#no I was not the NHS is just desperately trying to use CBT as a paper-thin plaster over the gaping wound

[ohbutwheresyourheart]

me: I just feel so hopeless. I've been making all of the recommended changes to my life - cutting out alcohol, eating healthily, exercising, in therapy - and nothing is helping me feel even slightly better. In fact, if anything I feel like I'm getting worse. I don't know what to do and I need help. therapist: well you can't expect to lose 100lbs overnight :\

[voxpop-magazine-blog]

Mum; please don’t blame yourself

Contrary to false beliefs, the stigma around adolescent mental health still thrives to this day. With the recent Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, mainstream teens seem to be shocked by the effects of mental illness. However, I doubt they understand the real ‘face’ of mental disorders. I don’t mean to be obnoxious, it’s just, mental health difficulties vary for everyone, and I feel like this programme only highlights the most notorious problem; depression.

Anxiety is another well-known issue, I suppose. But, do people even realise that OCD branches as an anxiety disorder? If so, I think people would stop throwing about the ‘oh my god, my OCD is so bad today’ when all they’ve done is organised their school planner. What about eating disorders? People still aspire to be ‘skinny’, thinking methods of binge eating and starvation are just casual dieting cheats. And as for schizophrenia? That seems to be a very sheltered topic, that isn’t allowed to see the light of day, as that’s just a bit too scary for us ‘children’.

Mental health issues are not pretty. They’re awful, and sickening and will more than likely affect you for the rest of your life. It’s not all taking walks in a nature forest, and pampering yourself. Self-care does work, but there’s such a darker clinical side to it all. There’s times when you’re lay on a hospital bed, on the pysc ward, waiting to have your stomach pumped because of the amount of ibuprofen you desperately swallowed to try and just shut your own head up for one goddamn minute. There’s times when you have to attend group therapy sessions for weeks on end with short tempered workers and handfuls of messed up kids, just to try and appease you parents; ‘I’m getting better Mum, honestly’ (please don’t blame yourself). And let’s not forget the moments of running out of a class room to quickly vomit and hyperventilate to the extent that you black out, all because of the ever-looming exams that ‘dictate your whole entire life’.

People still don’t understand self-harm. Some people can’t even recognise it. Of course, people still continue to view ‘cutting’ as a joke; and then find it necessary to label it to certain social groups. What about banging your head violently against furnishings, almost giving yourself minor brain damage, just to try and alleviate the endless drones and screams of the ‘characters’ you see, but others don’t? But of course, the best part is when the CAMHS pyschiatrist verbally assaults and screams at you until you’re a retching mess on the floor, just to assess whether you really do have ‘panic attacks’ or just ‘the odd anxious wobble’.

Apart from this being utter word vomit, recalling many different mental health experiences, I do want to clarify that mental health services need to be better. Whether that’s being given a bigger budget, more training, more staff, whatever; something needs to change. I will always argue that these services need to improve, due to the horrendous experiences I’ve had with them. I underwent 25 weeks of DBT, 18 weeks of CBT and saw a psychologist once a week for almost 3 years, and still, my mental health was worse than it ever had been. Following the trial of some medication (an antidepressant called Fluoxetine) I was then diagnosed with moderate clinical anxiety, second hand depression and emotional behavioural dysregulation (as well as suspected autism, which, surprise surprise, I was never definitely diagnosed with as they’d discharged me from the service before they managed to get some ‘paper work’ about my assessment through).

By all means, I support the NHS, I couldn’t imagine the UK without free healthcare; it’s the best thing we have. However, it is not right that budgets are being cut on their mental health services when they need drastic improvement. Cut down the CAMHS waiting list to start. I’d love to have something improve following the release of this article, but I can’t imagine it doing so unfortunately. Again, us young people are left struggling without the support we need.

Hello! I’m Molly and this is my first ever published piece, which was included in the summer edition of the local Unmasked Zine, a sub-project of Flux magazine. I enjoy writing immensely and aspire to be a YA fiction author, hence the creation of ‘Voxpop’ along with my friend Colleen. We’ve recruited all of our friends who have an interest in writing and art and have created this little blog to upload to (we’re hoping it will be daily uploads but we’ll see how that goes) You’ll meet the rest of the team soon.

Hope you enjoy!

