The subject is very much in the press in recent years, made more prevalent by the patronage of some high profile sufferers. For those who don't know me, I am AdrianI live in the village, and I do my best to run this site. I have a mental health problem. I suffer with anxiety and depression, brought on by over-work, lack of sleep, the loss of businesses, my home and the loss of several significant people in my life; friends and family. All in one year!
I have sat in the consulting rooms of many doctors, specialists and counsellors. I have heard many theories about my condition and had to prove myself with so many of them on many occasions. I have!
Some days I don't want to wake up let alone get up. But I do! Every day. Some days I wear a smile by the time I leave to go to my haven, my little studio where I keep my computers and it doesn't matter if I cry a little. Other days, I hope that I don't meet anyone on my way to my studio that I have to speak with. No reflection on anyone else, just me.
This is not the whole picture, by no means. Most days I am lively, creative, energetic and wear a genuine smile across my face and I am far too opinionated.
Not being one for labels, I am not in the habit of trying to find one for any little sniffle or tickle that crosses my path. But when my GP at that time, said to me, "Adrian, you have post traumatic stress disorder!" it was almost a relief. Some time later the same doctor wrote about me in a report, that "I call my condition PTSD" implying that it probably really isn't, even though it was him who gave me the label.
The reason I tell you this is that with physical health there is a list of conditions you may have. All with symptoms, side effects and treatment and so you would never say "There goes Arian. He suffers with a physical health condition!". You are more likely say "There goes Adrian, he has a broken leg, or maybe measles....". But you would feel comfortable saying there goes Adrian. He suffers with mental health. This covers everyone with the same label. From a mild depression, right up to perhaps a sever psychosis and yet current labelling will put them all under one heading and yet every condition has different needs and tratments. Also many different prejudices. Yet these people, people like me are basically no different to anyone reading this.
Never forget that I am basically no different to you for 99% of the time and even on that 1% I, and most who suffer like me, offer no threat to anyone but themself. In England, approximately 1 in 6 adults experience a common mental disorder (such as anxiety or depression) in any given week. Half of mental health problems are established by the age of 14, rising to 75% by age 24. And in the UK, suicide is the leading cause of death among young people aged 20-34 years. It is a serious problem! Yet even today I am taking a serious risk in opening up on here of giving myself yet another label I niether want nor deserve.
In most cases the treatment is simple. To be taken seriously, to be believed, to be accepted as someone who is sometimes finding life a struggle, perhaps, to be loved, but most of the time has a great deal to offer society. For me, the greatest treatment I ever received was over ten years ago on perhaps the worst day I had ever experienced. It involved no drugs, nor counselling. I was sat in my local pub, unable to connect with anyone, unable to hear or understand anything said to me, when a local gentleman came in with his wife heading for their table, booked in the restaurant. I doubt he will ever remember that night nor the affect he had on me. I, on the other hand, can still feel his hand on my shoulder and the sound it made on my Barbour jacket. I will never forget it! On his journey through the bar to his table he put one hand on my shoulder and in an avuncular fashion said "Hello Adrian, how are you today?". Someone who had no reason or need to, left me feeling he actually cared. Whether he did or not.
I am not alone. 1 in 6 of you are like me and have something which you struggle with. Some way that your brain does it's utmost to derail your day. Often for no apparent reason. There are many treatments, but there is just one thing that everyone can do. Be kind! Above all else, be kind. You have no idea the stuggle that goes on in someone's life. Above all, you can have no idea how your kindness will influence someone's life. Just be kind!
Please watch this when you have a few minutes. This video really brings home what I was struggling to say here!
Have you been told you need to self isolate?
Do you need some support?
As you know , the UK could be significantly affected by COVID-19 and there is the possibility that over the coming weeks someof us will be advised to self isolate
The scale of the problem facing us from COVID-19 is becoming clearer day by day. In Compton Bassett we have a significant proportion of people over the age of 70, which is why the parish council has a team of volunteers to protect the community in any practical way it can, however small.
So we can understand what is happening in the village, please let us know if you are in self-isolation or are about to be, by contacting your area coordinator. We will then be able to help you should you need any shopping or prescriptions fetching. To enable us to combine daily trips for volunteers please try and inform us by 10am of what you need. Contact your area coordinator as shown below.
We cannot fulfil the role of the NHS or social services, but as local residents we care about the welfare of our neighbours.
AREA 1:
Freeth to 35 Compton Bassett(SN11 8RD & 8RE)
Coordinator: Laurie Waite
01249 815995 or 07831 131171
Email address: lauriewaite@hotmail.com
AREA 2:
Compton Farm to 47A, and Briar Leaze(SN11 8RE, 8RF, 8RG, 8RH & 8RQ)
Coordinator: Pete Szczesiak
01249 815006 or 07484 364252
Email address: pete.szczesiak01@gmail.com
AREA 3:
No. 49 to Breach Farm House(SN11 8RH, 8SW, 8SP & 8SN)
Coordinator: Julian Barlow
760788 or 07747 952070
Email address: julian@barlowcomms.co.uk
Current advice for people who are self-isolating is to avoid visitors to their home. Therefore, when volunteers are delivering essential shopping to you, they will leave it on the doorstep or in a designated place outside your house. Please give consideration to how you will pay for any delivery safely and inform your coordinator.
"One of the most important roles we have is protecting our most vulnerable including those suffering domestic abuse and although we may need to do things differently we are still dedicated to fulfilling this important role. People can still talk to us and we want them to have that vital support."
Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Public Health
Studies by doctors at the front line of the epidemic in Wuhan, China, have started to provide answers.
A report by the Chinese Centres of Disease Control looked at more than 44,000 confirmed cases of the disease.
It showed
Men and women are equally likely to be infected, contrary to early reports that suggested the disease affected mostly men.
The virus, Sars-CoV-2, infects the tissues and airways deep inside the lungs rather than the nose.
Fever, fatigue and a dry cough are the most common symptoms for patients being admitted to hospitals.
But not everybody has all these symptoms, teams at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and Jinyintan Hospital, in Wuhan, say.
Other symptoms were
The disease can progress to pneumonia - inflammation of the lungs and the tiny sacs where oxygen moves from the air to the blood filling with water - and ultimately organ failure.
But all these studies are based on the most severely ill patients that end up in hospital. Many of the mildest cases are going undetected.But all these studies are based on the most severely ill patients that end up in hospital. Many of the mildest cases are going undetected.
The first two patients to die at Jinyintan Hospital, detailed in the Lancet Medical journal, were seemingly healthy, although they were long-term smokers and that would have weakened their lungs.
The first, a 61-year-old man, had severe pneumonia when he arrived at hospital.
He was in acute respiratory distress, meaning his lungs were unable to provide enough oxygen to his organs to keep his body alive.
Despite being put on a ventilator, his lungs failed and his heart stopped beating.
He died 11 days after he was admitted.
The second patient, a 69-year-old man, also had acute respiratory distress syndrome.
He was attached to an artificial lung or ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation) machine but this wasn't enough.
He died of severe pneumonia and septic shock when his blood pressure collapsed.
There is a marked pattern in the reported death rates from the disease.
Less than 0.5% of patients aged under 50 have died, according to the Chinese Centres of Disease Control.
However, that figure spikes rapidly to:
These are not the true death rates, as some patients still being treated may yet die and many mild cases are going unnoticed.
The death rate for people with no other health problems is 0.9%.
However this rises to: