Amartey I fall backwards I am fly ing I am bird An eagle beautiful and desired Spread my wings and soar Then swoop , and perch I am an eagle up on high I can see everything, not turn my head My eyes turn and I see you. You see that girl She’s had her heartbroken She smiling, she doesn’t mean it She’s heartbroken I fall backwards I am fly ing I am an owl I come awake at night I can see everything See that girl She has had her heart broken what’s she searching for? What’s she want? See that girl, she has had her heart broken See that girl, that’s the walk of a broken heart I fall backwards I am on the floor Wise owl
Photo right: Polly, Royal London
She is out at night, walking, never talking ,
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newsbites
Sleeping Pills A large study recently showed that the drugs carry a substantial risk of death for those who are prescribed them. Hypnotics such as temazepam and zolpidem carry a fourfold risk of death. Drs in the US say that there are many ways they can shorten life: increase depression, interfere with motor and cognitive skills, and cause sleep apnoea which can lead to heart problems. The limited green light given by NICE needs to be reconsidered.
International Society Removes ‘Schizophrenia’ From Its Title Members of the International Society for the Psychological Treatments of the Schizophrenias and Other Psychoses (www.isps.org) have just voted, by an overwhelming majority to change the society’s name to the International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis. The change comes at a time when the scientific validity of the term schizophrenia is being hotly debated in the lead up to the publication of the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (see http://dxrevisionwatch.wordpress.com).
Equilibrium Liked: A new Transport for London TRAVEL SUPPORT CARD for those with hidden disabilities to help them round the transport system more easily. It is the size of a credit card and lists the individuals specific impairments. Holders can show it to transport staff to receive travel assistance. Download the card at: www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/ 08432221234
Education and Employment Project This is a great place with a cafe which is normally just open to people from Camden and Islington, but if you email Francine there is a chance you could join a group. They run lots of different short courses - from bike maintenance to museum studies. 75 Hanley Road N4 3DQ 0207 281 6221 francine.haagman@candi.nhs.uk What’s On:
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Summer/ Issue 38
newsbites
London: Wellcome Collection – BRAINS: the mind as matter. 29 March to 17 June. Euston Rd. (opposite Euston). FREE. This will seek to explore what humans have done to brains in the cause of medical intervention, scientific enquiry, cultural meaning and technological change. Accompanied by a range of talks, events and tours. And a great (if pricey) caff.
Biscuit Of The Month: Custard Creams (chosen by Pumla – chief philosophiser and writer of Pumla’s Abstractions), Next issue: the debate continues.. this decision has caused controversy. Nigel Prestatyn speaks out for…the Jaffa cake. (double page spread – film rights applied for).
Equilibrium Searched And Found www.empathictherapy.org by the great Peter Breggin. Fact: In the 18th century 100 thousand people paid a penny to go and stare at people in Bedlam. Coming Soon - Claralympics – with anarchist rounders among other games. Watch this space! See next issue. New Magazine Launching At Stonehenge The brains behind it is Peter from the Clarendon. magazine1650@gmail.com. Check Out: A new charity to help people with depression through gardening – www.vivennefoundation.org.uk New Ideas: Turtle Song: Singing and songwriting initiative with people with memory loss and dementia. See what they are doing and hear the songs! www.redcapetheatre.co.uk
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM 15
Thinkpiece Angela on stress and the varying responses to it
feel ‘stressed out‘ they will recommend relaxing aromatherapy products and supplements like B vitamins which target the nervous system. If you went to a sports centre and said you were ‘stressed out’ they will offer you different forms of exercise, because exercise raises the endorphins in the brain which have a feelgood factor. If you say to your psychiatric doctor that you feel ‘stressed out’ he will say are you taking your tablets properly ? A consultant psychiatrist is trained to see a problem as a problem of the mind. For example I had a
N
problem with my eyes. I kept seeing thing
found my treatment useful, because there
Clarendon Day Centre. She said that she
were times when I was very ill and the psychi-
notices that the patients are given medica-
atric doctor managed to heal me regardless
tion without a full medical check first. She
of what symptoms were presented to her.
recommended me to go to the optician. He
ot every problem is a problem of the
move. I told my consultant psychiatrist then
mind. I have been a user of mental
she increased my medication. At the time
health services for several years. I
there was a American lady working at the
said it is a condition of the eye not the mind. However not every problem is a problem of
The Consultant did respect what the optician
the mind. If you go to the pub and say you
said.
feel ‘stressed out ‘ the Barmaid will say what will you like to drink ?
