Your Voice Issue 79

Registered Charity Number 1113874

ISSN 1464–696 X

YOUR VOICE In Sheffield Mental Health A magazine for users, carers and professionals www.yourvoicesheffield.org

Spring 2016

No 79

Gardening project offers an Oasis for recovery

Tim Blundell Jones inside one of the polytunnels at Oasis Gardening

By Tim Blundell Jones Oasis Gardening Did you know there are microbacteria in soil that increase serotonin in the brain, so they work like an antidepressant? People have known for years that gardening is good for you and science now tells us why.

For over 3 years Recovery Enterprises has provided an Oasis for people to recover from mental health issues by establishing Oasis

Gardening. You may have spotted our vegetable garden or our polytunnels, or maybe, if you’ve ever visited Sheffield Health and Social Care headquarters at Fulwood House on a Tuesday, you’ve bought some fresh vegetables from our stall.

Oasis occupies two previously unused areas at Fulwood House.

Although we grow other edible plants like rhubarb and blackcurrants, we use the space primarily to grow vegetables and also flowers to sell. Whatever we

grow, it’s all with the aim of enjoying ourselves and enjoying the creativity around making plants flourish. We believe that anyone can have a go at gardening and reap the benefits of being outside with plants.

Our vegetable garden and polytunnels provide a great space for volunteers to try their hand at gardening. Oasis is developing well and has already helped a number of people on their recovery journey.

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YOUR VOICE 

Gardening project offers an Oasis for recovery Page 1

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Editorial Your Voice news

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Recovery services framework In memory of David Pearce

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Key facts and trends in mental health Mental Health Service Improvement Forum Mental Health Awareness Week 2016 Carers Week 2016 Page 4

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Colour Me Calm, Colour Me Happy at the Sheffield Chinese Community Centre Carmel Care Centre Gardening project offers an Oasis for recovery Page 5

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Your Profiles  Chrissy Bonham, Freelance Mental Health Recovery Worker, on a life-changing mental health diagnosis and educating herself and others about ways to build a better life Pages 6 & 7

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On being a Samaritan Would you like to volunteer with Samaritans?

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Your Reviews  Service user Steve on ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, an autobiographical account of depression by Matt Haig  adventures in counselling: saying things so true Page 10

My experience in mental health services Welcome changes on restraint Page 9

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Your Artwork

Highlights this edition include an article by Tim Blundell Jones from Oasis Gardening about the therapeutic nature of growing things; a personal account of the experience of training as a ‘listening volunteer’ with the Samaritans; and a Profile of Chrissy Bonham, freelance mental health recovery worker, who talks about how services pointed her in the right direction to start rebuilding her life.

Many thanks as always to everyone who contributed to this edition. If you’d like to share your experience, news, views or artwork with us, we’d love to hear from you.

Justine Morrison

Your Voice news We are pleased to announce that Your Voice has been successful in securing the funding that will enable us to continue our work for the next 12 months. We would like to express our gratitude to Sheffield City Council for extending our contract until the end of this year at least and to thank the J.G. Graves Charitable Trust and Sheffield Town Trust for making new donations towards our running costs. We would also like to acknowledge the generous donations we have received from subscribers.

The funding we have secured from these three organisations and individual donors will allow us to produce and distribute three more issues of our magazine and we are hopeful that it will provide us with an opportunity to develop our online and social media presence. The management committee will continue in its efforts to ensure that we have the necessary funding to continue our work beyond March 2017. We would love to hear from you if you have experience of being involved in successful funding applications and would like to help Your Voice to achieve long-term sustainability.

Your Verse Your Letters

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Editorial

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SYEDA group for people above a healthy weight Heads Up! All day event for mental health awareness Mental Health Carers Group New drop-in advice sessions for carers Free courses from Sheffield Mind and Body Project Page 12

Disclaimer: The views expressed in Your Voice are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the Editorial Team. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, we cannot be held responsible for alterations which occur during the publication process.

Articles are copyright of Your Voice and individual contributors.

In principle we are happy for articles to be reprinted in other publications provided that Your Voice is acknowledged but we would be grateful if you would contact us first so that we can obtain the writer’s permission.

Acknowledgements: We would like to acknowledge the input that the Sheffield mental health community makes to the ongoing success of Your Voice. Sheffield City Council provides our core funding. Our greatest debt of gratitude is reserved for all of our contributors and readers – we wouldn’t exist without you.

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Recovery services framework

In memory of David Pearce

Dave Luck, Mental Health Commissioning Officer at SCC, on a new way of managing mental health care packages Sheffield City Council has recently introduced a new framework to manage the assessment, approval and monitoring of mental health care packages for service users aged between 18 and 65. Around 700 people in Sheffield have these packages. These can cover elements such as one to one support, group activities and respite care.

