PHaMs Lookout April 2015
Content Walali News Groups & Meetings Page -2 FOODcents, Myths about Anxiety Page – 3 Peer Story & Health news Page – 4 SANE report on Psychosis Page – 5 April Calendar Page – 6
Partner Agencies Schedule:
by appointment only
PTSD Women’s Support Group Drug Arm Counsellor Department of Human Services Alcohol & Drug Foundation Qld Centacare Counsellor
Monday (fortnightly 4:00pm – 5:00pm Tuesday 1:30 – 3:30pm Tuesday 1:15pm – 2:45pm Thursday 10:00am -3:00pm Friday 10:30am – 3:30pm
Published by: Australian Red Cross PHaMs 14b Cambridge St Rockhampton QLD 4700 Tel: 07 4922 0020
Walali Neighbourhood News SMART Recovery is starting! SMART Recovery is a voluntary self-help group that assists people in recovering from alcohol, drugs and other addictive behaviours. Based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), SMART Recovery empowers people with practical skills, tools and support to manage addictive behaviours. Weekly SMART Recovery group meetings commence in May
at the Walali Neighbourhood Centre. For further information please contact Shelly Green (facilitator) 49 220020.
The Walali Neighbourhood Centre has a new external
Please join us for our next up coming free workshop.
service to offer the community.
These workshops are for people to explore recovery and
“Drug Arm” will be commencing
their life, in a fun and safe peer group setting.
drug and alcohol counselling
The next workshop will be:
each Tuesday. Bookings are essential. For further details
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Dealing with Crisis
Located at -
Community Health Cnr of Bolsover St & Cambridge
please contact the PHaMs team ph: 49 220 020
- 8 April 2015 , 10am – 1pm
For further information contact Shelly Green (facilitator) on 4922 0020
WRAP, developed by Mary Ellen Copeland is a planning process that involves assessing the self help tools and resources that we have, and then the using of those tools and resources to develop plans for keeping ourselves well. WRAP is totally self-determined. Workshops will be running each Tuesday from 11am – 12:30pm for six weeks. These workshops will be at the Walali Neighbourhood Centre. For further details contact Shelly 4922 0020
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Week 1 – Developing the wellness toolbox
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Week 2 – Daily maintenance plan
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Week 3 – Identifying trigger & action plan
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Week 4 – Identifying early warning signs plan
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Week 5 – Things are breaking down action plan
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Week 6 – Crisis planning & post crisis planning
FOODcents By bringing people together for a series of hands-on
Myths About Anxiety Destroyed
workshops, Australian Red Cross FOODcents® programs teach people how to get value for money and achieve a balanced diet in a relaxed atmosphere. Red Cross helps people to make sustainable changes to diet, physical activity, food budgeting and healthy weight; helping them to improve their health, prevent and manage chronic
disease better and learn skills for economic self-reliance.
Myth:
Anxiety is not a normal part of life
Completely untrue! Everyone experiences anxiety to some extent, on a daily basis. Not only do things that cause stress happen to everyone from time to time, but without any anxiety, you wouldn’t be motivated to do
much. If you didn’t feel anxiety when a car sped towards you, you wouldn’t get out of the way! Some anxiety is also
The program is holistic, multifaceted and community focused – it’s a healthy lifestyle program that targets Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, migrants, refugees, prisoners, the elderly, people with mental illness and young people.
needed to help us perform at our best. Not to mention that we also experience positive anxiety – also called "excitement”!
Myth:
People who have anxiety just need to relax
This is about as absurd as telling someone with a broken leg to just get it together and run a race – it just ain’t
Red Cross offers free training sessions and is delivered
gonna happen. Like the broken leg, anxiety disorders are
by staff and volunteers to groups over four to eight
serious illnesses and there are treatment options
sessions with flexible timeframes.
available to help manage them, which have been proven to work through years and years of really clever people
We aim to teach people how to get value for money and
conducting research. Although relaxation might be a part
achieve a balanced diet through:
of the treatment plan, it also needs to happen in line with
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increased consumption of fruit and vegetables.
a whole bunch of self-help strategies. Other treatment
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improved awareness of good nutrition, healthy weight
options may be advised by a mental health professional.
and physical activity.
