All posts by actionmentalhealth

Light up Christmas – loneliness campaign – Gerard’s Story

Through this year’s Christmas campaign, ‘Light Up Christmas’, you can help support Action Mental Health’s services for local people. By getting involved, and hosting your own fundraising event, you’ll help AMH’s recovery and resilience programmes which benefit the entire community.

Who are the loneliest people?

*Loneliness can hit people at various times of their lives, with feelings of isolation spiking at various points in the span of the average person.

*Research found the oldest old were perhaps unsurprisingly among the loneliest, with young adults coming in second.

*People on lower incomes have been found to be lonelier than those on higher incomes.

*People with fewer friends, those who have less contact with others, and single people are all related to being lonelier.

*Loneliness increases a person’s odds of developing mental health problems and its effects can feel even worse if you’re struggling with your mental health.

Gerard’s Story

One County Down man who found loneliness too hard to bear was Gerard Bentley, who ended up in psychiatric care three times following the death of his father (who he lived with).

The loneliness Gerard felt was compounded by feelings of guilt over his somewhat turbulent relationship with his father, prior to his death six years ago.

Gerard, 41, dearly loved his father, but, as many adults who live with a parent will attest, relationships are often strained when living together beyond the traditional time children fly the nest.

“I loved my father but sometimes I couldn’t live with him, though I couldn’t live without him,” Gerard explains.

“We were very close but sometimes we argued, which is normal. However, when he died I felt a lot of guilt about that.”

Prolonged periods of only his own company left Gerard in despair and even drove him to feelings of suicide. 

“When my dad died I was on my own and my life turned upside down. I was sitting there, thinking too much, feeling so guilty, that I planned on taking my own life a couple of times.

“My family are a good support but we don’t talk about my dad because it’s too painful and they have their own things to go through, so it was hard for me to talk to anyone.”

Gerard was admitted to a local psychiatric unit for treatment but just having the company of others was enough to start him on the road to recovery. Returning home, however, to an empty house, save for his dog, he was soon back in hospital.

The cycle was repeated again, with Gerard being released only to experience the heavy burden of loneliness and despair once more. Following his departure from his third stay in hospital, Gerard’s community psychiatric nurse referred him to Action Mental Health’s New Horizons.

New Horizons forms the core of Action Mental Health’s recovery services. At nine locations throughout Northern Ireland, specialist staff support the recovery of adults experiencing mental-ill health who are interested in progressing towards further education/training or employment.

“When I was in the house alone I did feel very lonely, but in the hospital, being with other people was a big part of my recovery and it really did make a difference having other people to talk to. 

A few years after his father’s death Gerard’s doctor told him he had autism. It was a diagnosis that both helped and hindered him.

“It explained quite a few things for me but it also gave me a complex,” he said, adding that it had a great impact on his self-confidence.

And following his release from hospital for the last time, confidence was something he had to work on as he prepared to enter AMH’s New Horizons.

“I was apprehensive about going to the service, as it was a step into the unknown. But as soon as I arrived I was given such a warm welcome and was treated with such respect that I only wish I’d started here sooner. You get stuck straight into a whole new world here and now I have a regular weekly routine. I’ve been coming since April 2018. It feels really good getting up in the morning and knowing I’m coming here”. 

“When I get home each night I feel like I’ve achieved something, like when you get home from a day’s work; I have been in the company of others and doing so many new things it settles me for the rest of the night.”

Nowadays, Gerard spends his days participating in a range of activities that would be the envy of most – everything from his favourite archery, to photography, creative writing, art, computing and even yoga.

 “I’m a whizz on my iPhone but I don’t know much about computers at all,” Gerard, a former joiner, admits. Once he learns the basics through his New Horizons course, he will then have the opportunity to put his new skills to further use by undertaking the ECDL – European Computer Driving Licence qualification, if he wishes.

Though he admits that planning on a future career remains a ‘bridge too far’, Gerard is considering volunteering as a first step back into the world of work, perhaps in an animal sanctuary.

In the meantime, Gerard will continue participating in New Horizons’ various services which will promote further personal growth, development and self-esteem. And once he leaves, he’ll have acquired a whole new branch of social connections and new friends.

“I couldn’t have met a nicer bunch of people here at New Horizons, and it’s helped me so much with my confidence. It has made such a difference to me,” he said.

* The courses Gerard is currently undertaking are part of New Horizons’ “Working it Out” project, which is part-funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020, the Department for the Economy and the five NI Health & Social Care Trusts. New Horizons are among the many AMH projects which could benefit if you sign up to the charity’s Light Up Christmas appeal 2019. To request a fundraising pack contact AMH’s Fundraising Team on [email protected] or call 028 9182 8494. Thank you.

Together, we can tackle loneliness.

If you’re feeling low, contact your GP or community psychiatric nurse, as Gerard did, or if you’re in crisis contact Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. Please always remember that help and support is available.

Aladdin panto double whammy for Promote!

The talented artistes of Action Mental Health’s Promote Service have been busy preparing for their annual Christmas pantomime which this year will be staged on two occasions – to meet demand!

Clients today (Wednesday) donned the grease paint for the premiere of Aladdin, funded with the assistance of Ards and North Down Borough Council, for the first of two performances.

They’ll tread the boards again for a repeat performance on the evening of Thursday, December 11.

The annual performance is a much-loved event at Promote, which caters for adults with learning disabilities. Clients, at the Conlig-based centre, put their hearts and souls into their amateur dramatics, which prove a high point for staff and the charity as a whole.

This year, Aladdin is being staged with the assistance of a drama coach and facilitator, funded by the council, and will be aided by the incorporation of the Makaton sign language system. The funding also enabled a visiting artist to work on the sets and props.

Clients have been busy rehearsing since September, with this year’s special guest being Clare McStay, Community Services Manager from funders, the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. Ards and North Down mayor, alderman Bill Keery will also be among the audience.

The pantomime is among Promote’s annual festive calendar of events which included a Christmas craft and jumble sale, carol singing at two local retail stores and will culminate in a Christmas client dinner later in December.

Parties unite to call for parity between mental and physical health

There was little political point scoring today from local party representatives as they united behind the common theme of mental health during a special hustings hosted by The Mental Health Policy Group (NI).

Consisting of Action Mental Health, Inspire, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Psychological Society, the umbrella policy group issued its General Election Call to Action to five of Northern Ireland’s main political parties.

The ‘Action Not Words’ event, hosted by Action Mental Health’s corporate partner, the Law Society, reiterated calls for an independent Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland and for parity between mental and physical health.

The event was attended by the Alliance Party’s Paula Bradshaw, Robbie Butler, from the Ulster Unionist Party, Rachel Woods of the Green Party, Paul Doherty of the SDLP and the DUP’s Paula Bradley. Sinn Fein was invited but could not attend.

Clients of Action Mental Health quizzed the representatives on key issues of mental health.

Paula Bradshaw of the Alliance Party echoed calls for recurrent, ring-fenced funding for the creation of a new Mental Health Champion, and also voiced frustration at the continuing suspension of Stormont.

The DUP’s Paula Bradley, agreed, stating there was an urgent need to narrow the gap between mental and physical health, while the UUP’s Robbie Butler lamented what he described as ‘unambitious’ targets published in the Protect Life Two paper on suicide prevention, unveiled recently.

The SDLP’s Paul McCusker, spoke of the need for support for people suffering the double burden of mental health issues and addictions, while The Green Party’s Rachel Woods called for the implementation of existing legislation aimed at supporting children’s mental health in schools.

Chief Executive of Action Mental Health David Babington chaired the hustings, restating the umbrella group’s call for urgent action to devise an approved and funded mental health strategy for Northern Ireland, to follow on from the Bamford process.

 “For too long mental health has been the health service’s ‘Cinderella service’ and our plea to local representatives is for the adoption of parity between physical and mental health,” said Mr Babington.

The appeal comes on the back of the publication this year, ‘Making Parity a Reality’ – a review by Ulster University and launched in conjunction with Action Mental Health. Unveiled in June the paper reiterates Action Mental Health’s demand for a fully-costed, ten-year mental health strategy with clear priorities. Northern Ireland is the only UK region without such a strategy.

Among the professionals attending the hustings, Professor Nichola Rooney, Chair of the Division of Clinical Psychology, British Psychological Society (NI), added: “We need an appropriately commissioned, trained and supervised psychological workforce to meet the mental health needs of the people of Northern Ireland, across the lifespan and spectrum of need.”

