Mental distress: where to turn for support in Cornwall

Everyone has days when they feel miserable; ups and downs are an inevitable part of life. However for some people, these lows don’t go away, they can become overpowering and affect their ability to cope with everyday life.

About one in four people experience some form of mental distress at some point in their lives, yet there is still a lot of stigma attached to being mentally ill. A Department of Health survey carried out in July asked people to say what they understand by the term mental illness. A worrying 63% of respondents defined a mentally ill person as ‘someone suffering from schizophrenia’. It is clear that there is a still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding mental health.

When people think about mental illness, many often picture someone who is acutely and visibly ill. However many people with mental health diagnoses, including schizophrenia, do not come across as being ill. Often they can put on a ‘well face’ and pass as ‘normal’.

Mental ill health can take many forms. If you are feeling low, worthless, and unmotivated most days you may be experiencing depression, while constant and unrealistic worries about life could indicate anxiety. Mental distress is very individual and can affect anyone at any time in their life. What ever your situation, there are many organisations across Cornwall that can help.

The first port of call is often your GP. If problems are severe and enduring you may be referred to the Cornwall Partnership Trust, which provides children and adults in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly with mental health, learning disabilities, drug and alcohol and eating disorder services.

They provide services across Cornwall including psychological therapies, resource centres providing a range of social and therapeutic activities, inpatient care, and community mental health teams who work with people in their homes.

They take a ‘whole life’ approach and can support people with issues such as housing, leisure, and employment. Lezli Boswell, Chief Executive of the trust, said:

“A range of effective and supportive community mental health services are essential in maintaining people within their local communities and networks, and is important in breaking the cycle of social exclusion that many people with mental health problems and their carers experience.”

Cornwall Mental Health Forum is an independent organisation that works to support and protect the rights of people with mental health problems. The forum runs initiatives such as the Service User Representatives Group (SURG), which provides a service user perspective in the provision of mental health services, including having members on the interview panel for key NHS personnel.

Other forum initiatives include the Independent Visiting Scheme, where visitors (usually service users or carers) provide a confidential ear, helping people in hospital raise issues about their care, and signposting them onto other useful organisations. Nicki Sweeney, the forum’s co-ordinator. said:

"It's imperative that mental health service users are consulted and actively involved in the planning and development of the services they receive.”

The forum works with, and can provide information on, self help and support groups for anyone suffering mental distress, throughout the county.

For people experiencing or recovering from mental illness and thinking about returning to work, Pentreath is an organisation that can help.

One barrier to employment can be overcoming the social exclusion often felt by people suffering from mental ill health. Pentreath’s Fit for Life project can help with this first step by supporting individuals to access recreational activities in their local communities. Pentreath can also offer training and work experience to help people use and develop their skills in a supportive environment. Vitality Matters magazine is one such scheme.

The aim is to help build people’s self esteem and confidence, so they feel ready for work. Compared to other disabilities, mental ill health is the disability with the most unemployment. Pentreath chief executive Louise Knox said:

“People do get better, and are just as loyal and committed as any other employee; they just need to be given a chance.”

Caring for someone with a mental health problem or other disability can take its toll on the carer’s own health. Full time carers are often unpaid and don’t get a chance to get out into the community, which can lead to them feeling isolated and depressed.

Regular breaks can be beneficial in helping people manage the strain of caring for someone else. Luckily there are organisations across Cornwall that can offer support to carers.

Run by local artist Julia Rowlands, the Carers Colour Group provides a break for carers of adults with mental ill health. Meeting regularly in Camborne, Julia leads artistic activities and encourages carers to use colour to express their feelings and emotions. The group offers carers a chance to get together and share ideas with others in similar situations to their own.

Last year, members of the group exhibited their work at the World Mental Health Day event at the Shire hall in Bodmin, and with Julia organising this year’s event at the same venue on the 10th of October, the group’s work will again be exhibited. Julia said:

“My group enables carers to get out and enjoy the company of others in a relaxing environment. It gives them a chance to be exposed to, and be part of, the artistic community of Cornwall.”

