Issue 11 (Summer 2011)

Inner space for women’s mental health & wellbeing Issue

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Summer 2011

Diagn osis?

How t ques he wrong tion who label ca n you a re...

Showtime!

Treading the boards, community theatre style

A tale of two centres

Supporting rape victims from Africa to Surrey

SlutWalk

Women raise their voices to say ‘No’ to rape

free your mind Coming up…

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If you were given a treasure trove of different ways to help and support your mental wellbeing, what would you wish to find? Being able to go for a regular, relaxing massage, learn a new skill or subject, go dancing, visit the gym, or re-discover your self confidence and get back to work? And be able to have the money to choose what you want and pay for it if there is a charge?

Join Sanctuary magazine at some special workshops later this year to discover more about what is available in your area of Surrey that can free your mind and help you stay well and in control of your life.

The workshops are being organised by Surrey health and social services (but don’t let that put you off!), patients/service users and carers and a range of voluntary sector organisations, including Let’s Link, publishers of Sanctuary. These events will be one of the best opportunities for us all to explore just what it is that can help people who suffer mental ill health – or physical ill health that impacts on our mental wellbeing – get well and stay well. Over and above mental health specific services such as your GP, care team, drop-in etc, there are many different ways of boosting energy, enhancing enjoyment, finding new experiences and untapped talent within – all the things we need to free our minds and feel better – including about ourselves.

Four workshops will be held around end September or October 2011 in the following areas: Runnymede; Guildford; Reigate/Redhill; Epsom: each will cover the boroughs/districts in that area.

For times and more details, contact Megan - email: megan.aspel@sky.com or telephone 07824 364703 or write to Sanctuary magazine, c/o Let’s Link, PO Box 533, Betchworth RH4 9FL.

There

are rumblings among charities, commissioners and providers that mental health is being side-lined in the NHS Reforms agenda.

For years mental health has been perceived as the ‘Cinderella’ service in health. Much has been achieved to change that notion and ensure it is on the health radar screen. With the new mental health strategy ‘No health without mental health’ things looked set to see mental wellbeing over-arching every aspect of health and social care.

However, no implementation plan has followed (every strategy needs an implementation plan or guidance to actually put the thing into practice) leading to organisations including the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network questioning the department of health as to why not.

What does this mean locally? There are already concerns about changes

(some would say cuts) in mental health services. The premise is sound: Locally, we need patient led innovation and planning to create sustainable mental health services. That’s why NHS Surrey, Surrey County Council, supported by voluntary organisations, patients/ service users, carers and GP mental health leads are working together to create a Surrey mental health strategy and Social Inclusion strategy to ensure mental health remains the ‘umbrella’ for health and social care in Surrey.

Sanctuary will bring more news on that from the workshops being organised that will give people an opportunity to say what is important to them in terms of treatment, care, recovery and staying well. See opposite for your chance to join the debate and have your say.

Now, who of you think you might have the dubious title Mis(s) Diagnosis? In this issue Louisa looks at what a label such

as ‘personality disorder’ can mean for people suffering a mental illness that doesn’t ‘fit’ other diagnoses and can leave someone questioning who they really are (page 4).

We also look at the power of theatre and the performing arts to boost confidence and release latent ‘treading the boards’ talent in young people who rarely get the chance to express themselves in this way (page 10).

Plus, the level and quality of support people receive after being sexually attacked is vital if a victim is going to deal with what happened and recover enough to feel safe to live again. Two pioneering centres in very different parts of the world are showing the strength and compassion needed to heal the deeply wounded and re-build lives (page 14).

Megan

Editorial comment Send us your stories, comments and views – we love to hear from you: Let’s Link charity, PO Box 533, Betchworth RH4 9FL Or email Megan at megan.aspel@sky.com

Sanctuary is free to everyone.

Managing Editor: Megan Aspel Assistant Editor: Louisa Daniels Sanctuary is commissioned by NHS Surrey

Design by Aspects: studio@aspectsgd.com www.aspectsgd.com Printed by Progression Print: www.progressionprint.co.uk No part of this magazine may be reproduced without prior permission of the publishers. Copyright © Aspects 2011.

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Diagn osis?

girl in her year not to go onto college, she didn’t ‘fit in’ with the other girls and Kaysen rejected the female role because she was ‘hostile’ and ‘didn’t play sick’.

Feel a horn s though ed in your to a emo get a m ti enta hand l hea onal suffe but w le on l t r h does en a dia what it is h label? S ing has b gnos een s t o that meti is is f hat is m make dept m e e s it’s hoeor a hs of ssing you f p go er a wond with e your od to ering psychiat el? Louis sonality ric dis mi ad just w ho th label tha elves int order, ho nd, t o w ey re ally a leaves so the murk me p re… y eopl e

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What is a personality?

According to dictionary definitions, personality is ‘the visible aspects of one’s character as it impresses on others.’

All the time we use adjectives to describe people; we may use words such as shy, kind or if we are really anti someone they may be obnoxious to us. We may disagree with each other about this. For example, how your boss sees you, is going to be different (probably) to how your best friend sees you. Because not only do we behave differently in certain situations, we all think and feel differently about each other. After all, it is quite naive to go through life expecting everyone to like us, and for ourselves to like each person we encounter.

Hence why we get different music genres, social cliques, and political parties, and why there are social problems such as bullying, because some people can’t accept other people’s differences; they don’t ‘fit in’.

On the subject of ‘fitting in’, there is a certain ‘way’ of behaving, a ‘way’ of thinking and a ‘way’ of feeling that we, in this so-called ‘civilised society’, view as proper, appropriate and correct. For instance, here in the UK if you want something, well you queue for it. If an individual decided to spend a day ignoring this social norm, I predict there would be lots of tutting, to say the least.

The point I guess I am trying to make is that the way I feel about a certain individual will no doubt be different to how someone

else may see them – good or bad. And, to be quite honest, who cares? What little old me thinks is not going to impact greatly on someone’s life.

But what if I was a psychiatrist or GP? The diagnosis of mental health conditions in general is hugely controversial due to the subjective nature of diagnosing, and of all the diagnoses, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is by far the most controversial of the lot. Partly because there is so much conflicting information and advice out there, and because, it seems, that psychiatry itself isn’t sure about BPD. Before I go on, I want to make another point. It goes without saying that diagnoses mean different things to

To be honest, I hadn’t thought too much about BPD until recently, when I met someone, a young woman, who after being labelled with a long list of different diagnoses, was lastly diagnosed with BPD, and struggling to live with it.

