WayAhead

Mental Health - Education, Support and Prevention

Sharing stories to improve mental wellbeing

richmond-wellbeing-courageous-african-women-124
As a species we have passed down our history and knowledge through stories, teaching others of the experiences of those who have gone before us and it is this premise that is behind a new group of women coming together to improve mental health and wellbeing.

An intrepid group of African women across the suburbs of Perth have come together to launch a range of social activities as a way to prove mental health and overall wellbeing through the ‘Courageous African Women Network’.

The network is a partnership initiative between the African Women’s Association and local not-for-profit mental health and wellbeing organisation, Richmond Wellbeing.

The initiative has a vision to establish a network of active women coming together to share stories, skills and support in a culturally and socially safe environment.

Richmond Wellbeing and the network are also using the classes to promote enhanced mental health through physical activity and counselling services. Activities also include workshops and training covering areas such as parenting, life-coaching, sexual health and safety, and other important lifestyle issues.

Yvonne Johnson, Chairperson of the Courageous African Women Network, says it is different for women to accept common mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, but when they come together and share their experiences it changes the atmosphere.

“… When they meet with other women and begin to talk about some of their experiences then they can share knowledge and learn different ideas on how to deal with those issues affecting their mental wellbeing,” she says.

richmond-wellbeing-courageous-african-women-129“It is important to provide services for women to get together and share their experiences and learn from each other different ways to address issues affecting their mental wellbeing.

“For instance, sometimes women find it difficult to discuss challenging behaviour of their children with strangers, but when women get together and build relationships and trust through shared experience they can gain new cultural ideas to deal with issues differently.”

Support of the Courageous African Women Network is an outreach initiative of Richmond Wellbeing’s Partners In Recovery (PIR) program.

Neil Guard, Richmond Wellbeing Chief Executive, says the PIR program was first introduced by the government to address the deeper challenges existing within the mental health system and to develop a genuine collaborative and cooperative approach by service providers.

“Through our Partners in Recovery program we aim to assist the Courageous African Women Network to nurture strong, confident, empowered women who have a positive vision for their futures and the future of our local communities. It’s also a great way to address issues such as depression amongst a very isolated community group,” he says.

“Life challenges and mental health issues affect people across all ages, nationalities and cultures. To positively impact overall health and wellbeing across these diverse demographics we need to encourage people to share their messages and experiences of acceptance and recovery.”

Written by Danielle Hanrahan

The Big Stigma

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As scary as it may seem, mental illness doesn’t have to be fought alone, but for a quarter of young Australians who experience mental health problems each year, 1 in every four will not seek the help they need or talk to anyone about what they’re experiencing.

In light of these statistics Headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation launched The Big Stigma awareness campaign. The campaign aims to tear down the stigma and negative perceptions around mental illness for young people, and encourage conversation. The data found that 52 percent of young Australians who suffer mental illness are too embarrassed to talk about their problems. With a quarter either not discussing their issues with anyone including close friends or the family doctor.

stigmaThe campaign began in Melbourne and was a physical representation of mental health stigma taking shape as a dome structure. Outside of Southern Cross Station, members of the public were invited to tear off a piece of the dome with information on the back of each panel explaining mental illness and where and how to get help. The result is that the stigma dome gets smaller and smaller the more people tear it down and learn about mental health.

The Big Stigma now exists as an online campaign thebigstigma.com.au, where people can tear down the stigma virtually and share it on Facebook and Twitter, encouraging their friends and family to tear down negative perceptions as well. It also has the personal stories of three headspace ambassadors who in the past kept quiet about their struggles, but are now hoping to prevent others from making the same mistakes they did. Headspace also hope to educate people on the tools and resources out there on where to seek help and the benefits of doing so.

On a personal note one of my close friends is starting to experience symptoms of anxiety. At the moment she hasn’t told anyone, and like many 20 year olds is choosing to keep her feelings to herself rather than burden others with her struggles, and worries abouthow people might see her differently. As I’m not supposed to know that she has having these thoughts and feelings, I can’t just start giving her advice and support as freely as I would like.But if she or anyone in the same situation is reading this I say TELL SOMEONE. If not me then another friend, your mum, your doctor. You are not a burden. What you’re feeling is totally valid and nothing to be ashamed of. I will help you find the right kind of treatment and support you whichever way you may want me to, be that big or small. I will never judge you on the decisions you make or the way you feel. I might not be able to talk to my friend about this right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to the person in your life that is silently suffering. Or if you are the friend that needs help, don’t shut your loved ones out. They want to support you. You don’t have to go through this alone.