The Carers Support Worker project has worked with carers for 10 years. They provide one-to-one support for carers all over Cornwall. Initially, they assess a carer’s needs and look at ways of helping them cope, and can provide information on benefits, counselling and respite services. They have also been instrumental in helping set up carers support groups, which are then run by the carers themselves.

They also produce a really useful carer’s information pack, which includes information about benefits, emergency contacts and lists all the carer’s groups in Cornwall. Monica Thomas, who runs the project, has worked with carers for 21 years. She said:

“I have a real understanding from my own experiences that juggling one’s life around family, work and caring can take a heavy toll. The team of support workers and myself are committed to ensuring that we reach as many carers as possible and hopefully make a real difference to their lives.”

With so many people suffering from mental distress there is a great need for these organisations, not only because they provide excellent treatment and support, but also because they help overcome the stigma and social exclusion often associated with mental health problems.

Contacts
Community Partnership Trust
Phone 01726 291059 or for more information go to www.cornwall.nhs.uk/cpt

Mental Health Forum
For the North Cornwall, Restormel and Caradon area
phone Lesley Ayers on 01872 222141 or email lesley.ayers@cornwallrcc.co.uk
For Carrick, Kerrier and Penwith:
Phone Nicki Sweeney on 01872 223250 or email nicki.sweeney@cornwallrcc.co.uk

Pentreath
phone 01726 862727 or email pentreath@pentreath.co.uk
For more information go to http://www.pentreath.co.uk/

For the Carers Colour Group
phone Carer’s Break Projects on 01209 613456
or email Julia at jdrowlands@yahoo.com

Carers Support Worker Project
Phone 01872 261035 or email carers@cornwallrcc.co.uk
For more information look at www.cornwallrcc.co.uk/carers.html

This article was published in September's issue of Vitality Matters a free Cornish Health and Wellbeing magazine. http://www.vitalitymatters.org.uk/

Exploring the origin of words and phrases

When I said to my daughter ‘night night, sleep tight’ the other evening, it got me thinking about where the saying ‘sleep tight’ came from, and set me off exploring the origins of other phrases. It’s interesting how words and phrases change over the years, for example who remembers when ‘gay’ meant jolly. Some original meanings of words are forgotten about altogether such as the word ‘pay’, which originally meant to appease or pacify, before it became a word meaning to give money for goods or services, and ‘budget’ which historically meant a wallet.

This article is the result of my fascination with words and phrases.

Sleep tight is a phrase that has been common for many years. "Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite", is often said to someone retiring to bed. There are several theories as to the origin of the phrase.

One theory dates back from the days when mattresses were supported by ropes, which needed to be pulled tight at night to produce a well sprung bed. Another theory suggests it comes from bedclothes being pulled tightly to stop bedbugs biting.

However the first citation of the phrase was in Susan Bradford Eppes diary; ‘Through some eventful years’, in 1866, and it was not found again till the early twentieth century. As this was after the period when ropes were pulled around beds it doesn’t support that that theory of the phrases origin.

In Susan’s diary there was a clear link between ‘sleep tight’ and ‘sleep well’, and with ‘tight’ meaning firm sound and secure, this is a more likely explanation. ‘Sleep tight’ purely means sleep soundly.

However others simply believe that ‘sleep tight’ came about as a rhyming word to be used with ‘good night,’ or ‘bed bugs bite’.

We all use the term ‘Boycott’ meaning to refuse to have dealings with a person or organisation, however have you ever wondered how the word came about? ‘Boycott’ actually comes from Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott, who was working in Ireland as a land agent for an absent landlord in the 1870’s. At the same time the Irish Land League were campaigning to reform the landholding system. In 1880 protesting tenants demanded Boycott reduce their rents and he didn’t, so they came up with the idea that everyone in the locality should refuse to have anything to do with him. Local shops stopped serving him and he even had trouble receiving his post.

The events made big news, and people felt passionately about the reforms, so ‘Boycott’ quickly became used as a byword, and within weeks it had spread all over Ireland and England. By the time Boycott died in 1897 it was a well used term in the English language.

