WayAhead

Mental Health - Education, Support and Prevention

WayAhead’s Mental Health Expo

Marketplace of Mental Health

Last week WayAhead, in partnership with Willoughby City Council and the Australian Chinese Psychological Association, held a Mental Health Expo in Chatswood Mall. It was an opportunity for the Chatswood community to meet with mental health and community service providers. Over 20 organisations took part with a stall including headspace, Partners in Recovery, First Light Care and the Australian Chinese Psychological Association.  The NSW Mental Health Commission’s ‘Check Up from the Neck Up’ provided the opportunity for visitors to have a quick psychological assessment by an English speaking or bilingual psychologist.

Engaging the Whole Community

The Expo was mindful of the many Mandarin speakers in the community and particularly aimed to engage them. Throughout the day there was several Tai Chi workshops, Tea Ceremonies, Stilt walkers, traditional Chinese painting demonstrations and some free food, so that the Mall resembled a marketplace.

Mandarin Speakers

Free public forums on Anxiety Disorders were held in Mandarin and English by respected experts and practitioners. WayAhead has been running Understanding Anxiety Forums for many years but this is the first time that we have held one in Mandarin and it received extremely positive feedback from attendees and speakers alike. Mr Noris Ma, Psychologist, from the Australian Chinese Psychological Association gave a presentation on “Psycho-social barriers & the challenge of accessing service for Chinese migrants”. Other speakers included leading Psychiatrist Dr Richard Wu and Dr Zhiwen Gao, Provisional Psychologist, from the Transcultural Mental Health Centre, as well as Alice Cheok, Adolescent & Family Counsellor, from KYDS Youth Development Service.

The Chinese community was further engaged by the many pieces of collateral that were produced for both the Forum and the Expo in Mandarin including; printed anxiety fact sheets to hand out on the day (link here for digital versions), social media posts including WeChat, posters, fliers and ‘An Anxiety Awareness Guide for Parents’ (link here).

Success

The Mayor of Willoughby Gail Giles-Gidney, Federal Member for North Sydney Trent Zimmerman, leading Psychiatrist Dr Richard Wu and NSW Mental Health Commissioner were on hand to lend support and demonstrate their approval to WayAhead’s CEO Elizabeth Priestley. WayAhead’s staff and a small army of volunteers were on hand to direct visitors to the right service or to supply them with Mental Health fact sheets or information about services catering for their needs and the Willoughby local government area.

 

John Feneley NSW Mental Health Commissioner, Gail Giles-Gidney Mayor of Willoughby, leading Psychiatrist Dr Richard Wu , Elizabeth Priestley WayAhead CEO and Trent Zimmerman Federal Member for North Sydney

 

Feedback

Feedback from service providers was extremely positive with stall holders keen to have more opportunities to interact with other communities.​ Events such as these go a long way to normalising the experience of poor mental health.

 

 

Back to most recent edition

The Big Black Hole: Functional Neurological Disorder [FND] / Conversion Disorder [CD]

Falling through the gaps in the system between neurology and psychiatry – The disconnect between Mind and Body

Like many people with functional [also known as conversion or psychogenic] symptoms it has been a difficult road to travel. My symptoms began suddenly. At the time I was very active, regularly going to the gym and enjoying competitive dancing. I remember lying down one afternoon while not feeling well, and when I went to get up, a short time later, I realised I could not move my left side, I could not ‘remember’ how to walk, and I could not even lift my left foot off the ground. It was a frightening and bizarre experience. I was rushed to Emergency and subsequently spent several weeks in a neurology ward. Initially the neurologists diagnosed me with a stroke. Sometime later the neurologists determined it was not a stroke, but because it was ‘presenting as a stroke they would treat it as a stroke’. It took several years before I found out the correct diagnosis, of FND.

Like people paralysed with a stroke, learning to walk again was challenging. I can remember watching my baby nephews learning to walk, and they seemed to be doing better than me. I was determined I would walk again. For a while I was in a wheelchair, and eventually on mobility aids. I told the physio I wanted to walk independently and she reminded me that I needed to ‘set a realistic goal’. I was placed in a ward where the average age of people on the unit was 89 years. I was in my 30’s. I didn’t want to be treated like the older people. I wanted to push forward, to take risks, so I could walk normally, and return to my active lifestyle and get back to work.

It did take a long time to be able to walk independently again. I left the hospital on crutches, and I struggled to find appropriate support services to help my walking. When it was eventually determined that I hadn’t had a stroke everyone seemed to be at a loss with what to do with me. I had severely disabling symptoms, I was totally unable to walk and stand independently, yet despite extensive testing there appeared to be no cause for the symptoms. I began to wonder if I had some dreadful, perhaps life threatening disease that the medical profession had not yet identified. It was a scary place to be in. After all the testing showed there was no organic disease or illness, I was placed in the too hard baskets, and there was no way to progress forward.