Tearing down the stigma can start with a simple conversation. ental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. The more it’s discussed and talk about in an open conversation, then the easier it will be for you or someone you know to seek the treatment or support needed and not to have to go through it alone.

thebigstigma.com.au

Personal story – Stephanie

Stephanie’s beautiful eyes and easy smile speak of a carefree young woman making strong strides in the world. But, it wasn’t always this way.

What those same eyes mask is a past challenged by mental illness: she was diagnosed with bulimia at 18, had her first suicide attempt just shy of her 23rd birthday and was later diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

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“While the symptoms of borderline personality disorder can be quite diverse, for me it was an irrational and impulsive response to different situations. I was very black and white.

“One minute I could be totally fine then something would trigger me into a complete suicidal episode and a 24-hour downward spiral. BPD generally also is a co-morbid self-harm type illness. In my case it was an eating disorder – a sort of combination of anorexia and bulimia.”

She shares her experience with mental illness with others as an ambassador for SANE Australia’s Thriving Communities campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the benefits online support and social connection can have on Australians whose lives are affected by complex mental illness. Stephanie’s story of personal strength, grit and love is one of eight inspiring stories of Australians affected by mental illness, such as bipolar, schizophrenia, anorexia, major depression and suicide.

The term ‘borderline personality disorder’ was not something Stephanie had come across before her diagnosis but when it came, it provided a structure for from where to focus her treatment as opposed to the aimlessness she had felt beforehand. From here, she moved from Canberra to Brisbane and found a good psychiatrist who recommended she join a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) group at her local hospital as an outpatient. The experience would prove to be one of the first forward- moving steps on her journey.

Together with her treatment, Stephanie acknowledges the significant role her family and friends have had on her management of the mental illness. She says her patient parents, her close friends and her partner, who “knows me better than I know myself”, have all meant the difference in her journey.

“My parents will both always say that I am, and always have been, a very determined person, and I will always get the most out of everything I put my heart into. So this mentality followed through into my recovery. If I was going to do it, I had to do it right and wholeheartedly if it was going to work for me.”

 

It is this spirit and commitment to herself, which has helped Stephanie navigate the choppy waters she has experienced, especially around the stigma of mental illness in her work and personal spheres.

While her current workplace is supportive, previous companies she has worked for have not been as caring. “I understand that having unproductive staff isn’t great for business… but I can also value an environment in which management support staff through their illnesses and hardships.

“There was more than one occasion where I would be teetering on the edge of suicide the evening before work, having an almighty episode, and I would have to wake up and perform at work the next day all the while dissociating so much that I couldn’t even engage in the simplest activity. How the hell do you explain that to your employer?”

There are many workplaces showing increasing support and assistance for employees who are diagnosed with mental illness, however, there are many others that continue to feed on the stigma surrounding mental illness in Australia. It wasn’t just in workplaces where Stephanie has felt and experienced negativity towards those with lived experiences of mental illness. It was also difficult for her peers to accept and, in her early twenties, this resulted in social exclusion.

“Reflecting back on this time, and still seeing it to an extent now, I feel this is a result of lack of education about mental health.

“Movies and mass media tend to either idealise or catastrophise the illnesses that fall into this category, and this is the main knowledge source that is educating young adults.

“According to the news, people who suffer severe mental illness are the ones gunning down groups of people or, on the other end of the spectrum, it’s someone who suffers minor depression and anxiety who overcame their demons with yoga and healthy eating; there’s rarely that in-between, talking about complex mental illness, that so many of us experience.”

It is because of this lack of education and awareness around complex mental illness that has inspired Stephanie, in large part, to share her story. “I see so much misunderstanding around mental health. If I can encourage more people to talk about their experiences with mental illness, then I hope it becomes less of a taboo. I don’t want people to feel ashamed of an illness they carry.

“People always say, ‘You’re so brave for opening up like this,’ but I don’t want it to be a brave act. I want it to be as normal to talk about mental illness as having any other illness.

“Only then, will people begin to understand and comprehend the enormity of mental illness surrounding them. People should never have to feel ashamed for having a mental illness.”