The phrase ‘In the Limelight’ meaning at the centre of attention came about in the theatres of the nineteenth century. Limelight is a bright white light produced by heating a piece of lime in a flame of burning oxygen and hydrogen. It was discovered by Goldsworthy Gurney in the 1920’s, and developed by Thomas Drummond to be used in theatres to illuminate the leading actors. It began to be used as a phrase meaning what it does today around the turn of the twentieth century.

The ‘Bees knees’, meaning excellent and of the highest quality, is another saying with an unclear origin. It doesn’t appear to have any connection with the phrase ‘a bees knee’ which in the eighteenth century meant smallness and has now disappeared from our language. It does however seem to have been coined in 1920’s America, and first appeared in an Ohio newspaper The Newark Advocate.

Theories as to its origin include; that it refers to bees carrying pollen on their legs, and that the concentrated goodness of the pollen was found around a bees knee. However there is no evidence to support this theory.

Another suggestion is that it refers to a dancer Bee Jackson, who was credited with introducing the Charleston to Broadway. It may be that the ‘bees knees’ was a reference to her and her active knees.

However it is just as likely that ‘bees knees’ came about due to the 1920’s trend of inventing nonsensical terms for excellence, such as the ‘kipper’s knickers’ and the ‘cat’s pyjamas’.

If these explanations of the origins of words and phrases have sparked your interest, as they have mine, you can check out a variety of sayings at www.phrases.org.uk. Or have a read of one of the many books available on word origins.

The extraordinary life of Beach Boy Brian Wilson

As told by Mick Brown at the Port Eliot Lit Fest

The Port Eliot Literature festival is situated on the landscaped grounds of the 18th century Port Eliot House at St Germans in Cornwall. Taking part over three days, the Lit fest attracts a diverse range of performers, and has something for all tastes. Whether you want to catch some music, listen to poetry, see talks by authors about their work, watch films, or take part in a pub quiz, the Port Eliot Lit fest will not disappoint.

With flooding in the Midlands, and trains not running, a few of the artists didn’t manage to make it to the festival, and I was disappointed when I turned up to see Mick Brown talk about the life of Brian Wilson, and found he was another victim of the floods. When I heard later he had managed to get down after all, and was talking at seven I hot tailed it over to see him and it was well worth it.

Mick Brown is a freelance writer and journalist who has written for publications such as Rolling Stone magazine, the Observer, and the Daily Telegraph. He’s also the successful author of books such as ‘Tearing down the wall of sound: The rise and fall of Phil Spector’, and 'American heartbeat: A musical journey across America from Woodstock to San Jose'. He has interviewed, and written about, many legends of the music scene, including David Bowie, Santana and the Sex Pistols. His article ‘Brian Wilson – Beach Boy, Pop Visionary, Wounded Soul’ appeared in GQ magazine in 2004.

Joined by his friend Colin Midson, and intermingled with recordings of Beach Boy’s classics, they recounted the extraordinary life of Beach Boy, Brian Wilson.

The Beach Boys were a family band consisting of Brian Wilson, his brother’s Dennis and Carl, their cousin Mike Love, and a school friend Al Jardine. They all grew up in the suburban wasteland of Hawthorn, 30 miles down the freeway from LA. Father Murray was a machinery sales man, failed songwriter, and a bully. He frequently beat Brian and his two younger brothers. But he saved his most sadistic behaviour for Brian, his most gifted and sensitive son. Brian later remembered his childhood as hell and misery.

As a child Brian was a socially awkward boy, he was kind of kid who spent most of the time in his room, and never seemed to successfully manage the transformation from adolescence to adult hood. While Brian’s songs evoked a California dreamscape of surfing hot rods and sun kissed girls, Brian was a lonely person, only truly at ease at his piano or in the recording studio.

In the first 4 years of their existence the Beach Boys produced 12 albums all written and produced by Brian, but the intense pressure of writing, producing, and touring took it’s toll on Brian, and in 1964 he suffered his first nervous breakdown. He retreated to the studio and began to dream of a more sophisticated grown up music. The talk had started off with a rendition of ‘Barbara Ann’, a hit for the Beach Boys in 1965. Brian disliked it saying it wasn’t the Beach Boys sound. He wanted the band to evolve from a band with a formulaic showbiz persona, to a band producing the most spiritual advanced and intricate music ever. At the end of 1965 he began work on what was to become ‘Pet Sounds’.

