Health
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| Written by Lynn Eaton, 2009 | |
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As a new campaign is launched to take away the stigma of mental illness, Lynn Eaton says must make it easier for people to talk about it and get help. Most women will agree that it's good to talk. There's nothing better than to have a coffee and a chat with a good friend. And almost anything is up for discussion these days, from our children's schooling to our latest spend-up on a new outfit, from menopausal symptoms down to intimate details of our sex lives. But one thing remains a taboo subject: the state of our mental health. While we might admit to a friend that we are a bit down, the stigma that still surrounds mental illness often holds many people back from speaking out when things get really bad, and they are depressed or feeling suicidal. Instead, they just go into their own little world and keep their mouths tightly shut... while their heads are spinning. That's just what happened to Nicola Thomas, who couldn't understand what was going on when she felt so low after her first child's birth, back in 2000. Nicola, who lives in Liverpool, was in her late 30s when she had Milla, who is now eight. She and her husband, Mark, had had a whirlwind romance and Nicola became pregnant within 12 weeks of meeting him. She dearly wanted to have a child but the experience was a far cry from all she'd been led to expect. "For 38 years I had had no commitments - it was a dramatic change in the way things were for me. I had a very traumatic birth. We live away from family and friends, who are in south Wales, and I was isolated. "I was at home on my own with this baby and it was not what the books said it would be like. I didn't know I had postnatal depression, I just thought I was a hopeless mother. Within four days of the birth, I knew something was wrong. But for months I covered it up, because it is the one time in your life you are not meant to be depressed. But I just wanted to crawl into a corner and die." Nicola's experience of feeling unable to confide in someone is not uncommon, according to psychiatrist Dr Peter Byrne. Women who have postnatal depression may cover their feelings because they fear social workers might become involved and that, possibly, their child might need to go into care for a short while. Unfortunately the stigma of talking about any kind of mental illness makes it difficult for a person to talk about how they feel or, crucially, to seek help early on, he says. "Stigma affects every single stage in the presentation of a mental illness," says Dr Byrne, who works for Newham University Hospital in East London. "When people are distressed, they deny it to themselves. They won't tell anyone. It means they usually go to the doctor much later than they should have. "People say cancer has a stigma attached to it, that in the older generation people would be frightened to check out any lumps or worrying symptoms, but I don't think that's the case now. It's mental health that's still got that stigma." Negative responseEven when someone does seek treatment for a mental health problem, which might include taking antidepressants or talking to a counsellor, the negative response of friends and family can lead them to withdraw from the treatments, Dr Bryne says.To add to the cycle of fear and ignorance, even people who have been successfully treated for a mental illness are reluctant to speak openly about their experiences, although doing so would help raise levels of understanding. Instead, they are silenced by the fear of the impact it might have on their employment prospects, on their friends' attitudes towards them or even on their chances of forming a successful long-term relationship. The term 'mental illness' covers a wide range of conditions, from postnatal depression through to dementia, Alzheimer's disease, bipolar disorder (manic depression) and schizophrenia. Lack of understanding, in particular of conditions like schizophrenia, adds to the fear people feel. It is a fear that is played on by the media, which often links mental illness to violence, although in fact many seriously ill people are far more likely to harm themselves than to harm other people. And the stigma felt by people with such a condition merely adds to their poor mental health. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is among those who have campaigned for more accurate media reporting in an attempt to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. "I think things are starting to change," says Dr Trevor Turner, a member of the College's public education committee and psychiatrist in the East London Foundation Trust. He cites the Sun, which had a headline in 2003 about Frank Bruno being admitted to a psychiatric hospital. After protests, the editor changed the later editions from "Loono Bruno" to "Sad Bruno in mental home". Time to ChangeThe move against stigma is hotting up. A new campaign funded by £16m lottery funds and £2m from Comic Relief was launched in January. Called Time to Change, it aims to run a series of high-profile events and marketing campaigns that will tackle the stigma associated with mental illness."There is no reason why mental health problems should be a taboo subject," says its Director Sue Baker. "By surrounding these problems with secrecy, we are all contributing to the stigma associated with mental health problems. Other peoples' behaviour and attitudes remain the biggest barrier to everyday life and activities for people with mental health problems." "It is vital you talk about things," Dr Turner agrees. "You can get some help for it and then you can move towards recovery." But it's not always easy to know who to talk to, as Lynne Walder, who lives in Nottingham, found out. She became depressed after the birth of her second child and tried to tell her GP and health visitor - but neither did anything to help. It was only when she went back to the GP four months later with a journal of her emotions that he finally took notice. "I was on another planet," Lynne says. "I felt that I was slipping into darkness. My husband didn't want to listen because he found it too difficult. I tried talking to lots of people, but they didn't want to know. I would have had more sympathy if I'd broken my leg." She was given antidepressants and eventually, more than two years after her son Ellis was born in 2004, was able to come off them successfully. Be a friendWhen someone you know is ill, it is important to know how to deal with their distressing and negative thoughts, which can be very upsetting. Although it's important to listen, it's also important to know where to go to for professional help."The best thing you can do as a friend is make sure they contact their doctor," says Dr Turner. "I think even though the person who is ill may be reluctant to seek help, you should do something. After all you wouldn't just let someone who'd been injured in a road accident lie by the side of the road, would you?" If they won't go to the GP, you can ask the GP to do a home visit, he suggests. And there are crisis intervention teams who can help where a person is very distressed or suicidal. "Anyone can call them," he says. The police can also help in an emergency. And there are also a number of helplines that can offer specialist advice (see below). As far as postnatal depression is concerned, Lynne feels that advice should be available from the outset. "When you go to an antenatal class, they don't talk about it, and I didn't see any information leaflets on it in the maternity unit," she says. But whether it's postnatal depression or a more complex condition like schizophrenia, the more that it's spoken about and discussed, the more educated people become. And, in turn, the easier it becomes for people who need help to seek it out, without living in fear that their neighbours might find out. Lynn Eaton is editor of Mental Health Today magazine. Further information
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