I created "Mental Health in UK" in July 1998, here in my home in Edinburgh. It started off a very small personal project of mine and expanded to what it is today - an online UK Mental Health Portal. The main focus is to reform people's concepts and ideas about what it means to have a mental health problem of any description by informing and enlightening everyone with our creativity, talent and imagination and to provide support and friendship via the online community setup here. There is also some informative content courtesy of many of the larger organisations who have produced over the years a fair number of leaflets in pdf format.
The site has a message board/forum/chat room which you are more than welcome to use to post your questions, thoughts and problems.
Contributions make up a large part of this site because it shows the true talent that so many people have. If you have poetry, prose, stories, artwork or photos etc. you would like published then please send them in using the "Submit Work" above or email them to me. Thank you very much to everyone so far who has submitted their work and if you have any further ideas for the site, do let me know. Please feel free to contact me about issues concerning mental health and what we can do to raise awareness........and finally.......DON'T lose hope, the medium of online help is growing at a vast rate, and there are plenty of places you can go to for help and support.
Mental Health Commission of New Zealand - Definition of recovery which is:
Recovery is happening when people can live well in the presence or absence of mental health problems and the many losses that come in their wake, such as isolation, poverty, unemployment and discrimination. Recovery does not always mean that people will return to full health or retrieve all their losses, but it does mean that people can live well in spite of them.
Living Life to the Full Interactive
Depression Alliance Scotland is offering free Living Life to the Full support online for people with mild to moderate depression living in Scotland. You will work through a six session course and your DAS support worker will be there to offer 4 - 6 short telephone or email contacts over 6 weeks to help you get the most out of it.
For more information, watch the demonstration video below. Please note that although this video says your doctor or therapist has recommended you use this programme, you can refer yourself to the DAS service and your DAS support worker will provide support - you don't have to have a therapist or doctor. Visit the Living Life to the Full Interactive site to find out more about it and do a demonstration session.
If you're interested and want to know if you're eligible for this support, email DAS or telephone 0845 123 23 20 (11am - 1pm and 2 - 4pm Mon - Fri).
Kayla Kavanagh is a solo artist with a twist. The Irish multi-instrumentalist works across a variety of genres, as an electronica performer, guitar-based Singer/Songwriter, pianist, Pop/Rock artist and classical/contemporary composer. On 19th November, she launched her special release single "On the Borderline" at the inaugural PD Congress in Birmingham. The 1st National Personality Disorder Congress was a two day event celebrating success - innovation, knowledge & understanding. Her experience of Borderline Personality Disorder highlights the importance of understanding, respecting and appreciating that BPD is in no way limiting and should not be viewed in such a negative light.
Diagnosed with severe ADHD and bipolar disorder, Billy Hawthorne faced a steep uphill battle to control his mental illness and beat his debilitating addictions to alcohol and DXM products, the active ingredient in cough syrups such as Robotussin and Corocidin. Today Billy is managing his mental illness and his addictions and is ready to move on with his life, but not before relentlessly battling a crazy mental health and criminal justice system in Virginia whose plethora of contradicting rules and criteria many times came close to leaving him for dead.
Relive Billy´s 5 year battle through repeated struggles and his ultimate triumph firsthand through the eyes of his father, Woody. It is both Woody and Billy s hope that, through reading this book, other families may be able to avoid much of the pain and craziness that kept Billy from getting better sooner. Can be purchase from Chipmunka Publishing in Paperback for £12 and as a PDF e-book for £5 and also on Amazon.
Suzy Johnston broke new ground in personal account of recovery from mental illness in her outstanding autobiography The Naked Bird Watcher. Building on issues raised in that first book, The Snow Globe Journals charts first-hand the daily experience and challenges facing anyone with a long-term mental conditon - from psychosis, feelings of suicide,paranoia and the compulsion to self-harm through to being admitted to and living in a psychiatric ward and the staging posts in the long road to recovery. Can be purchased from The Cairn or Amazon.
"Goodbye Ana" is Kate Le Page?s first publication of poetry. This collection of poems shares the author?s battle to achieve and maintain recovery from anorexia nervosa. The work offers the reader a powerful, emotive insight into what life is really like when viewed through the eyes of an anorexic. This book aims to explain the cognitive distortions that accompany starvation and seeks to hold the sufferer captive as well as to challenge the many misconceptions about the illness. A brief story is here on this website and some of her poetry is here. Her website can be seen Here and Book at Chipmunka Publishing as a PDF e-book for £5.
These songs & poems have been written over the past 20 years, usually when I have been in a "high" phase of bipolar disorder. I am always very creative during these times, and tend to stay up late scribbling away. I have been a writer of sorts for the whole of my life. I have written a novel which was rubbish and ended up in the bin. For 25 years I have written letters to a penpal which, incredibly, she has kept, so maybe one day they will be discovered and published posthumously! I play guitar and some of the songs in this book have tunes and chords and everything, but to date I have only recorded four of them. I hope you will enjoy reading my work. It is not my intention to offend anyone, but I want to stick up for people who find themselves on a psychiatric ward, because it can be a terrifying experience. Can be purchased from Chipmunka Publishing as a PDF e-book for £5. Out in paperback in March 2010! One of her poem's can be read on the Poetry Page - "Illness" or "Ability?"
"Don't Mind Me" is Judith Haire's vivid account of the terrors she experienced while in the throes of psychosis. She describes how her dysfunctional family background and her abusive first marriage combined to bring her to the brink of insanity. Her remarkable and sustained recovery is told in great detail. "Don't Mind Me" is an extraordinary story and shows how Judith battled through her devastating illness and emerged a stronger and more resilient woman. Her new and developing website can be found here And her book an be purchased from Chipmunka Publishing in Paperback for £12 and as a PDF e-book for £5 and also on Amazon.
Feature Links
Mental-Health.me.uk - Mental-Health.me.uk website is a link database where you can find mental health related booklets and factsheets gathered in one place under one www address.
edspace - A web based information service, providing specialist mental health information and resources (Based In Edinburgh).
Edinburgh Crisis Centre 24/7 - Now up and running for crisis support via a telephone helpline. Aims to provide stays for up to 5 days during a crisis.
Advocard - As an independent mental health advocacy service, AdvoCard is part of a network of mental health advocacy services covering Edinburgh.
HUG - Highland User Group is a network of users of mental health services who live in the Highlands main aim is to improve the way users of mental health services, are treated by campaigning to improve the rights, services and treatments of people with mental health problems.
CAPS - The Consultation and Advocacy Promotion Service - is an independent advocacy organisation for people who use, or have used mental health services. CAPS supports mental health service users as individuals or as members of a group to set their own agenda, to find a stronger voice, to get their point across, and influence decisions which affect their lives.
The Black Dog - Supportive site for men who suffer from depression and/or suicidal thoughts.
Depression Alliance Scotland - Depression Alliance Scotland is working towards a future where depression is recognised, understood and acknowledged to be a common and treatable medical condition, just like any other. We are striving to ensure that those affected by depression and their carers are provided with the information, support, understanding and care needed for the best quality of life.
HandsOnScotland Toolkit - The HandsOnScotland Toolkit is an online resource for anybody working with children and young people. This website is designed to help you make a difference to children and young people's lives, by giving you tools to respond helpfully when they are troubled. It was commissioned by HeadsUpScotland, the national project for children and young people?s mental health.
Scottish Recovery Network - The Scottish Recovery Network aims to engage communities across Scotland in debate on how best to promote and support recovery from long-term mental health problems.
Scottish Development Centre - The Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health aims to improve mental health and well being for individuals and communities in Scotland and enhance services and supports for people with mental health problems.
Disclaimer - Mental Health In The UK is not a commercial website and is intended solely for informational purposes and not a substitute for medical evaluation, treatment or consultation. Individuals with medical or personal problems are strongly urged to seek advice from physicians or mental health professionals.
