Help people help themselves

Today is the anniversary of my twin brother's death. He committed suicide on July 7th in 2007. It's not an easy time for my family, especially for my older brother who is very unwell with schizophrenia.

No one should die due to mental illness. I've seen the failures of the mental health system in more ways that I'd like to count. That said, I've also seen some amazing people and programs that are set up to help people help themselves.

Mental illness doesn't have to be a life sentence. There are ways that people can get well and have happy, functional lives. But to do this, we need to improve the way we diagnose, treat and support people with mental illness.

I know there's a lot of people who say that you shouldn't disclose personal details about mental illness and 'depressing' issues like suicide. But I think blogs should be a place for discussion, awareness raising and where possible, assistance.

Forgive me as I'm not feeling terribly articulate today. I'd like you to join the GetUp Campaign to increase funding to preventative and acute mental health services in Australia. You can read more about it here. It's a start.

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

1. The illness I live with is: bipolar1, bulimia nervosa, COE

2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:1998

3. But I had symptoms since:1992-4 from memory

4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: learning to manage my moods in a way that i am able to do things that i want to, determining what normal functional eating is.

5. Most people assume: that people with bipolar spend alot of time in hospital, are non-compliant, are unable to work full time or study. Most people assume people with bulimia are under psychiatric care when it is actually extremely difficult to access, regardless of insurance. I've pretty much tried all treatment that is available...clinics, group therapy, meds, OA etc etc. Stats on the success of treatments are generally pretty woeful actually.

6. The hardest part about mornings are: Getting up as I often sleep poorly due to early waking syndrome.

7. My favorite medical TV show is: Doc Martin

8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: ventolin inhaler actually

9. The hardest part about nights are: restless leg syndrome, early waking insomnia

10. Each day I take 6 pills & vitamins.

11. Regarding alternative treatments I'm a big fan yet i get aliented by those who are anti-psychiatry and at people who assume bipolar can be treated without medication. I currently see a hypnotherapist for help with my eating (which is no where near as severe as it was in its hey day I hasten to add). I also find exercise helpful.

12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: not sure really, maybe something more visible would make me feel less guilty. Bulimia is very much an invisible illness, until I visit the dentist that is :).

13. Regarding working and career: both are extremely important to my wellness.

14. People would be surprised to know: I still am unable to predict the onset of depression despite my best efforts! Lots of fat people have eating disorders, it's not simply a case of eating the wrong foods all the time. I've met many women in their 60's who still have eating disorders, sadly.

15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: Letting people down when I am unable to commit to plans I have made in the past. Letting myself down.

16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: work as a volunteer feminist phone counsellor, it was a huge part of my recovery.

17. The commercials about my illness: I haven't seen any actually.

18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: I miss having a reliable sex drive actually.

19. It was really hard to have to give up: the rush of manic highs, being thin....I have an underactive thyroid due to medication side effects.

20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: crafting! Now I have my own small business Polka Dot Rabbit

21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: I think I feel relatively normal, whatever that us.

22. My illness has taught me: we can choose to live our lives the best way we can, despite mental illness. My twin committed suicide due to mental illness and it's taught me that all we can do is find the joy or purpose we can with each day. Focusing on helping others, volunteering etc are always great recovery tools.

23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: But you do so much!

24. But I love it when people: encourage me to socialise.

25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: not sure but I find Kay Jamieson Redfield inspiring.

26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: You can learn so much to make things easier.

27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: Just the ways the illness have changed over time. I am now much less manic but still susceptible to severe depression. I still struggle with bulimia/ED despite many treatment programs. I'm also surprised at the lack of materials for partners of those with eating disorders, it all targets parentals.

28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: my husband makes me laugh which is lovely.

29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: we exist and live meaningful lives

30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: incredibly vulnerable as though I will be constantly seen through an ED/psychiatric lens.

Find out more about National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week and the 5-day free virtual conference with 20 speakers Sept 14-18, 2009 at www.invisibleillness.com

What I've been up to....

pic via ffffound.com

I feel I've been rather neglecting this blog as I've been quite busy and also quite tired. I have been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid and some related sleep disorders so I'm often very weary and don't always have enough energy to do everything I would like...

Things I am making:

-Red stitch embroidery/applique for Kootoyoo's red stitch quilt
-Embroidered gloves for a new stockist in London
-special order map coasters
-more comic wallets and bits and pieces for old and new stockists
-upcrafted ceramic crockery (stay tuned for pics!)