Kerry Anthony, Chief Executive at Inspire, commented: “This election takes place at a time when mental health, perhaps more than ever before, is a live public health concern. We are calling on government to place mental health and wellbeing at the core of its policy outcomes, as central to its priorities as physical health and fitness.

“Our elected representatives should lead the way in recognising that improving mental health for people in Northern Ireland requires a comprehensive cross sectoral approach involving genuine joined up working across all government departments and agencies.” 

Dr Gerry Lynch, chair of RCPsych NI said: “In addition to extra resource, we need better data and better analysis of the data, with the Trusts working together as one mental health service for Northern Ireland.”

We asked each of the Party representatives to comment on the lack of a Mental Health Strategy in NI:-

Paula Bradley – Democratic Unionist Party – 3 December 2019
Paula Bradshaw – Alliance Party – 3 December 2019
Rachel Woods – The Green Party – 3 December 2019
Paul McCusker – SDLP – 3 December 2019
Robbie Butler – UUP – 3 December 2019

Light Up Christmas – loneliness – Raymond’s story.

Over 250,000 people in Northern Ireland have a mental health problem – that amounts to one in every five people in our community. Half of these problems start before the age of 14.

Action Mental Health (AMH) was founded back in 1963 when the stigma of the day made it very difficult for people with mental ill-health to access the support they needed. Thankfully nowadays, with the increased awareness and reduction in stigma on mental health, AMH’s nine New Horizons services around Northern Ireland, are much-vaunted support networks to people experiencing periods of mental ill-health.

New Horizons operates recovery services that offer well-being, vocational and employability programmes. This complements AMH’s emotional well-being and resilience building programmes in schools, workplaces and indeed across the community which aim to build a more resilient and healthier population. Last year AMH services supported over 33,000 local people.

Through this year’s Christmas campaign, ‘Light Up Christmas’, you can help support Action Mental Health’s services for local people. By getting involved, and hosting your own fundraising event, you’ll help AMH’s recovery and resilience programmes which benefit the entire community.

The effects of loneliness

*Loneliness is a killer, in fact it can hasten your death by up to 30% among some risk groups.

*According to a study of 3.4million people, carried out by Brigham Young University, USA, people who are or feel socially isolated or live alone – whatever their age – are at increased risk of an earlier death. The study’s lead author, Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad said the harmful effects of loneliness are similar to the harm caused by smoking, obesity or alcohol misuse.

* The study, Social Isolation, Loneliness and Health Among Older Adults by Caitlin Coyle and Elizabeth Dugan found that loneliness was associated with higher odds of having a mental health problem, while isolation was associated with higher odds of reporting one’s health as being fair or poor.

Raymond’s Story

Raymond Kerr was so lonely after his wife died he was ‘climbing the walls’.

The 74-year-old could barely face getting out of bed in the morning as everything he did at home only served to magnify the fact that he was alone.

Even going to get the groceries and buying food-for-one reinforced his feelings of utter isolation and desolation, and soon, depression.

Raymond lost his wife Lola three years ago, but unlike many in his situation, he didn’t have hordes of visiting mourners to keep him afloat before the loneliness set in – he was alone from day one.

Raymond (left) with one of his fellow “Shedders”

The pensioner did find solace in his only child with whom he has forged a better relationship since his wife’s death. However, the demands of his son’s work and own family life meant their regular visits could take place just once a week.

Raymond was also loathe to burden his son with his growing feelings of depression when the younger man was grieving for a mother he had shared a very close bond with all his life.

Aside from that, and the occasional visit by social workers, Raymond lived a solitary life, day in, day out. He admits that this isolation was partly a symptom of his somewhat reserved nature, but also because he lives many miles from his surviving family connections and friends in his native Castlecaulfield, Co Tyrone.

“I was very lonely from day one after my wife died,” he explains. “My wife knew a lot of people but I was more of a loner so when she died I didn’t see many people.

“When I woke up in the morning I felt really bad. I felt very down and I didn’t want to trouble anyone with how I was feeling.

“It put me off my food and I was living on one meal a day. I didn’t feel like cooking just for myself and you can never really buy something in the grocery shop that’s just for one person. So I went with the bare minimum – just potatoes and butter and egg.