Written by Danielle Hanrahan

Meet Jo – Carer, Sister, Aunt, Mother

Jo is a resilient woman.
As a carer to her sister and nephew, both of whom lived with schizophrenia, and then to her son, who developed clinical depression and bipolar disorder, she has experienced a road full of personal heartache and despair, and while there have been moments on her journey where her resolve has wavered, it has never diminished.

As an ambassador of SANE Australia’s Thriving Communities campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the benefits online support and social connection can have on Australians whose lives are affected by complex mental illness, Jo’s voice is one that demands to be heard. She represents a group of individuals whose efforts to support family and other individuals living with mental illness is severely underestimated.

“Burnout goes hand-in-hand with the job of caring because unlike other means of employment, there are no holidays, no weekends off and the carers’ pension is not great.

“The build-up of sleep deprivation and physical and mental exhaustion spawns feelings of defeat, failure and a loss of self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth, creating a gradual loss of identity.”

For Jo, the pressure to care for her loved ones, together with the lack of support at the time for services to assist carers, led her to relieve the stress and anxiety of her role by turning to alcohol and later, Valium. The effects of each would only be temporary and the weight on her shoulders would return come the rise of the sun in the morning.

Eventually, she would develop healthier methods of dealing with stress, such as journaling, which she would utilise in the aftermath of her nephew’s suicide at the age of 19 and her sister’s death eight weeks later.

“Writing my feelings and thoughts down on paper – my guilt, grief, depression and anger – definitely helped me to cope.”

One example of an entry in her journal highlights the loneliness and pain Jo experienced during this turbulent time. The following is an excerpt of an entry she wrote on the night of her nephew’s funeral.

“Dear Joel,

Maybe in time I would have been able to communicate with you successfully. Maybe someone would have come up with a cure for schizophrenia. As a child, you slept in my bed with me and I felt so much love for you I thought my heart would burst. You were such an angry little boy at times. No Dad and a Mum who was always sick. It wasn’t fair, was it Joel?

I remember your gentleness with every living creature – rescuing grasshoppers from cats and carefully affixing cobwebs to one side of the garden path each morning so that the spider could retrieve its nightly catch of mosquitoes.

Although I couldn’t cope with your adult rebellion, my heart ached for the frightened little boy hiding in the corners of your living nightmare.

I’ve been given your wallet as a memento, Joel. It contains 15 cents and your health benefits card. These were your worldly possessions.

I don’t know what to do with your wallet. I can’t bear to look at it, yet I can’t dispose of it either. I’ll keep it in the glove box of my car for the time being. Does that seem a strange place to keep it Joel? It is as strange as the place where I keep my feelings hidden. But I don’t know what to do with them either.”

She was put to the test again when her son developed clinical depression and bipolar disorder, and she would became his full-time carer.

While there were no support groups and online forums during Jo’s lowest moments in the 1970s and 1980s, these days she acknowledges there are a number of services and charities carers can access to help them cope with the stress and exhaustion of their roles.

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“Carers need to be able to be in contact with professionals who are understanding and compassionate, who can advise and help. But they also need to be in contact with other carers so they can realise they are not alone.

“Its extremely important carers seek support from professionals, carers’ support groups and, if it’s impossible to leave the house, join the wonderful online forums that now exist. SANE Australia has a carers’ forum where you can talk to fellow carers from all over Australia at any time of the day and night, and it is anonymous.”

Passionate about advocating for the support services carers need, Jo also runs workshops across Australia. During these one-day or weekend workshops, she facilitates a safe and supportive space where carers can connect with others who share the same feelings, thoughts and experiences as them. Together with fostering connection, Jo teaches meditation and relaxation exercises, creative writing and journaling – the activities she cultivated to help in her darkest hours.

For Jo, it’s all about balance and making sure that as a carer you look after yourself too.

“It is important to take care of yourself so strive to get enough sleep, if possible, and certainly eat healthily. You need to remind yourself that if you got sick, who would look after your loved one?”

Written by Danielle Hanrahan

 

Circus Skills Opens Way for Social Connectedness

Juggling scarves or smashing plates may not sound like your typical therapy session but for Honora Jenkins, it offers the ideal way for kids, and adults, to feel engaged and connected in a fun, energetic and safe space.

The Wollongong-based circus facilitator has been working with Flourish Australia, formerly Richmond RPA, for the past 12 months at its New Outlook mental health social recovery centre, a drop-in facility that looks at meaningful activity and social connectedness as important contributions to a person’s recovery.