However he had opposition. The leader of the band on stage; Mike Love liked the showbiz persona, the Beach Boys delivered hits and that delivered royalties, he loved the fun fun fun party Beach Boy style. He didn’t want to trade the hit making machine for un-commercial art music. Other members of the band agreed with Mike. So when Brian Wilson said ‘Barbara Ann’ was not the Beach Boys he actually meant ‘Barbara Ann’ was not Brian Wilson. In 1966 Brian and the band were on a collision course.

By now rock was beginning to address the broader issues of the world, it was becoming politicised. Wilson immersed himself in the hippy culture and discovered pot. Years later he said when smoking grass he could feel the inspiration coming fast.

Working with lyricist Tony Asher on the album 'Pet sounds', he wrote arrangements that were sophisticated and complicated and were way beyond the simplicity of Beach Boy’s earlier songs. When Wilson delivered 'Pet sounds' to Capital records, they considered ditching it and releasing a greatest hits album instead. The greatest hits album came out 2 months later, taking the steam out of ‘Pet Sounds’ sales. In Britain however, 'Pet Sounds' reached no 2 in the charts, and although it took a couple of years to reach the same sort of success in America, it did eventually become regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made.

The apparent failure of 'Pet sounds' angered Love, who wanted the group to go back to simple undemanding pop songs, which kept fans happy and maintained the beach boys in the affluent style they had become accustomed to.

Brian was too far gone to go back, and in spring 1966 he started work on a song that would prove to be a leap into a different kind of music for the Beach Boys. The song was ‘Good Vibrations’. It took six months before Brian was happy with the final version.

In August 1966 two songs about loneliness dominated the charts; the Beatle’s ‘Eleonor Rigby’, a song by a pretend lonely person, and at no2 ‘God Only Knows’ a song by a real lonely person. At the same time Brian was finishing ‘Good vibrations’ and it was released in October to rave reviews. Again Brian encountered opposition from the other Beach boys and ‘Good Vibrations’ was actually recorded by session musicians. People questioned why it did not sound so good live.

Seated at his piano fuelled by amphetamines and hash, Wilson started work on an album he intended to call ‘Dumb Angel’ but was later called ‘Smile’. To realise his dream he employed a new lyricist Van Dyke Parks. They wrote together at Brian’s Beverly Hills mansion, where he had a purple and gold silk Arabian tent erected for creative pot smoking, and in the dining room he had a fourteen foot square box filled with sand so he could be on the beach while he composed. In this period Wilson is portrayed as mad, out of control and devoid of creativity. In fact it was arguably his most creative focused period.

This was the beginning of Wilson’s next mental breakdown which would last for the next twenty five years. When Mick Brown went to interview Brian, he found him sitting on a sofa, staring into distance and clutching a cushion to his chest. It wasn’t until Mick was sat opposite him that Brian even seemed to know he was there. People had described Brian as childlike, and Mick found he replied to questions with no more than the question demands, often only with yes or no.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s while Brian lapsed into drug induced obesity, the other beach boys toured the world resentful of their reliance on Brian. It was during this period Brian met psychiatrist; Dr Eugene Landy who put Brian under 24 hour surveillance, and a punishing regime of dieting, physical fitness, and mind altering drugs. He became a surrogate Murray figure and it took a court order to finally remove Landy from his life.

The Beach Boys were now middle aged men with middle aged problems singing about teenage life. In 1983 the Beach boys were invited to the White house by Ronald Reagan who described them as a National treasure. They posed for pictures, where Brian’s brother, Dennis was seen bloated and stoned in the background. Two months later he was dead.

Brian Wilson’s life story is very depressing, from his father Murray who stole the copy write to Brian’s songs, and Landy who bled his bank accounts dry, and Mike into success Love who was driven by envy. The tragic truth of Wilson’s life was that he was continuously manipulated and exploited by others. His comeback is another example of this, as he would probably be happier at home with his piano. In Mick Browns words, Brian Wilson is a wounded soul and a vulnerable visionary.

Wonderful Watercress

Once known as ‘poor mans bread’ watercress was a staple part of people’s diet in the 1800’s. Today it is probably one of the most underrated and underused greens, yet packed full of nutrients watercress is a superfood well worth adding to our diets. A new report called ‘Watercress The Original Superfood’ written and researched by Lyndel Costain B.Sc.RD, outlines these health benefits.

The benefits of eating watercress have been known for many years. As far back as 500BC, Hippocrates known as the father of modern medicine located his hospital near a stream, so he could grow watercress for its blood purifying qualities. In ancient Greece the name for watercress is ‘kardomon’ which roughly translates as head subdoer, where they believed watercress could brighten the intellect and cure a deranged mind. Similarly the Romans treated insanity with watercress and vinegar.

Watercress was also reputed to increase stamina. Greek generals used to feed it to their troops, and Egyptian Pharaoh’s gave it to their slaves to increase productivity. In seventeenth century England, watercress was sold in bunches at markets and eaten like ice cream cones. It was commonly eaten for breakfast in a sandwich and became known as ‘poor mans bread’ as people who couldn’t afford bread would just eat watercress.

Watercress is a member of the cruciferous family which includes broccoli, kale and mustard. It’s been classed as a superfood because of its high levels of nutrients; it contains three times as much vitamin E as lettuce, more iron than spinach, and more calcium than milk (useful to know for anyone on a diary free diet). More importantly it contains natural compounds called phytochemicals which evidence suggests are very beneficial to our health.

The health benefits of watercress include promoting healthy eyes, skin and hair. It contains the phytochemicals; lutein and zeaxanthin which are found in the lens and retina. Both are actually available in supplement form, sold in health food shops, specifically to help with eyesight. Watercress also contains Zinc and Vitamin A (via beta carotene) which are important for good night vision. The high levels of vitamin A and C watercress provides can help keep skin supple and smooth, and its iron and zinc levels are essential for healthy hair and strong nails.

Hippocrates used watercress for its blood purifying qualities, and it can still be used today as part of a detox diet. Watercress contains glucosinolates which are phytochemicals which can boost and regulate the livers inbuilt detoxification system. Watercress was used by the Anglo Saxons to spring clean the blood, and the American Indians ate it for liver and kidney problems.

Watercress is also a good food to use as part of any weight loss regime. It contains high levels of iodine which is needed to make the thyroid hormones that regulate the body’s metabolic rate. It is also very low in calories, and has a low energy density which contributes to feeling fuller for longer. A study undertaken by Pennsylvania State University found that people eating a watercress starter went on to eat on average 12% less calories in the main course.

Due to watercress’s high vitamin and mineral content there are many health benefits, such as to the immune system, where the vitamin B6 content can help make defensive antibodies. It is also high in folic acid and iron which are especially important in pregnancy. The levels of Calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A C and K in watercress, can help build and maintain healthy bones. Most interestingly however recent research has discovered watercress is very useful in reducing the risk of developing cancer.

The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research suggest up to 40% of deaths by cancer could be avoided by adopting a healthier diet. The majority of cancers are formed by ingesting or inhaling potentially carcinogenic compounds. The cancer fighting potential of watercress seems to be due to the presence of phytochemicals such as ‘phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC)’. PEITC inhibit the activation process which can turn some of these compounds carcinogenic, and watercress is one of the richest sources of dietary PEITC. Studies in the past few years are also discovering watercress may have properties that can counteract the effects of smoking, such as ‘Gluconasturtin’ which can help neutralise a carcinogen in tobacco.

For anyone interested in the findings of studies into watercress and cancer’s such as; breast, prostate, colorectal and lung, you can find them in Lyndel Costain’s report available at www.watercress.co.uk.

It seems that watercress is the original superfood, and it doesn’t have to be boring. There is so much more to do with watercress than just having it in a salad. It’s actually quite a versatile ingredient, adding a peppery zing to stir fries, sauces, juices and fish dishes. Try adding it to mashed potato with cheddar cheese and spring onions, or chopping and sprinkling watercress over scrambled eggs. Alternatively try the more traditional watercress and potato soup. I know I will be eating it more often.

“Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”
Hippocrates