#i mean honestly it's better if we just do away with diagnostic categories as a whole in the first place

[subbingforeden]

it's funny how people will proclaim that self-diagnosis is completely invalid because it's based off your own biased self-assessment and that you need to see a doctor to get an accurate diagnosis, when in reality 9 times out of 10 when you see a mental health "professional" all they do is listen to your personal account of your symptoms for 15 minutes and then shove you into an arbitrary box that the Psychiatry Gods(tm) decided is appropriate and shove pills down your throat based on that biased/inaccurate assumption

[potionsprefect]

A Song for the Occasion

Pairings: Ethan Ramsey x Victoria Clarke

Word count: 1.3k

Summary: He tells her some news and one song helps her digest it all

Rating: Teen (mild language)

Category: angst (near the beginning) and then fluff between friends

When Ethan ends a potential relationship with Victoria to head to the Amazon and prepare for her addition to the Diagnostics team.

Inspired by this song

The words were cutting through her one by one, each one more painful than the last. This was not what she was expecting when she turned up at his apartment that evening.

We can’t pursue this. We have to end this for the sake of your development.

She thought she had misheard him. But Ethan Ramsey could never be misheard. What he said was loud and clear, Victoria didn’t want to believe it.

“Victoria?” Ethan voice broke her out of her thoughts.

“Why Ethan? Just why?” Victoria asked.

“You know why, please don’t make me say it again. It was painful the first time.” Ethan sighed.

“If you think I’d let my feelings for you overtake my work you’re wrong.” Victoria said.

“That’s not what I think.” Ethan replied.

“So what is it?” Victoria put her hands on her hips.

“I don’t want others thinking I’d favour you.”

“You already favour me Ethan when you admitted I was the only one that could help Doctor Banerji in Miami.” Victoria said through gritted teeth.

“That was only one time.” Ethan sighed.

“But it wasn’t was it? You slept with me twice Ethan. And now you’re throwing away everything.”

“It’s for your benefit! We can’t work together if we’re in a relationship. I won’t be able to push you the way you need to be pushed.” Ethan said.

“I’m old and wise enough to separate work and leisure. I would never let one outweigh the other. I thought you knew me better than that.” Victoria cast her eyes down. She couldn’t believe Ethan would think so little of her.

“It makes things too complicated. And others will treat you differently if they know about us.” Ethan said taking a step back.

“How can you possibly know that? You can’t be speaking from experience. I know you wouldn’t have let your little fling with Harper be public knowledge.” Victoria shot back.

“People won’t take you seriously if they know about us. I’m not risking your career.” Ethan said.

“So is that why you’re running off to the Amazon? To get away from me?” Victoria said. She could feel tears stinging in her eyes.

Ethan looked at her, pain all over his face. He didn’t even need to say anything. The look on his face gave her the answer she needed.

“Fine. If that’s how it is.” Victoria said, a tear rolling down her cheek. She headed for the door.

“Vic.” Ethan said grabbing her arm, making her turn back to him.

“Don’t you ‘Vic’ me. You don’t get to call me that. And let go of my arm please.” Victoria said. He did at once.

“Don’t be like this please.” Ethan said.

“If you can set ultimatums then so can I. And you know what? You broke down your walls once for me, whose to say you won’t do it again. Running away to the Amazon like a coward won’t solve your problems, but maybe you’ll find your brain there and you’ll realise how pathetic you acted right now.”

And she slammed the door shut as she stormed out.

She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks, she hadn’t meant to be so harsh but he needed to hear it. He’d come back from the Amazon and he needed to be told that running away never solved anything. Instead, he was avoiding difficult obstacles.

Victoria shoved her hands in her pockets and pulled out her earphones, connecting them to her phone. She pressed shuffle on her playlist.

This is not a second chance no, no baby

Great. One song that would definitely cheer her up. It wasn’t like her and Ethan were an item. But it still hurt like a break up.

This is not a new romance not tonight. (Uh uh uh)

This is for all the nights I cried for you baby

She would be lying if she said she hadn’t cried over Ethan before. That night in Miami she let a small tear escape. But then she bit her lip to stop any more falling.

