It’s the mid 70’s and I’m in my parents’ bedroom, ‘nosing’ through drawers in a dresser. At eleven, the youngest son of three…and our mother had recently ‘left’ the family home – for good! She didn’t say goodbye to any of us; it was a complete surprise when my eldest brother shared the contents of the letter she left on that Saturday evening.

My father, a placid man…and an alcoholic, was suffering the neurological effects of his illness with early onset dementia, aged 46. Our mother had decided she could no longer cope with his lying and deteriorating mental health and had moved 180 miles north with another man.

As I explore the dresser, smelling the remaining almost empty perfume bottles and various bits and pieces associated with our mother I discover some papers. They appear official and to my surprise seem to have some information that might be about me. I can’t quite work it out however as the date of birth and first name appear to match mine – but the surname is different. I look at the heading of the document and fail to understand what ‘fostering’ actually means and how that might relate to me.

My head spins at the possibilities! Unable to comprehend what this means I somehow know it’s significant so I look further through the drawers and discover another document which makes more sense. The Certificate of Adoption was dated three years after my birth and with the name changes clear to see! So who the heck were my brothers and parents?

I don’t think my life was ever the same after this!

My eldest brother took over my parenting and heroically managed to clothe and prepare me for my move to secondary school. And to this day no-one in the family has felt able to discuss the adoption with me.

Much later aged 27 I sought and found knowledge of my birth parents. My father was an ‘un-named’ American serviceman who had left the UK shortly after my birth. I have made some enquiries over the years; however it is highly unlikely I will ever be able to close that particular query and it may be just as well! What I found out about the woman who gave birth to me, and for whom I had planned to ‘forgive’ everything for ‘when’ I met her shocked me to the core. She had committed suicide when I would have been 7! I was heartbroken!

My move to secondary school provided the opportunity to fight everyone within the first few weeks promptly followed by years of truancy, accidents fracturing many bones and one incident leaving me critically injured, and the brushes with the Law…

Between 13 and 15 I worked hard doing jobs such as delivering milk with an abusive Milkman for 18 months for 25 hours a week and doing paper rounds and helping on market stalls. I seemed to mature prematurely, at least in some ways.

At 16 I started my first full time job, as an apprentice and this lasted just four months. The other qualified hairdressers could be uncomfortably ‘bitchy’! Despite the recession, I managed to secure another job. This time in retail. Made redundant after 18 months I struggled to find new, permanent work managing to get temporary or work experience positions instead. The retail sector appeared to be a route that I could focus on and found myself becoming more and more ambitious, though I had no idea why! I bounced around from job-to-job trying to find something that was a ‘fit’ that would satisfy me, yet that something seemed elusive. You could say I was ‘unsettled’!

At 21 my Father died from Cancer, and my fiancée ditched me rather suddenly shortly afterwards. I think she was probably right to do so, but maybe could have been a little kinder in the delivery!

The experience I had gained during one particular spell of unemployment, ‘temping’ put me in a great position to get a job advertised as a call taker for the ambulance service. This job would see the start of a highly successful and award winning career that would last until my premature retirement in 2011 due to a spinal injury. The privileged, yet tough roles I held over almost two decades taught me to be even more compassionate, as well as a problem solver.

I also still had to cope with depressive episodes that had first become apparent in the mid 80’s! Although I was successful and privileged, I still experienced huge emotional turbulence that made life, relationships, play and work a constant challenge. But here’s the thing. With age, experience and a steely determination to learn and observe for opportunities to make positives out of hitherto negative scenarios, my life changed.

I have always believed that everyone has something or someone that is a key to their own fulfilment. The positive mentality I discovered is about observing, in context, what is happening rather than the happy clappy ‘everything is ok’ mantra. I had until recently found no-one – or helpful information (to me) that would provide the key to unlock my emotional instability.

I discovered new-found positive selfishness. I started to actually spend time trying to solve my problems achieving happiness and some peace within; and it was outside of a strict religion too.

Meditation and elements of spirituality touched me and provided respite, the like of which I had never known. I know this has achieved a difference because my life just keeps getting more and more successful; I want for less, I have a quieter mind…and people notice me in a more welcoming way which has improved my self-esteem.

I was able to quickly overcome the disappointment of ‘losing’ my beloved and successful career, rather seeing it as an opportunity to consolidate the knowledge so many years as an attending paramedic brings whilst learning challenging new skills that would allow me to give value to myself and family, whilst still continuing to meet and help others.

Finding that ‘key’, whatever it is for you, is what really matters. I can now accept my fate in a way I never could before. I guess I have found my nirvana. It feels that life is just beginning – I’m as busy and passionate as ever. It is natural to still have duvet days and low moods; I accept and share that knowing that it will pass. I now live ‘mindfully’ in the ‘here and now’ allowing the past to be a place of reflection for learning, or to place things in context. The future is being built by the actions here and now and all of this has provided greater focus, creativity and peace for me.

