Online peer support for mental health at Mind Yesterday I attended a session run by Mind on online peer support – helping users of the ‘Elephant (in the room)’ community on Facebook develop their skills in supporting each other. I was interested in attending as I had been chatting to Eve, one of the trainers…
Tag: Mental Health
Volunteering and mental wellbeing – perspectives as a volunteer and as a volunteer manager
Radio Lollipop Last Wednesday evening I was in an old tube train, in a courtyard in Great Ormond Street, presenting a radio show which played out in rooms all over the hospital. Children could call in and request songs, or sing along – we told jokes and ran a competition to see who could do…
Mind the gap – GPs, antidepressants and mental health support for young people.
“I’m not going to give you another prescription” “What… but I need it.. (panics)” “Don’t worry, I was just testing to see if you really did still need them..and I think you do” GP in Fenham, Newcastle “Just take them when you feel you need to” – to me aged 17. GP in Cumbria “So,…
My thoughts on exercise and depression
Bad journalism The BBC headline ‘Exercise ‘no help for depression’, research suggests’ (note – the BBC have quietly changed this headline now!) – and indeed Guardian headline ‘Exercise doesn’t help depression, study concludes’ (note – this link has since broken and I can no longer find the article) – really frustrated me today. It’s classic…
Keeping the beast asleep – Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and my experience of how it can help prevent relapse
Recurrent depression I recently found something I wrote a couple of years ago, while trying to make sense of a particularly difficult period of depression; “Recurrent depression is cyclical. It comes and goes in longer periods than just days or weeks. Each low episode can last months, and within that time it can make everything…
Metaphor, mental health and online support.
What is successful online support? There is no foolproof formula for successful online support. Using the written word to ensure someone feels listened to, understood, informed and positive about their next steps is a complex and varied task. As with any inexact science it’s much easier to identify when something is done right. It’s a lot…