Mental Health Wellbeing

I know I said that this last 2 weeks in October were going to be dedicated to Zombies, but since I'm going through a tough time at the moment - I thought I would just share information which may assist some readers in Australia.

Also it was Mental Health Week last week - so better late than never!

What is mental health?

Good mental health is a sense of wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem. It enables us to fully enjoy and appreciate other people, day-to-day life and our environment. When we are mentally healthy we can:

• form positive relationships

• use our abilities to reach our potential

• deal with life’s challenges

What is mental illness?

• anxiety

• schizophrenia

• bipolar mood disorder

• personality disorders

• eating disorders

• depression

What causes mental illness?

• long-term and acute stress

• biological factors such as genetics, chemistry and hormones

• use of alcohol, drugs and other substances

• cognitive patterns such as constant negative thoughts and low self esteem

• social factors such as isolation, financial problems, family breakdown or violence

A mental illness is a health problem that significantly affects how a person thinks, behaves and interacts with other people. It is diagnosed according to standardised criteria.

One in 5 Australians will suffer from a mental illness at some point in their lives. 

A mental health problem also affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, but to a lesser extent than a mental illness.

Mental illnesses are of different types and degrees of severity.  Some of the major types are:

These illnesses may also be referred to as a mental disorder, mental impairment or psychiatric disability.

Mental illness results from complex interactions between the mind, body and environment.  Factors which can contribute to mental illness are:

These factors can be minimised by a strong and supportive community environment.

The following information was taken from the Beyond Blue website:

General information

Depression and anxiety - an information booklet

Depression is more than just feeling sad or low during tough times. People with depression can have intense negative feelings for weeks, months or even years, sometimes for no good reason. Depression is relatively common, affecting more than one million Australians each year. Unfortunately, many people with depression don’t recognise it or get help. But, it is treatable and most people with depression go on to lead happy, productive lives with the right treatment for them. Understanding depression - information for adults (fact sheet)              Understanding Depression and Anxiety (Flyer)  Depression symptom checklist              What causes depression? (fact sheet 3)   Practical ways to help someone with depression (information card)     How to organise a public forum on depression and anxiety

Treatment   A Guide to What Works for Depression (booklet) - a comprehensive review of all known treatments for depression, including medical, psychological, complementary and lifestyle interventions   A Guide to What Works for Anxiety Disorders  Types of help available (fact sheet 4)      Changing your thinking - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (fact sheet 10)     Antidepressant medication - Advice for adults (fact sheet 11)       Getting help - How much does it cost? (fact sheet 24)   Benzodiazepines (tranquillisers and sleeping pills) (fact sheet 44)   Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) (fact sheet 48)

Recovery   Reducing stress (fact sheet 6)    Sleeping well (fact sheet 7)    Keeping active (fact sheet 8)    Changing your thinking - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (fact sheet 10)    Reducing alcohol and other drugs (including smoking) (fact sheet 9)    Recovery (fact sheet 15)    Healthy eating for people with depression, anxiety and related disorders (fact sheet 30)

Related disorders  Anxiety disorders (information card)       Anxiety Treatment Australia provides information about anxiety disorders and the treatment options available. You will also find information on psychologists around Australia who treat anxiety disorders and who offer group therapy and workshops. Anxiety disorders (fact sheet 21)      Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (fact sheet 31)   Generalised Anxiety Disorder (fact sheet 35)  Panic Disorder (fact sheet 36)  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (fact sheet 37)  Specific Phobias (fact sheet 38)  Social Phobia (fact sheet 39)  Bipolar disorder (fact sheet 16)     The Black Dog Institute is a world leader in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. Reducing alcohol and other drugs (including smoking) (fact sheet 9)    Eating disorders and depression (fact sheet 42)  SANE Australia is a national charity working for a better life for people affected by mental illness – through campaigning, education and research. Problem gambling and depression (fact sheet 45)  I know this is information overload, but I think it's important to have the information at hand all in the one place, especially when you really need it.  By the way, if any readers have any further information they would like to add, please feel free to post it on this blog. The following organisations are available to assist with people with mental illness and their families:

• Queensland Alliance for Mental Health

• ARAFMI

• GROW

• Carers Queensland

• Mental Health Association of Queensland

• Mental Health First Aid

Please check out these sites and consider assisting if you can :-)

Cake it away!

Why is it that supermarkets and bakeries just don't make birthday cakes anymore?

It's been one of those absent minded weeks where I've forgotten to send out the invitations to my son's fourth birthday party and also forgotten to order the specially requested spiderman birthday cake.

Wednesday I finally got around to handing out the invitations at kindy, but unfortunately I forgot to put on the invitations whose party they were invited to. This brought on a barrage of questions from the parents to the teachers and the teachers decided that they would play a little joke on me. Not a good week to do this as I have no sense of humour this week and of course I believed them and you should have seen my face! Boy, B105 gotcha calls eat your heart out! Anyone reading this from Judea will understand that reference.

Yesterday, being a Friday - 2 days before the very small gathering of 4 year olds - and after 5 days of searching, I actually got around to ordering the cake. Living in a low socio-economic area has made me wonder: Don't 4 year olds have parties in lower socio-economic groups? This question is brought on by my amazment that none of the supermarkets or bakeries around this area actually bake cakes specifically for children. My mum and I spent a total of 5 days searching for a spiderman cake, we checked the local Woolworths, the local bakery, I checked 2 local Coles stores and a bakery and nothing, actually the bakery had a small round cake for $35.00 but having no money I couldn't get it because they requested 50% deposit at the time of ordering. The lack of finances and choice meant that I had to venture out of my immediate area of residence to actually be able to order a cake that was desired. What do parents in my area do for birthday cakes? Do they buy a ready made cake - the generic version or do they just buy a six pack of beer and a carton of cigarettes and say happy birthday son!

The end result is that now I have a beautiful quarter slab spiderman cake ordered which will be ready in time for the party and there will be at least 4 kids in attendance. At the moment 4 is good - I'm not sure if Andrew will find this disappointing, but I'm sure he will be ok!

The next stage is organising party games, decorations and the goody bag. My ex-husband and I are going shopping for party food and taking the birthday presents off lay-by. It will be a good weekend - I hope.