The Recovery Star looks at ten areas of a service user’s life in order to identify the key areas where work needs to be take place.

This then guides the development of their support plan, which directs what work is carried out with the service user. The Star is then carried out again after six months to see what progress has been made and to see if the support plan needs to be changed.

The Council has introduced the recovery services framework to make sure that services are high quality, focused on recovery and are funded in a way that is fair and sustainable.

The four approved providers are Sheffield Mind, Rethink, Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust and South Yorkshire Housing Association.

Under the framework the Council has four approved providers who can provide Council arranged services. As part of this service providers will use the Recovery Star to see the difference people’s care packages are making to their wellbeing.

The recovery service framework will give more information about the needs and progress of individuals so care can be tailored. In addition it will give a city wide picture of needs that will make sure future commissioning is targeted at the right areas.

The Recovery Star The mental health Recovery Star covers ten key areas:  Managing mental health  Physical health  Living skills  Friends and social networks  Work and training  Relationships  Addictive behaviour  Home  Identity and self-esteem  Trust and hope For more information about the Recovery Star please visit: www.outcomesstar.org.uk

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Service users can choose to access services from other providers via a Direct Payment.

From April 2016 the Council will be introducing a standard market rate of £17.95 per hour for Direct Payments. If service users choose to use a provider who charges more than the market rate the service user will have to fund the difference. This change may mean that service users will have to pay a contribution towards their care, even if they were not paying for support before. This is in line with other Council services and will affect anyone who receives a mental health social care package.

No changes will be made to care packages before a review takes place. Service users will be able to ask their care coordinator for further information if they need to know more about the process. We expect all service users’ needs to be reviewed by April 2017.

David Pearce (photograph by Jim Friday)

Your Voice was saddened to learn of the passing of our friend, colleague and mental health activist David Pearce earlier this year.

David was born in India in 1942 and came to England in 1947. Following a science degree at Cambridge, he undertook research in physics and completed his PhD at Imperial College London in 1970. David worked in the nuclear industry as a physicist for 11 years until he was forced to resign as a result of mental ill health. He was first hospitalised for mental health problems in 1974 and experienced further inpatient stays before being diagnosed with bipolar in 1983.

David moved to Sheffield in 1986 to study for an MSc in computing. In the late 1980s he became involved with the service user movement in Sheffield and further afield. He was an active member of Trent and Yorkshire MINDLink, a member of McMurphy's, the Sheffield based user controlled day service, and perhaps most notably worked as a volunteer with MHAGS (Mental Health Action Group Sheffield) for more than a decade, mainly as the group's chair. As well as his mental health work, David was also a long term volunteer with Oxfam.

David was a valued member of the Your Voice editorial group for many years and we would like to extend our sympathies to his family on the occasion of his passing.

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Key facts and trends in mental health

Mental Health Service Improvement Forum

Carers Week 2016

The NHS Confederation Mental Health Network has published the fourth edition of its factsheet on key statistics and trends in mental health. It has updated the 2014 factsheet, to reflect new figures, statistics and resources, and provides an overview of the major trends and challenges facing mental health services. The factsheet sets out data relating to:

Are you interested in using your experiences of living with mental ill health to improve mental health and wellbeing services?

Carers Week takes place this year from 6th - 10th June and Carers in Sheffield is planning a full programme of events to raise awareness of carers and of our services and to acknowledge the huge contribution carers make in our city. There are lots of ways for carers to get involved.

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investment in services trends in morbidity suicide and homicide rates service activity use of mental health legislation mental health of children and young people  service user experience  inequalities experienced by people with mental health problems  workforce and staff satisfaction The document reports a decrease in service investment in recent years, an increase in suicide rates (particularly amongst male patients in the 45 -54 age groups), and a fall in overall satisfaction rates amongst people using mental health services.

The factsheet discusses the uptake of IAPT services in 2014/15. The average waiting time between referral and first treatment was 32 days. Around 42% of people completed their courses of treatment and 61% of people completing a course of treatment show reliable improvement in their condition.

The use of the Mental Health Act in 2014/15 increased by almost 10% on the previous year and compulsory admission rates for people of black ethnicity are almost three times greater than those of white patients.

Download the factsheet from the NHS Confederation website at: http://www.nhsconfed.org/ Spring 2016

Sheffield City Council is inviting people who have received a mental health diagnosis, or who care for an adult with a mental health diagnosis, to join the Mental Health Service Improvement Forum.