Honora utilises her circus skills to facilitate activities for the facility’s clients, who, at times, simply want to watch and observe the playful antics she gets up to. “I’II get out the hoops and start rolling them around, or jumping over them, or running balls around, and that energy is contagious,” she says.

honora1“One day, we had heaps of people sitting around a table and I could tell they were happy to sit there, so I started engaging with one new client, who was interested in trying a few things. I saw one girl, who I knew had done some things before, and I asked her to come over and show the new person a few of the activities she had previously done. So she did and I got some of the people, who were at the table and now starting to watch what was happening, to come over and spot for her. To make her feel safe and supported.

“I suppose, for me, circus therapy is about inclusion. It’s all about real, honest-to- goodness inclusion.”

It’s this approach to inclusion and connection which underlies much of what Honora does with the people she works with. For her, it’s not about being perfect in hanging from a trapeze or juggling a handful of scarves at once, and looking like a professional performer, it’s about having fun and giving something new, a go. It’s a lesson she learned from her teacher when she joined Circus WOW, an organisation that offers a variety of circus training and workshops for adult women.

honora“I would turn up every week and I could barely hold myself up on the scarves or the silks and I’d need help to get my legs over, but once I was up on the trapeze, I found I could do stuff. “If I had not been allowed to clamber up, ungracefully, onto the trapeze because I may not have been ready or flexible enough, I never would have gone back. My teacher was incredibly supportive and would encourage me by saying, ‘You’ve got great form!’

“She was not looking at what I was terrible at, but what I was doing well. And, I got stronger. I wasn’t getting stronger in order to do it, I was getting stronger by doing it, and by doing it badly, but I was getting stronger and better.”

After learning the basics, she undertook a workshop on Holistic Circus Therapy (HCT), a concept created by Jill Malgio that combines occupational therapy with circus arts to address the unique health and wellbeing needs of individuals. While Honora does not specialise in the occupational therapy side of HCT, she has adapted the philosophy behind the concept and combined this with her practical knowledge in circus skills to think creatively about how she can help a person with a mental health challenge.

honora2A fact that’s evident in the work she does at New Outlook, where she’s helping to empower people by building their self-esteem and confidence through the circus activities. And, if someone wants to talk while their throwing scarves or balls, she’ll be there for them.

“A lot of people slip through the cracks and I suppose I just want to be there, wherever I can find a place, to do this kind of work, to create opportunities for people and to have a play.

“We’re never too old to play. We should never not do something because we think we can’t do it or because we won’t be the best at it, that’s not the purpose here, the purpose is to have a bit of fun. And to have conversation.”

She recalls one young man who dismissed the scarves as something “too girly”. But, once he had given them a go, he found he enjoyed throwing them around. It was during one of these moments of tossing the scarves around that he started talking to Honora about other things on his mind. It was informal and non-threatening, a way of being there for someone that she prefers, as opposed to asking questions, such as, ‘What’s your problem?’ and ‘How can I fix it?’ It’s not what she does.

“We all have challenges and if we have the opportunity to find something to step beyond those challenges, and find our strengths within those challenging areas, then fantastic. We can find the strength in anyone and circus is really good for that.”

For more information on Honora Jenkins, visit: www.honorajenkins.com.

LGBTI and anxiety

Attending a support group for the first time is always going to be difficult, but for someone with an anxiety disorder, even just the logistics of getting there can be a challenge in itself.

“We had one woman who’s very anxious about public transport testing her nerves to actually get to the group, and she was overcoming that anxiety each month,” said Tom Skelton, who is a facilitator at one of WayAhead’s Anxiety Disorder Support Groups in Marrickville, as well as an LGBTI – focused support group in Surry Hills.“I think it’s a real challenge because you’re asking people to do two things – you’re asking them to go to a venue they’ve never been to before with people they’ve never met, to talk about things they might not have talked about before,” he said.

“You’re also asking people to disclose something they may find shameful, it’s a very ‘only me’, kind of isolating experience. I always say to them at the start of the group ‘I’m very glad that you came because it would have taken a lot of effort’. Some people are so anxious they can’t even leave their house, so to have people come to a group that requires them to go to that effort, I think it’s really cool.”Tom says he’s had a “pretty rocky” history with his own mental health, having struggled with anxiety, depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since he was a child, and this was a factor in his decision to become a facilitator.