The bar maid will not send you to the health shop. The sports centre will not send you to
If you go to a travel agent and say you feel
the travel agent. So what should the consult-
‘stressed out’ they will say where would you
ant psychiatrist do ?
like to go on your holiday ? If you went to the health shop and said you
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM 416
Answers on a postcard please
Summer/ Issue 38
arts
Matilda... lives and works in London. She makes films, draws comics and writes for children’s TV. Programs she’s written for include the BAFTA award winning Dipdap and The Adventures of Abney and Teal. She published Having Fun, an anthology of her collected comics, earlier this year.
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
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Recovery Narratives
D
orset
poems to express their stories. Others use
Mental
quotes, lyrics or music that best reflect their
Health
situation and process. Others express them-
Forum are doing great
selves best through painting, drawing or
things. Recovery Narratives are stories of
photography.
recovery. The stories, like the people they belong to, are deeply personal and indi-
A Recovery Narrative can help us make
vidual. These are not simply stories of woe,
sense of where we are in our own recovery
or stories that support the notion of people
process. It can help us make sense of our
with mental illness being victims. Whilst they
thoughts and feelings and make a situation
may contain accounts of hardship, illness,
or a memory clearer in our own minds.
struggles and pain, recovery narratives are also stories of great hope and immense
As a peer-led mental health charity we
courage, often illustrating the universal
focus on two of the main benefits of Recov-
search for meaning that is innate in all of us.
ery Narratives. Firstly, helping to inspire hope and recovery for those who experience
Narratives show the process and move-
mental illness and second, challenging and
ment towards understanding and accept-
fighting the stigma associated with having
ance, as we progress from mental illness
mental illness.
to mental wellness, a wellness shaped by the notion of recovery. Recovery can be
Recovery Narrative Workshops are now
viewed as a framework of hope, accept-
being held throughout Dorset. If you would
ance and control over our lives, not about
like to learn more about writing a Recovery
being recovered, as in, without symptoms
Narrative or are interested in joining the
but rather living a full, meaningful and satis-
next workshop in your area, contact Paul
fying life even when we’re experiencing
Siebenthal (Peer Specialist)
symptoms. email: paulsiebenthal@dorsetmentalhealthWriting a Recovery Narrative isn’t depend-
forum.org.uk or Phone: 01305 257172
ent on an ability or confidence in writ-
Their magazine is called Reflect – it’s an
ing. Many people use a tape recorder
excellent read and can be found at
to record their recovery narrative, which
www.dorsetmentalhealthforum.org.uk
can then be typed up. Some people write
With thanks to the Dorset Mental Health Forum
EQUILIBRIUM 18
Decisions, Decisions… Need for shared decision making – blindingly obvious, and doesn’t happen enough… There’s a lot of talk about ‘shared decision making’ in the NHS right now. Many mental health patients say that they do not feel that they are properly listened to or that their expertise is not valued in the consultation, but it’s clear that many health professionals are quite evangelical about working in partnership with service users to determine the best approach to care. Indeed, it’s a core principle of evidence-based medicine that clinicians should integrate the best research evidence with their own clinical expertise and the values and preferences of the patient. It’s impossible to do this prop-
copyright zazzle
erly without some degree of shared decision making.
•
Information gathering
•
Training in psychiatry
•
Intuition and experience
•
Evidence-based practice
•
Cognitive reasoning
•
Uncontrollable factors
•
Multidisciplinary team influences
Interesting to see no patients on that list Training in shared decision making was highly accepted by patients and changed attitudes toward participation in decision making. There were some hints that it might generate beneficial long-term effects.
EQUILIBRIUM 19
THE LOBOTOMISTS
EQUILIBRIUM listened to: A Radio 4 programme about lobotomy.
This as expected was shocking. For starters the ‘pioneers’ were thrilled that there was now a ‘cure’. This was psychosurgery.. Muniz , one of the key mutilators, won..a Nobel Prize.He equated the structure of the brain to the structure of the psyche (womething medical modellers still do today) and thought by cutting fibres he would be cutting obsessions.
Dr Lesley Hall, Senior Archivist, Wellcome Library, spoke to the makers of the documentary about the WattsFreeman lobotomy instruments we hold in our collections (the image above shows Dr Hall brandishing one of these tools).
In 1935 the claim was that 1/3 ‘greatly improved’, 1/3 ‘improved’ and 1/3 ‘ no worse’. Well… The most controlling and abusive psychiatrists took it up with gusto – including William Sargant, and Wiley McKissick. The latter almost had a production line going and performed over 3ooo lobotomies. On ‘troublesome’ patients. The operations caused fits, infections, apathy, double incontinence and irreversible damage. ‘I’ve cracked, haven’t I?’ said one lobotomized person afterwards. A talking head said on the programme:’they were doing the best they could considering what they knew about the world’…….It’offered salvation’. Well, if salvation was apathy and fits and complete loss of personality, I’ll go with the opposite. There was a provoking coda that talked of what we will look back at in 50 years about how we ‘treated’ people in distress. I think a lot of today’s apparent ‘remedies’ (ECT for starters)will be found deeply wanting, and often dangerous.
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Summer/ Issue 38
George Harding Exhibition
Pumla’s Abstractions Why do we panic or get shocked? In modern media, the shock element makes for sales/exposure. A helpful (though probably only a photo record of an animal in proximity to humans) shows how those who give a situation its due, will probably stand more of a chance of survival than if panicky. Human reactions are to run away. How much faster than a huge 4 legged grizzly bear in Alaska can a human hope to
By George Harding
run …?!!!
An exhibition of portraits which challenge the negative perception of mental health portrayed in popular culture. “These paintings are of self portraits, artists, friends, family and mental health professionals who have guided and helped me through my mental health problems. Together they have given me perspective on a journey through to the other side where there is hope in being able to cope with my illness. The paintings encourage people to look at “us” in a way that is celebratory, unconventional and can teach us something about different ways of being.” George had a recent exibitionat the Bethlem Gallery South London
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
If the individual keeps still, and in so doing attracts no attention, probably the main sensory organ of the animal (around scent) will detect no threat. Pictures show the animal ambling by. This makes one think of police presence. If they are not provoked, they won’t know you’re there (unfortunate if you’re a victim!). And where will the photo opportunity in stress situations be then ?!
EQUILIBRIUM 21
Blast from the past
Dr Ellen Holtzman
For the most part, private
mental health problems. To
asylums offered the treatments
correct the flawed nervous
that were popular at that time.
system, asylum doctors applied
In the late 19th and early 20th
various treatments to patients’
centuries, most physicians held
bodies, most often hydrother-
a somatic view of mental illness
apy, electrical stimulation and
and assumed that a defect in
rest.
the nervous system lay behind
Dr Ellen Holtzman, below Boris Sidi, right
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM 22
Summer/ Issue 38
From 1890 to 1918, however, when the
special psychopathological and clinical
private hospitals were at the height of
methods of examination, observation and
their popularity, medical thinking about
treatment.”
the etiology of mental illness also began to change. A small number of physicians
Sidis touted the luxury of the asylum’s
abandoned the somatic view of mental
accommodations and setting, even more
illness and adopted a more psychological
than the availability of psychotherapy.
understanding of the disease. Among them
“Beautiful grounds, private parks, rare
was Boris Sidis (1867–1923). Before obtain-
trees, greenhouses, sun parlors, palatial
ing his medical degree, Sidis had earned a
rooms, luxuriously furnished private baths,
PhD from Harvard University under the tute-
private farm products,” wrote Sidis in his
lage of William James (1842–1910).
brochure describing the institute. Moreover, he offered his patients the somatic
Sidis’s psychological training distinguished
treatments of hydrotherapy and electrical
him from other asylum doctors. He argued
stimulation, as did his less psychologically
that consciousness itself, rather than the
minded colleagues. The emphasis on luxury
nervous system, was the “data” of psychol-
combined with the availability of the popu-
ogy. Sidis also believed in the subconscious.
lar somatic treatments, even in an institu-
In his treatment, Sidis hypnotized patients
tion created by an “advanced” thinker
to gain access to memories buried in their
like Sidis, suggests that wealthy patients
subconscious. After he roused patients from
expected a traditional, medical approach
the hypnotic trance, Sidis described their
to treatment.
memories to them. Patients’ awareness of their hidden memories, according to Sidis, eliminated all of their symptoms. In 1910, Sidis opened a private asylum, the Sidis Psychotherapeutic Institute, on the Portsmouth, N.H., estate of a wealthy New Englander. Hoping for referrals from psychologically minded colleagues, he announced the opening of his hospital in thePsychological Bulletin and advertised it in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, which he had founded. The ad noted that he would treat patients by “applying his
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
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Photo: Anthony
HOPE “Through my journey, and I feel it is a lifelong one for me, living with my condition, I have found hope is the key to recovery - hope that things will get better, hope that I can manage my symptoms and hope that I can lead a happy meaningful life. I do realise that keeping busy is the key to my recovery, so whilst I do relapse when my anxiety gets high, with a strong support structure around me I can enjoy life, finally.“ by J.
Exhibition: Bridge Over Troubled Water This show presented vibrant large-scale watercolours of imaginary scenes that represent Barrington’s experiences growing up in Jamaica and England. “My painting gives me great pleasure, and a way of expressing
Image: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Barrington
myself and my experiences in life.” Recently at Bethlem Gallery South London
Lynn Featherstone attended the Artworks exhibition at the Chocolate Factory, and enjoyed the work on display
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Summer/ Issue 38
American Madness: The Rise And Fall Of Dementia Praecox By Richard Noll. Harvard University Press 2012
Meaty and academic, though fascinating, book about the appearance and disappearance of Dementia Praecox. In 1895 there was not a single case in America, by 1912 there were thousands of people with the diagnosis locked up in asylums, hospitals and jails. By 1927 it was fading away. ‘Noll shows the co-dependency between a disease and the scientific status of the profession that treats it. The ghost of dementia praecox haunts today’s debates about the latest generation of psychiatric disorders’.
The Locked Ward: Memoirs Of A Psychiatric Orderly By Dennis O’Donnell. Jonathan Cape 12.99
Dennis O’Donnell was an orderly for seven years in the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit of a large hospital from 2000. AS well as encountering ‘fear, violence and despair’ he also encountered a lot of care and compassion. He goes into detail about life behind the doors of ‘ the most feared and stigmatized environments in healthcare’. He looks at all the major mental disorders and how triggers such as religion, sex, wealth and drugs bear influence, and look at treatment and the role of the families involved. ‘What emerges is a document of humanity and humour, a remarkable memoir that sheds light on a world that still remains largely unknown. Review in next issue
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
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Philosophy tackles the big issues...
P
hilosophy tackles the big issues: who we are, what the world is like, and how we ought to
treat one another. If you’ve ever wondered about the answers to these questions, you’re already
doing philosophy! A new group run by philosophers will help you think through these questions yourself in a friendly, accessible environment. The Stuart Low Trust, an Islington-based mental health charity, has for several years included philosophy talks in their programme of weekly Friday Evening Events. These free events provide an inclusive welcome for around 200 people each month and offer a variety of presentations and workshops, including
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Harry Adamson
self-esteem, health and wellbeing, music
ing and probing main speaker, who takes
and comedy gigs and talks from such well-
the ideas a step or two further, until the tea
known psychologists as Dorothy Rowe, plus
break, when everyone gets a chance to
a healthy bite to eat and the opportunity to
relax and, of course, discuss philosophy. The
socialise.
second hour brings a second question and a final discussion, when the speaker may
The Stuart Low Trust was so struck by their
aim to wrap up an idea only to find that the
Friday group’s interest in philosophy that
participants have a lot more questions to ask!
they have conjured up a crew of philosophers prepared to come to London to
“Doing philosophy here makes me happy”
run two hour sessions in philosophy every
one participant said, “even though I am not
Sunday evening.
in a comfort zone. Pushing the boundaries is what makes it exciting.” Everyone is learn-
The sessions, which take place at a venue in
ing how to reflect on their own thoughts and
Archway, N19, kick off with a main speaker
enjoy the differences in opinions. As one
introducing the topic under discussion. It
person put it: “These discussions are good for
may be based on a particular philosopher
both the head and the heart!”
(like Plato), or on a general idea, like the nature of a person. After a brief general talk,
What is the effect of philosophy for people
everyone splits up into small groups of five
with mental health issues? Just what it is for
or six people to discuss a question. Examples
us all: an exciting opportunity to think freely,
include: “What is goodness?”; “Are animals
reflecting on the deepest questions we can
moral?”; “Am I my body, or my mind (or
ask about the human condition.
both)?”; “What is happiness?” The groups reform as one and discuss the ideas they
For more information have a look at the
came up with. They are led by a question-
Stuart Low Trust webpage: www.slt.org.uk.
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
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Mental Health in South Asian Communities
B
y definition the South Asian community is a group of countries i.e. India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan Nepal, Maldives and
Nikaba islands. Each country as well as sharing common borders they also share culture, social and historical similarities. This also accounts for people with mental problems. In the sub-continent mental problems are seen as taboo, in other words mental problems are not spoken of. In the subcontinent, when a person has mental problems such as schizophrenia, depression or any other type, they are basically frowned upon or pushed under the carpet. When people from the subcontinent like my family come to this country they bring their culture and history with them. This would also include social and religious stigmas like mental problems. For instance sometimes it is said that a person has mental problems because they have done something bad in their past life. So people with this condition tend to hide it. So what happens is that when they start have these attacks, or any other situations that occur, the families tend to have to deal with the situation by themselves and without any help from the outside. If you look at non-Indian or Western culture, you will notice that they are more open and are able to deal with it the rest of the community. This is partly because they are in their home country. And when South Asians come to this country they feel that they are on a different planet and find it difficult to integrate into a western culture, or what
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Summer/ Issue 38
Dev Chatterjea is commonly known as culture shock. So
some cases if this is not taken care of could
what happens is that some people tend to
lead to drug abuse, hate crimes, violence.
create their own group of people that have
And lead to mental health problems as I have
the same cultural believes as they have from
mentioned.
their countries. Hence they become a closed community with their traditional values and
If we want to deal with this as a society we
stigma. Rarely people who came to this coun-
may want to find ways of befriending people
try during the 60’s and 70’s find it difficult to
from various groups. What I mean is having
express their feelings. This is because they were
people who work for various organisations
mostly brought up with South Asian values,
but are from those cultural groups to deal
which in a way can be good, i.e. gives you
with those issues. One factor could be to go
your own unique identity and beliefs.
to people and their family and explain the mental health problems. Another factor
The children of immigrants, i.e. who were born
could be to teach the family and the people
around the 70’s and 80’s, that have grown
involved the way to cope with any events or
up here find themselves in a “catch 22”.