Things I have been doing:

-decluttering the house ( a massive task! We are holding a stall at CERES market in a couple of weeks and will be selling loads of books, cd's (our whole collecting is being digitised), fabric, vintage homewares and other bits and pieces. Whatever we don't sell will be donated to charity.

-organising our one year wedding anniversary celebration. We'll be staying overnight at the Melbourne Zoo as part of Roar N Snore! So excited.

-pet sitting a rather cheeky persian cat called Bella

-buying art (must remember pics!)

-organising an interview with Frankie Magazine about our Green Renters site

-learning German

-hypnotherapy

-exercising when I can and eating healthy

-working of course!

I found this on the internet and I really like it:

Thoughts on an autumn morning in Melbourne

Do you ever feel like your life is fragmented with lots of bits that don't really fit together? I feel like this alot. It's not exactly a bad thing, but it's more that I can't help thinking sometimes that it would be easier to be really good at one thing or have one clear passion in life. I like lots of different things but lack the drive/ability to make any one my clear succes.

At the moment it feels a bit like this.

I work full time in academic advocacy. I enjoy it but I feel a bit embarassed that I am one of the longest serving staff in my company. There's not really any opportunities for career progression but I earn a good salary with lots of little perks and I love the people I work with. As a person with mental illness, I need stability and structure and familiarity in my day to day tasks. Working in education gives me alot of stability and I have been quite well for a while now.

I write (periodically) for The Dawn Chorus and have an article on issues around female sex drive due to be published in Filament magazine.

I make crafty things for Polka Dot Rabbit but most recently it feels like alot of effort given that it's a bit too much work around a full time day job. I love creating and making things but alot of my orders are for the same products all the time which takes the creativity out of things a bit as it can just feel like work. I could probably technically make enough money to create crafty things full time but the thought makes me feel tired. I am starting to feel a great pull toward more arty recycled products but don't quite have the confidence/skill to get it all together. I really want to be able to draw well but don't draw anywhere near enough. I'd love to be able to do an art show or exhibition. I really enjoyed doing the craftea chat workshops and I'd like to set up a not for profit for such work but I lack the time/energy to do the extensive business things that are required to get this moving.

Greenrenters is starting to kick off quite well but we're not quite sure where to take it. There's always the possibility of grants and such but we both work full time and we're not quite sure about the next step.

I'm going overseas for a month in June. This is excited as we would like to live overseas one day. Being over 30 makes this a bit difficult but not impossible. I'm becoming more and more interesting in environmental issues but I still love arty crafty things and social justice and feminist issues. I love volunteering and festivals and workshops and galleries and cafes and all sorts of things. I tend to start things without finishing them and I often feel overwhelmed by choices in my life so I end up in a state of inertia.

Some of my disjointed dreams:

-opening an all day English style breakfast cafe with space for evening classes and workshops

-having an art/craft studio in a co-op environment. I couldn't work alone all day.

-living in Eastern Europe

-being fit and healthy (and yes, thin) instead of being plagued by the tyranny of eating issues

-running a not for profit with workshops and training full time

Perhaps I am of a generation which will never specialise in one career/passion/focus? Not wanting children gives me alot of freedom, the future is exciting. But it's also so uncertain....

The therapeutic benefits of knitting!

As you all know, Craftea Chat group was a resounding success. Here's a media interview on a BBC4 mental health radio show about the mental health benefits of knitting. In case we needed convincing!

* The media piece aired on All in the Mind December 29th 2008 and is about 20mins into the program. I always enjoy the program and it features many interesting issues such as consumer rights, mental health initiatives and the like.

Craft workshops coming up!

Hi folks,

I’m organising a 8 week series of ‘craftea chats’ for women who have experienced mental illness and are based in Melbourne.

We’ll have different materials and teachers each week and you can bring along your current project or learn a new skill such as knitting, sewing or cross stitch. All materials are provided and each session is free. Depression, anxiety and the like can be lonely and isolating and the workshops are a great chance to meet other women and engage in some crafty fun while enjoying tea and bickies.

Weekly from August 6th
6.15-8.15pm
Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

The workshops are funded through a grant by The City of Melbourne and auspicing of the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council

Interested? Check out the details below and email ms.cate@gmail.com to book your place ( spaces are limited).