[mike pain]

Readmission rates, indeed admission rates for the mentally ill amongst the black community has remained statically high for a considerably long period of time. This is disproportionate (like gun crime) and it’s causes are many… the one common thread here though is age.



The age of current amities is consistently young, ( between the ages of 25 and 17)



I’ve had to bear the misfortune of having many distant family members admitted to the London maudsely hospital. Because I live relatively near the hospital I usually go there to visit them every now and again.



When ever I talk to families I’m always surprised at the complete ignorance that the family shows toward the whole idea of a mental illness, it’s almost beyond their comprehension….I’m not saying that they are stupid, but they have a hard time of recognising the various symptoms and distinguishing between how their child would normally act and say, how schizophrenia, causes their child to act.



Families are indirectly contributing to the degradation of their Childs mental health….that lack of understanding is the primary reason for their Childs continual re-admittance.


…I suppose this is a general message to you all. With an estimated 1 in 5 Brits suspected of getting some form of mental illness in the future (and presumably higher rates amongst the black community) knowledge is the only way of truly helping to avoid this. But if you are forced to admit your child, go to the ward round meetings, ask the care community co-ordinators for updates and ideas, do not be afraid to ask the psychologists about how to properly treat your child, and remember that you are not alone….. blkrubhead



Unfortunately there is still a stigma attached to mental illness and this often compounds the problem…

[mike pain]

this sh@ts serious

[Incognito]

Mental health 'apartheid' warning

A senior monitor of mental health patients' interests has warned of "a kind of apartheid" in the system.

Lord Patel of Bradford, chairman of the Mental Health Act Commission, told the BBC that institutional racism in the service needed to be addressed.

He said it could be one reason why some black groups were 18 times more likely to be in psychiatric care.

But the government said improving black people's confidence in mental health services was "a top priority".

Segregation

Lord Patel said it had to be established why there was an over-representation of black people in psychiatric care.

Otherwise, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're going to have a situation where we'll have segregation.

"We'll have those that live on the margins of society, feeling more hopelessness than they do now.

"A kind of apartheid will happen in the next 10 to 20 years. It's going to get worse. We have to deal with it very strongly."

Professor Louis Appleby, the government's National Director of Mental Health, said: "We are working hard to win the trust and confidence of BME (black minority ethnic) communities, and community engagement is a key part of our action plan.

"This is key to better understanding the wider social factors that result in some communities experiencing a higher rate of mental illness.

"Our drive to improve care will remain a top priority until BME patients report better experiences of mental health services ."

Experts estimate black people are three to 10 times more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic and less likely to be diagnosed with depression.

They are also more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act and to be given medication, rather than "talking" therapies.

David Rocky Bennett, a black mental health patient, died in 1998 after being restrained at a Norfolk clinic.

An inquiry into the incident concluded that institutional racism was "a festering abscess, a blot on the good name of the NHS".

Following this, the government pledged to "eradicate discrimination" in NHS mental health care.

Don't get caught in babylons disaster!

[kyusho]

check out this article 'Being black in Britain is bad for your mental health'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/race/story/0,,2048112,00.html

to quote the article' The rate of serious mental illness in the Caribbean and in Africa is not high, but the rate of mental illness in Britons of Caribbean and African origin is'

Why is it that i rarely see anything regarding mental health on this website even though everyone is aware of the problems. From the lack of posts regarding this topic it seems that once again black people couldn't care less about their own.

The church is no help either. Their answer is to accept god in your life. Where as that would help some people, it doesn't suit everyone and therefore they wash their hands of you if you are not prepared to do this.

We will never sort outblack peoplesproblems with education and employment unless we tackle this in conjunction.

Respect to the people that have already posted. Unfortunatly we're part of a minority that actually give a sh!t.

[blessingfromgod]

@ Kyusho the thread starter alsoposted in another village! http://www.bnvillage.co.uk/forum9/27648.html

However, I dont think it's due to not giving a sh*t, more about the subject being a bit taboo within our community! I know for me I feared knowing about mental illness, until I done some research on it... I suppose people dont like to talk about such an illness which has already claimed so much of our communiyconfused3it's called FEAR.

[Kunjufu]

Being black in Britain is bad for your mental health

There is an epidemic of psychotic illness in those of African and Caribbean origin, so why are we doing nothing to stop it?