She wasn’t going to cry over a boy.

Victoria walked down the road to her apartment, the words from the song still playing in her ears.

In the middle of the crowd I’ll forget all of the pain inside. Oh

This gave Victoria an idea. She needed cheering up and the one thing that could always cheer her up was a night out. They had a shift tomorrow but fuck it. You only live once.

Victoria took her headphones out and entered the apartment. Sienna and Jackie were sat on their phones on the sofa.

“Where’s Elijah?” Victoria asked setting her keys on the counter.

“He’s having a Battlestar Galatica marathon with Phoebe at hers.” Jackie smirked.

“Do you fancy a night out?” Victoria said quickly. Shit, would they realise something’s up?

“We have work at 6 tomorrow.” Sienna groaned.

“Come on Si, don’t tell me you’re growing soft. Let’s have some fun.” Jackie laughed pulling her up off the sofa.

“Ok fine. What’s the dress code?” Sienna asked.

“Sexy.” Victoria grinned heading to her bedroom.

She opened her wardrobe and pulled out a tight red dress. Perfect. She thought. Who needs men when you can look good for you. As she did her make up, she turned the radio on. Her mobile then rang and Ethan’s name flashed across the screen.

I ain’t even gonna call ya, no baby

The best thing I ever did was to let you go

Victoria declined the call at once. How did the song tell me exactly what to do? She completed her look with some lipstick and got dressed.

For all the times they screwed us over, let it play on and on and on

Just another break up song

Victoria looked at herself in the mirror. She felt confident, sexy. Ethans words weren’t even on her mind.

Sienna and Jackie had finished getting ready and soon, the three girls were in a cab heading to the local night club.

“Are you ok?” Sienna asked as they headed into the club.

“Of course. What do you mean?” Victoria replied.

“You seemed like you were in a rush to come out. Has something happened?” Jackie chipped in.

Fuck sake.

“Oh uh, it’s nothing honestly I’m fine.” Victoria smiled.

Jackie and Sienna looked at each other unsure but didn’t press further. The three girls headed into the main area of the club where music playing.

I don’t wanna turn back time

Cause what’s another lonely night?

I know under these lights

I’m good without you

The lyrics were speaking to Victoria. She had been heartbroken before but she had gotten over it. Sure it hurt, but she ended up ok in the end.

This was just another one of those times. Ethan right now was acting like an absolute dick and he deserved to be told that. But Victoria knew she couldn’t hold on to the grudge. She had to let go.

All she would do now is show him exactly what he’s missing.

“You were so right Victoria, coming out was a great idea!” Sienna shouted over the music.

“I’m always right!” Victoria laughed.

“Even if Sienna didn’t come out, nothing would’ve stopped me!” Jackie grinned.

“Don’t think you’re getting away with answering our earlier question though.” Sienna gave her a pointed look.

“Yeah you can’t fool us. But we’ll ask you tomorrow. Tonight, we’ll just enjoy ourselves.” Jackie replied.

Victoria smiled gratefully at her two friends, she knew that nothing could get past them and she knew they would ask again tomorrow. They knew her too well not to just let something drop.

Tonight Victoria just wanted to let her hair down and forget all about the troubles she had faced earlier that evening. She would cross future bridges when she arrived at them.

Confetti then fell from the ceiling as the song came to a close and Victoria realised there was no where else she’d rather be than in the moment.

She felt care free and happy and long may it stay that way.

For all those tears that I cried

I sing it louder tonight

Let it play on and on and on

Just another break up song

— — — — —

I was gonna see if I could put all the lyrics in but found it too difficult

Stream Confetti by Little Mix

Hope you enjoy this!

Let me know if you would like to be tagged

Tag list: @openheartfanfics @ohchoices @openheartfan @queencarb @genevievemd @iemcpbchoices @choicesaddict5 @schnitzelbutterfingers

[cnroth]

The Misrepresentation of Mental Disability in Star Trek: Discovery

Season two of Star Trek: Discovery has teased us for half a season with Spock having vague mental health issues and Starfleet being a big dick about his experience. In episode 8, “If Memory Serves,” we finally get an explanation for Spock’s strange behavior and see what happened when he escaped the psychiatric hospital. It is... infuriating.

