''As a health professional and human being I have witnessed and suffered from mental distress. I have now been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Despite this and losing my job, I am fighting still and pledge to continue to fight for my personal rights and those of others. I refuse to allow mental health issues to rule my life. I want to be a positive role model for others.''
I made this pledge last year when my life was very different from how it now. I am continually reminded of how my life could have been if was not lucky enough to have the supportive family and friends I have, plus ongoing support from the medical and community nursing services I received. Anyone who has suffered from mental health issues knows the difficulties which can be faced everyday but are improved by this support. The organisation which runs Time for change is doing an amazing job of raising public awareness into mental health problems and how ordinary people can help to improve life for people who are still unwell or recovering and returning to ''normal life''. I was watching this very interesting video which they have developed and thought you might be interested to see it........
Me, well I am as happy as you could possibly be and am proof that you can live a full life inspite of mental health problems.To make your own pledge go to this link
Todays musical interlude comes from the shelves of my old record collection again. I just love this song, it reminds me of fun times I had as a student nurse and the naughty things we got up to in the nursing home!!! Of course we never thought we were being naughty at the time, just young and madcap. Today I present you The Communards..........
I love that song too, it's one that I like to sing along to in the car (although I struggle with the high notes!) I saw the video clip you feature on the tv last night and thought how good it was. People can sometimes be so scared to say the wrong thing, that they say nothing at all and that can be just as bad. You are indeed a positive role model for others!
ReplyDeleteWooohoooo for you Jo - all power to you!
ReplyDeleteLove the song too - and yes, like Deb - no hope of getting those high notes! ;-)
Love that song too, takes me back to nice times x
ReplyDeleteThe video is spot on. As Amy said, all power to you Jo.
Good for you, Jo :-) You're an inspiration, you know that? xx
ReplyDeleteCheering you on here! As someone who works in a similar field, the importance of engaging with our fellow human beings on a warm and interested way, whatever has happened/is happening to them cannot be overestimated. :)
ReplyDeleteA very inspirational post Jo and thanks for the music vid, I was singing my heart out too - much to the strange looks from the small people! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Jo. Often we have no idea who benefits from our honest assessment of our own experiences.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I have seen this post on my blog list for several days... yet never actually read it. Not sure why I kept missing it.. not on purpose!
ReplyDeleteAnyway I'm here now and it's a very good post. I have another friend with Bipolar, who had a terrible time with it, for some years. It has had a bad effect on her whole family - but the good news is that she's back at full-time work and life is getting back to "normal" for the family. It's good to see her success and improved health (mental and physical - they go hand-in-hand really...).
It can be hard to tell people you have a mental health problem/illness. It's almost as if people think it's catching in some way... They don't know what to say or how to cope. That video has captured it well.
Many people have had some mental health problems, at some point in their lives. I had a rough time after the breakdown of a 13-year relationship and was quite ill for a while. The support of friends and colleagues makes so much difference.
Even if you don't know "what to say", it's worth having a go - I appreciated it, even when the questions were asked a bit clumsily.
So glad you're doing well now Jo. It's great that you are enjoying your job and life has improved for you. I'm sure we're all pleased for you!
I saw those ads recently too and thought they were really great, I hope they get a lot of people thinking.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a really brave of you to blog about your mental health issues and its so important for people to understand. I certainly don't have the courage to blog about my experiences with depression yet but hopefully one day!
Thanks for such an inspiring post :)