First hand

 

Everyone has different experiences and opinions about mental health care and issues, you may identify with some of those below.Ý These pages are for you to voice your experiences and opinions (good or bad) and ideas for improving mental health care for young men.Ý Let people know what changes you think should be made.Ý Remember, this site is read not only by other service users, but also health/social care professionals, their managers and politicians ñ people that have the power to make changes.Ý If you would like to make a contribution (max. 500 words), please feel free to e-mail us.

 

Click on an article below:

Medication and its affects by Daniel

Alternatives to hospital in times of distress by Phil

The ignorance of so-called professionals by Keith

Positive results of genuine care by Rakesh

The fear of stigma by Anon

The disparities of self-harm treatment by Ollie

Releasing the pressure by Adam

The need for young adult services by Wayne

Misguided media by Jason

Stick In There by Spencer

Its good to talk by Baz

The Risks of Cannabis by Anon

Forgotten or ignored? By Stevie

Written work from members of the Reach Out Group

 

Medication and its affects

By Daniel

ìMy doctor has given me loads of different types of medication for my manic depression, but they make me really tired and drowsy, everythingís a major effort.Ý People think Iím lazy because I hardly ever go out any more and my girlfriend thinks Iím loosing interest in her because I donít feel up to sex.Ý Iíd try to tell her whatís wrong but I donít want to loose her to someone else.Ý Iíve started drinking in the house, especially when I feel low, the tablets say I shouldnít but it stops me worrying about my problems.Ý However, the day after drinking I feel a lot worse and quite ill.Ý Drinking doesnít solve my problems and probably doesnít help my medication work either.î

 

Alternatives to hospital in times of distress

By Phil

ìIf youíre feeling that you canít cope or suicidal there should be a place for people to get help instead of hospital.Ý The place should be a rest centre where you could go at any time (especially evenings and weekends) and there would be someone available to sit with you during difficult times.Ý Also, there would be a chill out room for people to lie down and relax.Ý The centre would be able to house people in distress for one or two nights while they try to reduce their distress.Ý This would avoid people being sectioned and the associated problems ñ loosing your house or benefits etc.î

 

The ignorance of so-called professionals

By Keith

ìI overdosed on my medication and was taken to hospital by ambulance.Ý I felt like crap and wanted to end the agonising misery I felt.Ý The paramedic in the ambulance said very little other than asking for my personal details: name, age, medical history etc. and he never lifted his head.Ý When I arrived at hospital the nurses took a blood sample and checked my pulse and blood pressure, but again, they hardly spoke to me and when they did they were blunt and didnít look at me.Ý The doctor eventually came to see me, he told me directly that what I did was stupid and that he was busy enough without people like me wasting his time.Ý I was already feeling worthless and suicidal and he made things feel worse.Ý I told him that it wasnít my choice to be in hospital, but he looked at me blankly and left.

 

I was so shocked at they way I was treated and how someone working in the care profession could be so cruel and ignorant.Ý He must have had very little knowledge or training about mental ill health, he lacked any empathy and was very patronising.Ý I think that doctors and nurses should at least be taught that people trying to harm themselves need proper help and could do without being told that they are stupid when really they are ill and should be treat with respect, like the other patients are.î
Changes being made By Steve @ Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Mental Health Trust
“Our team visits people in general hospitals that have harmed themselves and we are currently aiming to combat stigma and raise awareness of mental health problems by offering training to A&E staff, nurses and doctors in general wards, staff in the Trust (e.g. receptionists) and now the police. We hope to get the right message across to frontline staff. It is important to remember that suicidal behaviour does not necessarily indicate mental illness but is just a human reaction to certain circumstances.” Lets hope these ideas are adopted throughout the region.

