Suicide prevention

Day 637

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South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust is where Saagar was treated. This morning I visited their website and looked at a few videos and one titled “Insulin Coma Dreams: The Gloriously Psychotic version” captured my attention. It shows glimpses of healing through sharing stories, art, singing, playing the drums and guitar, poetry and rapping. It is full of hope. One young lady spoke the wisest words coming from her own experience of mental illness (most probably Bipolar Disorder):

“You need to stop focusing on lack
If you wish to reclaim your power back
You are a glorious co-creator
You have the power to design a will
So what you are experiencing
You have the key to change it still
If at times it feels as though
You are not the one in control
This is just a reflection of
Disconnection from the soul
Your inner being is pure love
And it speaks and thinks as such
So when your thoughts are not of love
It just means you need to get in touch
The love that you are
That at times you forget
It is that simple love
That’s your biggest asset
So when things are scary
You feel pain or angst or stress
Just remember who you really are
And know that you are the best.”

Day 635

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A few weeks ago I responded to an advertisement from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) for the appointment of lay topic expert members on to a Public Health Advisory Committee on Suicide Prevention. I was excited about this timely opportunity – I would meet other people who are passionate about the subject and I would have a chance to contribute constructively and to make an impact on a large scale. It took me a few hours to put the application together. I booked leave for the proposed training days in anticipation and waited patiently for a reply.

I heard from them last week. After careful consideration they had decided not to appoint me on the committee. Bummer!

Well, I can only do what I can do from where I am with what I have.

Like this humming bird –

Day 634

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beds

Total beds available for Mental Illness in England

The total number of beds available for mental patients has steadily declined in recent years in response to acute funding pressures in the NHS and a latent preference for physical illness over psychosis. This is creating intolerable pressure on families and care in the community resources and frequently results in young people being sent for treatment hundreds of miles from where they live. This is unacceptable.

iapt

Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) in the NHS

The demand for psychological treatment has escalated dramatically in recent years. Whilst Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) treatments has risen, it has not kept pace with demand and increasing numbers of referrals are being refused. The net effect is that treatment thresholds are rising – sufferers have to be in ever deeper crisis before they can access care. Those accepted for treatment are then faced with weak pathways and absurd waiting lists, leaving sufferers, families and communities in despair and anguish. This is unacceptable.

(Source: The MindEd Trust)

Dat 626

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Twenty-two years ago a 37 years old journalist Mike McIntyre felt his life was quickly passing him by. So one day he hit the road to trek from one end of the USA to the other with just the clothes on his back and not a single penny in his pocket. Through his travels, he found varying degrees of kindness in strangers from all walks of life and discovered more about people, values and life on the road in America than he’d ever thought possible. The gifts of food and shelter he received along the way were outweighed only by the touching gifts of the heart – the willingness of many he met to welcome a lonely stranger into their homes…and the discovery that sometimes those who give the most are the ones with the least to spare. He wrote an insightful book called ‘Kindness of Strangers’ based on his travel experiences.

The rail industry in the UK is piloting a new on-line service called Rail505. It empowers rail users to identify individuals on railway platforms who might be at risk of harm and provide them with resources to get help for these individuals. They have four 15 second you-tube clips on their website (Rail505.com) that are recordings from a CCTV camera. They are titled – shoes, bridge, sign and bench. Each of them is subtle and educative at the same time. Even if we think we can’t do much to help, there is always something we can do. Trust your instincts, says the website. The signs that someone is at risk from harm aren’t always obvious, but we all know when something doesn’t feel right.

“There was a time in this country when you were a jerk if you passed somebody in need. Now you’re a fool for helping. Gangs, drugs, murderers, rapists, thieves, carjackers. Why risk it? I Don’t Want to Get Involved has become a national motto.” – Mike McIntyre.

Time to talk. Time to change.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 620

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Arthur was 15. He died after sustaining severe head injuries as a result of falling 60 feet from a cliff near Brighton last July. He was Nick Cave’s son. The inquest heard that Arthur had taken LSD with a friend and he was seen “staggering” on his own before he fell off the cliff. The friends went there thinking it would be a safe place to experiment with the drug for the first time.

Many youngsters experiment with drugs they do not understand and then make tragic mistakes. Last year, one in six children aged between 11 and 15 in England said they had taken drugs – nearly a third of a million kids!

Elizabeth Burton-Phillip’s son Nicholas ended his own life following a period of addiction and she found the strength to share their story in a book called “Mum can you lend me 20 quid?” Here is an insightful interview with her.

Into my arms by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. 

I don’t believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Not to touch a hair on your head
To leave you as you are
And if He felt He had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord

And I don’t believe in the existence of angels
But looking at you I wonder if that’s true
But if I did I would summon them together
And ask them to watch over you
To each burn a candle for you
To make bright and clear your path
And to walk, like Christ, in grace and love
And guide you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord

But I believe in Love
And I know that you do too
And I believe in some kind of path
That we can walk down, me and you
So keep your candles burning
And make her journey bright and pure
That she will keep returning
Always and evermore

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms