Charities - Mental Health - MIND

Mental health problems can affect anyone, shattering both the lives of those affected and the lives of the people close to them. One in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Each year more than 250,000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals in the UK and over 4,000 people take their own lives.

Mental health covers a broad range of illnesses including depression, eating disorders, dementia, bipolar (manic depression) and schizophrenia.

Mind is one of the UK's leading mental health charities and one of my chosen charities in respect of my 2009 Polar Challenge (Make a Donation).

Our Experiences

A member of my immediate family first encountered mental health problems in 2003. At the time, none of my family had had any previous experience of mental health problems and so we were concerned, confused and frightened.

Over the period of the following four years, we felt virtually helpless as he experienced the horrendous cocktail that many mental health sufferers do;- his lack of insight into the illness rendering him incapable and unwilling to accept assistance and treatment; a sense of anger and betrayal as his family took decisions regarding his hospitalisation that he could not understand; a counter-productive government policy to return mental health sufferers to the community as soon as possible rather than address the cause and effects of the illness and achieve a long term solution to them; and a widespread social stigma regarding mental health problems based on a combination of lack of familiarity and misunderstanding. It was truly heart-breaking to witness in a loved one whose whole adult life was ahead of them.

Finally, the Assertive Outreach Medical Team at Hellesdon Hospital became involved in his care, with the primary concern being his medium - long term return to full health. His recovery has been significant and steady ever since. A critical stage in this recovery was the transition from hospital back into the community. Mind, in conjunction with the Assertive Outreach Team, both managed and funded this. We are eternally grateful to Mind's support and to the organisations and individuals that have been involved in his continuing recovery - the Assertive Outreach Team, Omnia House and Casa Rica.

MIND

Mind is a leading UK mental health charity. It works to create a better life for everyone with experience of mental distress by:

Advancing the views, needs and ambitions of people with mental health problems
Challenging discrimination and promoting inclusion
Influencing policy through campaigning and education
Inspiring the development of quality services which reflect expressed need and diversity
Achieving equal rights through campaigning and education.