 

Positive results of genuine care

By Rakesh

ìThe amount of help and support that Iíve had since leaving hospital has been tremendous.Ý I didnít think Iíd be able to cope on my own but Iíve had people coming to my flat and helping me get out a few times a week, and now, with the help of my nurse, Iíve started an art course at college which helps me to express how I feel and what Iíve been through.î

 

The fear of stigma

By anon

ìIíve just returned to work after three weeks of being on the sick, I felt stressed out and unable to cope with day-to-day tasks ñ it was starting to get me down.Ý I had to get a sick note for work so I told the doctor I had back pain.Ý I didnít want anyone to know what was really wrong with me because theyíd think I couldnít handle the pressures of the job and Iíd probably be put onto other light, and boring, duties.Ý Either that or Iíd be constantly checked and asked if I was OK by my supervisor whilst everyone else got on with their work.

 

I donít like having to lie but I feel I need to.Ý My sister knows whatís really wrong and sheís been trying to persuade me to see the GP but Iíd feel uncomfortable talking about how I was to someone I donít know and I donít want any pity.Ý Iíve heard about some of the pills they give you and how some mess your head up even more, I donít know what to do.î

 

The disparities of self-harm treatment

By Ollie

ìPeople who self-harm are often treated like shit by A & E staff.Ý They probably think that we donít deserve treatment because our injuries are self-inflicted.Ý If this is the case, then why donít people with lung, heart or liver problems as a result of smoking, alcohol or poor diet get treated as poorly even when their problems are self-inflicted too?î

 

Releasing the pressure

By Adam

ìSome days I wake up and feel really low, even when there isnít a reason for it.Ý When I wake I spend hours trying to motivate myself to get out of bed, but my arms and legs feel like dead weights and my head is like an empty, numbness feeling.Ý I just canít face the day ahead knowing that I might feel like this all day long, so I try to go back to sleep but this rarely works, I canít stop feeling guilty for being in this state.

 

My family are supportive, but I know they donít understand why Iím like this and they get frustrated when they donít know how they can help me.Ý I used to try and keep my thoughts to myself, bottling up how I felt but this made things worse all the pressure needed to be released and it made me more irritable and aggressive.Ý I would take my anger out on anyone or anything around me at the time: punching the wall, kicking whatever was in my way, frightening friends when I shouted at them.Ý I didnít mean to take it out on them, but I was so wound up and uptight at the time.

 

Iíve started to see a Community Psychiatric Nurse; he comes to my house once a fortnight, and he helps me to approach the frustration of how I feel without being aggressive.Ý I can now control some of my anger and live a more productive day without staying in bed the whole morning.Ý My friends and family have noticed how Iíve improved and Iím lucky that theyíre so understanding.Ý Hopefully Iíll beat this problem for good, soon.

 

The need for young adult services

By Wayne

ìI used to go to a day centre for young people with mental health problems, but now Iím 18 I canít go anymore, so my social worker introduced me to an adult centre.Ý I feel awkward and I donít fit into the group very well because Iím the youngest there and everyone else looks like theyíre 30 ñ 40.Ý I think that there should be more places for young adults to go to, where they donít feel intimidated.î

 

Misguided Media

By Jason

ìIf mental illness is supposed to be so common, why do TV programmes nearly always show people with mental illness as being weird or violent?Ý This makes everyone think weíre dangerous when really we are much more likely to be violent to ourselves than others.Ý Not all mental illnesses are psychotic disorders some of us just feel low, withdrawn or anxious and knowing what some people think of us makes us feel worse.î

It’s good to talk

By Baz

“I just want others to know that things can get better.  I was at uni and was under a lot of pressure – I was studying hard and playing hard, I was involved in loads of sports activities.  I found it hard to get the balance between them right.  It started to make me stress out and made me feel sick, have headaches and feel really low.  I started missing lectures because I couldn’t face going in having not done the work – this made me feel guilty.  It all seemed to get out of control.  At one point, when I was really stressed and low in mood, the thought of ending it came into my mind.

Through the help of a friend of a friend, I eventually went to see my GP.  The doctor was really helpful and she said that I wasn’t the only person she saw with similar problems.  She wrote to the Uni explaining the problem, they suggested seeing a uni counsellor.  I got help with managing my workload and time.  It took a while, but I got through it.  I’m fine now, and I’d go as far as saying that now I’m more aware of how I feel in my mind and know when to get help.  If I could give anyone some advice it would be don’t keep it to yourself, get help.  Talk to someone.  Oh, and by the way, I’m a 6ft 4 rugby player!”