The forum will invite members to work with senior managers to identify priorities for mental health and wellbeing services in the city and what changes can really make a difference to people living with mental ill health.

It is intended that the forum will meet every 2 months in an accessible city centre venue.

However, this will be agreed with members, along with their role, how they will work together, the size of the forum and how it will run.

We are really interested in developing a representative forum and would like to invite people to express an interest in becoming a member.

For an informal discussion about the forum and how you might like to get involved please contact: Liz McGrael Development Officer Quality Team Sheffield City Council Tel: 0114 205 2926 Mobile: 07815 707 403 Email: involvement@sheffield.gov.uk

Mental Health Awareness Week 2016 Takes place from 16th - 22nd May, with the theme of relationships. To find out more or get involved, visit: www.mentalhealth.org. uk/campaigns/mental-healthawareness-week

Dates for your diary

Are you a musician? We’re asking anyone with a talent to busk for us!

We hope to have a spot on the Moor on Monday 6th June to draw attention to our information stand.

The Council and Carers Choir will provide some entertainment but we’d like anyone who can sing or play an instrument to join us throughout the day.

On Tuesday 7th June, we’re organising a special ‘Clubersize’ - a fitness class which involves dancing in the dark with glow sticks. Run by an experienced instructor, it promises to be lots of fun! You don’t need to be super fit but can join in at your own pace. There will be a charge of £5 per head to raise funds for the Carers Centre. Details of times and venues will be published on our website. Tell all your friends!

Carers who attend support groups organised by the Carers Centre will be invited to come together for afternoon tea at the Carers Centre, and a chance to compete in our intergroup games and a quiz with prizes for the winners.

Our regular Carers Café on Friday 10th June will be a bit special with cakes and crafts and entertainment from the Council and Carers Choir.

If you would like to offer your services as a busker, join in the ‘Clubersize’ event, or want to know more about any of the events please contact Jan or Emma: Tel: 0114 278 8942 Email: jan@sheffieldcarers.org.uk Email: emma@sheffieldcarers.org.uk http://sheffieldcarers.org.uk/

No. 79

YOUR VOICE Colour Me Calm, Colour Me Happy at the Sheffield Chinese Community Centre

Page 5 Carmel Care Centre Drop-in provides a supportive and comfortable space to all Carmel Care provides a drop-in and lunch for people who are experiencing stress in their lives.

This may be caused by depression, anxiety, problem drinking or similar addictions, isolation, bereavement, or simply the pressures of life. The Centre, which has a Christian ethos, welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs.

Embrace positivity, relaxation and creativity with adult colouring books to combat stress and anxiety. This is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable activities at the Sheffield Chinese Community Centre.

Colouring is fun, and it’s long been recognised as having therapeutic benefits. The aim is to encourage individuals to become colourists, brightening up daily life with a great variety of coloured pencils, to unwind and free the mind to create something magical.

This very popular wellbeing activity offers participants the opportunity to relax naturally while colouring; breathing deepens and the mind clears - it’s an instant stress buster.

Each finished piece of work has the ‘wow factor’ and is always surprisingly stunning. Moreover through participating in this activity, people can make new friends, share their life experiences with others and even arrange further social activities after the session.

The activity is organised by the Sheffield Chinese Health Project every Tuesday after lunch and is free for all our Chinese members.

The drop-in is a supportive space in which people can, individually and together, experience spiritual and emotional growth through sharing their life experiences. Carmel also offers an addiction group as well as activities such as sewing and craft, music and mindfulness.

Coordinator Bridget Warren told Your Voice: “I have worked here for nearly 30 years and it does more for me than I could possibly do for the people who come.” Comments from people who have attended the drop in include: “This is a very special place”; “Carmel gives me a reason to get up in the morning”; and “I feel at home here and want to give something back so I am now a volunteer.”

Carmel is currently looking for volunteers who are aged over 18, have good social skills and enjoy chatting to people to help with running the drop-in and preparing lunch.

The drop-in is held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 am - 2 pm. No referral is needed and there is no charge but donations are welcome.

If you would like more information about attending the drop-in, or you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Bridget Warren: Tel: 0114 233 5727 Carmel Care Centre 172 Dykes Hall Road Hillsborough S6 4GS

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Gardening project offers an Oasis for recovery Continued from the front cover.

One of our volunteers, Valerie has said about the project: “Oasis has created an environment where people feel included, important, and cared for. The stigma around mental health often leaves people feeling the opposite. I feel more confident now after volunteering at Oasis.

Because it was possible for me to feel cared for and part of a group there, I stopped thinking I automatically deserved not to be everywhere else.”

From the Oasis we have developed a gardening service that employs our volunteers and provides a good standard of garden maintenance.

We maintain gardens at one of Sheffield’s mental health units and have also maintained and improved a number of private gardens and allotments. We hope to expand this service over the coming year. The project is all about helping people who may have had mental health problems to be enterprising and gain confidence in their own work.

We’d love more volunteers to join us on Tuesdays from 1.30 pm - 5 pm.

For more information, please contact Tim: Mobile: 07926 097 027 Email: oasis@recoveryenterprises.co.uk No. 79

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Your Profiles Chrissy Bonham, Freelance Mental Health Recovery Worker, on a life-changing mental health diagnosis and educating herself and others about ways to build a better life

What brought you into contact with mental health services?

I first came into contact with mental health services at the age of 19. I’d been very mentally ill and had made a suicide attempt. I came out of hospital and was referred to the community mental health team. I wasn’t happy with what they had to say and I didn’t believe them. I’d been struggling with my mental health for a long time from the age of about 14; I used to have very irregular moods and I used to selfharm. At the time I was on antidepressants and depression for me didn’t carry any stigma but when they started suggesting there might be something else going on I wasn’t ready to hear it. I didn’t go back and things just carried on.

Up until the age of 27 I had to go back to the community mental health team a further 3 times after suicide attempts and each time I stopped going because I wasn’t ready to accept anything about me possibly having a long-term mental health condition.

When I was 27 I hit ‘rock bottom’. I used to suffer terribly with Spring 2016

depersonalisation and dissociation.

I had a car accident, whilst in a dissociative state, where I drove into a big oak tree at about 50 miles an hour and it was very nearly fatal.

I had to spend a long time in hospital. When it came time to leave I didn’t want to face what had happened so I locked myself in the toilet and really tried to harm myself. I was sectioned and a consultant psychiatrist there starting talking to me.

By that time I’d had quite a few diagnoses thrown at me – they’d talked about autism and bipolar – but they’d never mentioned borderline personality disorder (BPD) before. I was given some literature and read up on the condition whilst I was in hospital. I just cried and cried because it was, “oh my goodness, this is me!”

They’d got it right down to a ‘T’, I couldn’t believe it. I‘d thought I was the only person and yet this psychiatrist had got it nailed. So whilst I was in hospital I committed myself to recovery. I’d basically trashed my life, I’d lost everything really, and I’d nothing to lose by trying.

That’s when I really started using mental health services. First I used the home care team and eventually I started seeing a care coordinator.

What services did for me was help me to educate myself. They signposted me in all the right directions which I then followed. I like educating myself, so I’d go away and research for hours and that helped me so much.

My care coordinator was always trying to get me to go to SPACES. I wouldn’t go because I was still at that point where I didn’t like other people; I had really bad social anxiety. But I did want to learn mindfulness and also Sue Sibbald was trialling the first BPD group so I was interested in going to that. So I finally said, “okay then, we’re going to have to go”. So that’s when I came into contact with SPACES. What was your experience of mental health services?

You hear about bad experiences all the time but I think I’ve been really lucky with the people that I’ve worked with. Everyone’s helped me and been supportive. It’s the professionals I’ve met having faith and believing in me that’s brought me here today. They’re the ones who pushed me in the direction of wanting to work in the mental health arena. They said, “you are really talented, you’ve got empathy with others, you should do it”. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to ever think I could do the work I do now.

What aspects of your life were affected by contact with mental health services?

Initially it helped to rebuild my life. I suffered a breakdown after the car accident. I used to have my own business; I was very successful and I earned a lot of money. I liquidated my company, I spent all my savings, I’d written off my car.

Basically I threw everything I had away. I stopped being able to go No. 79

YOUR VOICE outside. I’d walk my dog or go to the supermarket at 3 o’clock in the morning to avoid people.

Services taught me to rebuild my life and entrance back into the world by using small steps. If you can take a walk to the top of your road, that’s an achievement because it’s something you thought you couldn’t do. If you see someone on your walk, you’ve got choices; you can look over there, you can smile at them or you can look at your dog. I didn’t think I’d ever go outside and function and be part of society again. Realising that I could and would was important.

They helped me rediscover my identity. I’d become lost. This is something I now see a lot, people who’ve lost their voice and identity to a mental illness. It takes over. I’m ill, I can’t go out, I’m ill; that was the narrative I constantly told myself and they helped to change that. I also remember once when I was beating myself up about something I’d done, my care coordinator saying to me, “look, nobody would choose to be in this position”, and I think that was the first time I ever was able to think, “well no, I didn’t choose to have this illness”. That taught me to be kinder to myself. I’d never been able to be kind to myself before. I’d always be beating myself up, being horrible to myself.

What work or projects are you involved in today?

I do freelance work at Community Recovery Services (CRS) which was formerly SPACES. There are 2 services at CRS; a short-term service which is a free 6-month service, and a long-term service which is paid for by people with SDS money. On the short-term service I run workshops and help to develop the Recovery Education Programme. I start off the programme with a 3-hour session called Believing in Recovery. I then move on in following weeks to sessions on Wellness Recovery Action Plans; Anxiety Management and Distress Tolerance Skills; and the Storying workshop.

Spring 2016

Page 7 I always share my mental health story in the first session. I’ve sat in groups before and thought, “yeah, what do you know?” I like to make sure that they know I’ve been there, done that, and these things still affect me sometimes.

For the long-term service, we’ve got an exciting new initiative coming in called Reach for Recovery. The programme will include lots of groups and I’ll be leading a 4-week Storying course. There’s been this trend where people who may have been using services for say 20 years haven’t been offered anything focused on recovery. Recovery can be a scary word for some people because they think it means we want you to go back to work, that you’ll be ‘cured’, and that we’re kicking you out. This programme will help people see that recovery isn’t about that. It’s about building a better life, a life that you can manage better. It’s also about acceptance; accepting that things happen and that we may relapse.

We’ve also been running wellbeing workshops for long-term service users at CRS. We’re teaching the Five Ways to Wellbeing at the moment and trying to get people to really build them into their lives. I think it’s a really good starting point to introduce people to recovery.

I’m involved with the Storying Sheffield project. I usually work with Kay Aitch; she’s very artistic and I’m very wordy so she does crafty stuff and I do all the talking. The next project we’re running is called, ‘In my own words: narrative history in psychiatry’. It’s a masterclass at the medical school which involves students with an interest in psychiatry and people living with mental health difficulties working together equally. We look at the concept of recovery; how you can’t just look at someone and see a diagnosis; the need to understand how the person perceives the world; and the importance of stories in connecting with other human beings, with places, with the city around us.

What is your main achievement?

I think my main achievement is the first time I ever stood up in front of a group of people and ran a workshop. I was in no way prepared for it. Brendan Stone came to the Limbrick Centre and did a talk about Storying Sheffield.

I‘d already started thinking about the same sort of stuff he was talking about so I rang him and he said, “I’m doing a workshop tomorrow, do you want to run it with me?” I said okay. I’d never ever stood up in front of a room full of people. I was only half way into my recovery and I was still a bit nervy so successfully running that Storying Sheffield workshop is one of my proudest achievements. It also led me to so much more.

Is there anyone in mental health you particularly admire?

I worked with Will Mayor for 2 years developing the Recovery Education Programme. He was a fantastic mentor and helped build my confidence and self-belief. He’s been very important in getting me to where I am today. His approach to recovery and the recovery model is bang on right. Will’s helped hundreds and hundreds of people and is someone I really admire although sadly he is no longer working at CRS. I admire Brendan Stone, not just for the Storying Sheffield work but for all his work standing up for the rights of service users. I also admire Sue Sibbald for raising awareness of personality disorders and fighting for the fact that we need services. When I heard Sue’s story I was inspired to go away and teach myself everything.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

There are a lot of changes happening at the moment in mental health services and I’m really pleased to see that recovery is part of these changes. We’re moving towards a much more recovery focused service. It’s going to take time and there are a lot of things to change but I think we’re on the right path.

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On being a Samaritan What it’s like to train as a ‘listening volunteer’ in order to provide emotional support to people in distress It’s the voices that keep you doing it. People in pain, people abandoned. People in debt and terrified. Teenagers being bullied.

People on the sharp end of the cuts in mental and physical health services or social care. And then there are those intakes of breath and quiet sobs that don’t make it into speech – voices that aren’t yet ready to talk. But at least they have called and found out that Samaritans are there, and will listen when they are ready to try again.

When you apply to be a Samaritan it doesn’t really feel like you’re going through a selection process.

It’s gentle, interesting and chatty.

There isn’t a template for a perfect Samaritan but a lot of different approaches – though selection does discourage applicants who say things like “what I can’t stand about these people is …” or “they should just pull themselves together” or “what you ought to do is …”

Samaritans training is mainly about listening. It’s not easy because ‘listening’ means applying a set of skills rather than just passively hearing. Slowly, over several months of training, the skills start to come: how to help someone with problems buzzing in their head like a swarm of angry bees to focus and

decide where they want to begin; how to recognise a word or a phrase that seems to sum up where the real worry lies; how to create an atmosphere of trust; how to help the caller shape the conversation so that you don’t go round in despairing circles. Not to mention defusing anger; it’s not unknown for people to ring Samaritans to let off steam.

