#mentalas

[ethanoneillcomics]

Mental As Week and being an Artist

It’s ‘Mental As’ week down here in Australia and I wanted to talk about mental health. 

This week every topic, from anxiety within writers, to mental health issues for refugees, and even apps to help people with mental health has been discussed. I don’t want to touch on these subjects. They are important. Incredibly important. But I want to touch on something more immediate within my own life. Being an artist. 

At the moment I am studying writing at University. It is incredibly stressful. Not because of the work load. Not because I am trying to write while also studying. No, studying writing at uni is like trying to figure out a rubics cube, but your underwater trying to avoid sharks, and there is a Marxist lecturer, a Cultural materialist artist, and a shit tone of books falling on your head. And the rubics cube is a critical framework.  If that didn’t make sense then you know my pain. The problem with studying writing at uni is the billion things you need to know and keep track of. There are about a thousand ways to get into the industry, and there are a thousand things you have to know to qualify as an artist. It gets overwhelming. Wondering what your intelligence is, and wondering what other artists intelligence was. Wondering how all this stuff will help you. Wondering when you will learn to get a job in the industry. Wading through all this can be incredibly stressful. As an artist (in any field) you will question what you are supposed to know, what your work means, what your voice is etc. And when that happens it is incredibly easy to lose yourself down a hall of depression. Asking impossible questions and seeking impossible solutions. And to the people in my situation I want to say this:  There is help out there. A friend, a family, a hotline. They are there, and will always be there. You are not alone. And... just by taking an artistic pursuit, you are an artist. Never forget that. 

If anything above has resonated with you and you would like to speak to someone about depression, anxiety, mental disorders, or health problems please visit: https://www.lifeline.org.au/ or https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

[beeshealthylife-blog]

#octoberspiceyoga #yogachallenge Days 5-8 🙏 5. Easy Pose - with tight hips I find sitting cross legged hard, I can't sit in it for long, unless I have a block 💟 6. Lolasana (not even! I've never done it and it's not remotely close to the actual pose, but we start somewhere right 👍 7. Tree Pose - I enjoy the balance challenge of tree pose but now I realize seeing a photo of it my hips aren't even in this pose. 🌳 8. Headstand - but I can't do that, so a pose to work up to it is dolphin pose, so that's my pose instead 🐬 I've been feeling really hard & down on myself this last week, the negative self talk is just running rampant and finding inner calm has been extra hard lately. I know it will pass soon, because it's okay that some days/weeks are harder than others ✌️ #notyouraverageyogi #plussizeyoga #yoga #health #wellness #mentalas #mentalhealth #blackdog

[veazah]

Tune in to ABC at 8:35pm for the third episode of Changing Minds, a documentary about mental health in Australia. Also, look out for me in it! #changingminds #mentalas #abc #australia #tv #nurse (at Campbelltown Hospital)

[finding-hope]

Changing Minds on ABC Mental As

It’s been interesting watching Changing Minds on ABC, where we’re shown the stories of patients who are getting treating in an acute mental health unit. I’m really curious to know how people who have never been inside a mental health unit view it; whether it’s increasing or decreasing stigma and whether it confirmed or challenged their preconceptions of people with a mental illness. Because for me, I’m so used to it, having met all sorts of people in my time on psych wards. The way that the patients on the show are presenting is no more than what I’ve come across already, but I imagine for people who’ve never come across it before, their behaviour and symptoms might seem quite bizarre?

Watching these people and their stories, I so feel for them, for how much they’re going through and how hard it is to battle with mental illness. You can meet some of the most inspiring people, the strongest people, the most interesting people, the strangest people and some of the most irritating people on psych wards. 

What I have found frustrating about Changing Minds is how medical model it is, with the paternalistic doctors needing to intervene because they know what’s best for the patient. All the focus on being hospitalised and put under the Mental Health Act, getting a diagnosis and then finding the right medication. I’m watching it and thinking “Where’s the recovery and person centered principles??!!! Where’s the holistic treatment??!! Where is it that the patient is the one directing their treatment and care??!!!” Instead of portraying people with mental illness as people who are empowered and able to take charge of their recovery and life, they’re portraying people with mental illness as needing mental health professionals to come in and intervene and impose treatment on them for their own good. And it’s frustrating that that’s the only aspect of mental health treatment that is shown. 

[veazah]

My 5 seconds of fame on ABC's #changingminds #mentalas #australia #tv #television (at Campbelltown Hospital)

[leriquiqui]

It’s mental health week in Australia this week 🌈

[mixedlollybag]

Day 69 of 100 days of Joy Joyful for - increasing mental health awareness in Australia #MentalAs - comfy bed - my dog lying on my feet (like weighted blanket) - that I am SO close to finishing another year of psychology - that I have managed the last month amazingly

[aliceicebaby]

Considering it's #MentalAs week, I thought I'd jump on the back of the #MedicatedandMighty bandwagon. Mental illness doesn't define you or what you can do.