The ‘dustbin’ diagnosis

different people: some find them useful, and some don’t, and here I want to talk about the people that do not find a BPD diagnosis helpful. Statistics show that somewhere between 40 to 60 percent of all Personality Disorders diagnosed are BPD, and the ratio of females to males diagnosed with BPD is as high as 4:1.

When I think of BPD, I recall the author Susanna Kaysen exploring this diagnosis in her memoir Girl, Interrupted. When I first read the book, I was 14 years old, and I remember thinking, ‘What on earth is Borderline Personality Disorder?” It was scary to think that such a judgement existed. It appeared to me, even then, that this diagnosis was handed to Kaysen because she had taken an overdose and she was the only

One of the most controversial aspects of all Personality Disorders, aside from the perceived attack on the essence of a person, is the issue of how treatable it is.

Many argue that personality disorder is treatable, like other psychiatric disorders.

However, many more say that the very fact that PD is classified as being a disorder, and not an illness, and that because there is something ‘wrong’ with the personality, then it is for the individual to learn to deal with it, perhaps by learning to ‘fit in’ more and becoming more ‘appropriate’. Worryingly, a psychiatric nurse has told Sanctuary that, in his view, this diagnosis is readily handed out to women who are deemed ‘untreatable’ by the psychiatrist, and this is happening today!

In 2007, a psychiatrist named Gillian Proctor, investigated BPD in her chapter ‘Disordered Boundaries? A critique of ‘Borderline Personality Disorder,’ in the book ‘Beyond Fear and Control – Working with Young People who Self-Harm.’

In the chapter, Proctor criticises the “growing prevalence of labelling women with BPD” and she discusses how the diagnosis “pathologises and stigmatises women who struggle to survive

experiences of abuse and oppression.”

According to Proctor, 88% of women diagnosed with BPD have previously experienced abuse, and she refers to the ‘Women’s Mental Health: Into the mainstream’ document (Department of Health, 2002) as it also describes that many women with BPD have a history of trauma, and according to ibid, this is the highest prevalence between gender and diagnostic categories.

Proctor’s main point is that, more often than not, when a female presents with self-injury, she will be diagnosed with BPD, and she cites Habib (2001:35) “BPD is the most common diagnosis given to primarily female self-harmers.”

Proctor also points out that diagnoses are made in short term observations, and in a particular set of circumstances.

Self injury, Proctor argues, “is not only visible and external, it is also a highly stigmatised act which challenges many of society’s most deep-seated assumptions about how people ought to behave. It is a visible rejection of many of society’s expectations of how women, in particular, should act and appear.”

Furthermore, many of the negative judgements associated with self injury, are similar to those associated with BPD, such as being seen as attentionseeking, manipulative, and internalising anger, and as Proctor points out, “these judgements are often based upon socially shaped expectations of what is normal and acceptable behaviour-norms which are frequently constructed around gender.” For instance, common gender assumptions are that females should be passive, gentle and take pride in their

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appearance. Proctor argues that the diagnosis of BPD is a way to “explain away the strategies which some women use to survive oppression and abuse, by describing these strategies as symptoms of ‘madness’.”

Proctor argues that “PD in general, is little more than a catch-all label applied to ‘difficult’ and ‘non compliant’ patients” and she refers to the research of Lewis and Appleby (1988) who suggested that “in British mental health services it is very common for PD to be anything that cannot be accounted for in a patient by mental illness. PD is a dustbin category of problematic ‘behaviour’ as judged by significant others or staff” (Pilgrim, 2001).

If ‘treatment’ is offered at all, it is often in the form of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). The basis of DBT is that

‘coping skills’ are offered as a way of ‘regulating emotions.’ But, as Proctor warns, the problem with DBT is the assumption that “women with BPD are damaged creatures who need to be saved by the professional and taught how to be more ‘appropriate’.” And it “fails to address the personal legacies of abuse, and distracts attention from the endemic abuse of women and girls within this society.” DBT, she feels, can do very little to take away the feelings of guilt and shame that many of those labelled feel. Sometimes, as a result of a BDP diagnosis, women are further “marginalised by society, for example by having their children removed, and are unable to claim disability benefits but are too distressed and stigmatised to work”.

As Proctor asks, how is this diagnosis helpful? If we go back to the girl I

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The word on the grapevine is that personality disorder is currently being renamed, to something along the lines of ‘Complex Traumatic Reaction’, something which has apparently started, slowly, in US, and as with most things, it may take a while for it to come to the UK– so watch this space.

Sanctuary would like to know your thoughts about Personality Disorder – so please send them in to us. Write to Louisa c/o Sanctuary magazine Let’s Link PO Box 533 Betchworth RH4 9FL Or email megan.aspel@sky.com

met recently, she told me about how she had been diagnosed with many illnesses including depression, bipolar disorder, bulimia nervosa, and lastly BPD. This girl said BPD has left her world completely devastated. In her words, “the other labels were confusing enough, but this one makes me feel like all of me is rotten.” She finds that her family use the diagnosis against her, they tell her to read the ‘supportive’ and ‘informative’ websites out there, but she tells me that there aren’t any.

“How is it ‘helpful’ to read that you are ’inappropriate?” she says. For this girl, the world is at odds with how she feels.

But I don’t see someone with a ‘personality disorder’. I see a girl who is hurting.

Louisa

Epsom Mental Health Week This ever bigger and better week long focus on mental health, wellbeing and recovery is a must for anyone suffering from mental ill health, caring for someone or with an interest in mental health (that should be everyone of course, as mental health problems can affect us all at some time in our lives!).

Running from 9th -15th October, Epsom (in Surrey) Mental Health Week will be packed with a wide range of sessions/activities from relaxing head and shoulder massages, positive living workshops, art and culture, practical ideas on self help, discussions, theatre, nutrition topics and a marketplace of ideas, services and support on mental health and wellbeing.

Everyone gets involved. Last year there were over thirty organisations and many individuals who contributed to making the week a sensational success.

This year, Sanctuary magazine will be publishing a special preview edition to bring you all the news, gossip, information and what’s happening where and when during the week. One of the key aims of the event, which takes place of course around World Mental Health Day on the 10th October, is to raise awareness to the general public about mental health and wellbeing.

Even though mental ill health is more prevalent than many physical illnesses/ conditions, such as asthma, we all know it still gets a bad press. It’s time to change all that (as the national antistigma campaign Time to Change goes) so come along and enjoy a week of fun, discovery and friends – new and old.

For more information check out the website: www.epsommentalhealthweek.org.uk

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"I ¬ave not failed.

Failure

I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work! {Thomas Edison}

"

We live in a world fascinated with success and failure. We are judged on whether we succeed or fail.

But what does either mean? It all depends on our perspective, says Sanctuary’s assistant editor, Louisa.

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The fear of failure is something that we have all experienced, to a greater or lesser extent. The feelings associated with failure can range in intensity, from the fleeting kind to the constant paralysing fear that ruins lives, also known as Atychiphobia. Failure, like most things, is incredibly personal, and what is regarded as success or a learning curve for one, will feel like a devastating loss or failure to another.

If we allow it, failure can dominate every aspect of our lives: we can fail at work or college, relationships can fail, we can fail in our roles of partner, friend, mother, daughter, not to mention what might be regarded, in the world today the biggest failure of all at the moment failing to achieve our dreams and goals.

Currently, the sense of failure is something that is seriously affecting young people in society. With the everincreasing use of social networking, there are more and more opportunities to feel like a failure: when you’re not having ‘wild times’ on a Saturday night and when no one ‘likes’ your savvy comments for instance. It can feel completely defeating when it seems that whilst others are simultaneously working in a great job, having fun with gorgeous friends, loving a wonderful partner, going on exotic holidays, and are simply ‘too busy’ to respond to your friendly emails, you’re sat at home with nothing to do and no one to do it with. The challenge to ‘achieve’, and ‘succeed’ at and in life can sometimes be overwhelming.

Many young people today are so worried and ‘fearful’ about failing that they are unable to really start their lives.

The problem with fear is that it only leads to more fear, and failure will be more likely than success in this kind of situation. If all our energy is spent on worrying about the things that will not happen, then there is no energy left for the things that should happen.

Fear presents itself in many ways. One of these is avoidance: an attempt to cut any losses and avoid looking stupid.

Who wants to take a crack at something and then fail, in front of – what they see as - the ‘whole world’, and end up the idiot, back at square one? But perhaps the old adage ‘Try and try again’ is the only way we can learn and gain the way to success - whatever that may be for each and every one of us.

Fear – when it takes a real hold - can have detrimental effects on mental health and wellbeing, not least because of the build up of anxiety and tension. Eventually, with too much anxiety, there will be a need to find a way to release this. Self injury seems to be one of the ways that young people are using to try and cope.

Back in 2005, a survey published by The Priory, a private hospital which specialises in treating mental health problems and addictions, found that as many as one in five girls between the ages of 15-17 had harmed herself and just under one in five adolescents - both boys and girls - has considered selfharming behaviour. Dr Dylan Griffiths, a psychiatrist at the Priory, said "Thirty

years ago self-harming was a rarity, but it seems that today it's a way for many young people who feel like failures to relieve their psychological distress."

Dr Griffiths describes how “part of the problem is that we have a must-have culture...there is no one telling young people that rewards come to those who wait. As a consequence they feel like failures when they don't get things immediately."

On this note, it is possible to view an interesting Nike advertisement on YouTube starring Michael Jordan (an American Basketball player). In the ad Michael is discussing how many times he has failed in life, and how it is because of these failures that he is successful.

However, I have only seen this on Youtube.

There should be more examples of how failure is crucial to success, and there needs to be more emphasis placed on the fact that achievement comes from hard work and patience, and that it is important to enjoy the journey to your destination.

At the core of this issue, is how one measures failure and success. As mentioned earlier, this is a very personal thing, but still there is always opportunity to change thinking processes for the better, especially when it will lead to more success. If we try to stay positive, and don’t allow fear to settle in the soul, and most importantly, try not to compare ourselves with others and know that hard work leads to success - sometimes we must lose in order to win – then we are more likely to achieve whatever it is that we dream of.

Louisa

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My Comfort Zone

By American Author - Unknown

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn't fail.

The same four walls and busywork were really more like jail.

I longed so much to do the things I'd never done before, But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn't matter that I wasn't doing much.

I said I didn't care for things like commission checks and such.

I claimed to be so busy with the things inside the zone, But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.

I couldn't let my life go by just watching others win.

I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin.

I took a step and with new strength I'd never felt before, I kissed my comfort zone goodbye and closed and locked the door.

If you're in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out, Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.

A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true.

Reach for your future with a smile; success is there for you!

how a theatre project brings harmony and purpose to young people’s lives

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We all know the power of theatre can be massive, taking its audience on a mesmerising journey that frees the spirit and the imagination. The audience expects nothing less than to rise to its collective feet in standing ovation and rapturous applause at the end of the performance. Professional performers aim for nothing less. This is exactly what happened at a show performed at the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill, Surrey. One difference though; the performers were not professionals. Instead they were a bunch of young people many of whom had never ‘trodden the boards’ before and without the intervention of a community theatre project, might never have got the chance. Sanctuary took a trip to the theatre to see a rather special performance…

‘Make it Right’ is a play about bullying, with a plaintive denouement; the death and funeral of one of the characters.

Written, produced and directed by professional actors, writers and production staff who form the Holistic Harmony community theatre company, the play was performed by young people living in the Redhill area. Funded

by Surrey Housing associations, Raven Housing and Hyde Housing and by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, the show included boys and girls aged between 7-15. For many of them, various family, social and economical pressures mean they have fewer opportunities than others to get involved in things like a drama or music group. This was their chance to shine.

Holistic Harmony community theatre (part of a wider organisation that also offers community complementary therapies, including training), use the performing arts - drama, dance, music and improvisation - to help people, young or adult, gain confidence, work cohesively with others (when you work on a play, you have to work as a team or the whole thing can flounder) and to encourage them to embark on a journey of self discovery.

Depicting the views of both victim and perpetrator, in an electric acting and singing performance, ‘Make it Real’ is a no-holds barred look at how bullying can destroy lives. The victim’s

Show time!

perspective we mostly all understand but this looks at the bully’s angle too.

He or she can be someone who is trying to express anger, pain and hurt and ends up finding the easiest target; one performer described bullying as a need to show strength. Another said the play resonated with her particularly because of the bullying she had experienced in her life. It was so bad at one time that she ended up with a broken nose and black eye.

The play does more than highlight the destructive forces that drive bullies, and the results their behaviour has on their victims who can feel isolated, vulnerable and persecuted. It shows as well, how we can all do something about it – through clearer understanding and addressing the reasons behind it.

Everyone in the audience was captivated with the show from the

start and the performers gave it their all. With their range in age, different backgrounds and views, rehearsals were important to bring them together as one all singing, all dancing – and acting – team. The 12 performers gave creative input into the project and learned about what makes a performance great; from the singing, movement and acting to backstage management. Some of the comments of the young actors in the play, during rehearsals and following the show, tell of an experience that pushed them to new levels of confidence and creativity. One young performer said: “I think the performance will be very successful. This whole experience has helped my confidence and made my self esteem higher. Since the first rehearsal I felt welcome and as if I were part of a family.”