“I wanted to join in the cause and give a little bit back as well,” he said. “It was actually through my partner who works in the HIV field… he had said that there’s a good group doing some great work in mental health.”

Tom knows from his own experience that finding a treatment that works can be a difficult process with a lot of trial and error, and he encourages his group members to think about what they want out of the meetings and tries to make sure that they have the experience that they want.

“I’ve been through the public health system, through the private system, I’ve been to hospitals and done CBT [cognitive behaviour therapy] programs, different types of counselling, psychiatrists, medication and all of those sorts of things. I’ve been on more medications than I can count so I can actually relate to people’s concerns about side effects and coming off them and that sort of thing…my history is extensive but I think it’s useful.”

LGBTI people in particular are three times more likely to experience depression or anxiety heterosexual people, and this is largely due to the level of discrimination they still face. This does mean there is a need for support groups that address LGBTI-specific concerns. Tom says that although the group in Surry Hills is still in “its fledgling stage”, he is pleased with the progress its members are making and says the feedback from them so far has been positive.

“We’ve got a few people coming but we could do with some more,” he said.

“Just the fact that they will go out for a coffee with other group members is also a great sign. I’ve heard of other groups that do really good work and they are more focused on mindfulness and manifestation and all that. I don’t personally find that helpful for myself, that’s not the path that I go down…it’s more a relating, person-centred path, and then give the kind of meeting back to the clients, saying ‘OK, what would you like to get out of this?’ and from what I’ve found they just want to talk, they don’t necessarily want too much focus on tools and meditation.”

Tom admits there are parts of the job that he has found challenging.

“I’m a people-pleaser and I don’t like silence, so my challenge was actually to just let the group run without much disclosure from me or too much interaction. I get anxious that people will just sit there in silence, and then what will we talk about? But sometimes with the group you just need to give people space without talking over them.

Despite the challenges, Tom finds even the smallest signs of progress rewarding and encourages anyone with anxiety to think about attending a meeting- even if they don’t want to talk straight away.

“There have been many people that have said that they are just a little bit lighter or a little bit less burdened than when they arrived. I’m grateful for any sort of relief that people can get, “ he said.

“If I could say anything to them before they arrive, it would be that it you can be reserved to begin with, there’s no mandatory requirement to participate as such because just getting there is a good start.”

You can find out more about WayAhead’s Anxiety Support groups on our website, by calling our Anxiety Disorders Information line on 1300 794 992, or by emailing supportgroups@wayahead.org.au

by Anita Senaratna

 

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Recovery in Art 2017

Being’s Annual Recovery in Art Exhibition traditionally a part of October’s Mental Health Month is shifting to a month long time slot some time in 2017.

The Recovery in Art Exhibition is all about celebrating the creativity of people who have experienced mental illness, as well as their journeys towards recovery. It has been around a few years, but the next one is going to be particularly special because it will be held in the foyer of NSW Parliament House and opened by the Minister for Mental Health The Hon. Pru Goward.

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Rachel Laidler (Photograph by Jennifer Blau)

We had a chat to Rachel Laidler, the Events and Projects Officer at Being to find out more.

Could you tell us a bit about the exhibition?

The Recovery in Art Exhibition’s been running for six years and it’s an exhibition where all of the artists involved have a lived experience of mental illness and the idea is to break down a bit of the stigma surrounding mental illness and talk about recovery instead.

How many entries would you normally get in a year and how many get displayed?

At this point we display everyone who enters, we’ve had up to, I think 80 in the past. When it started six years ago we were only getting maybe 30 entries and it was held down at the Wayside Chapel in one of the rooms there. We had about 30 or 40 entries at that point but then it just kind of blew up into this big thing.

Have you been involved with it from the beginning?

No, I’ve been involved with it for about two years. It’s always been a huge team effort with the policy team and the communications team. I think this is the first year there’s actually been an events role, so that’s kind of nice.

It sounds like it’s gotten pretty big over time…

It has, it’s at the point now where we’re looking at getting corporate sponsorship and that sort of stuff because it’s just becoming…not more than we can handle, but it’s becoming more than our little organisation is able to provide.

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What would you say the aim of the exhibition is?

I think a big part of it, and a big part of Mental Health Month is about celebrating mental health as opposed to mental illness. It’s about recovery and taking care of yourself, and art is something that a lot of people identify with and use as a way to take care of themselves. It’s a bit of a celebration of health and wellness as opposed to illness, and beyond that it’s also a celebration of the creative skills that mental health consumers have because people with a lived experience of mental illness will surprise you with the amount of passion and skill and creativity that they bring, so that’s something we like to try and showcase wherever we can which has been hugely beneficial in breaking down some of the stigma surrounding people with mental illness.