“I was feeling depressed, and even when you’re separated or divorced you can always still call the person and have a voice on the other end of the phone but when your wife has died there’s no one there.”

He did eventually begin to talk however, and told his doctor how he was feeling.

“The doctor was great actually because she knew me. She was very easy to talk to and I could tell her anything, so she really helped in that way.”

Raymond was ultimately saved from his depressing world of loneliness by the intervention of social services.

“My doctor sent social workers out to me and one of them told me about the Men’s Sheds,” he says.

The Men’s Sheds, his local one located at Action Mental Health’s New Horizons Antrim, has opened up a new life and one that is filled with company – the company of men who know exactly what life is like for an older widower.

Nowadays, he spends his time participating in arts and crafts, particularly enjoying fine art and painting. Cutting his teeth in the art of leather work he counts himself among ‘the three stooges’, along with two new friends who are in much the same domestic boat as Raymond.

“I’d never heard of the Men’s Shed before and though I was a bit apprehensive about going and wanted to leave a few times, I really enjoyed it and they made me feel very welcome.

 “I’d felt unwanted before but the men joked that if I didn’t show up they’d come to my house and get me,” he says. “So I’ve no option and I’ve never stopped going.”

“It’s very interesting and the girl in charge asks what you’d like to do and she’ll even bring in an expert to teach us all how to do new things so I’ve actually made a few belts now,” he adds.

“I’ve made new friendships and the banter and craic is great and makes the day go quickly.”

* The Men’s Sheds bring men aged 50+ together to share skills, socialise and connect with their wider community, while working on practical activities of their choice. The Men’s Sheds, in AMH New Horizons in Antrim, Fermanagh and Downpatrick, are places to have a laugh, make new friends with other men over 50. The Men’s Sheds are just one of the many AMH projects which could benefit if you sign up to the charity’s Light Up Christmas appeal 2019. To request a fundraising pack contact AMH’s Fundraising Team on [email protected], call 028 9182 8494 or register here.

Together, we can tackle loneliness.

If you’re feeling low, contact your GP, as Raymond did, or if you’re in crisis contact Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. Please always remember that help and support is available.

AMH Retail Clients get a glimpse behind the scenes at M&S!

We would like to say a huge thank you to Marks and Spencer Bloomfield Shopping Centre & Retail Park who gave clients from AMH New Horizons North Down & Ards a tour of the store last week. Our clients are taking part in the ESF Working It Out project, some are currently completing OCN Customer Service Level 2 with us, while others have completed NVQ Retail Skills Level 2 and are actively looking for employment in retail.

It was a very informative visit, we had the opportunity of looking at different roles available in the store, each of departments, and also the logistics involved to keep the store running smoothly and the customers happy! Our lovely guide for the morning was Sandra and we thoroughly appreciate her taking the time to organise our tour and for looking after us so well.


Pictured with Sandra are Katrina McIlmail AMH Employment Officer, Aisling Deery AMH Retail Skills Coach and “Working it Out” retail clients Chris and Gary. 

The “Working it Out Project” is part-funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020 and the Department for the Economy.

Light up Christmas with Action Mental Health

Last year Danske Bank held a Christmas Jumper Fundraiser for Action Mental Health

This festive season, Action Mental Health is ‘Lighting Up Christmas’ – shining a light on mental health in Northern Ireland, and on what YOU can do to help us raise money to support our invaluable recovery and resilience services.

Light Up Christmas Eventbrite Registration.

For Christmas 2019 you might be thinking of a Christmas gift or gesture that will really count, and to make a positive difference to people living with mental ill-health.

Action Mental Health champions moves towards a society that actively values and supports people on their journey to better mental health and with the famously generous people of Northern Ireland by our side, our mission can become a reality.

Christmas is not an easy time for everyone. So while you’re enjoying the festive frolics, a friend, family member or neighbour might not be looking forward to this time of year. So, to share a little light this Christmas time, offer a listening ear to someone who might be among those dreading the period. By being willing to actively listen, you can make a massive difference.

So if you would like to take part this year and help AMH ‘Light Up Christmas’ by fundraising, the only thing limiting you is your imagination.

