Being Well/ Well Being
There is a lot in the media lately about mental health. Last week was World Mental Health Day. It is timely then, that this weekend, as part of the Kildare Readers Festival, there will be a panel discussion about representations of mental health in film and literature. The panel consists of Prof Jim Lucey, medical director of St Patrick's Mental Health Services, author Carol Colley, actor Mary Mc Evoy and film maker Cathal Black.
http://kildare.ie/Library/ReadersFestival/Schedule/Schedule-SaturdayOctober18th/
At the same time, a cracking Irish feature film 'Patrick's Day' is doing the rounds of the American film festivals, having won Best Feature during the Galway Film Fleadh this summer. According to IMDB, Patrick's Day looks at 'When a young man with mental health issues becomes intimate with a suicidal flight attendant, his obsessive mother enlists a dysfunctional cop to separate them'.
I seen the film recently, at an IFTA screening in Dublin. I thought of my own two seven year old children. I wondered how and when I will let them go as adults ? I guess that they will decide this for themselves. It's the natural order of things. But a child with mental health issues may not have this choice of when to move on and spread their wings.
At a Q & A session after the screening of Patrick's Day, the Writer/Director Terry Mc Mahon and Producer Tim Palmer spoke about the dilemma of getting distribution for the film, because of its 'difficult' content. Yet Dr. Ivor Browne, Prof Emeritus of psychiatry at UCD and former Chief Psychiatrist of the Eastern Healthboard spoke passionately about the importance of this film. He said that people needed to see it. I agree.
The film shows treatments including electric shock treatment being administered. Think One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Except it isn't a 1975 film. It's modern day Ireland. It's Dublin and Kildare and probably other places too.
It explored (a lack of) intimacy, sexuality, choice and how that could impact on the wellbeing of a person, who is already considered 'unwell'. It made you rethink your own thoughts about mental health stuff. You judged the over protective mother, but you wondered what you would do in her shoes. Hopefully the film will be on general release in Ireland very soon. Moe Dunford's acting is superb. You need to go and see it.
I met some 'new' people with MS recently. When us MSers get together, we often compare symptoms, medication, therapies and tips (before launching into gossip/craic/nonMS stuff, incase you think we are all boring gits). I was quite surprised with what I had heard from two women, around my age, who were recently diagnosed. They were both taking the same inter muscular drug as I take. They were also both taking anti-depressants, that seemed to be prescribed at the same time as the other drug, to counteract possible side effects like depression. I was surprised that 1. Medical Professionals had prescribed the anti-depressants so readily and 2. That the women hadn't tried other methods to protect their mental health before opting for anti depressants, which could become a life long habit, alongside the other meds.
It would be remiss of medical professionals to not talk about depression when someone is diagnosed with MS, as many people with MS have depression. Some treatments can also cause, or exacerbate feelings of depression (a double whammy, huh ?). In my own case, I don't think I have depression proper. If I did, would I be brave enough to name it here ? If I did, would you look at me differently ? What I do get though, is what I can best describe as feelings of 'being overwhelmed'. It can come across me anytime, but usually if I have fatigue. If I look back, I've probably had such feelings for most of adult life. It was a relief when, after my diagnosis, that I could align these feelings to MS. With this new found self awareness, I could really tune in to how I was feeling. These feelings have also become more frequent since I started taking the big-boy-drugs. I can almost visualise these feelings coming over me like a dark cloud. By tuning into it though, I can also acknowledge that the dark cloud will pass. This may sound like a simple thing, but it really has helped me. It seems to me that taking anti-depressants to counteract these feelings, could lead me on a 'there was an old lady who swallowed a fly' spiral, where I just keep taking drugs to counteract the other drugs and it could go on and on. I don't think that my liver would thank me for it either.
Getting back to the medical professionals - I wonder how many of them prescribe exercise, or taking up a hobby to combat depression ? My own experience has been one where exercise in particular, was encouraged by my neurologist, GP and MS support team, key to living with MS. I cannot emphasis the importance of my daily trot with my doggy (even if I banjaxed my knee running during the summer). I find gardening and writing (this blog) very beneficial too.
Through Kildare County Council's Arts and Wellbeing programme, we have established a Creative Well programme. This programme promotes well being and quality arts experiences to support mental health. Given our resources, the programmes can only be offered to small numbers of individuals. The finely tuned programme is currently being delivered by visual artists Dominic Thorpe and Emma Finucane. The HSE locally have been very supportive of this work and the benefits to individuals are starting to be recognised by the medical profession. http://www.kildare.ie/ArtsService/PressReleases/TheCreativeWell-Naas.html
Meanwhile, Kildare's library service have established a 'Shelf Help' service, also with the HSE and other partners. The idea is that your GP, or other medical professional, can refer you to a series of books, available to borrow free of charge on a whole range of topics including bereavement, post natal depression and suicide. http://kildare.ie/Library/SpecialProjects/ShelfHelp/
I'm not that naive to think that serious mental health difficulties can always be treated by such initiatives. It's fantastic though, that in Kildare alone, the medical profession are taking note of alternatives to, or as complimentary to, standard prescriptions for pills. It's baby steps, but in the right direction.
Come along on Saturday afternoon to Riverbank Arts Centre to the discussion about mental health depictions in literature and film. It will be an open and frank discussion. It's good to talk.
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