The key message of the play is ‘Don’t let anger and fear rule’. Marian Holmes,

“Everybody has his own theatre, in which he is manager, actor, prompter, playwright, sceneshifter, box-office keeper, doorkeeper, all in one, and audience into the bargain.”

(J.C and A.W Hare, Guesses at Truth)

musical director began by asking the young performers to write some words that for them summed up the play.

‘Bullying’, ‘alone’, ‘detached’, ‘scared’, ‘death’, ‘reconciliation’, ‘respect’ and ‘remorse’, came up, provoking some very thoughtful and moving discussion.

Marian says of the group, “(They are) committed, talented and articulate young people. The way they’ve worked on this project is a real inspiration. I’m very proud of them.”

Jerry Beckman, a professional actor with many top notch performances under his belt (The Bill, Heartbeat, Holby City to name a few), wrote and directed the play. He couldn’t have wanted for more from his performers; “These kids have a real sense of responsibility to each other and the play…. it's a joy to observe and be a part of.”

Jerry, Marian and a host of others all

contribute to the success of Holistic Harmony community theatre. Louisa Lawrenson, actress and director (she has played in a range of West End productions and directed leading performances including the comedy ‘An evening with Gary Lineker’) is founder and director of the community theatre.

She describes the work they do: “Our overarching aim is to use the performing arts - drama, voice production, movement, dance, music, stage fighting, improvisation and song – to encourage everyone to develop insight and challenge perceptions.

“Using these performance ‘tools’,” she says, “we can build skills, develop self esteem and create aspirations – as well as tackling issues surrounding equality and diversity.”

Of this particular production Louisa comments: “Working with this group of young people has been an incredible and inspirational experience. They have shown commitment, hard work, growing confidence and talent throughout the process. There has been a lot of laughter and strong friendships formed. We really hope to be able to work with them again on another project and build on what they have started.”

Each young performer received an AQA accredited certificate in Acting & Performance certificate that not only is testament to how well they did but can lead to further drama study. Two other endorsements might motivate them to do more as well. They come from Holistic Harmony patrons, Shane Ritchie, famous actor, singer, comedian, currently appearing in Eastenders as Alfie Moon and another renowned actor, Tristan Gemmill, notable for his role as Dr Adam Trueman in Casualty: Shane says, “What a FANTASTIC TALENTED bunch of ACTORS! Till our next time; big love, Shane.”

And summing up the whole performance, Tristan says, “They hit the ball right out of the park! What an unforgettable evening! Congratulations to everyone involved. I am very proud to be one of your patrons!!”

For more information about Holistic Harmony, visit www.holisticharmonycic.org.uk

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Sanctuary magazine started in Surrey, commissioned by Surrey PCT. With extra help from Care Services Improvement Partnership in the south east, the magazine has a small circulation across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes, as well as Surrey. We will continue to list organisations and help lines in Surrey in this directory but we’ve added each mental health trust in the south east and will include other important contact details as we can and space permitting.

Mental health NHS trusts across the south east................................................

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• Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

T: 01903 843000 • Kent & Medway NHS Social Care Partnership Trust.

T. 01732 520400 • Isle Of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust. T. 01983 524081 • Hampshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

T. 023 8087 4300 • Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. T. 01344 415 600 • Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. T. 01865 778911 • Milton Keynes PCT. T. 01908 243933 • Surrey & Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

T. 01883 383838 • Age Concern Surrey – 01483 458732 www.acsurrey.org.uk

Alcohol and drugs........................................

• Drinkline, 0800 917 8282 • Al-Anon, support for family and friends of alcoholics, find a local group 020 7403 0888.

• Alcoholics Anonymous, find a local group – 0845 769 7555 • Drugscope, for information, www.drugscope.org.uk • Frank (for young people and parents) www.talktofrank.com • Surrey Drug & Alcohol Action Team – for local services, www. surreydat.org.uk

We are building on this directory all the time. If you have anything to add that you think will benefit women’s mental health and wellbeing in Surrey, please let us know.

You can contact Santuary magazine c/o Let's Link, PO Box 533, Betchworth, RH4 9FL. Tel. 07824 364703; email; megan.aspel@sky.com

Bereavement and loss...................................

• Cruse 08701671677 www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk

Counselling..................................................... (please note, waiting times can be long) • British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy, 0870 443 5252 www.bacp.co.uk (for details of local practitioners) • Heads Together (young people 14-25) 01737 378481. No fees • Croydon Pastoral Foundation, 020 8760 0665. Negotiable rates according to means • North Surrey Community Counselling Partnership, 01932 244070 www.nsccp.co.uk A sliding scale fee basis operates (up to £40.00 per session) • Pathways Counselling Centre, Epsom, 01372 743338.

Professional counselling, normal rates apply • Redhill Counselling Centre, 01737 772844. Negotiable rates • RELATE, relationship counselling, 0845 4561310 www.relate.org.uk, for a local branch. A fee is charged for appointments.

• Relateen, Epsom (part of RELATE but for young people disturbed/worried about parent’s relationship problems) 01372 722976 • Seastone Possibilities, Trauma Resolution Treatment 01306 640073 / 01737 249364 email: seastone@talktalk.net

Debt counselling...........................................

Domestic abuse...............................................

Other useful contacts.................................

• Surrey Domestic Abuse Helpline (24hr) – 01483 776822 • East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services (covering Reigate & Banstead, Mole Valley & Tandridge) - 01737 771350 Email: support@esdas.org.uk Website: www.esdas.org.uk 9am – 4pm, Monday to Friday, confidential answer phone out of hours.

• North West Surrey Outreach Service (covering Woking, Runnymede & Surrey Heath) run by Surrey Women’s Aid 01483 776822 (24hr) • North Surrey Outreach Service (covering Epsom & Ewell, Elmbridge & Spelthorne) run by Walton & Hersham Citizen’s Advice Bureau - 01932 260690 Email: nsdvoutreach.walton@cabnet.org.uk Website: www.waltonadvice.demon.co.uk 9.30 am – 4.30 pm Monday to Friday, confidential answer phone out of hours • South West Surrey Outreach Service (covering Guildford & Waverley) run by CAHA - 01483 577392 9.00 am - 3.00pm Monday – Friday, confidential answer phone out of hours

Crisis numbers; • Samaritans, 08457 909090 www.samaritans.org.uk • Sane Line (12noon – 2am daily) 08457 678000. National out of hours helpline for anyone coping with mental illness – sufferers, carers, relatives or friends.