When the health profession seemed to give up on me, I took on the challenge of learning to walk by myself. I started using the stair railing at home to support my walking, and eventually I put down all the mobility aids and let my two dogs assist me with walking. The dogs helped to carry my weight and pull me forward, helping me to get the walking patterning happening. Slowly I got there, I had many falls, but I got back up and kept going, and about 18 months later I was walking reasonably normally.

Over time symptoms would re-emerge. When they first re-appeared I was scared at what was happening to my body and I would be rushed back to neurology, and again there would be nothing wrong and I would have to go through the challenges of learning to walk again. But each time, my walking came back much quicker. I started to see a pattern for when the symptoms would flare up. Knowing I could teach myself to walk again, I decided not to go back to the hospital or doctors when the symptoms came on; it was quicker, easier and less frustrating for me to manage on my own. The doctors still didn’t seem to know what was going on with me, but I seemed to be able to work out how to manage it and recover my walking on my own.

Many years later I was collecting a copy of my medical records from my GP, and found that on one occasion the hospital had noted the cause of my symptoms as ‘functional neurological disorder’, although it had not been discussed with me at the time. My GP did not know what this was, and couldn’t tell me anything about it. I began to research the disorder. I saw that it was also known as conversion disorder [CD], historically thought to be associated with trauma. The current understanding of FND/CD is that a combination of physical, psychological and social factors may contribute towards a person’s vulnerability to developing FND. I learned that functional disorders often present similarly to neurological diseases such as a stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Epilepsy, and can be just as debilitating and distressing, yet they are not caused by structural disease of the nervous system, but a problem with the “functioning” of the nervous system1 . fMRI studies showed that the brain fails to send and receive messages correctly, impacting on how the body responds to different tasks such as, movement control, and that emotional triggers can impact on the motor pathways in the brain.

I started to trace the pattern of symptoms, when they occurred and how I seemed to manage to keep the symptoms at bay. It all began to fit into place. At the time no one had explained the diagnosis to me, what it was, what it meant, and how to manage it. Once I knew what I was dealing with, I was able to get a good grasp on how to manage the symptoms, to prevent reoccurrence.

I found dealing with the health system frustrating. After I got a good understanding of the diagnosis, I found none of the doctors or other health practitioners seemed to have an understanding of the illness. I was educating all the practitioners I was seeing. Following BAHA cochlear implant surgery, I had a relapse of my condition and this time I was worried I would be back in a wheelchair for life. But, a few months later I was back on my feet, walking dogs, doing aerobics and ready to get back into life.

There is an urgent need to increase awareness of the disorder across health and across community. Had I known what I was dealing with earlier on, I think my journey to recovery would have been easier. I was able to learn about the illness, and work out ways to self-manage the illness, as I could research and understand academic papers. Other people may not have access to those resources.

There is a huge amount of stigma and discrimination with this illness in health and society. Because the illness has a mental health association, the physical health sector doesn’t want to deal with it, and because of the significant disabling physical symptoms, mental health can’t deal with the problems. There needs to be a multi-disciplinary approach that addresses both the physical and mental health aspects of the illness. At the moment people are falling in the black hole between neurology and psychiatry.

In society I think people are scared of what they don’t understand. When people experience significant physical flare-ups of the illness, whether it is paralysis, seizures or movement disorders, it can look frightening and serious to others. Observers don’t understand what is happening and become worried and perhaps over-react or misinterpret what is going on. When this happens, those  who suffer from the illness then get excluded from society, they lose employment and other opportunities to engage and participate in the community. When symptoms flare up, I need to stay calm and grounded to help regulate the nervous symptom, but if others are panicking and overreacting, it exacerbates the problem.

I regard myself as lucky. While it has been hard work, I know I could have spent the rest of my life in a wheelchair. It is only through hard work, determination and fight, that I am able to walk, and because I had the resources to be able to research and understand the disorder, so I could understand how to help myself. I see others with FND/CD suffering severe physical symptoms, completely unable to engage in life, and desperately trying and failing to get answers from the medical profession.

I am currently working with FNDHope International fndhope.org to set up an Australian arm. I hope in the future to be able to offer peer support, information and advocacy to help others with this condition. I am looking to do a consumer-led research project on this disorder, to help the system understand the urgent need to address the problem, and also to capture stories of recovery, resilience and hope. Currently there are no treatment programs for the disorder in NSW, no organisations or support groups addressing this problem and little research happening in Australia. Hopefully FNDHope Australia can help to increase understanding and awareness of the illness, improve pathways to care, and outcomes for consumers to participate fully in life.

Dr. Katherine H. Gill
Australian Representative
FNDHope International
fndhope.org

Reference to Websites for Further Information

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/conversion-disorder/basics/definition/con-20029533

http://www.fndaction.org.uk/

 

CEO Report – Spring 2016

lizpicDear readers

Christmas is now on us, the start of a new year bringing with it excitement about new opportunities and renewed energy. It is interesting to hear others talk about how tired they are at the end of the year and how they are looking forward to a break and perhaps time to reflect on the last 12 months. As I am getting older it feels as though the years are getting busier. Maybe it is my aches and pains that are all too common now.