Over the years Samaritans have built up a lot of different practices so you don’t feel overwhelmed, even if a caller is in great distress.

They teach you how to probe gently to help people say the unsayable, to talk about feelings or situations that would shock the people around them; even to say maybe for the first time - that they want to take their own lives.

Every week there is a chance to practice some new skills through dealing with a simulated phone call from a trained Samaritan (some of them get rather good at acting), or with a simulated text or email.

Would you like to volunteer with Samaritans?

We hold regular information events open to anyone interested in volunteering with us. Here you can chat to experienced Samaritan volunteers and find out more about what we do. Dates for the next information events are:

Sometimes this can feel unreal as you do it, especially as you know a genuine call can go on for an hour or more, while you’re sitting there alongside another trainee anxiously awaiting their turn.

Even so, skills practice constantly surprises you. There is always the challenge to find the right words to offer, sometimes to people who have a very different set of assumptions from you; sometimes even from people whose perspective shocks or troubles you. We all want to do our best for victims of abuse or domestic violence but perpetrators call too, and if they are in distress they need the same care.

One of the best things about the training is also the best thing about working as a trained volunteer – you are never on your own. There are always people around with a wealth of experience to offer, and volunteers have a mentor who guides them through their first month. Better still, there is always a fellow Samaritan on shift with you. It’s not just that it’s reassuring to have someone else in the building on a dark winter night. A call can leave you tired, or worried, or, in the case of callers who abuse the service, fed up. To have someone there who gets that, who can put the kettle on and help you come back to yourself, makes all the difference.

It’s not surprising that a lot of Samaritans are hooked for life. It’s the voices that catch you.

Problems come up again and again, but the people are always different. Everyone has their own story.

 Saturday 21st May at 10 am  Wednesday 13th July at 7 pm These events are held at 272 Queens Road, Sheffield, S2 4DL. For further information about volunteering, please contact us at: Tel: 0114 276 7277 Email: queensroad@sheffieldsamaritans.org.uk

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My experience in mental health services Keith Landsman on changing attitudes to sexuality in mental health services and wider society I first engaged with mental health services in 1965 at the age of eight due to family circumstances. I wasn’t able to understand and cope with the splitting up and divorce of my parents. Also, my father was physically abusive. I remember seeing a psychiatrist, which was organised through school. I was fortunate that I had a very good teacher who picked up that I wasn’t coping. She supported me all through school and we are still in touch today.

Growing up, I was isolated and rebelled against authority. I was happy with my own company and didn’t want to be involved socially with other people. At the age of about fifteen, through frustration and anger, I smashed some windows on a building site which led to me being put in a secure unit for children up to the age of 16. At 17, as social care services stopped, I became a voluntary patient in a mental hospital and had limited contact with my parents.

I’d had some idea that I was gay from about the age of eight. When I came out to my family, my sister reported it to my psychiatrist. I didn’t know at the time that being gay was still a criminal offence and also a mental health ‘offence’! They started me on a course of treatment called aversion therapy. This consisted of being presented with images of naked men and being wired up to a machine that gave me a shock. It was horrific. They also gave me ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) to clear my mind of thoughts about men.

Once my sexuality became common knowledge amongst staff and patients there was innuendo and some serious abuse. I used to abscond a lot and the police would bring me back for the nurses to pick me up in the early hours of the morning.

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My next experience of mental health services was when I was about twenty years old and I ended up in a mental hospital in Brighton.

Here staff encouraged me to be myself and there was no pressure to hide my sexuality. It felt amazing.

For the first time in years I felt able to be myself. It was also the first time in years that I wasn’t anticipating abuse from men.

Young people today don’t realise how hard it was to be gay in those days. It wasn’t until 1967 that the law was changed and homosexuality was decriminalised.

Up until 1973 being gay was classed as a mental illness and it wasn’t until 1987 that it was completely removed from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder). Today people are much more accepting and tolerant.

I’ve had more stigma about my mental health than my sexuality. I think that’s why people who’ve had mental health problems, in my experience, are a bit more accepting of people.

Today I’d describe my mental health as fifty-fifty. I have good days and bad days but I’m probably in a better place than I’ve been for a long time. I live with bipolar and personality disorder. I also have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as a result of an extremely traumatic and devastating episode in my life.

I want to make people aware that in my experience being gay within mental health services does not carry the same stigma as before so do not be afraid to approach services if you feel you need to use them. Also, if you are being abused in any way - verbally, physically, emotionally, sexually - do not keep it to yourself. You are not alone and there is help out there.