The set up was bad enough, with its dangerous mentally ill person and he can’t really be mentally ill because he’s a nice person, with the gross violations of Spock’s rights and Amanda’s dreadful comment about how “‘emotional disturbance’ is code for ‘psychosis.’” It’s honestly a clusterfuck of misused terminology and harmful tropes. With episode 8 we’ve added the mental illness fake-out and when modern medicine fails try magic (telepathy), as well as another iteration of the INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS myth that psychiatric hospitals are scary places that might lock you up against your will and threaten your safety.

I can’t help but think back to the season one arc of the the only major character who had a psychiatric diagnosis last season... who also turned out to be a mental illness fake-out and was insta-cured by sci-fi magic. Looking back at this parallel, we see that the dreadful bait-and-switch representation of mental illness in season two was also used in season one, indicating that Star Trek: Discovery is not quite as progressive and inclusive as it purports itself to be.

So let’s talk about Tyler’s PTSD.

The misrepresentation of Tyler’s symptoms

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), in order to receive a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a person must experience a traumatic event that meets specific criteria (such as a life-threatening event or witnessing violence). Then, for AT LEAST A MONTH after the event, someone must experience symptoms from ALL FOUR of the following categories:

Intrusion (e.g. flashbacks or nightmares)

Avoidance (staying away from things that remind the person of the event, avoiding thoughts or feelings related to event)

Arousal and reactivity (hyper aware of surroundings, exaggerated startle response, explosive unprovoked outbursts of anger, feeling on edge, sleep disturbance)

Mood and cognition (e.g. beliefs that the trauma was one’s own fault or that they’ll never be safe again, memory disruption, loss of interest in activities or ability to feel pleasure).

Although it’s clear Tyler and Voq experienced multiple traumatic events, and we see Tyler having intrusive flashbacks and nightmares—although they were mostly used as a plot device to conveniently convey backstory and foreshadow a major plot twist—we didn’t see clear examples of all four symptom groupings. Moreover, the timeline for his symptoms isn’t clear, but if we start the clock at his escape from the prison ship, I have doubts that it was a month. (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.)

Now, I realize that no one directly gave Tyler the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was Admiral Cornwell who recognized his symptoms as trauma-based and said she had experience treating PTSD from her former medical practice, and she used her training to help talk Tyler through his reaction to seeing L’Rell. Still, viewers were expected to buy into this explanation so that the reveal of Tyler as Voq would be a surprise.

In short, they indicated that Tyler had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but they didn’t seem to do much research into what the symptoms or criteria for that disorder are. They misused terminology and exploited Tyler’s suffering for the sake of the plot. Then, they used a bait-and-switch tactic to reveal that he didn’t actually have a real-world psychiatric disorder after all, but just some fantastical sleeper agent side effects. They sold viewers on an inaccurate but compassionate representation of mental illness, then ripped that representation away from us and laughed about it all the way to the bank.

The problematic way Starfleet (and the show) handles officers with mental disorders

Tyler is suffering in season one. Clearly, he wants help, but he’s afraid that if he talks to a doctor he’ll be relieved of duty. He confides somewhat in Michael, but swears to her that he’ll get help if it becomes too much for him to handle. We later follow him on a mission to retrieve a data core with a worker bee, where seeing Klingon bodies triggers a flashback and he almost blows the mission. We, the audience, are supposed to take this as a sign that something is very wrong with Tyler and he isn’t fit for duty.

But here’s the thing: The way this story is told is discriminatory and harmful. If Starfleet were as compassionate and utopian as we’re supposed to believe, then they wouldn’t take away the thing that helps Tyler cope and stay active. Working is good for him; taking him off duty—particularly on a ship that for some stupid reason doesn’t have even one mental health professional on staff—would mean... what? What would he do to fill his time? When someone is suffering from trauma symptoms, too much spare time can be counterproductive. It can in fact be very triggering, opening up mental space for the trauma symptoms to fill. It would likely also add to Tyler’s sense of being an outsider on Discovery. His comrades are all working, but he is not.