While you are resting, reflecting and finding that renewed energy have a read of this edition of Mental Health Matters. There is some really interesting articles including the value of exercise, good eating and connecting through finding your inner child. We have personal stories about what has helped people with experience of mental illness and those that do the caring. It is great to read how beneficial it is connecting with others who understand completely what it is you feel when others just don’t seem to get it.

jeanWhile we at WayAhead are having some well-earned R&R I know that many of us will be thinking about our young colleague Jean MacKay (Roxon). Jean was a volunteer writer who was so good we decided to put her on staff to ensure her skills stayed here. Unfortunately,  shortly after, Jean became unwell and it wasn’t long before she succumbed to cancer at the age of 22. A great loss to us and to those people she would have had such a positive impact on in later life. Our thoughts go particularly to her family who are coming to terms with such a loss and I suspect the first Christmas without Jean will be a Christmas they would like to forget but by no means forgetting Jean.

To everyone, whatever makes you happy this Christmas take time out to do it. Don’t put it off because no matter who you are you deserve to smile and be with the people that warm your heart.

Enjoy this edition of Mental Health Matters magazine and I look forward to connecting again in 2017.

Elizabeth Priestley

xmasbush

WayAhead Workplaces Celebrates 10 Years of Workplace Health

wworkplacesforwebThe 2016 Annual Member’s Forum for WayAhead Workplaces drew together more than 100 people to hear presentations on diverse topics such as the impact of workplace design on mental health, planning for an aging workforce and measuring the economic benefits of workplace health programs. It also provided an opportunity to participate in “research speed dating” that allowed university research teams to pitch their workplace health ideas to the network membership in the hope of finding mutually beneficial projects to work on. Our 10th birthday provided us with an opportunity reflect on just how far we’ve come since our first meeting in 2006, with just 19 attendees and a vision to improve the mental health of Australia’s working population.

WayAhead Workplaces (the new name for the Workplace Health Promotion Network) stills holds the same aim. Run by WayAhead – (Mental Health Association NSW), WayAhead Workplaces supports our member organisations in creating healthy, safe workplaces via meetings, newsletters, conference discounts and online resources.

The program was the brainchild of Marietta Davis, who remembers being at an HR seminar and discovering there were many Occupational Health & Safety people working specifically on the health of their staff. It occurred to her then that it would be a good idea for them to all meet and support each other. At this time there were far fewer people working fulltime in wellbeing roles, and also far fewer organisations, programs, and resources available. Marietta believed that people thrive when given freedom and trust, and saw the future of workplace health as supporting mental health with flexible, reasonable hours.

WayAhead Workplaces is now a well-established and recognised name in the workplace health sector, with over 60 paid members in Sydney, over 25 in Brisbane and several other interstate members as well.

4 of the past and present leaders of WayAhead Workplaces. Marietta Davis, Katerina Davis, Stacey Young and Sharon Leadbetter (current)

4 of the past and present leaders of WayAhead Workplaces.
Marietta Davis, Katerina Davis, Stacey Young and Sharon Leadbetter (current)

 

Key Players

Marietta, who is still a member of the network, ran the program from 2006 to 2007, bringing Nataly Bovopoulos (who is now the deputy CEO of Mental Health First Aid Australia in Melbourne) on board to share the workload in 2007. When Marietta left in 2008, Nataly took over, running the program from 2008-2010. Next to come on board was Katrina Davis, who assisted then oversaw the network from 2008-2012, and is now a policy advisor at the Mental Health Commission NSW. Finally, there was Stacey Young who worked with Katrina from 2011 to 2012. Stacey then went on to work in the Workplace Research Centre at University of Sydney and now works for Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS), Northern Sydney LHD.

WayAhead Workplaces is now managed by Sharon Leadbetter, who took over in 2013. Two other colleagues, Ci’an Kemp and Madeleine Fabian, were also integral in their role covering WHPN for the 6 months between Stacey’s departure and Sharon beginning.

workplacepeeps

Annual WayAhead Workplaces Forum 2016

Our Journey

According to Nataly, the members of WayAhead Workplaces were always interested in mental health promotion. In particular, how to get support from management on programs and how to work in resource limited environments. Even in large corporations, funding for workplace health promotion is often limited. Nataly does, however, see changes taking place in how workplaces manage mental health. These changes include more organisations moving beyond awareness sessions with staff, and developing more comprehensive strategies from prevention all the way to return-to-work. More organisations are also getting involved in campaigns like R U OK? Day and appointing Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). Mental health literacy and social support is also improving, with increased focus on training managers about supportive leadership, as well as appointing workers in formal roles as mental health first aid officers or wellbeing officers.