Welcome changes on restraint

By Terry Simpson The most damaging thing to happen to me in the mental health system was being physically restrained and forcibly drugged several times during my first admission. It only stopped when I had complete amnesia, and had forgotten that I really wanted to escape. I don’t think nurses, doctors or managers have a clue how devastating it is to be on the receiving end of such treatment.

I felt humiliated, and that I must be a really bad person to invite such behaviour. I had a huge sense of rage and needed to talk about my experiences, but no-one - family, friends, certainly not medical staff, wanted to hear about it.

That was a long time ago but restraint is still used on a large scale. According to Mind, in one single month, August 2015, there were 9600 uses of restraint in England. It’s an issue that tends to be swept under the carpet, so I was pleased that Mind’s 2013 campaign led to national guidance to reduce the use of restrictive interventions and bring an end to face down restraint, especially as local group Maat Probe had so much to do with that campaign.

Now Mind, working with NSUN, have published ‘Restraint in mental health services: What the guidance says’ and ‘Influencing Change In Your Area’. It’s hard reading, but tempered by a large section on good practice initiatives, with Maat Probe’s work having a high profile.

They campaigned for Sheffield to adopt the RESPECT approach, based on ‘supportive de-escalation, empowerment, and physical interventions that do not cause pain or panic’. Since this was adopted in 2013 the evaluation found that 75% of people interviewed thought things have changed for the better. It’s a start. www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/ campaigns/crisis-care/restraint-inmental-health-services/

No. 79

Page 10

YOUR VOICE

Your Reviews Service user Steve on ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, an autobiographical account of depression by Matt Haig (Canongate ISBN 978 1 78211 682 0)

‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ is an autobiographical account of the experience of depression and ultimately of transcending it. In the introduction Matt outlines how, when consumed by depression 13 years previously, the idea of narrating these events at some future date would have seemed nigh on impossible. His experience of depression in those distant days was so emotionally corrosive as to make him believe any kind of longterm future was not a credible prospect. Speaking in the present tense, Matt states his intention in writing the book is to help reduce stigma concerning depression, and to show that the future for those in the throes of depression can be far brighter than perceived at the time.

The first chapter takes us back to a time when the author was 24, and depression first raised itself in his life. Matt was living in Ibiza when the first signs of profound disconnection from the wider world crept up on him, bringing a sense of dread and emptiness that anyone who has suffered from depression knows only too well. The reader is

Spring 2016

also informed there was a history of depression in the immediate family, and that Matt was at a juncture where embracing the assumed adult life of career and responsibility could no longer be postponed.

After being bedridden for 3 days Matt describes how he walked to nearby cliffs, and contemplated throwing himself over. Ultimately he did not follow this nihilistic path, and instead returned to the villa and vomited due to the emotional intensity of it all. Rather than just writing about the subsequent events and his perceptions of them, Matt breaks usual narrative structure by using short chapters between events to mull over the invisible nature of depression, internal conversations and other philosophical musings before returning to a more conventional structure. One page is poignantly devoted to highlighting the way that unintentionally cruel and dismissive statements can be said to a person in the depths of depression that wouldn’t be said to a person suffering from a debilitating physical complaint; an example being, “Ah,

meningitis. Come on, mind over matter.” This really struck a chord with me, showing how unwittingly people can trivialise a condition that at times can be unbearable for the sufferer.

Matt returns to the UK. Rather than describe the ensuing events it seems best not to become a plot spoiler but instead relate the style and structure of the book, which is highly effective. The work is just over 250 pages in length, but the small pages, list-based content on many pages, and short philosophical musings on the meaning of life and such like make it a relatively easy read. For those who might want to read this work when in a low place, this makes it far more accessible than might otherwise be the case. Similarly, pages about coming through to a better emotional place, or the section where people with depression give one tip on what kept them going in their darkest hour, can be read as standalone pieces to help inspire hope for the future. As Matt states early on, no two people’s experience of depression will be the same, but there was much that connected with my own experience. Overall I would recommend this book, both to those who have suffered from depression or their carers - a life affirming read!

No. 79

YOUR VOICE

Your Artwork

Page 11

Your Verse moon (at may eve) shallow me, the end incredible. in, in light the million years made out of sight. reputation – the big sky beyond clouds put to sleep. scriviera, the vicinity; I look up at her a great night white round moon in a blue dale, but I can’t find a pebble on the beach.