Tyler doesn’t need to be relieved of duty. What he needs is for his commanding officer to accommodate his disability.

Out of universe, this is important because PTSD is very stigmatized in the US military, and many people fear losing security clearances or even being discharged because of such a diagnosis. The truth is that the stigma of diagnosis is much more dangerous than the diagnosis itself. Avoiding help can lead to worsening of symptoms and unexplained behaviors (such as snapping at a at a superior or avoiding certain triggering situations) that could have been excused and perhaps accommodated by having a diagnosis on record. Tyler’s situation has real world implications, and the way the show undercuts him over and over is downright harmful to real people living with this condition.

Let’s look at his mission to retrieve the data core. Now, there was really no good in-universe reason for him to be on that worker bee. He was a security officer, not a technician. Why send him instead of, say, Owosekun? The answer is that the plot demanded it. The mission was an excuse for Tyler to have another flashback, and the viewers were supposed to believe that he was messed up and unfit for duty.

But let’s say he was the ideal person for that mission. If Tyler had been receiving treatment, his doctor could write up a list of special needs he has and some accommodations Lorca could make to help him. Lorca would be legally required to fulfill those accommodations as best he could. It is not Tyler’s responsibility to bear all the weight and consequences of his disability; as the ones with more power and privilege, it is Starfleet’s job to accommodate him. So, maybe one of those accommodations could be that he doesn’t go on missions alone. If something triggers him, another officer is there to provide support.

How hard would that be to do? Answer: it’s not. Not at all. Accommodations are usually not hard to provide, but refusing to make accommodations is ableist. Unfortunately, Starfleet—the beacon of hope and progressiveness in science fiction—is unwilling to make accommodations for Ash Tyler and other personnel suffering from PTSD. They’d rather pull them from duty and put them out of sight so they won’t inconvenience anyone.

Instead of giving viewers an example of how the crew came together to support Tyler as a person suffering from trauma-based symptoms, the writers chose to put the burden of Tyler’s suffering squarely on his shoulders. With this choice, they heavily implied that people with PTSD are not capable of contributing to Starfleet and must be set aside until they’re “better.” THIS IS HARMFUL REPRESENTATION.

As someone who has personally experienced multiple mental disabilities, two of which are chronic and a third of which is trauma-based, it makes me wonder... would I have a place in Starfleet? Based on what I’ve seen in Star Trek: Discovery, my answer is no. I am not welcome to contribute to their so-called utopia.

Not at all.

If you want to support positive representations of mental disability in Star Trek, please tell them. Share this blog post on Twitter and tag their official accounts, or just tweet them your own thoughts about how their portrayals of psychiatric symptoms and healthcare are hurtful to you or your loved ones. If enough fans give them constructive feedback about this issue, they’ll listen. Thank you. Good health and stay safe.

[sustainhealthmagazine]

Influencer Deborah James Encourages Young Parents to Get Screened

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In a recent TV programme aired on London Live on the 8th October 2019, Instagram’s @bowelbabe Deborah James shares the story of finding out she had bowel cancer two weeks before Christmas at the age of 30 after six months of misdiagnosis.

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In an interview with Anthea Turner, James reveals how she put her sudden weight loss down to a new gym routine, rather than the metastasizing cancer, after being misdiagnosed with haemorrhoids because of her age.

“Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a misconception that bowel cancer doesn’t happen to young people and certainly doesn't happen to somebody who doesn’t tick any of the boxes for the risks,” she explains. “I’m somebody who’s young, female, fit and vegetarian, so nobody assumed the worst.”

It was only after a severe change in bowel habits and finding fresh blood in her stools that she was finally able to secure an appointment with a gastroenterologist six months after first visiting the doctor. “By the time I was diagnosed I already had metastatic bowel cancer and the chances of survival are incredibly low. It was like the rug had been whipped out from under my feet.” 

