Is Mental Health Week effective?

@BlueBay I am sad that you had to deal with determined ignorance from your husband.

I had a conversation yesterday where someone mentioned the difficulty of challenging the hero worship of Peter Brock. His wife of many years had a hard life with him. Idolising racing culture can be a problem ...

@jem80 & @utopia

I agree it is important to maintain some optimism, but not so much we dont take into account the obstacles. Change is slow.

Yes it is good it can be spoken about more, even in some public & social spheres. I have a longterm commitment to activism about mental health issues and am slowly learning better strategies.

Its better we have a week dedicated to the issues than they get swept under the carpet.

Yes it depends on the life experiences each of us has had .I can trace my anxiety back to my childhood which like any post trauma or illness can resurface later in life if given the right environment.

My psychologist tried to challenge my thoughts last Thursday when I said I only speak to people I know are genuine.Through what I have been through I don't have the energy for people I know who are ready to criticize or ask questions where I feel like I shouldn't have to explain myself.I have wasted so much of my life worrying what other people think.I highly regard now my privacy.The psychologist thought this was a irrational thought, I don't.I grew up overweight,people children and adults thought they need to tell me I was Fat, etc.I used to take it but now I tell them off.There will always be ignorance unfortunately.Its good Utopia is getting awareness on Facebook but as I also live in a small town,its impossible to break down the ignorance and stigma of mental illness due to society norms. May be more useful if you put a questionnaire on your Facebook page or facts as ignorance can be caused by lack of education/information and distorted perceptions of mental illness.

@Appleblossom,

I actually really like to watch car racing but I am also very concerned about the portrayal of Peter Brock as something he was not. Hi first wife (who he married in 1974) has been outspoken about the violence she suffered at his hands. The T.V. mini series glosses over this- it's been conveniently erased from history!

history = his story

I would like to see a more balanced portrayal of those people we claim to be 'heros'.

Hi @utopia and all.

I watched the metal health documentaries on the ABC last night, too. I thought they were very accessible and gave plenty of relevant information about a range of conditions. I learnt a lot more about bipolar - I was really inspired by a woman named Rachel who suffered bipolar and went on to become a peer support worker.

It was also very interesting learning about psychosis.

And the people they chose as subjects for the show were such likable people.

It would have been good to see some programs made in Australia, though. I guess no-one has any funding to do that here?

@NikNik, do you think Sane could get funding to make a movie-length mental illness documentary that could be screened in movie theatres? That would be great!

Hi @Sahara@Former-Member@Appleblossom@utopia

I only watched the first documentary as I had a terrible headache and had to go to bed. I thought it was interesting; easy to understand and watch. Even though I don't have Bipolar it was still interesting to see what people go through and how they have their ups and downs.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the week's documentaries.

I really don't care about hubby not watching; it just shows to me how ignorant he is with MI. I actually wrote on my facebook page this morning about World Mental Health Day and it will be interesting to see what reaction and replies I get. I will let you all know.

hey, @hope77 sorry I have been away for so long (guilty face) Having a hard time. Early this year one of the shopkeepers and I were talking and it got on to the homeless people, Particular one man named Ryan( not his real Name) anyways the shopkeeper was saying she had to throw him out because he kept on asking for smokes and did not want to pay for them. She is always calling the police telling them that Ryan is scaring people because he walks up and down the sheet yelling stop following me. Anyway a month later he was in jail for something I not sure of. The shop keeper and I were talking about him again and I said that he was not a good man and I hope he gets help in jail. She pipe up and said I don't care what his childhood was like why should we spend money giving them doctors to talked to they just to choose a different way of living. I was pretty thrown but I said to her that we don't sit in doctors offices all day and talk about our childhood. well, i don't. some of have a chemical imbalance which causes us to have mental illness The next day I went back and saw her gave her some literature on mental illness. She has said nothing to since. So no I don't think the world is ready to understand because of the silence surrounding it and media portraying so badly for so long I think once it is talked about like any other illness eg: Cancer. So I think we should give and spend the funds for mental illness on finding better treatments and a cure. maybe by fundraising the message would get out to people more. They would be more open to asking what cause mental illness. Happy mental health week PEACE TO EVERYONE