• Surrey & Borders Partnership NHS Trust, 0300 456 83 42; text for hard of hearing – 07717 989024 (24hrs) • Childline; 0800 1111

Survivors of childhood abuse...................

• C.I.S.‘ters for adult women sexually abused as children Run by survivors for survivors – helpline Saturdays 10am – midday 023 80 338080

Eating disorders........................................... anorexia, bulimia • Eating Disorders Associations, 0845 634 1414 www.eduk.com

Employment......................................................

For people who do or have suffered mental ill health: • Employment, Support, Re-training Agency (ESRA) for East Surrey area: 2nd Floor, Rawlinson House, 9 London Road, Redhill RH1 1LY. Tel/Fax: 01737 772115 Richmond Fellowship covering the whole of Surrey: • Mid Surrey (and queries re West Surrey) RF, Manor House, 19 Church Street, Leatherhead KT22 8DN. T. 01372 363934 • East Surrey RF, Rawlinson House, 9 London Road, Redhill RH1 1LY. T. 01737 771 282

Hearing Voices................................................

Primary Care Mental Health Teams (PCMHTs) • for long term and complex mental health needs and for referral to specialist services such as Crisis Assessment & Treatment Team, Eating Disorders service, Continuing Needs services. Open Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm • East Elmbridge PCMHT – 020 8873 4300 • Epsom, Ewell & Banstead PCMHT – 01372 204000 • Mole Valley PCMHT – 01306 502400 • Redhill PCMHT – 01737 272301 • Tandridge PCMHT – 01883 385481

• Rethink, 020 8974 6814 www.rethink.org

Anger.................................................................

• Christians Against Poverty; freephone 0800 328 0006 www.capuk.org

• British Association of Anger Management, 0845 1300 286 www.angermanage.co.uk

Depression.......................................................

Anxiety.............................................................

• Depression Alliance, 0845 123 2320 www.depressionalliance.org

• Association for Postnatal Illness, 0207 3860 868. www.apni.org; www.surrey.nhs.uk; www.babycentre.co.uk; www.netmums.com

Direct Payments.............................................

Self harm.........................................................

this is money allocated directly to a patient/service user to enable them to have more choice and independence about the support/facilities they can access in the community.

For more information contact: • Surrey Independent Living Council (SILC), Astolat, Coniers Way, Burpham, Guildford GU4 7HL. T. 01483 458111

• www.selfharm.org.uk; www.lifesigns.org.uk; • www.rcpsych.ac.uk/cru/auditselfharm • Bristol Crisis Service for women (national helpline); 0117 925 1119. Friday/Saturday evenings 9pm – 12.30am.

Sunday 6-9pm

• No Panic, 0808 808 0545. www.nopanic.org.uk; • National Phobics Society, 0870 7700 456 www.phobics-society.org.uk; • First Steps to Freedom, 0845 120 2916 www.first-steps.org; www.anxietycare.org.uk (enquiries@anxietycare.org.uk to find out about accessing free advice and support)

Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) • Spelthorne CMHT 01784 440204 • West Elmbridge CMHT 01932 266900 • Runneymede CMHT 01932 723392 • Woking CMHT 01483 756318 • Hollies CMHT 01252 312788 (8.30-5.30 Mon -Fri) • Surrey Heath CMHT 01276 671102 • Guildford CMHT 01483 443551 • Waverley CMHT 01483 517200 • Godalming CMHT 01483 415155 • Haslemere CMHT 01483 783090 • Farnham CMHT 01483 782095 • Conifers CMHT – cove, Fleet & Yateley area, 01483 783555 • Early Intervention in Psychosis, 01372 206262. For 14 – 35 year olds who have had a first episode of psychosis within recent years.

• MIND, national organisation for mental health with local branches – www.mind.org.uk Infoline 0845 766 0163. Mind produce booklets on various mental health issues and campaign for better services • Mental Health Foundation, national organisation for information, campaigns, news, interaction, including information on the relation between diet and mental health; www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Post natal depression pregnancy and birth issues......................

• Psychotherapy Service (Surrey & Borders Partnership NHS Trust).

• Referral only but you can access an information leaflet; contact the Psychotherapy Service at Shaw’s Corner, Blackborough Road, Reigate RH2 7DG. T. 01737 277706 • Samaritans; 08457 909090 • Surrey & Borders Partnership NHS Trust, for mental health and learning disabilities services - 01883 383838 • Surrey Police; 0845 125 2222

13

Re-building

14

lives: A tale of two centres for rape victims

A while ago I had the fortune to meet some amazing people who work for Born Free, the charity that campaigns, through a range of worldwide projects, to free wild animals from captivity, help conserve endangered species and stop cruel practices.

I was chatting to one of the managers whose responsibilities include the Species Survival Network. We were talking, of course, about the survival of animal species but, as I was describing some of the work I’m involved in, the young woman from Born Free told me about a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): the women, she said, would leave the village, to make the trek to fetch water. En route

they were raped by rebel soldiers. I was struck by the tragic similarity between the story of the women and the plight of the wild animals; both species’ fate can be so cruelly determined by ruthless, greedy, ignorant and arrogant people seeking easy targets for whatever their corrupt and perverse motives.

The story stayed with me for days, weeks. There had to be something that was being done to help the women of DRC. I contacted the manager again to ask if she knew of anything. Yes, there was a centre not long opened in eastern DRC she told me. I researched it online.

It is called the ‘City of Joy’; a sharp contrast to the villages of misery where the women and girls are raped each day.

The City of Joy was opened in February 2011. It is a joint project between UNICEF and V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. The UNICEF report of the opening of the centre says, ‘Under a blue sky, the air is filled with women’s laughter and songs. It is the perfect setting for the opening of City of Joy’.

The centre will support around 200 women between the ages of 14 and 35 every year. Psychotherapy, an extensive training programme comprising literacy, economics and sex education will help them re-build their lives. And it is the Congolese women who are the driving force behind the project. When asked what they would value most, women said

One in three women worldwide is a victim of rape. It may be a brutal attack when walking home late at night, or, in the case of certain countries with civil unrest, it may be an attack that is termed a ‘weapon of war’. Whatever the circumstances in which it is perpetrated, it is sickening to think sexual violence occurs day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute (in one continent the estimate is that a rape is committed every 20 seconds) to someone, somewhere in the world. Helping people after such a dreadful assault is vital if victims are to have any chance of surviving their terrible ordeal and re-building their lives.