You can get the ball rolling by hosting your very own fundraising event at home, with friends or work colleagues, in schools and colleges – it’s up to. We have fundraising packs to give the seasonal spirit of giving a green light, whatever you’re planning.

You could host a coffee and carols morning, a Christmas games day, or a seasonal sponsored walk or even a festive fancy dress event – whatever you wish, just get creative and get in touch to tell us what you’re planning. AMH’s fundraising kits are jammed full of lots of hints, tips and materials – everything you need to get the fundraising effort of your choice underway.

To request a fundraising pack contact AMH’s Fundraising Team on [email protected] or call 028 9182 8494 or register on our Eventbrite Page.

Whatever you raise, you’ll be helping AMH change the lives of people across Northern Ireland living with mental ill-health.

Every donation makes a difference.

Thank you.

Anti-Bullying week – change starts with everyone…

As the scourge of bullying comes into sharp focus this week, Action Mental Health has a number of resources to help children, young people and their parents negotiate the distressing issue.

This year’s theme is ‘Change Starts With Us’, highlighting the need to break the cycle of bullying. The week-long campaign tells us that by making small, simple changes, we can break the cycle and create a safe environment for everyone, and that by working together we can start the conversation to challenge bullying in all its forms.

The material was compiled as part of the AMH-supported Northern Area Mental Health Initiative, a two-year innovative project designed to equip children as young as eight, with the skills to maintain positive well-being.

The innovative two-year project delivered mental and emotional well-being and resilience building programmes to almost 20k people, including 16,000 children and young people, and was led by Cookstown and Western Shores Area Network.

Known as ‘The Initiative’, it received funding from the Social Investment Fund under the NI Executive’s Delivering Social Change framework and was delivered in partnership with NexusNI. It was launched in 2017 and culminated earlier this year. The resources featured were drawn from a variety of useful sources.

https://youtu.be/kgCNGvL0g1g

You can also follow these useful links: http://epicfriends.co.uk/bullying

https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/types-bullying/

New Horizons clients hit the books as they get second chance at education

A man whose mental health plummeted following a traumatic time in his life is facing a brighter future by starting a law degree at university after receiving the support of Action Mental Health.

The new student is just one of many dozens of clients to have discovered a new lease of life after engaging in the variety of courses available at the charity’s nine New Horizons services dotted around Northern Ireland.

New Horizons offers clients a comprehensive programme of specialist training, personal development, vocational skills and employability, tailoring programmes to suit individuals’ personal needs. These are offered through the “Working it Out” project, which is part funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020, the Department for the Economy and the five NI Health & Social Care Trusts.

The new law student is one such client who personifies the aims of the Working It Out project. And though the man, in his 40s, left school with just one A level, his subsequent studies and vast life experience including as an entrepreneur have secured him a coveted place on a law degree.

The Co Armagh man left school to train as a technician before taking those technical skills to his post as electrician. Years later he achieved a qualification that was the equivalent of a Higher National Diploma, before joining the police, serving a 20 year stint there while the Troubles were still grabbing news headlines. When he departed, the entrepreneurial spirit grabbed him and he established a number of businesses – all at the same time.

But it was too much, and his mental health suffered.

Experiencing what he described as a breakdown, he said he ‘did nothing for a while’ for the first time since he was a teenager. He barely knew where to turn, but then his community psychiatric nurse referred him to New Horizons.

“I was a bit apprehensive at the start and I didn’t quite know what to expect. Initially I went twice a week but that progressed to three days and did the IT and ECDL course as well as photography.

“I felt the benefit straight away and it was very interesting what I was doing and it’s been very, very useful. When I started passing all the exams I thought to myself, ‘I could make a change in my life’,” he said.

He has has come a long way.  He received an unconditional offer for the Ulster University law degree, and commencing in September, he now spends ten hours a week at university, between seminars and lectures, and spends the rest of his week studying at home.

With a new future ahead of him, his negative thoughts are in his past. “Now, they’re positive thoughts – and legal ones too!”

“New Horizons certainly gave me the confidence to go and meet people again, and to do things that I hadn’t considered were possible for me.”

The AMH New Horizons activities the client participates in are operated through the “Working it Out” project, which is part-funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020, the Department for the Economy and the five NI Health & Social Care Trusts.

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