“mental problems”. One last factor could be
On one end you have the Asian culture i.e.
to “destigmatise” any mental problems. I am
tradition, religion, customs, music, films. And
not sure but there might not be any type of
on the other end Western values that they
befriending schemes for the Asian
might have experience such as relationships,
community.
making out etc. This might lead to people isolating them self from what is really happen-
On a lighter note, most young Asians who
ing to them. This may include serious matters
are very young second generation and third
like extreme views, abuse, and the unable
generations are finding it a bit easier to deal
to deal with various behaviours within their
with mental problems. This is probably because
family. All this builds up and what I call “an
they find fellow “brit-asian” or Asians from the
over flow” of emotions could lead to mental
subcontinent that have grown up here to go to
breakdowns, depressions, anxiety attacks,
for advice and support them. This article is just
creating a barrier between themselves and
my opinion and not anyone elses.
“the rest of the world”, and many more. In
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
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HARINGEY FOOD BANK Can now be accessed through the Clarendon Centre who have obtained a book of vouchers for the purpose... Mark Francis
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Summer/ Issue 38
T
he Food Bank movement is run by a Christian organisation, The Trussell Trust and hands out three day supplies of food to people with no other recourse. There are 163 throughout Britain and they supply tinned and non-perishable foods donated largely by church congregations.
Will they get much use at the Clarendon? Hopefully not. The first port of call for anyone currently on benefits will be to the Social Fund, which can be handled on the telephone. Crisis Loans are interest free and you do not have to be on Income Support to apply. A Crisis Loan is an urgent payment that can be made to anyone who does not have enough money to meet their immediate needs. The loan should be paid when it is the only way of preventing a serious risk to the health or safety of you or a member of your family. You can apply for a Crisis Loan if you have had a crisis such as a fire or a burglary for example or if you have lost your money or are waiting for a benefit to be assessed – you will need to show you do not have enough money for you and your family’s immediate living expenses or for an essential item such as a cooker or fridge for example. They will award a Crisis Loan for subsistence at a rate of about £40 per week which has to be repaid through benefits in cases of dire emergency. Once a loan has been agreed
the claimant is directed to the nearest Job Centre (such as Granta House) where a Giro (remember those?) will be issued to be cashed at a post office. Only in the event of this application being turned down will it be necessary to access the Food Bank vouchers. Alternatively someone with an addiction problem might be better off taking food rather than cash. The latest available figures reveal that, in 2008-09 in England and Wales, almost 2.4 million people applied for crisis loans. Only 1.7 million received an initial award, meaning almost 700,000 were left waiting for a loan or had their applications turned down. Many of the people involved are often working or a turned down for multiple or inappropriate applications. Oxfam has estimated that 6 per cent of Britons now go hungry some of time and that 13 million live in poverty. What should you do if you are destitute? Mark Francis is the signatory for the Vouchers at the Clarendon Centre. He will try to get you a Crisis Loan & if this fails- or you have an addiction problem that might make this the better option- then a voucher will be given to take to the local Food Bank. Like a Crisis Loan, you may only have 3 in any twelve month period
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Mind in Haringey Mind in Haringey is a small charity support-
organisations in tackling stigma and discrimi-
ing local people affected by mental ill
nation and have a popular community cafĂŠ
health, their families, friends and carers in
at our premises on a Friday which is open to
the London Borough of Haringey. We started
the public and helps to break down barriers
up in 1974 in a small church hall offering hot
with the local community.
meals to those that needed it and have developed to become a thriving mental
Mind in Haringey is a safe and welcoming
health charity which aims to improve the
environment, offering activities which give
quality of life of those affected by mental ill
people a reason to get out of bed in the
health by offering relevant services. These
morning and help to combat the loneliness
include daily well-being activities such as
and isolation that goes alongside mental
discussion, arts, gardening, complementary
ill health. We give people the information,
therapies; two full-time advocates provid-
tools and support they need to follow the
ing information on subjects from benefits to
road to recovery.
