It would be beyond the scope of the document to provide detailed information about mental health problems. See sign posting pages.
What parishes can do:
• Encourage exercise and self-care.
• Consider setting up a self-help group. Given the tendency for such conditions to encourage withdrawal from social situations, a church group can provide emotional and practical support to counteract this.
• Encourage the person to keep in contact with other people.
• Encourage people to seek appropriate support and treatment from their GP or talking therapies and to take any medication if prescribed.
• A number of self-help books are also available.
DEPRESSION
Depression is one of the most common mental health problems and affects 20 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men at some point during their lives. One in twenty of all adults are estimated to be experiencing depression at any one time. Much depression goes unrecognised and undiagnosed. It affects all sections of the population, including both those who profess a religious faith and those who don‘t.
Our mood naturally varies over time and from day to day and everyone gets ‘down‘ or ‘fed up‘ sometimes. We may get disheartened about something that happens or when things do not go the way we would have liked. Although people often say I‘m depressed to mean these things, this would not usually be what is called clinical depression and is simply part of the normal ups and downs of life.
Real depression is unlike any short-lived experience of sadness. It is a protracted very low state of mind often with no clear reason or explanation. A person with depression needs help and support. Unfortunately, there continues to be a social stigma about any mental health problem, so some people may be reluctant to seek help, or even admit there is a problem in the first place. The advice: ‘Pull yourself out of it’ is ineffective, and may actually make things worse.
Symptoms
People with depression usually have a number of symptoms, which include low mood, loss of interest and enjoyment in life, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, self-hatred, tearfulness, poor concentration, reduced energy, reduced or increased appetite and weight, sleep problems, anxiety, inability to make decisions and/or plan for the future.
How to help
Recognising that someone is experiencing depression and supporting them to seek professional help and treatment will speed their recovery (or at least help them manage the symptoms) as well as reducing the risk of relationship breakdown, sickness, accidents, alcohol and drug misuse, job loss and suicide. People who live with, or care for, a person with depression may also need support.
Other sources of help
The Depression Alliance is a major source of information and help. For more information visit depression alliance
STRESS
Stress is the word that many people use when they are comparing the demands of their life with how they think they can cope. If the demands appear to be too great or overwhelming, the person may feel unable to cope. The ability to cope varies from person to person and the same demanding task may inspire and motivate one person but another person may be completely overwhelmed. Problems occur when the demands exceed our resources, whether this is of time, money, knowledge, skills, influence etc. Equally, an accumulation of small stresses can be just as troublesome as one larger life event.
Harmful stress produces anxiety which results in physical and psychological responses. In the short term this is very useful but in the long term, there is the risk of mental and physical health problems such as depression, anxiety, heart disease.
Symptoms
Stress can affect the way people think, feel and behave. It can lead to changes from the norm in people’s behaviour i.e. sleep disruption, increased caffeine/alcohol/tobacco consumption, increased hours engaged in work, failure to take holidays and time off, increased irritability, poor memory or concentration, verbal or physical aggression, raised heart rate, poor physical health.
How to help
Stress is not a recognised mental health condition, but it does have the capacity to be a significant risk factor in the onset of other problems. Early recognition of the signs is important. People suffering from stress should be encouraged to seek help from a counsellor/therapist or their GP. Support from friends and family is important to help the person reduce the stress in their life. Physical activity as well as relaxation techniques can also help to reduce stress levels.
ANXIETY
Anxiety is a normal and biologically essential experience arising in response to stress or uncertainty. No-one is completely devoid of anxiety. Anxiety becomes a problem, in mental health terms, when it unduly prevents us from doing the things we would reasonably want to do as part of our lives; e.g. spending disproportionate amounts of time checking taps are turned off before going out, not wanting to do ordinary daily tasks e.g. shopping. Unhelpful anxiety is therefore given diagnostic labels, usually describing its outcome. For example, the person suffering with agoraphobia is anxious about open spaces and the market place, the person with arachnophobia is not at all keen on spiders, not only having a strong anxiety reaction when seeing one but avoiding going to a place where one might be. These labels are called anxiety disorders. Generalised anxiety is a term used when anxiety is experienced all the time.
Symptoms and how to help.
The symptoms of anxiety may be similar to those listed for stress. Again, recognition of the signs and self-help using some of the resources listed in the Signposting section of this document or talking to a counsellor/therapist or GP should be encouraged. The GP may also prescribe medication if appropriate.
SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS
Some people suffer from a severe and enduring mental illness. It is likely they will already have medical support in place to help them manage their symptoms and they should be accepted and included just as much as anyone else in the church community.