Changing Minds

thanks for that loopy and all the best to you as well.

kenny

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for sharing about ECT.

I admit it sounds pretty scary to me. I'd run a mile if anyone suggested it, but then I hate hospitals too. A whole other story!

I understand that the memory loss is a very common side effect. I'm so glad you found it helpful in spite of that.

Kind regards,

Kristin

Hey Loopy,

You are keeping us guessing with the changes of forums image! Not really found one that fits just right yet? It can be a hard thing to chose an image which speaks of the whole of us (even though we might feel or even be somewhat broken).

Kind regards,

Kristin

Hi Kristin

First time I had visions of being strapped in and with a mouth guard to stop me biting my tongue while all the volts went through me jerking around.

It was nothing like that, just a small seizure which you don't even know about. All very simple and stress free. As I said the only problem is the loss of memory and confusion. It took a while to get over that.

Kenny

Am very interested in whether people see Changing Minds (CM) as reinforcing stigma?

Have spoken to a few people today at Mental Health Australia gatherings who said the program was stigmatising - that for people who may not have had contact with people with mental illness they could conclude, for example, that someone with bipolar could easily end up in a situation as depicted in CM. Also that it could reinforce a view that people wth mental illness are inherently dangerous.

Others comments made today:

1. it an empathetic depiction of the situation in a psych ward
2. that the leadership of the ward was very compassionate and this culture was reflected right through the staf
3. were any of the mental health staff born in Australia? Are we having to recruit people from overseas to work in our mental health acute services
4. that the chief psychiatrist has since left Liverpool hospital and is now working in private practice - how would that affect the way the unit now treats people with new leadership
5. that the mental health professsionals rather than the individuals were the heroes (but that person hadnt seen the final episode)
6. Could people really have agreed to give their consent to being depicted as they were?
7. So good that the ABC was doing this sort of thing

Will check in tomorrow following MHA members policy forum to see other views expressed

Kristin, after 25 years of liuving in a quagmire I really do not know which peg hole I fit into. If a post appeals to me and I think that I have something to offer I have no other option than to say something. I mean no offence in what I say, "I just don't know any more".

“The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else.”

Hi

I think it was a very honest and empathetic look at Liverpool's MH Unit, and mental health issues generally.

I had been to the old clinic before it moved to the new building and the staff mix then and now is representative of the demographic mix graduating in these disciplines.

The area has many Indian, Arabic, Asian and a whole host of other nationalities and is one of the most diverse multicultural mixes in Australia.

Where I live the acute ward and mental health general clinic where I have been a number of times.have a large ethnic mix of health practitioner's. So they must be getting the high marks academically to qualify in this field. The staff I know are second generation born in Australia and are Australian citizens.

Anyway I found everyone in this clinic highly professional irrespective of their ethnicity and that's all I really cared about.

The clinic I attend has had 2 changes of leadership , without any noticeable change in the treatment regime or the quality of it. So I guess change can be positive as well.

Personally It didn't give me the impression of being stigmatized.

The story about the guy with mania, who actually had schizoaffective disorder, which I have, had a slightly hopeful side to it. However his take about not being able to be employed was compelling and went straight to one of the major issues about the barriers to employment for people with mental illness.

It would have been counter productive in my view to have manufactured the episodes to create a situation that was not real in relation to the actualities of being mentally ill.

As a patient , that is the picture you see every day while you are being treated. I often thought to myself , when admitted, that it would be good for people who were not MI to see what being mentally ill is all about. It could give a picture about some of the challenges MI people face every day. The program hit a bulls eye for me in that regard.

Dear Loopy,

I didn't find any offence in anything you said! I just wondered about the chage to the Broncos logo from the previous skeletal looking character - that's all I was referring to.

I love your posts. I can see you are very open about sharing your own journey, and far more publicly that the rest of us probably ever will. I take my hat off to you sir. You are also very kind and encouraging. So please don't be apologising to me. (and the emotions button is back from being on strike!)

Take care!

Kind regards,

Kristin