Tag Archives: Psychiatry

Some people find psychiatry helpful… and that’s OK

Posted on July 31, 2017 by purplepersuasion

I grew up very close to a Victorian asylum. It began to close in the late 1980s, when I was in my teens, but even as a child I was aware that some of the people I saw wandering the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antipsychiatry, Diagnosis, History of mental health, Hospital, Inpatient care, Medication, Mental health, mental health debate, Mental health services, NHS services, Psychiatry, psychology, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Some people find psychiatry helpful… and that’s OK

Troubles

Posted on April 18, 2017 by purplepersuasion

So this week Prince Harry made a number of statements on mental health. I am really glad that he feels able to disclose a need for treatment around the death of his mother. It would be very sad to think of him … Continue reading →

Posted in Antipsychiatry, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Hospital, Medication, Mental health, mental health debate, Mood disorder, Parenting, Psychiatry, psychology, Stigma and discrimination, Suicide, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Troubles

Who’s listening?

Posted on April 14, 2017 by purplepersuasion

It’s no fun being trapped in a pit. You were walking along in the forest and you just kind of… slid. And now you’re on your own in the darkness, looking up at the moon through a circle of dirt. You didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Crisis care, Depression, Hospital, Mental health, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychiatry, Stigma and discrimination, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who’s listening?

How not to annoy your patient

Posted on November 27, 2016 by purplepersuasion

Today I saw a rather old Independent article on Twitter. I’m surprised I haven’t come across it before – it’s been out there since 2010 – but now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it. Entitled How not to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, Depression, GP, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, NHS services, Psychiatry, Social media, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How not to annoy your patient

Not all hypos are equal: when things get nasty

Posted on August 19, 2016 by purplepersuasion

When I was discharged from hospital a couple of weeks ago I thought it would take me a long time to recover from the experience. I was actually quite shocked by the depth of my own pain; I’ve been experiencing … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Hypomania, Mania, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychiatry, Rapid cycling, Social media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Not all hypos are equal: when things get nasty

The naked brain

Posted on June 9, 2016 by purplepersuasion

Ever wanted to run off to a cave and hide for a couple of weeks? Today it was agreed that after everything I described in my last post, my symptoms are “clearly iatrogenic” (medically induced) and “clearly intolerable” and that … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, Pillshaming, Psychiatry, Recovery, Side effects, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

NHS cogwheels: why should I have to grease them?

Posted on March 22, 2016 by purplepersuasion

There are oodles of definitions of person-centred, or patient-centred, care – sometimes it can feel like people/organisations reinvent what they mean by these terms every time they start a new project or initiative. I’ll tell you what I mean by it: … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, GP, Hospital, Inpatient care, Medication, NHS services, Primary care, Psychiatry, Self-management, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Discharge

Posted on March 11, 2016 by purplepersuasion

TW: suicidal thoughts I was tempted to call this post “home”, but I’m not, I haven’t even set off yet. I’ve been seen by two nurses from Home Treatment Team (one of whom I know quite well) and officially taken … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, Depression, exercise, Hospital, Hypomania, Inpatient care, Medication, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychiatry, Rapid cycling, Social media, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Review: The Other Side of Silence by Linda Gask (plus author Q&A!)

Posted on August 28, 2015 by purplepersuasion

It’s always tricky reviewing a book written by a friend, which is what I hope Linda would call me although we have only ever met online, so of course I  come to this review admitting bias. If someone asks me to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Depression, Memoir, Psychiatry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

I asked for help

Posted on June 7, 2015 by purplepersuasion

I asked for help when I was 12. I looked, alone, in my middle school library at a teenage health book. It told me that depression is an illness. It is real. You can be helped. It took me days … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Child and adolescent mental health, Depression, Mental health services, Psychiatry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments