I am writing this post for my members and admins on my disability, mental health groups, professionals, etc, and others who may face or and involved in mental health and or disability. You do not need to be a professional or an emotional supporter to be there for someone who faces disability and mental health. However, my advice is for the person's safety or and even yours is, it is important that you don't help others with things you don't know if someone asks something about something you don't find the places or and people who do or and empower the person themselves to do so.
Here's a bit of my background on what I have faced in my mental health, you are not alone.
As a child back in the 70s and 80s I faced a lot of bullying and abuse in school. Back then there was no emotional support or counseling in schools then or before that time period.
At the age of 23, I was facing throat cancer and radiotherapy, which it felt like at the time I wasn't going to get through it.
At age of 27, I had an emotional breakdown through a broken relationship. someone suggested counseling to me, I didn't go for it at first but did as time went on. During that time, I got into writing poetry, which was unexcepted but I expressed what I was facing in my life at the time in my poetry, which in time empowered me to write poetry on other subjects too.
At the time I couldn't understand why it was affecting me as badly as it was, it took years of counseling to find one counselor who said to me, going by what I was telling her I had faced Mental abuse from my ex-partner.
From 2007 to 2011, I used to work for a great learning disability charity called Mencap. In 2011, the government cut the funding on the Mencap projects near where I live, it took me a long time to accept that because with Mencap I discovered what strengths I have in my career.
Through this booklet on this link here are ways you could try to help yourself or and others with your mental health that doesn't stop me and my Admin team on my Facebook groups from helping too but like I said before we are also only trained and qualified so much and just like you and everyone we have others lives too. Other than that we will do what we can or we will try to find where or who can put mental service links on the groups, etc. Every_Mind_Matters_ebook.pdf We have two disability and mental health groups one has all issues to every part of life people with disabilities, mental health and those in their lives face positive as well as negative. The other group is giving people with disabilities and mental health to try and make friends, share, chat, post, etc things you may enjoy such as hobbies, interests, careers, and other things you may enjoy. Going by that we hope this group with help you manage and cope with people's mental health, which may not change your life completely but may help you cope in the best ways as possible. I and Admin are here to help the best we can, we can't choose your friends, or hobbies, interests, etc by having set up this group to start with, it gives you chance to try and get to know people who face if not same but similar to yourselves. Although we are here to safety guard, pm you if you need us to, etc, you also need to try to help yourself for us to try and help you. Reading this link to this booklet, it may help you just that. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/
https://www.betterhelp.com/helpme/?utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=Search_PPC_c&utm_term=mental+health_p&utm_content=131449602906&network=g&placement=&target=&matchtype=p&utm_campaign=15797500300&ad_type=text&adposition=&gclid=C
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/cspd/ncps/mental-health/psychosis/coping-skills-workbook/coping-skills-developing-skills-for-managing-distressing-symptoms-module-101.pdf
We cannot and won't tell you what to do and not to do with your life but we can suggest things, which is up to you whether you go along with what we say or not. What we suggest may benefit some people, not others such as writing a diary of your feelings, poetry, writing, art, crafts, reading, watching tv, exercising, focusing on your career, trying to make friends in groups, chatting to someone you do know or and being there for someone, someone you know, friend, family, etc facing mental health.
https://www.maketheconnection.net/resources/what-is-treatment/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwspKUBhCvARIsAB2IYuuAA9unqWneIX0I4pv6dDCvc2Sfb2dH5fHaaGbQcnsksH0pfZL1sVgaArInEALw_wcB
https://www.togethercbt.com/anxiety?gclid=Cj0KCQjwspKUBhCvARIsAB2IYussPpgAsTw772CbrdWcZ0bumZtqnRugwDAqmeBtbgO8iHmlxg5DrisaAjNkEALw_wcB
Tip to try and support mental health.
Just
to say these tips won’t apply to everyone you face, depending on what they say and they talk to you as mental health effect different people in different
ways. Bear in mind that some things are maybe easy to do or and not do, depending on how you and the person are communicating, phone, online, etc.
The
purpose of this stage is to check if this is a crisis situation
(potential suicide) or a cry for help. You also need to check that you
are safe and that the client is not in a dangerous situation if so,
you
need to take immediate action to keep yourself and them safe.
Possible signs of someone feeling suicidal.
Noticing
suicidal behavior, the warning signs.
Threats
and comments of killing themselves.
Increase
in alcohol, drugs, etc.