What type of artworks do you usually get? Are they mostly paintings?

A lot of what we present is paintings on canvases and that sort of stuff, we’ve gotten a few sculptures in the past, a mosaic at one point, we get video installations and we do wherever we can try to include performance art, so, you know, musicians with a lived experience of mental illness. It’s a bit hard to coordinate but it’s so wonderful to have them there, to have people expressing what they’ve experienced.

What do you think it is about art that people find therapeutic?

Well, the people who enter come from all walks of life, so they could be people who created art as part of their therapy in a hospital or something like that, it could also be people who created art for the love of art, maybe it’s not a therapy, it’s a way of expressing themselves. It’s a way of safely talking about things they’ve experienced. It’s hard to write down what you’ve experienced and sometimes it’s a better way of explaining it when you don’t have the words for what’s going on.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about the exhibition?

It’s held every year in Mental Health Month – this year we’re really excited, it’s not going to be in October, it’s going to be held sometime next year in Parliament House for about a month next year. We’re really excited for that because it’s just giving the exhibition a level of prestige. To be kind of recognised in Parliament House as something that’s beneficial for the community, it’s a huge achievement for us.

Support Groups

Australians from CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds are less likely to seek help for mental health issues due to a range of factors, such as language barriers, not being familiar with Australia’s health system, or simply just not knowing what warning signs to look out for.

Nikhil*, who attends an anxiety support group in Sydney, struggled with panic attacks and social phobia for months before being diagnosed with anything, hiding the problem from his family and friends until he reached breaking point.

Nikhil had his first panic attack in 2011. The year had started off a happy one- he and his wife had a young daughter as well as another baby on the way. But when he started feeling dizzy at work, he began to worry- especially when it got so bad he had to leave early one day.

nkhil“I started driving back home but my mind was so fragile. I was thinking, ‘What if I faint while driving?’ I stopped at a red light but couldn’t pull over. My heart was pounding and all I could see was the red light. The only things I could do to try and cope were breathing and drinking water – I thought I was having a heart attack. I forced myself to drive further as the light went green until I found a place to pull over. I thought about calling an ambulance but decided not to. I just kept breathing, drinking water and praying to every god I knew. Somehow I managed to get home-it was my longest and hardest drive ever.”

He didn’t say too much to his wife- she was 8 months pregnant and he didn’t want her to worry.

But then the same thing happened again at work the next day. Nikhil went to his GP, who gave him some pills to reduce his heart rate and didn’t think it was anything too serious. But nothing seemed to make any difference.

“I became scared of collapsing anywhere I went, thinking I was going to have a heart attack. I started thinking about my daughter and pregnant wife. What would they do if something happened to me? What killed me was that instead of me taking care of my wife who was due in just a few weeks, she was the one taking care of me. None of the doctors found anything wrong with me,but I knew something wasn’t right. I was constantly asking myself “Why is this happening to me now, when my family needs me more than ever?” I became very weak mentally, but I tried my best to hide it from my wife.”

Finally, Nikhil went to see his GP again and described what had been happening the past few months. This time, his GP gave him a DVD about mental illness and when he watched it, he realised he was suffering from a combination of social phobia and panic disorder. It didn’t make him feel any better though – all he could think about was what would happen to his family, his newborn son in particular. He finally told his wife what had been going on, and she encouraged him to see a psychologist who diagnosed him with depression.

“My wife inspired me, as always, to recover from the hell I was going through. I looked at her, then at my daughter and crawling son. I wept on the inside thinking about their future, and decided that I  would fight hard no matter what to come out from that hell. Days and months passed by and gradually I started getting back to normal. I went to social gatherings and on holidays, exercised whenever I could and meditated on and off. Eventually I felt the sunshine coming back to my life.”

Nikhil thought that was the end of it, until one night when he was watching a particularly violent war documentary- his favourite kind.

“ Out of the blue, I felt an uneasiness in my chest. I ignored it at first and kept watching, but it kept getting worse. My heartbeat got faster and heavier, until I finally switched off what I was watching and changed to my meditation music. I told myself I could control  it- deep breathing, drinking water and walking around my lounge room. It was an awful night,  I hardly slept. Then I went into work the next day thinking I was going to die.”