Speaking of the diagnosis, she said: “I found out on the 16th of December. I honestly thought, ‘I’m not going to be here next year.’”

James shares her story as part of a brand new London Live series - Hot Topics with Anthea Turner. In the episode, Turner explores the risks of bowel cancer in people of all ages (not just those in the high risk 50 plus category) and records her own colonoscopy at OneWelbeck - a bespoke day surgery facility with a specialist Digestive Health unit in the heart of Marylebone - in the hope that it will encourage others to go for a screening. 

Lisa Das, Consultant Gastroenterologist of the OneWelbeck medical facility has warned, that parents and young people can be at risk of more complicated cancers if not treated early enough. 

Because young, healthy parents do not tick the high risk boxes for bowel cancer, they are less likely to be referred for a screening, meaning that if they are showing early signs of rectal cancer, they are less likely to receive the early diagnosis they need in order to fully recover.

Das explains: “Ordinarily we find Colorectal Cancer in people over the age of 50 and that’s why we’re very lucky to have the screening programme. However, what we’ve found, since the 1990s, is cancer that’s affecting people between the ages of 20 and 49.” -  Lisa Das, Consultant Gastroenterologist of OneWelbeck Medical Facility.  

This is backed by recent research published in the British Medical Journal, which found that diagnoses of Colorectal Cancer in patients aged 20 to 49 years increased by 7.9% year on year between 2004 and 2016 across Europe. 

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As highlighted by Professor Julian Teare (another Consultant Gastroenterologist of the OneWelbeck medical facility) in the programme, 40% of us will develop a polyp (abnormal tissue growths that lead to cancer) at some point in our lives, so all of us should be getting colonoscopy screenings by the age of 45, if not before. With the latest colonoscopy equipment, OneWelbeck Digestive Health Centre is able to detect and treat any polyps found during screening, meaning they are then unable to develop into cancer later on. “It is a completely preventable disease.”

 The programme, which highlights the simplicity and lack of embarrassment that a colonoscopy entails, aims to lift the lid on the reality of how treatable and preventable pre-cancerous growths in the bowel actually are and that getting screened should be a top priority for young people, who are now more at risk than ever before. Alongside James, Anthea Turner interviewed BBC War Correspondent Jeremy Bowen, who went public with his bowel cancer diagnosis in April 2019. Both stories inspired Turner herself to undergo a screening on camera. 

“If I had had an opportunity to know I could be screened for [bowel cancer] and could have stopped what was going to happen to me very easily, I would have taken it.” - Deborah James, aka Bowel Babe.  

Bowel Cancer Signs to look out for in 20-49 year olds 

If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, though also explained by other conditions, it is advisable to seek advice from your GP right away in case they are signs of developing bowel cancer.

Significant change in bowel habits – particularly if persistent or unexplained.

Blood in stools – bleeding can be a sign of several things. Bright red blood may be explained by inflamed blood vessels whilst dark red blood could be originating from the stomach or bowel.  

Sudden weight change – dramatic weight change, such as loss of a significant amount of weight, should be reported to your GP.

Abdominal pain or discomfort brought on by eating, including bloating and gas.

Tiredness – bowel cancer can lead to iron deficiency and therefore anaemia. Anaemia can lead to excessive tiredness. 

Lump or pain – a lump or consistent pain located in the stomach or back passage area may be a sign of a developing cancer. 

As Turner states, “bowel cancer can be fatal but with early diagnosis, nearly everyone survives.” 

Want to know more about colonoscopy screenings? Book in a consultation at OneWelbeck today. Tel: 020 3637 5820.  www.onewelbeck.com 

About OneWelbeck

A specialist facility for minimally-invasive day surgery and outpatient diagnostics.  OneWelbeck was founded by doctor and healthcare leaders who believe there is a better way to deliver care.  We are driving excellence and improving patient outcomes by breaking down the barriers that exist in today’s healthcare system.

www.onewelbeck.com

1 Welbeck street, Marylebone, London, W1G 0AR.

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