Myth:
The only people who get anxiety are just naturally nervous anyway
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skills to choose, prepare and cook healthy meals,
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greater economic self-reliance through improved
Anyone can experience anxiety. In fact, anxiety is one of
budgeting skills.
the most common mental illnesses in Australia. The 2007
increased confidence in implementing new knowledge
Australian Bureau of Statistics annual survey has
and skills, and
evidence to say that it is the most common mental illness,
reduction in food insecurity, community participation
with 14% of people over 16 years of age who completed
and reduced social isolation.
the survey experiencing an anxiety disorder – that’s about
• •
Our FOODcents program begins 21 April. For more
1 in 7 people! Anxiety disorders are a result of
details contact Bonnie 4922 0020
complicated interactions between genes and personal experience.
http://au.reachout.com/
R
ound and round and up and down,
Welcome to Bipolar a lived experience story
Part 1.
Bipolar is mental illness that has been around for many years, previously call Manic Depression. Fortunately for us we have the best in medicine and professionals working for us now even if it seems like they don’t know what they are doing for us at times, we will receive some recovery bit by bit. For my own experiences I went from the age of eighteen to the age of fifty living with this no named illness. I lived a life of a drunk and at times some other types of drugs. So when I reflect back now ( please think about how your life is going right now) I was in a manic episode which I lived in for all those years and mistook a young hero drinking the world dry instead of being aware of what was really happening to me. If you find that you are young and having these mixed up thoughts see if you can find someone like myself to talk to. I am here to give you an honest explanation in your word at the relevant
age limits. Some of the people that have contacted me are sixty year olds right down to fifteen year olds. The only difference is how long this illness has had a grip on them. Mania is what our high is called and symptoms of this are major highs where we seem to be the only one’s that understand what is going on. Some have said that they walk with God. So much goes wrong at once that it becomes very hard to untangle.
Published by:
Story by Bruce Edwards
For support please come along to our next support group Red Cross meeting: Bipolar Fellowship meets first Tuesday of the month Cnr Bolsover and Cambridge Street Community Health , entrance through Cambridge St For details, Bruce Edwards 0419715345
[email protected]
Health News Research finding
1 How many are affected? Sixty-four thousand people with psychotic illness are in contact with public mental health services every year. Two in three experience their first episode before the age of 25. 2 Who is affected? People with psychotic illness are more likely to be male, living alone and have disrupted education. 3 What are the effects Psychotic illness often has a severe impact on ability to function in daily life. 4 Physical health People with psychotic illness are experience very poor physical health, and are more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. 5 Mental health services People with psychotic illness are the predominant users of mental health services, and make heavy, regular use of other health services. 6 NGO services
Mental health non-government organisations (NGOs) provide a range of services, and are highly valued by people living with psychotic illness. 7 GP services People with psychotic illness see their GP nine times a year on average: almost twice as often as the general population. 8 A home and a job People with psychotic illness have a very high rate of unemployment and are at greater risk of homelessness. 9 Social isolation Nearly a quarter of people with psychotic illness reported feeling socially isolated and lonely. One in eight had no friends at all. 10 The challenge The People Living with Psychotic Illness study provides compelling evidence of the need to improve our mental health services, and recommendations on this are spelled out under Action on every page of A SANE Response http://www.sane.org/images/stories/information/research
What's happening at Walali Neighbourhood Centre 14b Cambridge St, Rockhampton Ph: 4922 0020
April 2015
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
1st
2nd
Closed
• •
7th •
Closed
Computer Basics 10:30 – 11 :30am
Good Friday
8th
Barista Club 1pm – 3pm
9th •
Gym with John 9am – 11:30am
3rd
Gym with John 9am – 11:30am
•
6th
Friday
10th
Gym with John 9am – 11:30am
Walali Neighbourhood Centre closed 13th
14th •
15th
16th •
Gym with John 9am – 11:30am
17th
Gym with John 9am – 11:30am
Walali Neighbourhood Centre closed 20th
21st
22nd Closed
23rd
• Fun & fitness 10am – 12pm
• Gym with John 9am – 10am
• Gym with John 9am – 10am
• Choir 1pm – 3pm
• Crafty Yarners 10am – 12pm
• Computer Basics 10:30am – 11:30am
• WRAP 11am – 12:30pm
• Barista Club 1pm – 3pm
• Food cents 1pm – 3pm
27th
28th •
• Fun & fitness 10am – 12pm • Choir 1pm – 3pm
Gym with John 9am – 10am • Crafty Yarners 10am – 12pm • WRAP 11am – 12:30pm • Food cents 1pm – 3pm
29th Closed
30th • Gym with John 9am – 10am • Computer Basics 10:30am – 11:30am • Barista Club 1pm – 3pm
24th •
Ozcare garden project 10am – 12pm •
Almost anything goes 1pm – 3pm
