4thought.tv – Is mental illness ever a gift?
It’s come to my attention that 4thought.tv are running a series this week entitled: ‘Is mental illness ever a gift?’
Sounds like it could be interesting. The first broadcast can be found here. Sadly I can’t view it at the moment as my crappy broadband won’t stream properly.
It can be viewed every day this week on TV at 19:55 after the channel 4 news.
I blogged recently on the more positive aspects of mental illness.
Tags: Media
July 19th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Not available in my area – not surprised, but I tried anyway.
July 19th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
I don’t know if it continues today, or whether it occurred on other courses, but when I did my social work training we had a speaker come from Hearing Voices (http://www.hearing-voices.org/) who talked frankly about hearing voices and her experience in the mental health system. It was humbling to hear of how she turned what many see as a symptom of psychotic illness into something creative and positive. As a volunteer who helped in the training of other volunteers at a user led mental health ‘drop-in’, I was present when someone else came from ‘Hearing Voices’ to help with the training – the intention was to illustrate both the negative and positive side of voice hearing.
I know voice hearing is not a universal symptom of mental illness, but it is – in modern Western culture at least – often seen as something wholly negative. It was good to see that it can have its positives and that people – people who have suffered the negative aspects of the mental health system – have been empowered by their ‘difference’ and have used it to positive ends.
From my own experience in social work, a family tragedy (the suicide of my nephew three years ago) and in the lives of some of my friends, I have noticed that it is a pity there isn’t something positive made of some aspects of mental health. The number of social work clients – and my nephew was an example – who reinforced how their disability limited their life skills and yet had an amazing knowledge of the benefits system, advocacy, the legal obligations of local authorities and health services. I found it peculiar that someone who pressed home their limitations and problems had actually considerable abilities when it came to gaining benefits income and promoting their own rights.
I must stress here, that I know there are many people who have mental health problems who really need their benefits and I am not saying that everyone was in the same position as my nephew or the MINORITY of clients I worked with who despite bemoaning how their mental health problems limited their abilities, seemed to have remarkable skills when it came to furthering their own interests. I have worked with many more people who are seriously debilitated by the mental health problems. However, I think if there was more said about the positives of mental illness and people with mental health problems were encouraged to see these positives there would be a greater likelihood of people moving on. Yet this needs a change to occur on three sides: the person themselves, society as a whole and its attitude to mental health problems and the mental health system itself. So perhaps a program such as this might be helpful in changing attitudes?
July 23rd, 2011 at 4:34 pm
I would say yes, of course.