Stick in there

By Spencer

“Don’t bottle it up, tell someone how you feel, there are people out there who want to help and can help.  Stick in there.  It may not seem possible at the moment, but you will get through it, I’m not saying it will all be easy but when you do get better you will be a stronger person for it.”

The risks of cannabis

By Anon

My mate’s getting help from a shrink for paranoia and voices.  Some people say there’s a link between cannabis and paranoia.  We used to have a few spliffs at weekends when we were younger and I’m worried that this may have caused his problems and I might experience them as well.

 

 

Forgotten or ignored?

By Stevie

ìItís funny that you never hear of important people like councillors, politicians or celebrities visiting mental hospitals ñ hostels, drug re-hab centres and prisons all get a visit.Ý Are we forgotten or just ignored?Ý Maybe theyíre worried that the images of psychiatric hospitals may be true.Ý Ok, so straight jackets may no longer be used, but these hospitals are still massively under invested.Ý They might be in fear of feeling depressed visiting these hospitals.Ý The gloomy, drab-painted corridors, shabby furniture, the pool table with a worn cloth and missing balls and the zonked out patients suffering from major side effects like trembling hands.

 

Donít get me wrong, most of the staff work as hard as they can, but thereís too few of them.Ý Theyíre always rushed off their feet and are unable to spend much needed time talking to and caring for patients.Ý Itís about time for change, itís not right that people are kept in these conditions, especially the young.Ý Something should be done to ensure that a 23 year old shouldnít have to share a room with someone more than 30 years older than them.Ý Iím no major activist but people in power need to open their eyes and stop pretending that we donít exist.Ý Stop ignoring us.î

Hope in Hell By Jonathan
No job
No fixed abode
Can’t cope
Can’t trust
Can’t love anyone, not even myself
Got history
Do drugs
I’m just a number on a list
My past was fucked
Just want a future
But please don’t write me off

The following are a collection of written work from members of the Reach Out Group – a group formed by young people with mental health issues to share their feelings and problems with other peers @ The Base Young People’s Project, Whitley Bay.

Alone
I’m alone again nothing to do
Listening to music boom, boom, boom.
My heart is broken up in two
I really don’t know what to do.
I’m scared of dying really I am
I talk to Scruffy to say who I am.
I’m a person with a messed up head
Who really wanted to end up dead
But when I thought how daft I’d been
I knew there was more to life I haven’t seen.
I’ve often had enough of life
Most of it I’ve hardly liked.
I can never talk about my feelings
But they really do need relieving.Help me
It seemed like my life was not worth living,
Then I knew my brain was kidding.
People are really canny to me,
So why on earth can’t I be?
What do other people see in me?
There are things that are bugging me.
If I can see what others see in me,
Then maybe I’ll be a little bit free.
I need to be free really I do,
Free from hurt those others can’t see.
I express my feelings by writing these,
So can someone help me please?
I need the stuff out of my head,
That’s really wanting me to end up dead.

Desperation
I feel so alone and so afraid,
And I don’t know what to do,
Something’s happening to me,
Something I can’t control.People are trying to help,
And I don’t understand why,
Because I don’t and can’t trust anyone,
I’m not used t people being on my side.I keep writing and drawing things that are scary,
I’ve never felt so bad,
I don’t really know how to explain it,
Oh God please help me.I don’t deserve to be alive or happy,
Everyone around me is happy and I’m not,
There’s not light at the end of my tunnel,
And I can’t find my way.

Feelings of alcoholism
TRAPPED
TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF
TIRESOME
BORED
LOST
ILL
TIRED OF LIFE
Alcohol is the strongest depressant known to me, it has ruined my life and a lot of other people’s. All it takes is one drink and my whole life falls to pieces, things that are insignificant get blown out of proportion and all that should matter is forgotten about.

If you would like to complain about the health service or treatment that you have received, visit the procedures online: www.doh.gov.uk/complain.htm