Joanna Wilkinson

Your Letters Sad days

‘The Hermit’ by It Snipped My Heart - a Tarot design for Girl Gang Sheffield (www.facebook.com/girlgangsheffield)

I was very sad to hear that the former day centre on Moncrieffe Road would soon be closing its doors after over 30 years of service. A Victorian family house set in the tree lined roads of Nether Edge; it was an ideal place for it to be located. I have very fond memories of the staff and people who used to go there. Staff were very supportive, kind and helpful. There was a feeling of being part of a large family, a feeling of camaraderie between all who went there.

Sitting in the lovely garden by the fish pond on warm afternoons, the sun warming one’s skin, the smell of flowers in the air, the sound of water cascading from the fountain; it was a haven of tranquillity. And on cold winter days you could feel the warmth welcoming you in as you walked through the door; a steaming cup of tea always available. There are so many memories, stories untold. It would take a book to tell the full story of Moncrieffe.

J. Gill

Win a £10 book gift card Write us a letter or send us your artwork or poetry and you could receive a £10 book gift card. The Your Voice editorial group will send the prize to the person who contributes our favourite poem, artwork or letter in each issue - not including items from current members of the Your Voice management committee and editorial group. (Margaret Angier, Forest Close Relatives Group, receives a gift card for her letter in issue 78).

By Joanna Shevlin

Spring 2016

No. 79

YOUR NOTICEBOARD SYEDA group for people above a healthy weight SYEDA has recently started a monthly group for people suffering from disordered eating who are above a healthy weight. This is not a variation of Weight Watchers or Slimming World, and won’t involve weighing scales, diet plans or calorie counting, but will focus on your feelings around food and the journey back to a healthier way of relating to it.

The group meets on the second Tuesday of the month. Dates for forthcoming meetings are:

For carers of people with mental health problems. The group meets on the third Thursday of each month, 10.30 am till 12 noon. Dates for forthcoming groups are:  Thursday 19th May  Thursday 16th June  Thursday 21st July Venue: Sheffield Carers Centre, Concept House, 5 Young Street, Sheffield, S1 4UP Booking is not necessary, but if you want to talk to someone in advance, please ring Jan or James:

 Tuesday 10th May  Tuesday 14th June  Tuesday 12th July

Tel: 0114 278 8942 New drop-in advice sessions for carers

Time: 6.30 pm - 8 pm Venue: SYEDA, 26-28 Bedford Street, S6 3BT

Short sessions of up to 20 minutes are available for carers to access advice and information related to their caring role from a Carer Information and Support Worker.

You don’t need to book or make a referral - just come along. If you’d like more information, please contact Christina at: Tel: 0114 272 8855 Email: christinam@syeda.org.uk www.syeda.org.uk Heads Up! All day event for mental health awareness A festival of music and fun for all the family on Saturday 14th May at Haggler’s Corner, 586 Queens Road, S2 4DU. A fundraising event for Mind. Tickets £10 on the door (children free). For more information please see: www.facebook.com/ events/314629698707577/

Mental Health Carers Group

Date: Every Wednesday Time: 10 am - 12 noon Venue: Sheffield Carers Centre, Concept House, 5 Young Street, Sheffield, S1 4UP If further support is required beyond the 20 minutes, this will be arranged with you at the time. No booking is necessary – just turn up on the day.

Alternatively, the Carers Centre Information and Support Line is open from Monday to Friday, 9 am 6 pm on: Tel: 0114 272 8362

Free courses from Sheffield Mind and Body Project Table Tennis Enjoy yourself, meet new people and learn new skills in these play and coaching sessions. All welcome, no experience necessary.

Booking essential.

Dates: Monday 16th May Monday 27th June Monday 11th July Time: 10 am - 12 noon Venue: St. Mary’s Community Centre, Bramall Lane, S2 4QZ Raise Your Voice singing group Learn a range of singing styles and improve confidence whilst feeling good. No experience required, all voices welcome! Booking essential.

Dates: Thursdays from 21st April 26th May Time: 1 pm - 3 pm Venue: Old Junior School, Sharrow, S7 1DB Community Health Football skills practice & tournament Open to all staff and service users of Sheffield health and social care organisations. Contact us before or just turn up!

Date: Thursdays (until September) Time: 6 pm - 8 pm Venue: Goodwin Sports Centre, University of Sheffield, S10 2TY (Pitch X) For more information or to book a place, please contact: Tel: 0114 258 4489 ext.108 Email: mindandbody@sheffieldmind.co. uk

To request, amend or cancel a Your Voice subscription, please contact us at: Your Voice, Office 27, Woodbourn Business Centre, Jessell Street, Sheffield, S9 3HY T: 0114 242 3675 ♦ E: info@yourvoicesheffield.org ♦ E: editor@yourvoicesheffield.org Website: www.yourvoicesheffield.org Please send contributions for the Summer issue by 30th June 2016