I learned that there’s a great divide
And some cross to the other side.
I was seven and a quarter
When they parted mum from daughter,
Separating the ‘sane’ from ‘mad’
Oblivious to love she had.
They came with their blue flashing light
And drugged her forcibly that night.
I learned that lesson. Read more
A long-awaited compassionate take on ‘mental health’ is gaining momentum – join us on 4th-5th October to find out more!
On November 18th 2016 “some 100 people concerned to change the face of mental health care in this country gathered for an inspiring one-day conference run by Compassionate Mental Health … Part of the growing movement looking beyond the bio-medical model to centre, instead, on the need for compassion – importantly compassion for self as well as for others – the day set out to inform, inspire and empower both people working with mental distress and those, themselves, living with it. The impressive range of speakers focused on the need to move away from an assumption that emotional distress was nothing more than a symptom of biological illness. Walking alongside the person with compassion was more effective than electric shocks and long-term medication, they emphasised”. Read more
A few years ago I organised a public meeting about suicide. To spread the word, I put up posters around my town with the question, ‘How do we live with suicidal ideas?’ printed across them. The manager of a local launderette started taking the posters down. He said he was banning me from advertising on his premises because he was upset by that question.
Read more
Some 100 people concerned to change the face of mental health care in this country gathered for an inspiring one-day conference run by Compassionate Mental Health, that gave people the chance to hear leading voices in this urgent debate that has, finally, forced itself on to the agenda and to share their own experiences and hopes.
I used to live in a state of constant overwhelm and anxiety.
Only I didn’t know it at the time, because it was all I knew. I suspected something was wrong; the suicidal yearnings and impulses to self-harm were good tell tell signs, but I didn’t understand them as such. I thought I was being selfish and attention seeking, and I did what I could to try and control these shameful things that lived inside me.
I’ve always relied on the compassion of others. However recently, in particular throughout this year, I’ve noticed the compassion of others waning.
Perhaps it’s just me, but I sense a rapidly increasing lack of compassion within society.
I am the voice of the spirit trapped between inexorable cycles, caught in the crossfire, hanging on by my fingernails to a life that repeatedly loses meaning.
I never intended to forgive the two young men who gang raped me when I was 13 years old. I wanted to hate them forever. As far as I was concerned they were evil, sadistic animals and I wanted someone to kidnap them, tie them up, beat them up, rape and torture them just like they had done to me for hours on end.
“The people that I work with and the patients that I serve may not remember my name, but they will certainly remember how I made them feel,” said a nurse interviewed in a recent BBC News report on compassion in healthcare.
We’re delighted to announce that sponsorship from Legal and General has enabled us to create more affordable tickets.
Mental health and staff wellbeing is a strategic priority for Legal and General, and they are rolling out Mental Health First Aid training to their workforce.
The sponsorship is enabling us to create new tickets for students, mental health nurses and social workers, small charities and individuals with personal experience.
Please check our website for more details, and how to register.
