Mental health awareness

We persevere, manfully, with our campaign to educate the public about mental health – through

Wokingham.Today. In particular, we endeavour to show, how common, mental health problems are.

Due to the stresses imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the statistic has actually increased.

You only have to read the report in last week’s edition to realise how busy the Wokingham Citizen’s Advice has been – dealing with the increased volume of enquiries, and if anyone doubts that a younger person, can take over a service, successfully, as an older person retires, then you need look, no further than the Citizen’s Advice.

It WAS one in four people who would, at some time, suffer from a mental health problem – hence our former campaign - being entitled – One In Four. Now the number is something nearer to One In Three. Psychiatric rehabilitation, is neither speedy, nor magical.

On the contrary, it is slow, laborious, painful, and is achieved, not all at once, but in stages.

The fourth stage is returning to fulltime paid employment, and thus, getting off benefits, and off dependence upon tax-payers.

Not everyone achieves this – though it is always our goal and ambition, particularly for younger people. I tell our members, regularly, ‘If you work – then you are normal, in the eyes of society.’

It is, indeed, the case, that nothing is worse for mental health, than sitting around, isolated, staring at the wall, and thinking about yourself, and nothing is better for mental health, than being fully, and gainfully, occupied.

Recovery from addiction which, probably, has also increased because of the crisis is, if anything, even more arduous to achieve, than is recovery from mental breakdown. I have only undertaken the provision of such a rehabilitation service, once, for two, inveterate, heroin addicts.

Firstly, you have to get them interested, in having a better life, free from drugs. Then, there is all the medical stuff to organise.

Fortunately, a local, Wokingham, doctor, was willing to help with this.

Then, it is a step-by-step, process, gradually getting the people to take on life’s normal activities, and responsibilities, and, finally, getting them back into full-time work.

It took me, nearly two years, to enable them to achieve a complete recovery, but it was worth it, because, otherwise, they would have died.

Indeed, most unfortunately, another local heroin addict, of our acquaintance, has, recently, and prematurely, died.

Requiescat In Pace.

Pam Jenkinson, TheWokingham Crisis House