- Molly

[words-that-form-a-rainbow]

Highly Illogical Behaviour - John Whaley Corey

Title: Highly Illogical behaviour

Author: Whaley Corey, John

Would I recommend: No

Synopsis (From goodreads.com): Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But is ambition alone enough to get her in?

Enter Lisa.

Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa steps into his world, along with her charming boyfriend, Clark, and soon the three form an unexpected bond. But, as Lisa learns more about Sol and he and Clark grow closer and closer, the walls they’ve built around themselves start to collapse and their friendships threaten to do the same.

________________________________________________________________

One of the best things about books is how they often have a much deeper influence on us than simply a story. Then can make us laugh, or cry, or angry or proud. They can be a reference to the past, an allegory to the present, or a prediction of the future. They can be the most beautifully written prose that graces our eyes and blesses our hearts.

And then, of course, there are those books that are valuable in that they teach a lesson on how not to do something. Sadly for me (Because I had to read this crap), Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley falls into this second category. And what is he teaching us? Just that he shouldn’t have ever tried, and neither should you if you think this is at all decent in any way.

Okay, that may have been a little harsh, but what struck me to begin with was how in the minority I was with this view, even though the many, many flaws seemed to actually radiate like the White House probably will in about six months’ time, then I realised what connected them all: the main characters. And what’s the main (And pretty much only, but I’ll get to that) focus of the characters? Mental illness. And what do people (Including Whaley Corey) know about mental illnesses? Nothing!

And that just kinda made me sad. And angry. Because some guy can just write this crap and people will believe him and go around to everyone they know with mental health issues imitating their new favourite character Lisa Praytor and say that they’re going to fix them for their summer project (Yes, that’s really what she says and no, you should not. Say. That.)

So what exactly is so bad about this book? Well, let’s start with the main character, Solomon. At the concept stage, I liked him. He was meant to have agoraphobia, possibly stemming from a panic disorder (But that’s never addressed, annoyingly). And I thought that was, well, neat. It isn’t often there’s a full novel written about a mental illness/condition that isn’t cleaning-centred OCD or social anxiety (No shade to either of them), and one where the other characters aren’t bullies and are trying to help? That’s awesome!

How wrong I was. How utterly, utterly wrong.

Firstly, I would like to say that my good Mr. Corey Whaley, as much of a good person I’m sure he is, he’s also going to hell for lying. Because Solomon does not have agoraphobia. Nope. We’ve all been fooled. But you may say, Scotty, it’s right there in the synopsis! It’s one of his only personality traits! And I would say back: I know. I understand how you feel. The betrayal. But folks, what Solomon has actually got isn’t real agoraphobia, as in, the condition that could/would be diagnosed by a psychologist (Which are never even mentioned in this entire story, by the way, apart from Lisa. Hoo boy, Lisa.), but our favourite special type of mental illness: Pre-watershed, research-is-for-the-weak, ill-but-only-with-the-harmless-symptoms, milquetoast loveliness perfect for the people who both want to feel like they’re progressive but also don’t want to actually be made uncomfortable by someone’s condition.

You see, the main way Solomon’s “agoraphobia” is displayed is that he, for the last few years, hasn’t left the house. And, I thought, naively, “Oh, hey, if he can’t even leave the house, his condition’s probably pretty serious.” And then the first annoyance came: His parents.

Now put yourself in their shoes: If you had a kid with a mental illness that meant he refused to leave the house indefinitely, to so much of a degree that he says to you he’s never going to get a job, move out or make any contact with the outside world ever again, would you a), say, “Oh well, he knows what’s best for him,” or b), take him to a psychologist/therapist for CBT and possible medication, to, you know, make your kid actually mental STABLE AND GET HIM HELP?

Yeah, which one do you think any rational, normal human being would do? And which one do you think his parents do? Yeah. That’s the kind of book we’re dealing with.

(Also side note: His parents aren’t poor, nor are they mentally ill themselves. His mother works as a dentist, and they literally build him a swimming pool later on. They’re just plain stupid.)

And then I was like: “Okay, well maybe they’ll see how wrong they were by the end. Maybe they’ll have this whole redemption arc and everything will be lovely and rosy by the end.”

Yeah, denial is usually the first stage of grieving.

And my second problem (And here’s where the big stuff starts coming in), is with Solomon himself. Remember how I said that his agoraphobia is the only facet of his personality (Or the only that matters), yet he obviously doesn’t have it? Well, let me first give you the first paragraph of “Agoraphobia” from the British public medical organisation, the NHS:

Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or that help wouldn't be available if things go wrong. Many people assume agoraphobia is simply a fear of open spaces, but it's actually a much more complex condition.