Megan reports on two centres, miles apart in distance, yet hand in hand in their determination to bring comfort and safety to victims of rape and sexual abuse.

it wasn’t money or jobs they wanted but sanctuary and shelter from the violence ‘until their body and mind were healed’.

Women’s stories of their experiences often highlight a twisted logic: “Do you want us to be your husbands or do you want us to rape you?” one woman was asked by a rebel leader. She ‘chose’ to be raped because she was married and she feared for her husband’s and children’s lives if she said she would ‘marry’ them. But her sacrifice led only to her husband then rejecting and leaving her. He told her she was ‘dirty’.

For other husbands it is the sense of failure that drives them to leave their wives; they can not live with the fact that they were unable to protect them. And

even the perpetrators describe how they use the act of rape to vent their anger on the authorities for neglecting them.

Either way, no-one is looking at what it is doing to the women. A 15 year old girl was abducted by 10 rebels. They kept her for about a year, consistently raping her.

Now she appears cold and emotionless, no doubt she has become so, but it may also be her way of suppressing the horrors that she suffered.

Many of the women in DRC, a country that has been described as the ‘rape capital of the world’ tell similar stories.

We can debate, legislate, educate and revile this act that happens around the world, described as taking place with impunity in DRC where around 8,000

women were raped during fighting in 2009, but all the while some men believe it is their right (whether due to culture, war, individual perversions) to have sex whenever they want to, many women and girls (boys and men too) will never be safe. The comment of a former government soldier, one of the few perpetrators to be prosecuted and imprisoned in DRC says it all: ‘I attacked the first woman I saw when I sneaked away from my post.

‘I asked her to help me. I had this urge to have sex. She didn’t want to, but I forced her; I felt that if I didn’t have sex then I would get sick’. He regretted it later – but only because he was caught and sent to prison!

15

From the jungles of Africa to the leafy suburbs of Surrey...

16

As the City of Joy was opening in February ‘11 in DRC, so was The Solace Centre, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Cobham, Surrey. Described as a ‘one stop, safe place for victims of rape, sexual abuse and serious sexual assault’ it will provide medical care and counselling and will assist police investigations.

With similar targets of the centre in DRC, The Solace Centre will support around 200 adults and about 50 children every year. It will care for victims and gently help them towards recovery; at all times keeping the physical and the emotional wellbeing of the victim paramount. Leading healthcare providers Harmoni for Health have been awarded the service contract.

The Solace Centre is the result of a five year campaign to establish a SARC in Surrey, led by Sharmalene Fernando, retired paediatrician. Her dedication has been realised through investment from NHS Surrey, primary care trust and Surrey Police, strongly supported

by Surrey County Council, Guildford’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) and by the League of Friends at Cobham Hospital, where the centre is housed. The League of Friends donated medical equipment for the forensic service in the centre which incorporates the Fernando Paediatric Suite in recognition of the vital campaigning work of Sharmalene.

A tale of two centres The two stories collide in a blaze of hope prevailing over adversity. In the City of Joy, pain is being turned into power. Eve Ensler, author of the Vagina Monologues and V-Day founder said at the opening of the centre that it is “where they (the women there) who have suffered so deeply, so invisibly, will claim their rights, their bodies and their future.”

The story of the women in DRC haunted me. But everywhere I looked and saw similar and treacherous enactments of violence elsewhere in the world, so I also came across amazing resilience and dedicated help for people’s suffering: through campaigns against rape and violence to practical places of refuge and treatment, like the City of Joy and The Solace Centre.

This tale of two centres has an uplifting message for us all: all the while there is cruelty, injustice, and violation against creatures on this planet – animal or human – there will also always be an antidote of care, compassion and humanity.

Find out more: www.vdayuk.org for more information about V-Day in the UK and www.vday.org for information on the City of Joy and various up and coming campaign. www.solacesarc.org.uk for more information about SARC and The Solace Centre. www.thesurvivorstrust.org for information about support for female, male and child victims of rape, sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse.

Our fellow creatures who live in the wild – or should – are in need of protection too. Find out how Born Free helps save and protect wild animals, educating communities the world over and campaigning against cruelty; visit www.bornfree.org.uk

Keep taking the pills?

17

With a 43% increase in prescribing antidepressants in England over the last four years (23 million prescriptions in 2010) the logical assumption is that depression and anxiety are massively increasing. Or is that a little hard to swallow? Could the dishing out of more drugs be more to do with this ‘Fix it’ age we live in? Sanctuary is launching ‘Med Watch’ and wants your help!

Trying to beat emotional suffering with pills and potions is ancient history. Literally. Medicines have been used in the treatment of mental illness for thousands of years. Opium can be dated to pre-Christian times and for the Victorians the drug of choice was laudanum. Both were used to treat mental illness alongside being used for pain relief and to calm the nerves. They worked but that may have been more to do with their calming and addictive properties than specific efficacy!

If we delve into the history of narcotics, heroin, cocaine for instance, we find that these were readily available. Cocaine was an over the counter remedy until the early part of the ‘20th Century. Freud experimented with cocaine – not only on his patients but also himself. The opiates fell out of mainstream use, not only because other drugs came along that were considered better but also because of stricter drug laws.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries there was a hot new drug to treat what we call today Bipolar Disorder (then it was manic depression), called lithium. Unlike laudanum, it wasn’t intoxicating. That side effect however was probably far preferable to what many patients experienced: weight gain, thirst, lethargy, memory impairment and emotional detachment.

What’s your view?

In the heady days of the flower power ‘60s, psychiatry itself was going through something of a revolution – less Freud, more Jung and existentialism, with the likes of R.D. Laing opening up debates about how mental illness is viewed and treated. The service user movement arguably really got underway during this decade.

With different approaches to treating mental illness came exploration into uncharted waters of psychopharmacology with such things as LSD being used in treatment. Partly because the side effects of radical medication brought almost as many problems for someone as the illness itself, pioneers working in acute mental health settings began working directly with pharmacists. The aim was to develop a range of drugs that combined efficacy with fewer side effects and treated different diagnoses rather than ‘one pill fits all’.

Knowing your SSRI from your MAOI’s

18

Modern medicines for treating mental ill health are a far cry from the opiates and uppers, downers and psychotropic drugs of the last century. For many people, antipsychotic and antidepressant meds relieve symptoms, instil hope and for many bring recovery.

