Supporting mental health

My father was stationed in Egypt towards the end of WWII. When the time came for him to return to Britain in 1948, he travelled on a troop train from Cairo, which was bombed. He told the story of how, when he was returning from sentry duty (guarding against people getting on the train) it was blown up. He often considered this to be his first piece of good fortune as he was standing directly over the spot where the mines were detonated; however, he fell through the collapsed floor of the carriage and broke both legs. The dead and injured were stretchered from the wreckage and laid on the raised embankment next to the track. Dad told how the soldier next to him was talking a lot, but suddenly went quiet; that was when he became aware of the sniper fire. He said he had never laid so still; he was twenty years of age.

I recently told my Father's story to friends who are psychiatrists; they said "How does someone get over that?" I have no idea either, we live in very different times. Back then there was no real support, people just got on with it, suffered in silence or faith seems to have been a ‘turn-to’. But Dad never seemed overly religious, although he often used the phrase: ‘There but for the grace of God…’ and he certainly believed someone was watching over him. He had a real passion for life, his glass was always half full. His approach to life probably came from the knowledge of how quickly it can be taken away. Sadly, he passed away some years ago after a long illness, but even through that his spirit shone brightly. He shared his experience because it provided another perspective on life and showed what many had gone through for others. On another level it may have been cathartic to him; he spoke, we listened.., it's good to talk, an activity encouraged by Mind.

My Mother’s story isn’t as dramatic as my Father's, but she also lived through the war and worked hard throughout her life. Following a severe stroke a number of years ago, it was noticed she was becoming more confused and subsequently she was diagnosed with dementia. Prior to COVID she accessed support from her local Mind group; this was before such centres were closed due to the pandemic, but it shows how important the services and initiatives run by Mind are to those impacted by mental health conditions.

Nowadays Mum is content to sit quietly, conversation is limited and her short term memory is, at best, confused; however, one of the facilities Mind offers is a ‘Reminiscence Room’. These are rooms decorated to rekindle feelings of comfort and nostalgia by creating a setting surrounding them with objects that generate homely, familiar and reassuring memories. Mind explains: “Reminiscing serves a number of important purposes: It promotes understanding and connection among individuals and families. It helps us preserve history. It helps us understand our past and create significance for our present…”

This certainly proved to be the case for Mum. By sheer coincidence another person who attends the Mind group, also went the same school, whilst this was almost 80 years ago it was also 250 miles away from were they live now! Both would sit quietly in the group, but on this particular occasion they sat in the Reminiscence Room and suddenly they were both engaged in animated conversation about their childhood, they talked about the school and recalled teachers by name.., the carers described it as if “someone had flicked on a switch and the two of them came alive.”

This shows even in cases of Alzheimer's or Dementia the mind continues to work, it’s just not linking together properly. Maybe one day, through medical research and the support provided by organisations such as Mind, there will be greater understanding of the inner workings of the mind and these missing links can be reconnected.

Anxiety and depression are still the most common mental health issues and there could be any number of things that trigger these feelings in a person. What the wider public needs to be aware of is, that these tend to be hidden and not outwardly obvious and that a person who is not experiencing these conditions cannot begin to understand the impact on someone who is. There is also no quick fix.

It’s possible that some of these issues could be attributed to aspects of modern life; the stress and strain of the workplace, constantly on the go with no down time, the peer pressure of social media or the feeling of ‘missing out’ if inboxes aren’t constantly monitored; it’s a brave person these days who’ll ‘cut themselves off’ by switching off their devices. The way our lives have become unconsciously isolated; we travel in closed boxes and at the end of the day shut ourselves in our homes and listen to a barrage of negative news broadcast at us 24/7.., whatever happened to that piece, “.. and now, on a lighter note…” at the end of the News at Ten!?! There is just no let up. If there is one thing COVID has highlighted, it’s that isolation is not good for us, we need to engage with others, we need social interaction, we all need a sense of belonging and worth.

To cope with anxiety and depression, people need understanding, support and help. There are many instances where people with many years of experience and knowledge in their work environment have suddenly been affected by these debilitating conditions, which can result in long term absence from work, a situation that in itself can compound the problem. With professional help and support from family and friends, many are able to rebuild their lives, although unfortunately there are still those who struggle and others who find it too tough. But the support teams of Mind stick with all these people and aim to provide the support they need. There are many instances where the mentoring services lead to people regaining a level of confidence that allows them to return to the workplace, even becoming a mentor to others or taking on roles with the charity, where their career experience can provide invaluable support to Mind, thereby providing a person with the opportunity to ‘give back'. Alas, even these situations don’t always provide the longevity that is hoped for, but for a while an individual’s self-esteem and self-worth is rekindled and to those they work with they become valued friends and Mind wants them to realise how valued and important they are, but this can be difficult.

Guernsey Mind has many programmes to support people dealing with mental health issues, but to run these and support those who need its help, it needs significant levels of funding. Your support for 'Route 66-Virtually' will also support the work of Guernsey Mind.