Sybil Ah-mane's Story.
It was in 1997 at a conference in Nottingham that I first came into contact with Mental Health Media and Teresa Priest spoke about the work of Headlines. I was both excited and surprised that an organisation specifically providing a space to support and train people with mental health needs on positively using the media existed. At the time, I did not anticipate my own future involvement with the media and did not feel confident enough to share my views and experiences to a wider audience.
I had been training as a psychiatric nurse for two and a half years when I had my first admission into hospital where I was placed on section 2 of the mental health act. I was diagnosed with manic-depression and once discharged, did not return to nursing because the division between patient and nurse was too distant and I now felt more of a User than a professional. I had another two and a half-month stay in hospital the following year, this time I was detained under section 3. The period after this was extremely difficult as I was clinically depressed with suicidal ideas and lacked the confidence and motivation to have any aim in life. During this time, I was in having Psychotherapy, which helped me realise my own personal needs and gave me the direction I desperately needed.
One patient I met in psychiatric hospital was Jan Holloway whom I immediately connected with as she was an occupational therapist and we soon became very good friends. We spoke extensively about our involvement both as worker and patient and the idea of Learning from Psychosis emerged. We both recognised that there was a lack of understanding in the nursing field on the emotional aspects of mental health distress and decided to set up a one day training package whereby we would use our experiences as an educational tool. We produced a fifteen-minute video and an autobiographical booklet for the package and needed to publicise our services.
We contacted Headlines to ask advice on how to approach the media and Pete Fleischmann suggested that we organise a launch to promote and advertise our package. They helped us put together a press release and allowed us to use their offices to phone various newspapers. The support and advice we received was invaluable, as I do not think we would have had the confidence and knowledge to do it on our own otherwise. Before we were interviewed by the press, Pete and Teresa had compiled a list of questions that journalists were likely to ask. This gave us the time and space to think about what we wanted to say and just as importantly, it also prepared us for difficult and challenging questions as well. I was still nervous before the interviews but because I was aware of what to expect, it did not feel so daunting.
The launch was a success and the event was covered by most professional trade publications. We had two in-depth interviews by Therapy Weekly and Mental Health Care and a telephone interview by the local newspaper. We chose to be interviewed in my home because we felt it would be more comfortable for us. Jan and I had talked about issues we were not prepared to discuss beforehand and it was to both our benefits that we had each other there. Overall, the experience was very positive and it made me realise that what I have to say is important.
It was strange when I read the different articles and reviews that were written, about us and some of them, including the local press used our photographs. I remember shopping one day and suddenly realising that I may be recognised as someone with a psychiatric history and feeling quite vulnerable. However, I soon remembered that the article had been very positive and realised that what Jan and I were attempting to do was to challenge existing stereotypes of people with mental health needs. The write-up was primarily about how we had taken control of our lives and how we are using our experiences to educate and therefore, if I did have any fears of being judged negatively, it merely strengthened my resolve in what Jan and I were doing.
We were fortunate that all the coverage was positive and as a result, it made me value myself more. Actually reading quotes from my own thoughts has been self-affirming and made me feel empowered. The fact that the press conveyed messages I wanted to get across felt liberating and the main reason for this I feel was due to the support and advise I received from Mental Health Media. Working together with them made me feel more confident and prepared and the publicity reflected this.
In my opinion, the press tends to portray people with mental health needs as victims or aggressors and as such, I am very pleased to have been able to present an alternate view. I also believe that in the future, more and more Users will be given the chance to tell their own individual stories as I have, and this will hopefully lead to greater understanding and acceptance by society.
Learning from Psychosis can be contacted at 156, Odessa Road, London E7 9DU.
Telephone 020 8552 3321
Web site at http://talk.to/learningfrompsychosis
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