But then he heard about WayAhead’s Anxiety Disorder Support Groups through a couple he was introduced to by a relative who also suffered from anxiety. He found the Sydney group online and decided to go to the next meeting.

“ I was very anxious and shaky, even though everyone was really friendly. Soon everyone started sharing their stories,  one after another. I started feeling a lot better knowing I wasn’t the only one suffering the way I was, but my heart was still pounding heavily as my turn came to talk. I was resisting the urge to run out of the room. Finally, Toby asked me to introduce myself and share my story. It was my first time expressing my suffering in front of so many people. I spoke to people who were on medication and weren’t, everyone had different views. I found out many of them had been to doctors and psychologists on and off like me. I felt so happy when I left the room and couldn’t wait for next month.”

Nikhil made the decision to go on medication, but he also kept going to the group meetings. He ends his story on a positive note:

“Now it’s been more than a year that I’ve been part of this group. Things are looking better. I can feel sunshine in my life again and even though I still feel anxious sometimes, I can handle it. I know these feelings will always be part of my life, but  I have to be strong.  I want to say thank you  to this organisation and everybody whom I’ve mentioned in my story. Special thanks to Rachel and Toby for committing their valuable time to this organisation and bringing together people like us.

Live in your present not with your past or future…

Om Mani Padme Hum……(Buddhist mantra)

*Name changed for privacy reasons

If you or anyone you know is living with anxiety, you can find out more about WayAhead’s Anxiety Support groups on our website, by calling our Anxiety Disorders Information line on 1300 794 992, or by emailing  supportgroups@wayahead.org.au

by Anita Senaratna

Pilates and Mental Health

pilates4The effects of Pilates on mental wellbeing have been well-documented, but a program run by Canterbury Community Mental Health Service is achieving some interesting results by actually making it a part of their client’s treatment. 

Dennis Magro is a senior social worker at Canterbury Community Mental Health Service. He works with clients who have “serious and persistent” mental illnesses, including some who had experienced psychotic episodes. Dennis says that he started the program to address the effects of metabolic syndrome that were affecting some of his clients. Metabolic syndrome is a term for a group of conditions, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, insulin resistance and obesity, that can increase a person’s risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

pilates2According to a NSW Health bulletin from 2012, “mental health consumers, particularly those with diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorders, have up to four times greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome than the general population.” While this is partly due to lifestyle factors such as excessive smoking or drinking, there is also a link between metabolic syndrome and certain antipsychotic medications.

Although there have been several studies done on the link between metabolic syndrome and mental illness, the idea of incorporating physical activity into mental health treatment programs is still relatively new.
“The question remains, once it’s identified, what do we do about it?” said Dennis.

He decided to approach C-Life Health Club, a local gym in Belmore, and started a partnership with them where he brought his clients in to use their facilities a couple of times a week.

ness-and-dennis

Dennis and Vanessa at the gym where they run the Pilates program.

The severity of some of the clients’ conditions made it challenging to find people who were suited for the program, which operated via GP referrals. Dennis says that all potential clients are screened before being admitted to the program.

“Just about everyone comes in with a serious degree [of mental illness] when they start with us,” said Dennis.

“We were very sensitive to where the baseline was for each individual.”

Initially the program consisted of just the bi-weekly gym visits, but after about six months Dennis became interested in incorporating Pilates into the program and approached Vanessa Bartlett, a fitness instructor with about 14 years in the industry, whose focus is Pilates and holistic fitness.

“I’ve kind of come into this not knowing what to expect,” said Vanessa, who had no previous experience with mental health clients prior to being approached by Dennis.

“[Dennis] could see the benefit in doing Pilates because of that mind- body connection that you get. I thought ‘well, I don’t know what I’m dealing with here, but I think that’s been an advantage for me and for them because I haven’t judged people when they’ve come into the class. I don’t know what they’re going through so therefore I have no preconceived ideas.”

The program has been running for 5 years twice a week and both Dennis and Vanessa say they can see a difference in the clients. Dennis says that the clients are reporting sleeping better and needing to visit their GPs less, and he has noticed that they seem to get along better with their case managers and other social workers. Vanessa has noticed similar effects, especially in clients who have been attending classes for over 12 months.

“I’ve noticed within their own personalities just seeing them come in….at the beginning they’re quite timid but after a few months of doing it consistently [you notice] an improvement in their self esteem, their demeanour,” she said.