Kwame McKenzie
Monday April 2, 2007
The Guardian


I have had problems being a psychiatrist since the first day I worked in the Maudsley hospital. The Maudsley is in south London, and every day I saw more and more young people of African and Caribbean origin developing serious mental illnesses. As a young black man I identified with them, found it disturbing, and vowed to do something about it: so I started research in the area. Unfortunately, that made things worse rather than better; partly because the statistics are so chilling, and partly because of the response to them.


Over the last 30 years there have been 20 studies showing that people of Caribbean and African origin have an increased risk of being treated for serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and mania. The increased rate is of epidemic proportions - between five and 12 times greater than for white people. And if anything, it is getting worse.


On March 31 each year, a one-day census is carried out for all Britain's psychiatric inpatients, and the results of last year's census have just been published. Of the 32,000 people in hospital, those who defined themselves as black Caribbean and black African were over-represented by three- or fourfold. But one other group stood out - those who defined themselves as "black other". The vast majority of this group are young, British-born black people, and they were 18 times more likely to be in hospital than the British average.


It is always prudent to treat statistics with caution. Hospital admission reflects not only the amount of illness in a community but also the ability of the community to cope with that illness. For instance, in highly supportive, tight-knit communities, more people are treated at home. But it is hard to believe that this increased rate is not at least in part due to a true increase in the amount of illness. This is backed up by years of research and a recent international review, which concluded that migrants are more likely to develop mental illness. But the risk is doubled in black migrants to white countries, and the risk is increased again in their children. It seems that it is not about migration alone or being black - it is about being black in a white country. The rate of serious mental illness in the Caribbean and in Africa is not high, but the rate of mental illness in Britons of Caribbean and African origin is.


You can recover from a psychotic illness, but many people have long-term problems. The cost to the individual with a psychotic illness, to their family and carers and wider society, is immense. Most sufferers are unemployed and on benefit; there is an increased risk of suicide; life expectancy is lower; and their children are more likely to develop a mental illness and be taken into care. In one study, 50% of carers were clinically depressed. This undermines their ability to support others.


Psychotic illnesses start young and persist. Taking the cost of benefits and loss of tax revenue into account, mental illness is the single most expensive part of the health budget. Those of African and Caribbean origin are already disproportionately living in poverty and struggling to offer a social system that supports and develops the young. How does a community stop itself from disintegrating under such a burden?
We have some of the best mental health services in the world but we are nowhere near a cure for psychosis. Where there is no cure, prevention is important, and where there is an increased rate of illness in a group they should be the target for prevention. But we have no prevention strategy.


We have an excellent plan for improving mental health services for black and minority ethnic groups, but we need to go further. If we knew that one group in society were 10 times more likely to develop lung cancer, we would focus on them - perhaps with a targeted anti-smoking strategy. We would not just make lung cancer treatment services more equitable.


Though we will not be able to prevent all psychosis, we should be able to prevent some of it. We know that psychotic illnesses are associated with poverty, poor education, racism, living in a city, poor obstetric care, head injuries or brain infection when you are young, childhood trauma, family break-up, and cannabis use. We know that targeting childhood and adolescence is important.


Prevention of mental illness in black communities is the sort of complex problem that should attract a high-level government inquiry that leads to action. I am used to hearing politicians say that doing nothing is not an option. This is an area where the phrase has real meaning. The high rates of mental illness in people of Caribbean and African origin are not going to go away. If anything, their legacy will blight a generation and the impact will be felt by us all.


Mental health services have been accused of institutional racism over their treatment of black patients. The government has asserted that this is not a useful term. But the lack of a coherent prevention strategy is an institutional problem that needs institutions, not individuals, to act.


I have moved from south London to north London but, 17 years on, I am still watching young people of Caribbean and African origin coming through the door with serious mental illnesses which tear their families apart. We are still doing nothing to stop it.


· Kwame McKenzie is professor of mental health and society at the University of Central Lancashire and a senior lecturer in transcultural psychiatry at University College London

[Kunjufu]

Mike Pain: perhaps one of the reasons why people didn’t respond to this thread is because you made it too simplistic and too linear ….the problem with Mental health isfar too complex a subject to bring down to Black Vs white..it just isn’t THAT simple sorry..