When Katrina was overseeing WayAhead Workplaces, large corporates were offering gym memberships, and other perks that positioned them as employers of choice. She believes the corporate sector now understands that workplace health promotion has huge productivity benefits, and are getting more sophisticated in their approaches. Stacey also says that when she started, information on the health risks of workers sitting for long periods was becoming more widespread, and organisations were moving towards having sit-stand desks and other initiatives to increase physical activity. Technology has now changed dramatically, and these changes can impact both positively and negatively on workplace health and wellbeing. It will be interesting to see how organisations can harness the power of technology to improve health, wellbeing and flexibility, and also manage some of the potential negative effects, such as the struggle that many workers face in ‘switching off’ from work.

By the time Sharon Leadbetter came on board 3.5 years ago, the network had grown greatly in both membership and scope, and was able to expand its membership outside New South Wales to many organisations in Queensland, as well as interstate. Sharon says that over this time she has seen changes in awareness and attitudes towards mental health, which is heartening. She says she is getting approached by more people asking questions about what mental health and wellbeing means in the workplace, and how they can be proactive about it.

There is now much more Australian research coming out in the area of workplace health and wellbeing, which means we now don’t have to rely as much on overseas data, as we have our own to build on. While it is an exciting time to be working in this area, we must remain mindful that for many, the job of bringing about behaviour change in workplaces is still a challenge. There are still many people who lack support and resources, as well as facing bullying, unreasonable workloads, poorly managed conflict situations and unhealthy work environments. The good news is that we now have access to ever-expanding resources, information and support, via the internet, and services such as our network. Workplace health itself as a sector is growing as it becomes a more specialised field.

The Future

Once upon a time, “workplace health” meant physical safety, and tended to have to a reactive and compliant focus. Now it means taking a preventative, proactive approach to all aspects of workplace health and wellbeing. This involves actions such as training and supporting managers to develop meaningful relationships with their staff, and helping them initiate difficult conversations if they think someone isn’t doing well or needs support. It is also important to give managers the skills and confidence to deal with relationship conflicts in the workplace. It is very important to make workplace health part of the strategic plans and policies of a business with employee involvement at the core, all of which help lead to creating a positive workplace culture.

While health care costs are increasing, this can potentially be reversed over time by focusing on preventative rather than reactive strategies and services. The use of technology in workplace health is also significant. There are so many more devices that measure all aspects of a person’s health, which can lead to more personalised wellbeing strategies to suit the diversity of modern workplaces.

WayAhead Workplaces is continuing to go from strength to strength. Our newsletter subscribers have grown along with our average meeting attendance. We have developed the members section on the website, and expanded our membership tiers to reflect the different types of people interested in our network. There isn’t another network around like ours, and we hope that we continue to provide that niche in the market to act as a facilitator to help organisations meet peers and researchers, to continue having stimulating discussions, and to provide support and encouragement for more workplaces to take a preventative approach to improving workplace health and wellbeing.

The World Doesn’t Need Buddhism as a Religion – Relax. Hear me out.

In this opinion piece, young Chinese writer Nikki Chen questions orthodox views of religion and the emotional journey of caring for a loved grandmother.

My grandmother passed away as a religious Buddhist last year. Back when she was healthy, her daily life was based on the religion. The first thing she did every morning was to go to the worship hall located on the top floor of her house, light incense for the ancestral tablets, and pray for things like a beautiful day, or if any of her kids or grandkids were about to negotiate a business, or had an exam to go to, she definitely wouldn’t miss your name in her prayers. Same routines repeated for two to four times a day, plus one hour of chanting every late afternoon, or whenever she felt like it. Then she fell ill a few years ago, every day she became weaker and weaker, but her beliefs grew stronger than ever. Whenever she was too weak to get off the bed, she would put CDs of the religious chanting on repeat, and let her mind wander in the arms of her God.

She died with tremendous pain. Thousands of nights’ prayers didn’t ease her pain, but it probably brought her peace though – at least that’s what I would rather believe. I happened to be back in Taiwan for the holidays and my relatives said, “She picked the right time to leave this world, when her beloved granddaughter is back at home.” But for me, death is death, it always comes when you least expect it. Her funeral was a very traditional ceremony, it lasted 49 days in an eight by six meters room, we even had a roster for her 10 children so grandma’s body was never alone.

buddhism1

In The Four Noble Truths it says: Life is suffering. My father is a living example of it. My grandfather passed away when my dad was young, but as the first born son, he had to do whatever it took to raise the whole family with my grandmother. He has made her proud, built a family business that’s big enough to feed not only his nine siblings, but their children, and their children’s children. However, he is never happy. “Life is suffering, my child.” My parents still live in the same apartment from 20 years ago, dad is still driving the same old car, he wears pants and clothes that have holes in them. So often when he has a fight with my mum, he would shout to her, “Sorry, I have made you suffer, please suffer with me for this life, and I will pay you back in the next.” Buddhists believe that if you have done wrong to someone, you will have to pay it back the next life, becoming the sufferer. But how could you suffer more, dad? He has trapped his heart in this religion, and my mother often says only he can save himself from it.

buddhism2

Two weeks after my grandmother passed away, I came back to Australia. Not long after that, dad and his siblings started to fight over the house and the money my grandmother left behind – pretty typical for a family that owns a business together. Things were really bad, and that’s when I found out I suffered from anxiety. I experienced a panic attack for the first time, my whole body was shaking, palms sweating, body rocked back and forth, and had a loss of speech, as if my brain just wanted to shut down immediately. That’s when I started to practice mindfulness, a Buddhist psychological tradition. It really helped me through one of the most difficult period in my life. So many forms of meditation, spiritual activities came from Buddhist tradition. This is when I realised that I will always be a spiritual person, I believe in the balance of mind, body, soul, but I will never believe that practicing a religion would bring me, or people around me, happiness. Buddhism is here to stay, but we no longer need it as a religion, because we deserve more, my grandmother deserved more. She deserved more than being in a body fridge for 49 days after she passed away. My father deserves more than believing life is suffering. If Buddha could hear me, he would agree.

Read More:

  1.    http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-buddhism-a-religion
  2.    https://www.quora.com/Is-Buddhism-a-religion-or-philosophy
  3.    http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism8.htm
  4.    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2013/oct/07/is-buddhism-a-religion
  5.    http://www.homeoint.org/morrell/buddhism/buddhism.htm
  6.    http://www.lionsroar.com/are-you-spiritual-but-not-religious-10-reasons-why-buddhism-will-enrich-your-path-november-2013/
  7.    http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/blog/2010/may/6/buddhism-religion-gary-gach/
  8.    http://www.rabe.org/thoughts-on-buddhism/buddhism-is-a-religion/
  9.    http://www.buddhanet.net/nutshell03.htm

By Nikki Chen

Small Acts of Disappearance

fionaI couldn’t see myself as one of ‘those women’ – I thought that eating disorders only happen to women who are vain and selfish, shallow and somehow stupid; it took me years to realise that the very opposite is true, that these diseases affect people, men and women both, who think too much, and feel too keenly, who give too much of themselves to other people.”

…

Fiona Wright’s collection of “Essays on Hunger” are unique. Not because of the issue she tackles – although eating disorders, like all mental illness, are under discussed and heavily stigmatised – but because of how she writes about it.

Eating disorders affect nearly 1 million Australians, Anorexia Nervosa effects up to 1.5% of females and 0.5% of males. It has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder with risk of premature death up to 12 times higher than the general population. These deaths are not just caused my complications from the disorder, sadly many of them are suicides. Eating disorders are serious and sometimes fatal conditions and yet for some reason they are rarely treated as such.

My doctors never tire of telling me that we’re the unlucky ones. That in almost every other mental illness, treating the symptoms makes the patient feel better if only in increments…but for us, when we start to eat again…we feel worse, far worse, when we don’t have out hunger to protect us.

Our culture has a disturbing habit of both glamourising and stigmatising eating disorders – in life, film and literature.

Wright herself refers to this under the ironic name of sick-lit. Noting the unhealthy obsession we hold with both appearance and food obsession (Atkins, paleo, low-carb the list goes on). How many books or films (disturbingly this trend if often focused at teens) have you encountered that casually discuss, even promote disordered eating patterns, that in the same breath glamourise not eating as a solution to remaining thin and stigmatise over-eating or vomiting as “disgusting”.

Eating disorders rarely, if ever, develop without the sufferer first undertaking some form of diet. Whether this diet be for medical (as in Wright’s case), or aesthetic reasons it can act as a catalyst for deeper issues surrounding food. This other side of dieting, this obsession with personal appearance, but also with control, can, and does, have catastrophic consequences.

In a culture where we are constantly shown images of models (male and female) with bodies types that are unattainable without the work of skilled airbrushing, and who themselves are sometimes the product of disordered eating, is it surprising that we sometimes break in striving for an unachievable goal?

Life is rarely straight forward and mental health almost never is, so it is refreshing to read a text that does not purport to put forward a solution, a “fix”, but instead acknowledges the great complexity and confusion that is living with mental illness. In writing about her failure to understand why exactly “this” has happened to her, of what it means and of how to work towards recovery Wright is giving voice to many individuals’ experiences of mental illness.  

There is no glamour in her words, no hidden pride or contempt. There is also no grand story arc – not fall into illness, period in therapy and then, ultimately recovery. Instead it takes unexpected turns, jumping from periods of illness to recovery, to treatment and back. Rather than being an ordered account it is a collection of thoughts, of progressions and regressions, of psychological musings and explorations of the portrayal of eating disorders in literature.

She began writing the book shortly after her first admission into day hospital, as she puts it: when the rug of my own delusion had been swiftly pulled out from under my feet. At one point in her essays Wright muses on the causes behind anorexia, prompted to start thinking by the seemingly simple question “Why do we want to be smaller?”

I think sometimes that the drive towards hunger, the drive towards smallness, is about precisely this: we feel so uncertain, so anxious about our rightful place in the world that we try to take up as little of it as possible. It is a drive to disappear that can only every succeed in making up more prominent, more visible because it makes us as different and offensive on the outside as we so often feel at heart.

