Dear Reader, I have written this information for the purpose of providing public education about mental health. The information provided is of a general nature only and is not a substitute for professional recommendations based on an individual clinical assessment. For any specific queries about mental health please contact an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker or your General Practitioner. Kindest Regards, Geraldene Mackay.
06.11.18
As we get older the world changes and we change; a new set of skills is needed to help us cope. Seeking help can be hard when we have been independent and met the ups and downs which come along with a full life.
Sometimes the only problem we cannot overcome is getting old. The way we usually handle difficulties doesn’t seem to work anymore. There is the worry that we will not be able to cope in the future.
Worry about the future can become like a cloud undermining the joy that is in our life. If this is happening to you then you can get help with your worries and start to look forward to your older age.
05.11.18
Mental health- we read about it in the papers and we think we know how to live a happy life. However, studies show that merely knowing about mental heath is not enough, it doesn’t get you even half way, effort is required. It you want to make changes then therapy can help you meet these goals.
05.11.18
Recently co-presented a workshop at the Australian Ethics Network
13.11.11
By looking after your own mental health you not only experience greater wellbeing but you positively influence the social environment for others and so help entire the community. This is a win-win for us all. How do we make this happen- the evidence says
- Connect – with others , invest time developing this key part of your life
- Be active- go for a walk, exercise
- Take notice- practice mindfulness by being curious and not judgmental
- Keep Learning- there is always something new to learn
- Give- do something nice for someone else
[Source : The Five Ways to Wellbeing- a set of evidence-based public mental health messages aimed at improving the wellbeing of the whole population and also mental health. These ideas were developed by nef (the new economics foundation].
21.10.11
As an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker I understand that individuals exist in a complex network of political, social and environmental events. I understand that these events impact on our minds and bodies. That is, the mind, the brain, and the whole self are affected. In turn people, who have varying internal experiences, effect social, political and environmental events in a dialectical manner.
So what is needed is a complex analysis of the situation. C. Wright Mills (1959) in his book “The Sociological Imagination” describes this analysis as the “the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the most intimate features of the human self – and to see the relations between the two”. An approach that recognises complexity is needed for any intervention.
I have always been impressed about the capacity of my patients to understand complex psycho-education and how they have found this information to be helpful, I hope you enjoy reading this blog.