Yet the role of the ‘Big Pharmas’, the leading pharmaceutical companies that create the drugs, continues to have a mixed press. One leading psychiatrist suggests that ‘biobabble’ is outranking ‘psychobabble’ as the ‘verbal camouflage’ for our ignorance about the aetiology (the study of the causes) of mental illness. In other words, we (patients and professionals alike) are being taken in by – what he claims are spurious to say the least, illegal at its worst – the ‘spin’ we are given about this or that wonder drug. He poses that the vast profits of the huge multinational pharmaceutical companies may well be at the expense of suffering by the mentally ill.

He argues as well that today’s ills such as bipolar disorder (formerly manic-depression) did not emerge in the Western world until the drug companies began to ‘market’ the disease in the ‘60s. With the later introduction of brain scans, it became even easier he suggests, for drug companies to persuade us that mental illness was ‘the product of faulty brain biochemistry’. Therefore it is fixable with drugs that restore balance, inhibit the particular neurotransmitter in the brain causing problems and so on. Yet there is no doubt that people get better with medication. And surely the ‘Big Pharmas’ can’t all be wrong, can’t all be so greedy without an altruistic molecule in their formulaic makeup?

Win a £20 Marks & Spencer voucher and help Sanctuary’s MedWatch!

To delve a little more deeply, Sanctuary is starting ‘MedWatch’, an occasional look at the world of prescription drugs for mental health problems. To enlighten us, we want to hear your stories and experiences of being on medication for a diagnosed mental health problem, particularly around the following: 1 Do you feel the diagnosis and medication you’ve been given is helping?

2 What side-effects have you had, and were these different from what the leaflet with the medication listed?

3 If you’ve had bad side-effects was it easy to discuss changing medication with your doctor?

4 How long have you been on medication, and what is it treating?

5 Do you see yourself living a pill free life, or are you resigned be on medication for a long time, or forever?

6 Finally, have you found that one form of medication (e.g. an SSRI like Prozac or a Tricyclic such as Elavil) keeps you well for longer, once you stop taking it?

Please send your comments, stories and thoughts about what you see as the most important treatment and care you could receive for the mental illness you suffer from to: Megan Aspel Sanctuary magazine Let’s Link PO Box 533 Betchworth RH4 9FL Or email Megan at megan.aspel@sky.com For a chance to win a £20 M&S voucher you will have to include your name and address. We will keep this confidential and will write to or email the winner by October 2011. If you would prefer to tell us your story but remain anonymous, we totally respect that decision.

On the

campaign trail Since the late 19th Century, women, and their male supporters, have campaigned for gender equality. Whilst it is somewhat accepted that women’s rights have dramatically improved since those pre-suffragette years, there are, however, still many inequalities present in society today.

Every year, thousands of demonstrations take place around the world, aiming to address some of these issues, and at the moment, there are two that are making quite an impact. ‘Endangered Species’, a campaign led by Susie Orbach (a psychotherapist, author and activist) kicked off in London in March 2011. The campaign aims to ‘save future generations of girls from the misery that turns women against their own bodies.’ In a sense, the ‘Endangered Species’ are women who feel comfortable and happy in their own skin. I must say here, I don’t know many…

Recently, British Grazia magazine conducted a survey in which 5,000 women from over 20 different cities throughout the UK were asked about their feelings towards their bodies.

In the words of Susie Orbach, “the results were shocking – ‘body hatred’ is an epidemic and something must be done about it.”

The results, which are published on the campaigns website, show: the average British woman worries about the size and shape of her body every 15 minutes and seven out of 10 women think 'their whole life would improve greatly if they had a good body'. There is particular reference to signs of disordered eating with as many as six out of 10 women 'skipping meals', and seven out of 10 women being able to calculate the amount of calories on a plate of food.

It is the aim of the campaign to successfully engage people from the worlds of politics, fashion and media, and to try and encourage them to work together so that there is a significant reduction in the commercialisation of beauty, which is distorting our perceptions, altering realities and, clearly, causing a lot of harm.

The other campaign of the moment is the SlutWalk movement, which started off as a Facebook page, and was created in response to a Canadian policeman’s comment that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised”. There was a strong reaction in Toronto and over 3,000 scantily clad women (and their male supporters) took to the streets in April. Since then the campaign has gone global and there are planned demonstrations set to take place in cities around the world throughout the year.

At the time of writing, London’s walk was set for 11th June 2011, and over 6,000 people had confirmed their attendance. The organisers of the London SlutWalk state: “Let’s raise our voices and tell the world that rape is never, ever OK. Not if she was wearing a miniskirt. Not if she was naked. Not if she was your wife, girlfriend or friend.

Not if she was a prostitute. Not if she was drunk. Not if you thought she wanted to.”

Clearly, both of these campaigns are inspired by very real feelings of injustice and anger: many women feel insecure about their bodies, and many are also plagued by fear and guilt. Despite ‘advancements’, it is not easy being a woman, and it seems that there are many people out there, both men and women, who are prepared to try and make it a fairer place for all, so that females can love their unique bodies, and so we can all live in a world where the excuse for rape is not a miniskirt.

Louisa

To find out more about these campaigns, please visit: www.endangeredspecieswomen.org.uk www.slutwalklondon.tumblr.com

19

Depressed hungry?

& 20

When you are struggling with depression what happens to your eating habits?

Do you gorge on chocolate, starch and stodge, in some (arguably vain) attempt to find comfort and inner nourishment? Or can’t you stomach the sight of food maybe getting drawn to alcohol and cigarettes instead? Either way, your body is likely to suffer because it is getting little in the way of essential nutrients. And your symptoms may worsen as a result.

There is

an innate need in us to have the basics in our lives: food, shelter, love and nurture.

Mothers are deigned to be the original source of those essential elements for survival and blossoming. What impacts on us when babies and growing up is how effective our mothers – or main guardian/carer – was as we turned to them (in reality or hopefulness depending on our circumstances) for unconditional love and nourishment.

When we felt frightened, in need of comfort, hungry, angry and didn’t know what to do with our anger, we would immediately seek the comfort of ‘mum’.

Whether our needs were dealt with and satisfied is another matter, and one that may lead some of us now to grab the biscuit tin when depressed. Perhaps it is an attempt to do more than ‘comfort eat’ or ‘stuff’ down damaging thoughts and emotions. Could it be a very real inner plea for the nurture and safety we knew when we were little – or searched/ are still searching for?

Whatever the deep and meaningful reasons, trying to do something positive about eating/not eating is a very here and now problem for many when clinically depressed. So putting the analysing to one side; what can you do?

When you are so far into the black hole of depression, thinking about food – other than shovelling it down or retreating from it entirely – can be impossible. Yet it is important on three fronts: 1 – you need the proper nutrients to help combat illness (mental or physical); 2 – preparing food can be very rewarding and satisfying in itself and 3

– some foods can have a positive affect on the chemical imbalances in the brain that cause or exacerbate depression.