The second half Small Acts of Disappearance is woven with discussions of literature, not just works that focus on eating disorders but broader books encompassing addiction and psychology. She examines texts as far apart as Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet – noting the way that Rose uses her hunger (for it is always referred to as hunger rather than anorexia by Wright) as a weapon to fight against a world she feels she is trapped in- to John Berryman’s Recovery an unfinished semi-autobiographical novel about addiction.

These discussions are central to the essays and are one of the aspects that make them so different from other writings about eating disorders. The essays themselves focus not just on Wright’s personal experience with anorexia – although there are many accounts of that – but on how we (the author, the reader and society as a whole) perceive eating disorders. The stigma we attach to them, the misunderstandings, the lack of resources and the changes in thought regarding treatment methods.

Small Acts of Disappearance is not a happy book. It will not make you feel better, and it is not an awe inspiring story of recovery. But it will make you think. Make you question presumptions and prejudices you may not know you hold. It will introduce you to new and old literature and it will allow you, if not an understanding then at least an insight into one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented mental health issues. It well deserves the numerous awards it has so far received and although not an easy read is the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve turned the final page.

Written by Jean Roxon

If you are concerned that you or anyone you know may be struggling with an eating disorder you can contact the butterfly foundation on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673). Further information is available at The Butterfly Foundation and National Eating Disorders Collaboration.

Small Steps

julie

Julie Leitch – Small Steps Educator

Some of those parents who don’t think they have an anxiety disorder in the family will come up to me
at the end of the seminar and say
“you know what, I think my child may have an anxiety disorder.”
– Julie Leitch, Small Steps Educator.

Small Steps is a program that aims to raise awareness and improve the recognition of anxiety disorders in children.

The program offers free “anxiety disorders awareness” seminars for primary school teachers and parents to help educate them on the signs, symptoms, types and treatments for anxiety in young people.

Facilitated by WayAhead Educator Julie Leitch, who has had her own experience living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Small Steps was developed to ensure that anxiety disorders are recognised early in primary school so that correct treatment can be offered.

smallstepsWith 1 in 10 Australian’s under the age of 18 living with an anxiety disorder, early diagnosis is very important in ensuring that those individuals have the best possible education experience.

One of Julie’s key goals in Small Steps is to “get treatment for children in primary school, not going to high school with an anxiety disorder and certainly not waiting until you’re in your twenties.”

The sessions run for approximately an hour and a half, and can be conducted before, during or after school. Many schools like to run this workshop for teachers during staff meetings or on professional development days.

Last year, WayAhead ran 108 seminars in schools. That is 786 teachers and 1761 parents who now have a better understanding of anxiety in children, how it commonly presents and where they can go for help.

Mental health, especially mental health in young people can be a confusing topic. Parents and teachers have expressed their appreciation of Small Steps as a straight forward way of learning about anxiety disorders in children.

One parents wrote “Well presented, well related, anxiety discussion can be quite anxiety causing. The presenter (Julie) handed the discussion in a positive, informative and enjoyable way.”

Small Steps seminars also provide teachers and parents with the knowledge and access to resources that may help them in identifying and helping children who display the signs of an anxiety disorder and this is often one of the most popular aspects of the session.

smallsteps

 

Michele Sunnucks, Principal of St Therese’s, Lakemba wrote to say that “The session was very informative and we are keen to continue a working relationship with Small Steps…the resources you made available to us are also very gratefully received, because they empower us to act in an appropriate and beneficial way following concerns about students…Knowing the statistics of anxiety Disorders in the community, and wondering how much higher they may be when we include undiagnosed sufferers, certainly indicates to me that all school would benefit enormously from the Small Steps Program.”

There is no cost incurred by the school. Small Steps seminars are a community service run by WayAhead – Mental Health Association NSW and funded by the NSW Mental Health Commission.

You can find out more by contacting the Small Steps Co-ordinator on (02) 9339 6003 or email: julie.leitch@wayahead.org.au

Into the Light

WayAhead is housed in a cooperative of three mental health advocacy organisations called “Collective Purpose” and one of the great benefits of this is that we are able to participate in other organisation’s events and vice versa.

One of our co-inhabitors “BEING” (the other is Mental Health Carers NSW) has been developing an Arabic Psychological Health Resource in the form of a collection of videos. These videos aim to raise awareness both of the rate and commonality of mental illness within the community and of resources and treatments that are available. To launch this resource BEING held an Arabic language panel on psychological health in Rockdale in July.

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The panel featured five speakers….and was run entirely in Arabic. As a non-Arabic speaker I missed the nuances of the panel discussion but from the passion in the speakers tone and the small elements that were translated I gathered the importance of this conversation to the community.

One of the main points addressed with the importance of early intervention and the role that religious leaders had to play in this field. The stigma in to community towards the expression of mental illness has led to many individuals failing to seek help, possibly for years, until their mental health issue has developed into something far more serious.