I am reminded of gratitude to lift me when I feel less than. No matter how tough or turbulent life is, finding gratitude for ‘something’ will help you overcome the most stubborn of unhelpful emotions. Perhaps now you can see why I have become ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’.

Bob Brotchie

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Individuals whose lives have been affected by mental health issues are being invited to take part in the Human Libraries project, organised by Suffolk Libraries.

This concept is quite new in the UK but is an excellent way to create understanding surrounding a range of sensitive issues, including mental health, alcohol awareness, drug awareness and contraception.

At each event, individuals share their stories in front of a group for up to twenty five minutes, which includes time for responding to questions from the attendees. Stories are always shared in a group setting, rather than on a one-to-one basis. And health experts are also invited to take part as living books, so that local communities can benefit from their knowledge and experience.

The aim is for the information shared to benefit others in similar situations or people who want to learn something new.

If you would like to get involved in an upcoming Human Library event, please contact: David Grimmer, Mental Health & Wellbeing Information Service Coordinator for Suffolk Libraries, on 01473 264014

Anyone who is interested in hosting a Human Library event in a community or education setting can find out more about the concept at:  www.human-library.org

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“Spiritual people are more likely to be mentally ill (but at least they think life has more meaning)”, cried the Daily Mail as we entered 2013.

I was surprised and saddened when I read this article. Surprised, because my spirituality forms an essential part of my own mental health and emotional wellbeing toolkit, and saddened by the thought that headlines such as this could discourage people from building a belief system that supports their mental health in a positive way.

The article reports on research that shows people who have a spiritual understanding of life but no structured religion are more likely to experience mental health disorders than people with firm religious beliefs or no spiritual/religious beliefs at all.

The NHS published a great article in response to this news, providing more insights into the validity of the research and the conclusions drawn. Thankfully, and quite rightly, they highlight that:

“It is tempting to conclude that having a spiritual understanding of life (without a religious framework of regular worship) somehow causes more mental health problems, potentially through lack of social support increasing a person’s vulnerability.

However, it is equally valid to conclude that mental health problems cause people to develop a spiritual understanding of life, potentially through searching for alternative answers and explanations for their problems (as the American blues singer Bonnie Raitt put it, ‘Religion is for people who are scared to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there’)”.

Click here to register for NHS Choices and read their full response

Personally speaking, my mental health was at it’s worse when I no longer believed wholly in the religion that I had been brought up to believe in.  In fact the contradictions and guilt that were engrained in me through my belief system to that point, had contributed to my continued depression and psychotic episodes. The break down of that belief system led me to a vulnerable place emotionally and mentally. My recovery was made largely through rebuilding my spiritual belief system to form one that sits comfortably with me.

Now, my spirituality supports my wellbeing – which is how it should be, and I refer to my experience of mental illness, not as a breakdown, but as a breakthrough.

Has spirituality or religion had an impact on your mental health in either a positive or negative way?  Please share your experiences by commenting below.

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A new study featured on the BBC website suggests that prescribing self-help books on the NHS is an effective treatment for depression.

Patients offered books, plus sessions guiding them in how to use them, had lower levels of depression a year later than those offered usual GP care. The effect was seen in addition to the benefits of other treatments such as antidepressants, according to the Scottish researchers’ report in the journal Plos One.

More than 200 patients who had been diagnosed with depression by their GP took part in the study, half of whom were also on antidepressant drugs. Some were provided with a self-help guide dealing with different aspects of depression, such as being assertive or overcoming sleep problems.

Patients also had three sessions with an adviser who helped them get the most out of the books and plan what changes to make.

After four months, those who had been prescribed the self-help books had significantly lower levels of depression than those who received usual GP care.

The NHS have published a report in response to the findings, we can be viewed at the following link: Self-Help Books Help Treat Depression

The Mind Sanctuary has an online bookshop, where we provide links to books and resources that may help people to manage their mental and emotional health and wellbeing. And Suffolk Libraries also provides a mental health and wellbeing reading list.

Journaling is also an approach that can allow you the time and space to clear your mind your thoughts, feelings and ideas transfer to paper. Read our article on journaling.

We’d love to hear your comments about the books that have helped and inspired you on your journey..

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Nicky Seabrook is a qualified Nutritional Therapist with previous experience of working as a Dietician in General Practice. Nicky offers nutritional therapy to clients with a variety of conditions and needs, but is particularly interested in supporting children’s health and well-being, people with mental health issues, and those seeking to improve overall emotional resilience, vitality and well-being. In this article, Nicky explores the potential links between autism in children and diet.

Autism In Children: How Nutrition Can Help – By Nutritional Therapist Nicky Seabrook, Based in Suffolk

The prevalence of Autism has risen dramatically since it was first recognised by psychologist, Leo Kanner 70 years ago. Today, the incidence in children is estimated to be one in a hundred and sadly there still seems to be a lack of consensus amongst doctors as to what might be causing it and perhaps most importantly, how to treat it.

While it is recognised that genetic predisposition plays a part, it is increasingly thought that environmental factors must also exert a role. In 2010 Dr Landrigan wrote in a paediatric journal that early exposure to environmental toxins during pregnancy or early infant life could pose a threat to infant development and lead to autism.

Link with gut health

Although the primary symptoms of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are behavioural in nature and doctors have traditionally focused on the neurological health of children, gut health is frequently poor in many of the children. Abnormalities include inflammation, low levels of digestive enzymes, bacterial and yeast overgrowth and poor levels of detoxification.

As a consequence, many health practitioners today are concentrating on improving the gut health of ASD patients and finding that this in turn can result in improvements in behaviour.  This may involve identifying foods that a child is allergic to, having a stool test carried out to identify pathogens, prescribing specific probiotics and digestive enzymes or advising on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

Gluten and casein free diets have been popular choices for autistic children since the 1990’s, largely because Paul Shattock and his team at Newcastle University identified undigested peptides from milk and wheat in the urine of autistic children. This led him to speculate that these peptides were acting like opiates within the brain causing children to behave in a similar way to drug addicts.

Some parents have found that when they remove wheat and milk from their child’s diet they can see a real improvement in behaviour and this observation has since been confirmed by the ScanBrit study who found that concluded that core autistic behavioural traits  improved in children following a gluten and casein free diet compared to those on the control diet.  (1)

Cleaning up and healing the gut

Not all children, however, respond well to avoiding casein and gluten and Dr Campbell –McBride has written about an alternative treatment which she believes to be more effective in her book – Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Her treatment plan is based upon the theory that the gut has become a major source of toxicity to children on the autistic spectrum and that by cleaning up and healing the gut it can start to become a source of nourishment again leading to improved communication skills and behaviour.

Certainly there is increasing evidence that the type of microflora present in the gut may play a role in the development of ASD; and scientists are now suggesting that by lowering levels of pathogenic bacteria and raising levels of beneficial bacteria in these children their symptoms can be helped. (2)

In summary, seeking nutritional advice is well worth investigating for any child on the autistic spectrum. A nutritional therapist will be able to give you advice on diet, appropriate supplements to try and tests that might be useful to assess your child’s nutritional status.

Nicky Seabrook BSc.Dip.IONmBANT

For more information about Nicky Seabrook, or to make an appointment with her, visit her editorial profile on The Mind Sanctuary Directory, or visit the Woodbridge Complementary Health Centre.

References:

1. Whiteley et al. (2010) The ScanBrit randomised, controlled, single-blind study of a gluten- and casein-free dietary intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders Journal of Nutritional Neuroscience. Vol.13 No.2
2. Parracho et al. (2005) Differences between the gut microflora of children with autistic spectrum disorders and that of healthy children J of Medical Mycology vol.54 No.10

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Image taken by Go Interactive Wellness

Leading the Way in Mind-Body Therapy for Mental Health

When it comes to Yoga and its therapeutic benefits for mental health issues, there are few who are more informed than Heather Mason.  With an MA in Psychotherapy, a further MA in Buddhist Studies, an ongoing MSc in Neuroscience, plus qualifications as a yoga therapist and MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) facilitor, Heather has an exceptional background that straddles the worlds of holistic therapy and science.

Following her own journey through depression and anxiety and subsequent studies Heather went on to form The Minded Institute, an organisation dedicated to leading the development and implementation of yoga therapy and mindfulness programs for mental health. Focusing on the four approaches of yoga therapy, mindfulness, neuroscience and psychotherapeutic support, The Minded Institute offer private instruction, workshops, lectures, professional training and conduct research.  Courses take place in London and Boston, though they are also developing online programs and CDs.

Below are some links to areas of The Minded Instiute website that you may find useful/informative.

How Yoga Can Change Your Brain

Yoga Therapy Mental Health Research

Online Clips and Tips

Heather’s personal journey is inspiring and provides greater insight into how her work developed. You can watch video interviews of her life story on youtube at the following link:

Heather Mason – Yoga for The Mind – Life Story

If you’d like to attend a local yoga class, check out our directory of yoga teachers.

If you’re a yoga teacher and would like to be included on the directory, it’s free, simply complete the online application form.

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