Aggressive
behavior.
Impulsive
and reckless behavior.
Writing,
talking, and or thinking about death.
Trying
to avoid people.
A lot
of mood swings.
How to help.
o
I need to take action to keep myself and
them safe.
o
It is not easy to know how serious the risk
is.
o
Is the person if they are having suicidal
thoughts/ ideas?
o, Do
they have a plan?
o
Do
they have access to weapons, pills in the house, etc?
o, Do they plan to hurt themselves at any time?
o
Finding brief information from the person on
how they feel may not stop them from feeling as they do but it may help you to help
them.
o
No matter how mild or major they may be
facing this take it seriously. There is no proof, no
suicide “contract” “stop suicide,
o
It is possible it may give counselors untrue
hope of reassurance, and threats
to end their own life.
o
Substance
abuse, too much, increasing.
o
Anxiety state Anxiety and mind.
o
Struggling to sleep, thinking all the time,
Feeling trapped in their feelings and thoughts as if there is no way out.
o
Anger
feeling out of control, easily irritated, recklessness, safety in risk, they
may be in a danger or a crisis.
o
Mood changes, mood swings.
o
The person may need to talk to try and get
things off their mind so give them a chance to do so.
o
If the problem has lasted a long time, they
may not know how long they will be strong enough to cope.
o
If you are concerned the person may be in
danger such as self–harm, overdose, etc options could be to call the police, signpost them to the Samaritans, local mental health crisis lines such as for example Black
country line 0345 – 6460827, or see that they get to A&E. Think of your
personal safety.
o
Avoid
putting yourself at physical risk, mainly if the client is in distress and is
threatening.
If you suspect someone you know is considering
suicide, Mental Health First
Aid teaches
you to follow the AGEE action steps.
Look into the risk of suicide or self–harm.
how do we
know if someone is feeling suicidal and why?
Listen to
the person do not judge them.
Listen to
what they say to you if they are in a crisis, danger, potential suicide, cry
for help, etc situation.
Are they thinking
about suicide are they having suicidal thoughts?
Are they making
plans to kill themselves?
Have they thought about when they are going to do it?
Do they have
everything they need to go by the plan they made?
Some people
think that talking about suicide might cause someone to consider suicide for
the first time.
This is not always
true it can vary from person, so do not be afraid of this outcome. You are most
likely to make people feel less alone than driving to take their own lives.
You may
worry about what to say to people who are facing suicidal situations but learn
If they have
planned and trying to go by that plan call or advise them 911 right away, depending
on if you’re seeing them face to face or not.
If you feel the need then ask if there’s anyone who
they can contact etc who they know face to face, this may depend on the level
of the problem how they seem, etc.
What is suicidal?
It is
not easy to know and understand what drives a person to the feelings and
thoughts of Suicide not even the person themselves in most cases.
Most
cases of Suicidal can be saved if the person talks to someone, which sadly is
not always the case because many can be afraid of what others think and say.
Society meaning us as a whole need to learn to understand why people feel and
think as they do.
Yes, it is right to say that suicidal death have a huge effect on my families, friends, etc but we need to learn to be easy
to talk to before these people can speak to us before it gets to the stage of
feeling that they want to end their lives, they do not, they want to end their
pain, anger, sadness, etc.
It is
not an easy one when someone is feeling as they do without a reason but all the
same, we can try empowering the positives in the person’s life. Very often,
this can be the cause of people feeling as they do whether there is a reason or
not, the main causes can be Mental illnesses such as Anxiety, Depression, and other mental illnesses.
Without meaning it is easy to make the
person wish they had not said anything by making them feel guilty, by saying
they are selfish, and making them feel afraid to say anything to anyone. The
person may be afraid to say in fear of someone’s reaction, let them know it’s
fine for them to say to you what they are thinking and feeling. It is not
shameful and selfish to feel suicidal, they do not need to feel guilty.
However,’ the person has a choice whether they
say anything or not, who they tell, etc but we as a society need to learn how
to react, making someone feel they talk to people without feeling guilty,
ashamed and saying they are selfish is not the answer.
Trying to find out how and why they feel but it is their choice if they answer or not. We cannot force people to talk or
not to, but the concerning thing is the situation on their minds could get worse
if not spoken to someone. Are they telling someone else if not you? Risks
are whatever is bothering could increase
on increase on their mind, but we cannot
force things out of people either.
Be
aware of what can cause suicide such as Anxiety, Depression, and other mental
illnesses.
The problem may drive to feel suicidal or and cry
for help? Crisis situation maybe, Death of people they know, relationship or
marriage break up, Job loss, changes, business loss, changes, housing problems,
money problems, education and learning, stress, struggling with study, exam
nervus, etc, bullying, abuse, etc, loneliness, Depression, Anxiety, and other
Mental illnesses, feeling a burden to others, etc, needing support to cut down smoking,
drugs, drinking, etc. Whatever the situation they don’t need to feel ashamed or guilty.
Never tell someone to stop doing something even if it’s for their own good, try
to empower them to talk about the situation, explore what they say, and make
suggestions on what they could do, the choice is there’s if, when, etc. They may
feel now is not the right time for them, it may be in the future or never. Just
because they may not consider what you suggest when you say doesn’t mean they never
will, it may take the time or never which varies from person to person. Never judge
anyone, we don’t know their lives like they don’t know ours.
If you feel the need then ask if there’s anyone who
they can contact etc who they know face to face, this may depend on what they
are saying the level of the problem, how they seem, etc.
Possible reasons for these thoughts and feelings.
Bullying,
abuse, etc.
Family
break-ups.
Relationship
breakups.
Deaths
Mental
illness
Social
isolated, living alone
Unemployment
Heading
towards a lot of drugs, alcohol, etc driven by whatever is playing on their
minds.
Fearing
to talk to anyone, afraid of people reacting to whatever is bothering them even
though some people be easy for them to talk to than others.
Building Trust
Describe how and why you will build trust with the person.
·
Build Rapport,
introduction, welcome, person offer them a drink if you see them face to face,
go through health and safety, etc.
·
Active and effective listening, pay attention,
give eye contact if you see them face to face, study the problem the person is
telling you they are facing, cause, level of the problem some problems can be worse
than others, try to force on how the
problem is affecting them, stress, cause of the emotion and why; what, how and why
they are thinking as they do?
·
Empower
the client to set goals to move them forward.
·
Build
on goals and skills.
·
Come
to a solution.
Gather Information
Why
do you need to explore why the client has got to this point?
.
·
Gathering
information could be for eg: helping and empowering the person for whatever
reason collect proof of a problem such as say crime for eg, such as letters,
documents, etc.
·
The
situation may have gone they may struggle to deal with. This could be a family problem, friendship breaks up, relationship break–up, death of someone they know, job, business loss, change, etc.
·
Explore
feelings
Why do you need to explore how
the person is feeling at this moment?
·
This
could mean you need to explore the clients’ feelings by trying to reflect and
understand the clients, feelings, emotions, and reactions to what they are
facing.
·
Paraphrasing
by checking with the client what I have picked up is correct.
·
Mirror
back what you heard, let them know you listening, I am here, I can hear you, and ask open and closed questions.
Generate coping strategies and
options Why
do you need to help the client develop coping strategies and explore their
options? I need to explore the client’s feelings on how the problem affects
the client’s everyday life to help them move forward in a positive way.
·
Find
out how they are feeling at the moment, and empower them to focus on what they
enjoy and what makes them happy, such as hobbies, interests, arts, crafts
careers, etc.
·
This
could be by doing a ( CBT) trying to empower them to make their negative
thoughts to positive, exercise, eat healthily, get professional health, think
about things that make them happy, things they enjoy, relaxation, etc
Restore function through an
action plan
Why
do you need to plan the next few steps with the client?
Address the problem, find, and
study the data, clarify, and work the problem out, set a goal
for each solution, monitor the situation and research how things could improve,
help to solve any other problem the client may have and refine the old problem, considering the person’s safety and yours, finding support,
examining the client’s likes and dislikes, thinking about making plans, Making
appointments, Positive empowerment
Follow up, booster sessions, and
additional support
Why would you follow up on what is
happening to your client, what other support might you be able to give, and who
else may you want to refer them to?
I
would follow the person’s situation to see what has changed, what needs to
change, what needs to improve, and what has improved.
May suggest different types of
therapy depending on the problem the client is facing, such as art, brief,
(CAT), ( CBT) Cognitive-behavioral therapy to treat
Anxiety, Coaching, emotionally focused therapy,
Greif therapy, Relationship therapy, etc.
Examples of referrals for grief, cruise
Bereavement care, for rape, Rape Crisis
England and Wales, Samaritans emotional support, Victim support, and crime.