Hend Saab, Clinical Psychologist was particularly passionate about this subject, saying she has seen many culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) individuals, young and old, who have presented to her in severe distress at a point where treatment has become challenging because of the long term nature of the issue. As a psychologist, she said one of the most upsetting things in this regard is that she is aware that people who present with long term issues have been suffering in silence for a long time.

She called on religious leaders to recognise the significant impact that mental health issues can have on the community and to ensure that individuals who approach them for help are referred to the correct mental health services as quickly as possible.

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Hend Saab

“Sometimes the process of referral can take years, can cost thousands of dollars before the individual is referred to a psychologist.” She said. “Because people listen to their religious leaders and these leaders aren’t always educated in mental health.”

While both religious leaders – Sheikh Youssef Hassan and Father Yousef pointed out that mental health issues are prevalent across all cultures, not just the Arabic community, they both acknowledged the need to reduce stigma surrounding psychological assistance for mental distress and the important role religious leaders have to play in this.

Father Yousef noted that because religious leaders are often the first point of call for individuals experiencing something they don’t feel right about, it is imperative that they are trained to recognise the difference between spiritual health and psychological health and to treat the two separately. In doing this, and acknowledging the prevalence of mental health issues across the community religious leaders were hoping to reduce the stigma and shame associated with seeking professional help for their issues.

While there was a great diversity in expertise and known around the issue of mental health in CALD communities, all parties agreed that acceptance is importance to move forward in recovery. Mental illnesses are real and we have treatment and shame of one’s own illness (internal stigma) and shame within the community (external stigma) is a double duo that prevents many people from seeking help.

Being’s “Into the Light” resources are available on their website. If you are looking for an Arabic mental health service near you WayAhead’s directory allows you to search language preferences and provides relevant services. WayAhead also runs monthly anxiety support groups across the state as well as offering various programs such as small steps, anxiety forums, and will be running Mental Health Month in October.

Written by Jean Roxon

Domestic Violence and the Workplace

At the WayAhead hosted quarterly network meeting of WayAhead Workplaces our workplace health network in 2016,  there were talks from various speakers on topics such as “Improving People’s Ability to Plan for a Secure Financial Future.” And “Learnings in Engagement”. But perhaps most importantly it featured a talk about Domestic Violence and its effects and implications in the workplace.

Abby Millerd an employment lawyer and senior associate at Terri Bell & Co. gave a presentation on the issue of Domestic Violence in Australian workplaces and how we need to learn to deal with this issue.

dvOften seen as an issue that exists purely within the private sphere of home and family life Domestic Violence is becoming a topic that has become more prominent in the public discourse over the past few years, partially thanks to the work of individuals such as Rosie Batty, and the various organisations and institutions which supported her. In terms of pure statistics Ms. Millerd estimated that approximately a third of Australia’s workforce is experiencing some form of domestic violence in their lives, and that one fifth of those people are experiencing it within the workplace – an alarming statistic.

As a lawyer, one of the issues that Ms. Millerd says they often come across in their firm is that people are living with abusive situations and they don’t realise it. Perhaps this is down to the popular portrayal of domestic violence as being solely a situation in which a man physically assaults his current wife or partner. While it is true that the majority of perpetrators in domestic violence situations are male and the majority of victims are female people from all genders and types of relationship are affected by domestic violence. What’s more – domestic violence does not exclusively mean physical abuse – emotional and financial are also forms of domestic violence. In fact, Ms. Millerd said that financial abuse is one of the most common forms of abuse she sees in her clients.

Domestic violence in its simplest terms is any behaviour which, at its core, aims to use fear to gain power and control over another individual.

So how is this “domestic” issue relevant to the workplace?

Firstly – the workplace is expanding. Within the digital age where everyone is constantly online and connected to the workplace the old boundaries of home/work have broken down. Court rulings have previously found that if you are doing “work” from home then this can be considered your workplace. Furthermore, if you are being bullied/hassled online when you are at work, this is a workplace issue.

Secondly – there is a legal obligation for employers to provide a safe workplace. If there is an awareness of an issue then an effort must be made to minimize the associated risk. When domestic violence happens outside the workplace this may just mean allowing flexibility within working hours for the victim, providing a support network within the organisation or directing them towards support services, and maintaining their privacy and safety by not handing out personal information such as phone numbers, works days and work times to third parties.

Ms. Millerd explained that the issue becomes complicated when the domestic violence continues at work. Especially if it is occurring between two employees. If there is explicit violence and the victim has come forward and made an official complaint it may be slightly easier, as, in most workplaces this would qualify as “serious misconduct” on the part of the perpetrator and may be grounds for dismissal. However many victims do not come forward.

The stigma attached to domestic violence often means that victims are unwilling, or in some cases even unable to acknowledge it – especially within the workplace. In these cases your responsibility is to ensure the safety of the victim.

