by Anna Gekoski
Sectioning, or being sectioned, is when a person is detained at a hospital under the Mental Health Act, whether or not they agree to it. In order to be sectioned someone must be suffering from a mental health condition that needs treatment or assessment in hospital, in order to protect their own safety or other people’s safety.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are antidepressant medications, used to treat a variety of mental illnesses, that are thought to work by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain. They are usually now used instead of the older-style antidepressants as they have fewer side effects. SSRIs can take up to four weeks to work and patients usually start on a small dose, which is then gradually increased, in order to minimise side effects. Similarly, when discontinuing treatment, the medication should be gradually reduced. Some people may have to try several different SSRIs before they find one that works for them. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is an example of an SSRI.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood. It is thought that those with low levels of serotonin may be prone to depression.
Tricyclics are an older style of antidepressant medication that affect three neurotransmitters: serotonin, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine. They are now generally less popular than SSRIs, as their ‘anticholinergic’ effects can have adverse effects on the heart and circulation, and taking more than the prescribed dose can be dangerous. Examples of tricyclics include amitriptyline and imipramine.
Useful contacts and links
Mind
Infoline: 0300 123 3393
Web: www.mind.org.uk
A charity that provides advice and support to those living with mental illness.
Rethink
Helpline: 0300 5000 927
Web: www.rethink.org
A charity that provides information, services, and a voice for those affected by mental illness.
SANE
Helpline: 0845 767 8000
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sane.org.uk
A charity that provides emotional support, information, and practical help to people suffering from mental illness.
The Samaritans
24-hour helpline: 08457 90 90 90
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.samaritans.org
A 24-hour service that provides confidential emotional support for
people who are in distress or having suicidal thoughts.
Mental Health Foundation
Web: www.mentalhealth.org.uk
A charity that aims to help people live with and recover from mental illness, through research, campaigning, and pioneering practical solutions. It provides statistics and information on mental health conditions for the public.
The Mental Elf
Web: www.thementalelf.net
Up-to-date information on mental health research, policy, and guidance.
NHS Choices
Web: www.nhs.uk
National Health Service information on mental health conditions, treatments, local services, and healthy living.
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Tel: 01455 883300
Web: www.bacp.co.uk
The largest professional body representing counselling and psychotherapy, including an accredited register where members of the public can find therapists in their area.
British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
Tel: 0161 705 4304
Web: www.babcp.com
An interest group for those involved in the area of behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy, providing information about CBT for the public and a register of all officially accredited CBT therapists.
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Tel: 020 7235 2351
Web: www.rcpsych.ac.uk
The professional body that is responsible for education, training, and raising standards in psychiatry. RCPsych also provides information about mental health conditions for the public.
Carers UK
Helpline: 0808 808 7777
Web: www.carersuk.org
A charity that provides help, advice, and support for anyone caring for an older, disabled, or seriously ill family member or friend.
Acknowledgements
Our thanks must go, first and foremost, to the people whose stories are featured in the preceding chapters; there would be no book without you. We have been touched and humbled by your willingness to share your most personal experiences with us and the public and by your enthusiasm for this project.
We are also immensely grateful to Andreas Campomar, and everyone else at Constable & Robinson, who saw the potential in, commissioned, and worked on, this book, as well as to those who helped put us in touch with some of the people whose stories are featured here.
So too are we indebted to Dr Richard Bowskill, both for writing the Afterword and for his sensible and thoughtful professional treatment over the past few years, and to Marilyn Finch for her therapeutic help, wisdom, patience, and behavioural experiments(!).
Many thanks also go to Rick Gekoski and Belinda Kitchin, who read, edited, and gave helpful opinions on the entire manuscript, as well as to those who read drafts of individual chapters, including Barbara Gekoski, Cathy Broome, Polly Mosley, Kate Hartshorn, Tom Heywood, Charlie Heywood, Mark Owen, and Gem Catlin. Particular thanks here go to Alison Dunn, who took the time to read the whole book and give thoughtful and constructive comments just one week before she gave birth to her beautiful daughter Caitlin.
We would also like to give a special mention to Anna’s brother Bertie (Aaron), who not only read drafts of chapters but also came up with the title of the book and took the author photographs.
Lastly, we would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to our family and friends – you know who you are – who have supported and helped us through some very difficult times. We love you all. And finally to Mavis, our dog, for his (yes, his) boundless perky energy that has cheered us up when we’ve needed it the most.