Bipolar disorder sufferer aims to tackle stigma of mental illness with support group

A BIPOLAR disorder sufferer hopes to lift the stigma put on parents with mental health issues by setting up the area's first support group.

Robert Palmer, of Cleethorpes, knows all too well the challenges of bringing up a child while fighting your own health battles.

SUPPORT: Bipolar disorder sufferer Robert Palmer, of Cleethorpes, has set up a website and support group called Parents First to bring together parents living with a mental illness. Picture: Michelle Adamson. Buy photos at www.thisisphotosales.co.uk/grimsby or by contacting 08444 060910

He has suffered from bipolar disorder for the past 14 years, while bringing up his disabled 12-year-old son Morgan.

Now 53, Robert wants other parents living with a mental health problem to feel included within society and to be able to share their experiences with others like themselves.

Home for people with mental health problems passes inspection, despite fears

A HOME for people with mental health problems has passed its latest inspection – despite residents' ongoing concerns.

As reported, the property in Grimsby Road, Humberston, was last summer converted into a home for people with a history of forensic mental health problems – including former offenders – by North East Lincolnshire care company Carmand.

INSPECTED: Amber House home for people with mental health problems in Grimsby Road, Humberston.

Nearby residents were concerned about the plan, and those worries were intensified by the fact that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – which regulates care standards – had previously found "serious failings" in the quality of care at another Carmand house in Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes.

However, despite residents' concerns, and claims that police had been called to the property, Amber House has been found to be compliant in the most recent inspection by the CQC, which took place in December.

Understanding and Preventing Adverse Effects of Psychological Therapies (AdEPT)

Can you help with this research?

Researchers from the University of Sheffield are carrying out research across England to find out what happens when therapy or counselling makes someone feel worse or ‘goes wrong’ in some way. This will help them to develop some practical ways to prevent therapies from failing.

Help available for people with mental health problems

DO YOU know a friend, relative or neighbour who is suffering from mental health problems and needs support?
Experts have today urged anybody who is concerned about the behaviour of somebody they know – or needs support themselves – to seek help now.

It comes after the body of reclusive schizophrenic Jacqueline Harrison lay undiscovered at a flat in Hainton Avenue for more than two years after she refused to see family members.

And with research from the Mental Health Foundation showing that one in four people will experience some kind of mental health problems, it is important to know where to seek help.

Depressed? Don't suffer in silence

MENTAL health professionals are urging people suffering with anxiety and depression to talk it out rather than suffer in silence.

Experts working in North East Lincolnshire want to highlight the fact that depression and anxiety problems are more prevalent than people might think and can affect any person at any time – and are more apparent in areas of social deprivation.

DON'T SUFFER ALONE: Ready to give you a warm welcome at Open Minds are co-ordinator Michelle Hardy (left) and service manager Kristina Fletcher. Buy this photo at www.thisis photosales .co.uk/grimsby or by contacting 08444 060910

 
One in four people suffer with a mental health problem and health professionals at Open Minds, an organisation working with people who have depression and anxiety, are keen to get people talking more openly.

GCSEs: Pressure of exams leaves teens suffering from mental illness

The pressure of the GCSE results will lead to an increase in the number of young people suffering from mental health problems, a leading charity has warned.

Pressure of exams leaves teens suffering from mental illness 

Record numbers of students, aged 16-18, have already sought professional advice ahead of their exam results.

Lucie Russell from YoungMinds, a charity which helps young people with mental health issues, said: "Every year we get calls from parents asking for advice on how to help their children cope with exam stress.

LINk meeting

It's our monthly LINk meeting tomorrow!

On Tuesday 21st June, at Corpus Christi Community Centre between 2pm and 4pm, Kevin Bond will speak to the LINk about the new Mental Health social enterprise, NAViGO.

Anyone is welcome at our public meetings, feel free to pop along to check us out.
There is no commitment or obligation and you don't need any special knowledge, just work or live in this area and you can have a say on health and social care services.

We look forward to meeting you!

Mental Health Awareness Week

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and this year it focuses on an aspect vital to everyone: sleep.

Just think of how not getting enough sleep for one night can leave you tired and grumpy, affecting your ability to carry out your normal daily routine.  Extended periods of poor, little or no sleep, can take this to extremes and severly depletes your reserves and coping mechanisms.

A good night's sleep is crucial to your body as well as your mind, as it is while you sleep that your body heals itself and your brain processes everything you've done that day allowing you to wake up rested and refreshed.

But often, it is only when we lack such things that we realise the true importance of them.  There is a lot of truth in the saying 'you don't know what you've got until it's gone'.

So the Mental Health Foundation are working to promote the importance of sleep this Mental Health Awareness Week.  

If you want to find out more about sleep, Mental Health Awareness Week or the work that the Mental Health Foundation do, click here.

Regulator CQC says it will drive improvements for Mental Health patients

The Care Quality Commission today (27 October) highlighted areas of poor practice in mental health services for patients who are subject to the Mental Health Act, and pledged to use its regulatory powers to lever improvement. Publishing its first annual report on the use of the Act, CQC said its findings raised important concerns about how some care providers, in both the NHS and private sector, were adhering to the principles of the Act and its Code of Practice.