See, Whaley Corey? People with agoraphobia aren’t literally afraid of going outside. They don’t think the leaves are going to bite them, or that they’re allergic to fresh air. It’s all about control. They think that, if they go out of whatever safe space they’ve made for themselves, that anything bad can happen. That someone can hurt them, or steal from them, or any other kind of situation where they’ll feel stress and anxiety that they won’t be able to help. Yet you’re telling me that someone with this fear would be completely okay with someone who’s practically a stranger just coming into their house, especially their bedroom (Which tends to be the ultimate safe-space for most people, in particular teenagers)?

Y’know, dude, I only read the first two lines of a free website on the internet (Not even 50 words) And I already managed to call out the bullshit on your characters.

Just read a little before you think you know it all. Please. It’s not that difficult.

Anyway, since I want to get this over and done with (And so do you, probably), I’ll skip over my other, smaller quips (Like why he hasn’t got a huge vitamin D deficiency if he literally hasn’t been outside at all for that long), and get on to my third and final problem with this novel, and it’s probably the worst one: Lisa.

Where do I begin with Lisa.

There are two main things I want to say about Lisa: the first is that she has absolutely no character. She has no hobbies apart from her kinda gross fixation (And almost fetishisation) of Sol’s phobia, no parts of her that are unique or interesting, and most boringly, no flaws or challenges to overcome. She is completely empty, a perfect Mary-Sue. The other is that the miniscule amount of personality she does have is way too much and she should really shut up once in a while, because God knows every time she speaks I have a slightly stronger desire to bury both her and myself six feet under. And since half of the book is told from her perspective, it’s good I don’t have a shovel to hand.

Straight off the bat she’s annoying, and to be honest I can’t believe Whaley Corey managed to put up with her for the hours it took for him to write this, or that he would even conceive of a such an unlikable an pointless character. She’s introduced as (Paraphrased, I am not torturing myself by going through this book again, even if it’s only to chapter two): “A perfect girl, who always got the best grades and organised every Student council meeting”, and you might say, “Oh cool, this seems like a nice setup for some subversion of stereotypes, or maybe even a harsh realisation that not everyone has such a perfectly easy life as hers!” And then, slightly more uncertainly as you get to about the second or third meeting between her and Solomon, “Something’s bound to develop, right? Her entire personality couldn’t have just been described in about two sentences at the beginning of the book, right? She’s a main character, it can’t be like that… it can’t…

No…”

(Did I also mention that hey, Whaley, it also isn’t a great thing to have a future psychology student thinking that a mentally ill kid is something for them to fix and solve like a God damn jigsaw puzzle, and have this presented as the right mindset for a neurotypical to have? Because thousands of people have read this, dude. You’ve got yourself a position of authority. People are going to listen to this. Just… c’mon, man. I called you a nice guy earlier.)

Now, I realise that I’ve been almost 100% negative through this review, and yeah, I know with enough whining (No matter how valid I think it is in this case,) it can get pretty dull. So, to lighten the mood, I will now describe everything I actually liked about this book.

Well… uh… there was Clark?

Clark is Lisa’s boyfriend, and although no chapters are written from his perspective, I would call just as much of a main character because a lot of Solomon’s chapters are sort of his too, especially during the ones where it’s just those two alone, without Lisa. And those chapters were actually… bearable, mostly. Of course, the horrible misrepresentation of Solomon’s condition doesn’t go away, and it’s not as if any kind of actual character development happens, but hey, you know what Clark has? Personality! Only enough to fill about 3 bullet points, but small mercies, small mercies.

He seems to be your typical “American jock” sort of deal (Which, not being from the US, I don’t understand, but still), but a huge comic and Star Trek (Which Solomon also likes, and is the only thing he talks about besides being ill) on the inside. And while he is by no means a saving grace, and I would probably pick him out as a weak character if it was any other book, at least he was… competent. That’s your consolation price, Clark. Well done.

(Spoiler but literally who cares: Why didn’t you make Clark and Solomon get together at the end? If it wasn’t for that, why did you even mention Sol was gay at all? It didn’t impact his personality or choices or the opinions of Lisa and Clark of him. Honestly you had one job, John. Just make a neurodiverse person seem like a human to be respected and give him a happy ending. One, simple job.)