legal rights so that clients are able to make informed decisions; one-to-one counselling;
Despite being hit by funding cuts of ÂŁ750,000
and a Younger Minds project helping multi-
in the last 3 years and having to restructure
ple disadvantaged 16-25 year olds who find
the entire organisation, we are now well on
life difficult to cope with.
our way to recovery and are able to offer counselling services once again, support
We consult our service users and work with
for young people and a wider choice of
other organisations to meet the needs of
well-being activities. Unfortunately a further
Haringey residents affected by mental ill
ÂŁ67,000 of core funding from Haringey
health, using feedback to continuously
Council is likely to stop in June 2012 and we
improve our activities and services. We have
need your help to keep us going.
a small staff team supported by our trustees and volunteers many of whom have their own experiences of mental ill health.
Please visit our website to find out how:
We work in collaboration with partnership
www.mindinharingey.org.uk
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Dolphins are People Too...! An interesting article in a newspaper recently commented on yet another discovery in areas not previously considered. Apparently ‘experts in philosophy, conservation and dolphin behaviour’ say that dolphins are ‘sufficiently intelligent and self aware to justify the same ethical considerations given to humans’ says one newspaper. But how much in their turn, do they absorb of human behaviour? If they do something not humanly ethical, how is this conveyed to the creatures?? Pumla
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Play: The Fantasist A phenomenal play about a woman’s mental illness. The acting was outstanding. There were only three roles , the ill woman, her friend, and a nurse but the interpretation of each was excellently executed. Very clever use of puppets which each had their own character and were very real. The puppeteers were visible, but cleverly were invis-
ible and there was often two people operating
one puppet character showing incredible coordination. There was dancing furniture but the whole mood of the play was very dark. The madness seemed never ending. I went away from the play feeling unsettled although the show ended on an optomisitic note. Tizzy McKenzie
Poor Angela My GP referred me to the London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green. Yes the same hospital the footballer called Muamba who collapsed recently. She referred me because she thought that because I had to keep taking naps during the day and I was slow at work she thought I was not sleeping properly at night. I was given a sleep machine to use for one night Unfortunately the machine was faulty and gave out the wrong result as oxygen being dangerously low So I was kept in the hospital for m2 days. I was given oxygen on the first day through out the night. Blood was taken from the artery through the wrist, which is very painful and I had to keep still. The oxygen level was too high. Then on the second night I slept with no equipment. The blood was taken which showed a normal oxygen level. So it meant that I stayed in the hospital for 2 days for nothing. However when I mentioned about being too slow the doctor recommended cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) Where there’s a will there’s a way. Angela
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Photo right: Polly, Royal London
CHANGING THE POWER RELATIONSHIP WITH VOICES AND WORKING TOWARDS RECOVERY
1 day interactive workshop with Rufus May in London 1st May 2012 9.30AM-4.30PM at The London Academy, Unit 5 Clifton House, 42-43 Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park. London. N4 3JP WHO IS THE COURSE FOR? Suitable for anyone interested in using mindfulness based approaches, including mental health/social services professionals, psychotherapists and counsellors, voluntary sector workers, trauma victims and survivors and their friends and family. COURSE SUMMARY • Includes mindful body exercises, breathing and grounding techniques, mindful activities and mindful walking • Mindful listening skills and teaching mindfulness • How mindfulness can be helpful to those in helping roles • How mindfulness offers different ways of working with difficult emotional and mental experiences • Working with anger, mindful approaches to hearing voices and preoccupying beliefs. Cost of 1 day training (Lunch not included): Statutory and non-statutory Sectors £95.00 Voluntary Sector and Students £60.00 Service Users and Carers £30.00 Please make cheques payable to Interminds Events and return to The Gumption Centre, Bradford City Centre, BD5 0QB intermindsevents@googlemail.com Telephone Jo on 01274 288998 Payment due 7 days prior to event. Cancellations under ten days will be required to pay in full.