If the domestic violence is taking place outside of the workplace but it between two employees there may not be grounds for reasonable dismissal – however there are still steps you can take to ensure you are providing a safe workplace. Ms. Millerd recommends organising a time to sit down and discuss your concerns with the victim, and allow them to say as much as they are willing about their own concerns and how you can help. Ways to help may include: moving a person’s desk so that they are no longer at the front of the office, they are now at the back – thus the victim does not have to walk past them every day or vice versa; or changing the person that the victim has to report to so that they are no longer in direct contact with the perpetrator at work. There is no need for the perpetrator to know that these measures are being taken. But Ms. Millerd stressed – “Your responsibility is always to ensure the victim’s safety.”

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Abby Millerd giving her presentation in April this year

So what are the financial benefits of making sure you can provide a safe workplace for domestic violence victims?

It is estimated that domestic violence costs the Australian economy approximately $13 billion a year.  In terms of workplace costs – individuals who are constantly frightened, physically and/or emotionally injured and have issues with absenteeism and presenteeism are not productive workers. Furthermore, if their situation is evident to their colleagues and team members it may disrupt the workplace environment as these friends and acquaintances may feel the need to help and offer support without being sure of how to go about this.

The recent royal commission into Domestic Violence in Victoria made over 200 recommendations and the Victorian government looks set to adopt the majority of them. These include mandated domestic violence leave for victims – such as that is available to individuals in the United Kingdom under “Clare’s Law”. But Ms. Millerd emphasised the importance of ensuring that your workplace has adequate policies already in place to help create a safe and supportive environment for those suffering from domestic violence.

“Audit what you currently have in place” she said. “Familiarise yourself with the law surrounding this.” She said it is particularly important to know what your rights as an employer/employee are and to make sure that managers within any workplace have the training to deal with situations of domestic violence should they arise. She also recommended developing a list of questions to ask should a victim come forward within the workplace, so the situation can be treated with the utmost care and respect.

If you are concerned that you or someone you know might be suffering from domestic violence please call 1800 RESPECT and talk to someone who can help.

Written by Jean Roxon

WayAhead Workplaces – holds meetings throughout the year, providing opportunities to network with other organisations who place importance on healthy workplaces and hear from leaders in the field.

Eat well, live well

foodAs Hippocrates wisely put it, eating nutritious food has long been associated with good health, both physical and mental. However, with the coming of medicine, much of this old-world knowledge in eating well has been replaced by science. Now, there is a movement to return to our roots and explore healing with natural therapies and food, and at the forefront of that movement are James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch.

It started as a documentary to share their research into nutrition and natural therapies to heal the mind and body, now it’s a successful health and wellness company bringing its message for healthy eating to people all over the world through an online subscription channel offering over 350 documentaries, expert interviews, recipe videos and more – not bad for a Sunshine Coast couple who wanted to help a loved one in need.

“Food Matters really began as a desperate search for answers to heal my father, Roy’s, declining health,” James explains.

In 2003, Roy was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and despite being prescribed a number of medications to help, he only got worse, gaining 55 pounds and suffering sweaty panic attacks at night.

James and his partner Laurentine began their search into nutrition and health, and what they discovered changed not only their lives but Roy’s too.

“We poured all our life savings into creating the Food Matters film and made it our mission to share the power of natural health and wellness with the world. Starting with my father.

“We sat him down to watch the raw footage, and within the next few months, he had transformed his health. No longer on medication, back to his healthy weight and living an energetic life. It was incredible.”

The film has become a cult classic in the documentary space. James and Laurentine interviewed several experts in nutrition and natural healing and found that by eating the right foods, supplements and detoxifying the body, a person could significantly transform their health, both physically and mentally.

“The human body is fascinating and nutrition is ever evolving. Probably one of the most interesting areas of health and nutrition recently is the discovery of the gut-brain connection, and how incredibly powerful our gut and the bacteria in our bodies are – influencing everything from food intolerance, to behavioural issues, to anxiety and depression, skin conditions, immunity, and stress.

“The impact on what we eat, how much we digest and absorb, and the integrity of our digestive system is just so critical for achieving optimal health. It’s exciting to think of what else new research will uncover in this area, and I am excited to see how traditional ways of preparing food will come back into our daily lives because of it.”

food-matters-founders-laurentine-and-jamesThe success and popularity of Food Matters and their second documentary, Hungry for Change, in 2012, speaks volumes of the passion and commitment James and Laurentine share in wanting to educate others about good health and wellbeing.

After launching the FMTV platform, the couple is busy on their next projects: producing an exciting new health and wellness film, donating $1 million to charity in 2017, and reaching 10 million people in need through the Food Matters Foundation education scholarship programs.

After seeing the results of their eat well, live well philosophy first-hand, James and Laurentine are more committed than ever to helping others turn their lives around through informed decisions when it comes to nourishing and healing our bodies.

“We believe that your body is worthy of good care and that no one is more suitably qualified to care for it than yourself. It is incredibly important to nurture, nourish and show gratitude for your own body, mind and soul, treating yourself in the best way you possibly can.”

For more on Food Matters, visit: www.foodmatters.com.

Written by Danielle Hanrahan

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