All in all, the book is a mess, and an annoying, offensive to people who actually do have panic disorders and agoraphobia, boring mess at that. If I have one message to people who want to write a story about mental health, do everything this book doesn’t. It’s a waste of time and money and paper and storage on my phone, and no matter who you are, you can probably do better. But… I suppose there has to be some bad in the world, right, or we’d never appreciate the good. (But seriously, I think I’ll pick a book that doesn’t make me want to abandon all human contact and become a cave-person for the sole purpose of making sure I will never come into contact with this book again, next time. Mostly for my own sanity, which you can probably tell I lost a little of during this. Happy book hunting, message me if you have a recommendation, and I hope my search is a little more fruit and a little less rotten next time. Bye!)

[butterflies-in-my-tummy]

Fatigue, Fighting & Future

It has been a funny few weeks and when I say funny I mean a little tough and unusual. I was certain that despite being exhausted and a little off-kilter, that I was fine and with rest I would soon be back on track, I was desperate to feel a sense of normality and I craved it more than anything else. I was extremely confused then when I came to the realisation that I wasn't fine, that the anxious knot had grown and tangled in my chest and was weighing down on me uncontrollably, I was floored and I hadn't even seen it coming.

When I started this blog I promised to be frank and document every aspect of my life with mental health, I write this post hoping that, as always, my openness serves to help just one person see that they are not alone because I know that being transparent in these matters is not something that comes as easily to others as it does to me. That being said, we must all cope and manage ourselves as best helps us to live everyday.

So here it is, it was a Wednesday night and I had had too much time alone with my thoughts, I had been spiralling for days without realising and then I hit the bottom. It was ugly and I felt ashamed that I was so weak, that I was so unable to cope with life and I was utterly disappointed with myself. Luckily for me my husband is my guiding light and despite being screamed at despairingly, he held me until the tears stopped falling and I fell asleep. The next day he encouraged me to go to the doctors, I did so and decided to start on medication to help get me back on track, I was very resistant but the Doctor being sensible said to me “we all have our breaking point, being able to accept help is the hardest thing on the journey to recovery”, I may be paraphrasing slightly but the point still stands.  

I was signed off from work for a couple of weeks, a fact which hardly anyone knows about, as you know I pride myself on my honesty and openness in all matters and so for me to keep this so much to myself is testament to the depth of personal struggle that I was experiencing. The problem with having such strong beliefs in transparency and truth is that sometimes you end up feeling guilty or uncomfortable for not sharing every aspect with the people you know, but sometimes thats exactly what you need to do and of course you should never feel conscience stricken for keeping your own counsel. Sometimes the best way to be kind to yourself is to do so and to not open yourself up to the opinion or judgement of others - no matter how kindly it might be intended - when you are vulnerable it may only make matters worse.

I was as mentioned, in shock and so more determined to get passed this moment of struggle, I allowed myself a couple of days in my safe place (my bed) but made sure I created somewhat of a daily routine, including eating my three meals and showering (these sound obvious but the hardest thing to do is care for yourself when your mind is not working as it should be). The few days later I started making sure I got up and out of bed and did at least one craft a day, this is both something I find therapeutic and gives me a sense of achievement in a relatively easy way. After this I progressed to going for walks, when you are mentally exhausted it is astounding how heavy your whole body feels, like each limb is weighed down and like your head is heavy and fuzzy and all the while the little voice is screaming ‘I can't do this’. Imagine walking through a wall of water with dumbbells attached to every single part of your body and you have a migraine and you can just about imagine how intense the feeling can be. With my body engaged I wanted to bring my mind back up to scratch and so I started an online writing course and read a few books. Before long I was desperate to get back into my regular routine of life but I still had to be careful and so my first week back at work consisting mostly of shorter days. It just so happened that I then had my holiday abroad and so off to Poland I went - I hate flying at the best of times so I was fairly nervous knowing it wasn't the best of times for me. We had a lovely time and by the time I got back I was feeling ever more capable of committing to my normal life. Determination and commitment are all very well, but I didn't get through with sheer force of will.