“I got to asking some of the clients over the years, ‘Why do you keep coming? I’m interested to know…’ One of the girls said to me that the difference between doing gym exercise and Pilates is that anyone can walk on a treadmill but your mind is still wandering and you’re still thinking about your problems, basically. But in a Pilates sense where you have to focus on the movements and the breathing, you don’t have time to think about your problems so it creates this presence and mindfulness.”

pilates1So far the program has had quite a high retention rate, and many of the clients have gone on to make changes in other areas of their life, such as returning to work or study.

“[The program] gives them a bit of confidence, I think,” said Vanessa.

“When you can say, build on your physical strength and actually accomplish something in the class, it’s like a snowball effect. For instance if I get them to do, say, three push-ups, then in a few weeks time they can do ten push-ups, in their mind they know they’ve improved so therefore their brain starts to adapt to other external things in their lives to go ‘well, if I can do this in my exercises, maybe I can do study or something else’. I believe in psychology it’s called self-efficacy.”

Although Vanessa started her career as a more traditional fitness instructor, she was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue in her twenties and had to start looking at alternative ways to keep fit.

” I basically hit burnout point in my mid-to-late twenties by overdoing it – too many pump classes, too many boxing classes, too much of the heart stuff,” she said.

“I had to then look at other ways of staying fit and healthy without doing the gym classes I’d done for 15 years so that was quite a challenge! I was thinking, ‘I’m a personal trainer working at gyms helping clients lose weight and get energy and I’m not feeling any of this myself’, and I started to get quite down about it so it affected me mentally for a little while…I felt really inauthentic at the time as well, just because it wasn’t working for me anymore.”

She tried a few different types of exercise, but what really seemed to suit her was Pilates.

“With the Pilates, something happened in the first few classes,” she said.
“I felt a buzz of energy. When you’ve got adrenal fatigue you’re very, very tired, it’s beyond exhaustion, you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck even if you’ve slept for ten hours. So when I felt this kind of surge of energy in the Pilates class I thought ‘ oh, this is something I haven’t had in a really long time, what’s going on here?’ So I started to do more classes and I thought “This is good, this is sustainable for me to teach.”

“I guess I’ve gone from a hardcore typical fitness trainer to, these days, more of a holistic approach, especially working with mental health clients and seeing how this mindfulness can help them. So that’s my whole philosophy and what I love to help people with, it’s about finding that balance, to live a healthy lifestyle, get to your correct weight without crazy diets, get to your best health mentally and physically through something that’s a bit more sustainable so you don’t get injured, you still work your muscles but it’s not so ‘go hard or go home.’”

According to Vanessa, the Schizophrenia Fellowship has shown a lot of interest in the program, even giving Canterbury Mental Health an award for ‘Innovation in Healthcare’ in 2013. Although the program seems to be one of the first of its kind, the results so far have been promising and
both Vanessa and Dennis say they would like to see it expanded to more areas.

Self Help Groups

mitoriEver since she was a teenager in Japan, Mittori has had an intense fear of driving, and has experienced panic attacks while driving on freeways or zones with high speed limits. Although she passed her driving test with no issues, she experienced a panic attack while driving with a friend a few weeks later.

“My hands were sweating, I felt like I was just about to go crazy or die or something like that,” she said.

She’s not sure where it came from exactly, but she remembers feeling scared during car trips with her parents, and visiting an uncle who’d been in a car accident that had left him severely disabled and feeling scared as a young child who had never seen a disabled person before. In her twenties, she tried therapy and hypnosis to get over her phobia but nothing seemed to work. But one day during a visit to Manly, a poster for WayAhead’s anxiety support group in Dee Why caught her eye.

“It’s actually really funny! I went to a public toilet in Manly and on the back of the door I saw this poster with a phone number for an anxiety support group in Dee Why, and I just thought I’d give it a try,” said Mittori.

mitori

When she went to her first meeting, she was surprised by how many people were there.

“I just felt, like…wow, I didn’t know people were suffering like me! That was my first feeling. I guess everyone must think ‘it’s only me’ because you don’t really talk about it to other people. I just felt instantly supported.”

Mittori has started driving again since attending the support groups, although it did take some time. She says she would definitely recommend the group to other people suffering from anxiety, but that they shouldn’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work for them.

“If it doesn’t work it’s okay because you took a step!” she said.

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