Arguably the only time you can consider any of those three is when you are well.

So planning ahead could be the number one weapon in the arsenal to ensuring you eat – more or less – ‘normally’ when ill. Begin with one thought: whilst doing anything that helps – going for a walk, meeting friends – is immensely difficult, there is a difference between difficult and impossible.

The store cupboard In your store cupboard should be tins of food that will bring both comfort and nourishment. The humble tin of baked beans isn’t a bad start. Tinned fish – sardines/mackerel – are tasty on toast and packed with omega 3, one of the essential fatty acids known to aid production of serotonin – the feel good neurotransmitter in the brain.

Tinned vegetables and fruit have similar nutritional benefits to the fresh variety and ready to eat lentils or other pulses/ legumes are packed with nutrients. When you are well, make your supermarket selection for that ‘rainy’ day.

Cook in advance If you like cooking, just a small freezer full of prepared meals can make the difference between eating well and not eating at all or over-indulging on junk.

Frozen fresh tomato soup is delicious; a shepherd’s pie - easy on the mince and buy free range and lean if possible and substitute sunflower spread for butter to cream the potatoes - is comforting

and satisfying. You can buy portion sized containers that either microwave or tip into an oven proof dish to heat through.

The satisfaction is not only in eating something yummy but knowing you cooked it for yourself (and the family won’t end up in McDonald’s every day either!).

Finding what is right for you Food is a minefield! What’s right for you? Low GI, high protein, low carbohydrates? Research is extensive and growing daily around mood and food, what to eat to keep blood sugar levels stable, blood pressure stable, lowering cholesterol, raising energy levels, knowing what food allergies or intolerances you have – and so it goes on. One emerging factor is the link between depression and a diet high in processed foods with people who eat more fish, fruit and vegetables being at less risk of depression.

Your own research, in the library, online or by talking to your doctor and maybe being referred to a nutritionist can be liberating in itself. If you can afford it, a visit to a private nutritionist can be very helpful.

The trick is to think ahead when you are well, for when you are unwell.

Although no-one wants to imagine going back to that dark and hateful place, knowing you have created a healthy eating ‘sanctuary’ for yourself can have far reaching rewards. Even in your darkest hours you may be able to take comfort from the fact that a little self compassion goes a long way…

Use your search engine to find links to ‘food and depression’ or visit your library for food/health related literature.

21

Water

feature!

22

When the day has been long and troublesome, more often than not we feel the need to wash it away – after all, there is nothing quite like a hot bath before bed time.

For centuries, the healing properties of warm water have been appreciated and we know that washing does a lot more than just physically cleanse our bodies.

After washing, how many times do we acknowledge that we feel better? The daily wash, be it a bath or a shower, is not only a hygiene necessity, but it can also cleanse the soul and carry away any negativity.

Apparently, if we use visualisation, it can dramatically reduce stress levels, and including it shouldn’t take any longer- it’s just a case of being aware of it.

Before you start, light a soothing

aromatherapy candle to create a calm atmosphere. Then as the warm water runs over your skin, imagine it is lifting all of your worries and anxieties away.

Listen to the sound of the water and watch as it flows down into the plughole, taking the negative energy with it.

If you are in the bath, spend a few peaceful moments in the water before you get out, and visualise your clean body, free from stress (at least for another day!)

Then, to top off this wonderful feeling, smooth on an indulgent moisturiser, perhaps one containing a calming essential oil, such as chamomile or lavender, and then go straight off to bed.

If your routine is to start the day with a shower or bath, think about how you

In the spirit of Serendipity i.e. finding something lovely as a bargain, Sanctuary recommends you try searching in chemists and supermarkets for toiletries in the reduced section, often a hotch potch of items displayed together on a couple of shelves. Superdrug also has good items at sensible prices, and some charity shops have a range of inexpensive, but do the trick, ‘smellies’.

Serendipity

Depression: Dealing with medicine side effects

invigorate and get ready to take on the world! Try something containing tea tree or peppermint oil to boost alertness!

When someone is experiencing an emotional problem, depression for instance, it can be very difficult to motivate yourself to do anything. But making yourself take a bath or stand under a shower and let the water wash over you can give you a little inner pat on the back. Try it!

23

Side effects come, for most, when you take antidepressants. Most sideeffects are temporary and will go away after you take the medicine for a few weeks, but some may not. If they really bother you, don’t suffer in silence.

Go back to your doctor and ask what can be done; a different drug, smaller dosage and alternatives such as being able to access counselling. Whatever you do, don’t suddenly quit taking your medicine. As with any medication, the withdrawal symptoms or becoming unwell again are going to be far worse than most side-effects Be aware of possible serious side effects of antidepressants, such as chest pain or a serious allergic reaction, and call your doctor right away if you notice anything abnormal. Common sideeffects include: Nausea; dry mouth; loss of appetite; diarrhoea or constipation; sexual problems (loss of libido/desire); headaches; trouble falling asleep or

waking a lot during the night; feeling nervous or on edge; feeling drowsy in the daytime.

Most side-effects are temporary and will go away after a few weeks. But some (such as dry mouth, constipation, and sexual problems) may continue. If you have questions or concerns about your medicines, talk to your doctor.

The official statistic for the number of people suffering depression has been one in four for some time. And that is one in four women who suffer more than men at one in ten. However, evidence is emerging that this number is growing as life events impact on people’s resilience and ability to deal with the external pressures, such as unemployment, housing and benefit changes and other life altering experiences. The figures are also estimated on the number of people in treatment – and we all know how hard it is to persuade a man to go to the doctor, so the 1 in 10 estimate could be a lot higher!

Treatment for depression includes a wide range of medications. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac) or sertraline (Zoloft) are newer, second generation antidepressants thought to have fewer side-effects than older, first generation drugs which include tricyclic (e.g. amitriptyline/Elavil) MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors inhibitors such as phenelzine/Nardil). SSRIs work by increasing serotonin in the brain which is the ‘happy’ neurotransmitter.

Whilst researching medicines and mental health though, it is proving very difficult to find any data for how long, once someone has completed treatment, the efficacy of a drug lasts.

See page 18 for details of how you can tell Sanctuary your medication story – the good, the bad and the downright ugly experiences!

Meanwhile you can learn more about various medications at www.webmd.com

Design by Aspects: 07917 222 998 / tom@aspectsgd.com / www.aspectsgd.com

Š ASPECTS 2011

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