Its never an easy decision to start on any kind of medication for any kind of illness, but if you had an infection you would take antibiotics and if you had IBS you would take anti-spasmodics, why would it be any different for an illness in your brain. This is the most important thing to try and remember and it is often the hardest thing to do, what with the self-deprecating thoughts flying through your mind and the overwhelming urge to stay and hide in the safeness of your bed. Its not pretty at first, they make you feel woozy and detached from life, you might have headaches and feel nauseas but over all these are small side effects; if you decide to take medication and feel anything more severe then it is important to tell your doctor ASAP. The good effects start almost as instantaneously, first there is this sensation of release in that broiling knot in your chest, this leads to an overall sense of calm and after a week or so you feel more level and able to cope with life, the fogginess disperses and you are in a better place. It is temping at this point to stop taking the medication, don’t. Everyone knows the phrase ‘Don’t run before you can walk’.

The second most important part of rehabilitation is therapy, its easy to assume that there is always a reason for a rise in anxiety or depression and sometimes there is an over riding issue, sometimes its many little things that have mounted up until you reach breaking point, sometimes its something in your past that is so engrained in your being that there are simply triggers and sometimes its a bit of all of the above. The point is, no one person or situation is the same and so no single form of therapy is best, I have been to a handful of university or NHS councillors in the past and as valiant and genuine as those efforts are, they are limited to their six week time limit for therapy. In my personal experience they do not have enough time or resource to heal and reprogram a lifetime of a persons experiences and habits. This for me is an important part of my recovery, there is so much of my reactions that are habitual and so the hardest part of this journey is retraining my mind to respond differently.

Re-trainng my mind is incidentally something I had already taken steps to do as I have been partaking in daily meditation with the app ‘Headspace’ (something I would highly recommend for daily anxiety or just for a daily sense of balance).  On this occasion I decided to pay for private sessions with a recommended therapist, bearing in mind that in this point in my life and career it is the first time I can afford the luxury to do so.  Unlike previous experiences, my therapist has had the time to get to know me and my past more intimately and I strongly feel that her methods (CBT as a leading form) are bespoke to me; pair this with my absolute determination that I want these long term anxieties to evolve and change and I am more hopeful than ever that I will reach a place of clarity and of a calmer and more resilient mind.

I am still working on all of the above but I am in a completely different place to any that I feel I have so far experienced in my life, there are things I need to work particularly hard at, my appropriate emotional responses, catastrophising and assertiveness are but to name a few. The difference is that with the combination of aspects mentioned above, I feel more sure than ever that I am on the right and longterm path for me. I want to be clear that I relay all of this to anyone reading in the hope that it might help and not for self-gratification or pity. I know that what has worked for me may not work for everyone, but what I will say is that what I have learned this time is that to make a long term change you have to make it every single day. I am blooming tired to be quite honest, because everyday I challenge my every thought and feeling and its both very self-revealing and very arduous but at the end of the day, better mental health is absolutely worth it.

I also know that paying for therapy is not a luxury that everyone can afford, I know it is hard to ask for help but there may be a member of family or a friend who would love to help but doesn't know how, be it by being a helping hand or helping financially. Whatever it is just be sure to be grateful but not dependant, the journey is yours and so all of the hardest decisions must be made by you and you alone. I also cannot recommend meditation enough, you might think ‘but she was doing it for months before and it still didn't make a difference’, but its a long term commitment, changing the way you mind works isn't going to happen over night. I have twenty eight years of bad habits, expectations, judgements and mental scarring to work through, everything that is worth doing takes time and this is no different. Meditating is not that weird way of having a nap whilst sitting cross legged and humming randomly, sure you can do it that way but it is a very personal thing. When you wake up and you are still tired, when you are already worrying about the day ahead and feel hopeless, then why wouldn't it be a good idea to quiet your thoughts, focus on your breathing and calm your body before starting out for the day? I use headspace which has guided meditation with a chap called Andy and its almost like a small session of therapy every day, you can choose from ten, fifteen or twenty minute sessions and after you perform the thirty day foundation you can choose from a range of packs including; balance, self-esteem, anger, stress and so many more. Its all about taking time for yourself and being kind to yourself.

Once again I am sorry it has been a while since my last post, there is certainly a sense of irony when you consider where my mind was at then, to where is has been and to where it is now, but I think that shows the pure unpredictability of mental health. I would also like to say that I do not feel ashamed or embarrassed as I did at the lowest point of this period, those are thoughts that are indicative of anxiety and depression, they are not my real thoughts, they belong to the illness. So next time you are hounded by such thoughts consider if they are the black dog (reference to a wonderful video of expression you can find on youtube) rearing its ugly head or if you are just surrounded by arseholes.