So for me the REALLY tough questions/points are these……



Drugs: all communities (not just the black one) needs to get a grip of the fact that there is a connection between cannabis and increased mental health among the youth no doubt about it.. especially if you consider the strength of skunk in the compound of the cannabis smoked today. The Labour Government made a massive mistake in downgrading cannabis and this too has led to increase drug induced psychosis among BLACK youth who are misguided into believing cannabis is harmless it is not.. More importantly we must tackle the relationship between the youth and drugs ie what is the trigger for drug useage and what maintains it….because if things do not change the numbers in our community becoming ill will rise out of all recognition. FACT!!!



Why are Blacks becoming ill in such high numbers: having just got back from the JA, the simple truth that struck me whilst in JA is that I did not see the high numbers of black men ad women walking the streets in a maddy maddy state….and my question is why? I’m sure anyone reading this will back me up when I say that tomorrow if we go to work or about our business, it will be a case of spotting the sane BLACK man on the street…. So why is it that a so called developing nation like JA and Africa appears to have significantly less cases of mental illness compared to the so called developed nations.. This is a serious question that has to be asked… I suspect that there is something about being BLACK and in the WEST that is seriously detrimental to the mental wellness of BLACK people.. I’m not sure what it is but for me this is becoming a firm conclusion comparing my experiences and clinical knowledge of the two cultures and the intelligentsia among us need to investigating why this is…



Blacks in the system: I know for a fact that there are two KEY issues that contribute massively to the high numbers of Blacks returning to the system…. 1[suP]st[/suP] is that if you accept that social issue contribute massively to mental illness.. then it seems to me highly questionable to section someone, treat them medically, but then return them to the same issues that triggered their illness in the first place….all that happens in this example is a culture of dependency on the system when things get tough, instead of independence and that’s the really BIG problem at play here…not that WHITE are being racist, the issue is that the system is meant to contain, not FIX the situation… secondly it is a fact that BIG BIG money to spend on black people whilst in care, in fact I think its fair to say that the system spend TWICE as much on us than they do on whites FACT!! However this is NOT a cause for celebration or joy, why because those high cost figures reflect the fact that many of us (black) when in care are held in high secure and more expensive hospitals… that many of us like the chap from Springfield who was let lose and then killed the man in Richmond park… pay a heavy price for the incompetence of clinical staff time and time again…and once you have a criminal tag under the system trust me the threshold for re-admittance is much lower and the likelihood of re-admittance is significantly higher FACT!!! It is also a fact that we (blacks) pay a higher price compared to whites when we commit crimes when unwell…



Knowledge of family: this bit is the most difficult bit to grasp, the fact is our in built fear of the system is without doubt contributing to the high numbers of BLACK in the system… a common scenario is that family and friends will shield a clearly unwell person from the system.. until the moment when they become uncontrollable or worse they commit a capital offence… at this point the above points raised in the previous paragraph comes into play… I understand why it happens, but seriously sometimes WE are our own worse enemy on this issue… Mental illness is like any other type of illness if you do not get help early enough, it can become permanently rooted and in effect incurable. (read circles of fear by the Sainsbury foundation).. The simple fact is this, some families are misguided in their view that it is BETTER to hide their loved ones from Babylon… the fact is the longer you delay treatment the worse the situation gets all round…. However if you have a loved one that is unwell, the other big factor is that too many people are ignorant of the LAW that governs mental health, the types of treatment routes available and worse ignorant of their RIGHTS are parents and carers..and THAT more than anything contributes massively to the high numbers of blacks in the system… unless we step up with our knowledge on these areas this will continue..



Finally and for me crucially we will continue to have increased numbers of BLACKs in the system, if we fail to understand the strength and power of the family and extended family unit…unless we re-establish these support systems we have pre and during the Windrush period……none of what I said above will count, because there is little doubt in my mind that a strong family and friend support system (community) is key to alleviating this situation without it the numbers will grow and grow….



Now Mike Pain( or forum) I’d like your response, views or opinions to the points I’ve just made…

[Kunjufu]

Forum. I thread this article this morning and I felt that it was interesting that people independant of each other are forming the SAME conclusions about race and mental illness... Especially the point that being BLACK and in the UK, is a significant factor to mental illness in the Black community..

However where i disagreed with the author of the Guardian article, is with his analysis that the NHS mental system is 'WORLD CLASS' that is absolute bollox.....

Here's an example, just the other day, someone known to me called to discuss a problem, he had an issue with the system and his mother.... this young boy, god forbid is in the uneviable position of having to section his own mother and also being her carer.....now that is tough!!

So imagine how much tougher it gets when you go through this process,you have your own mother sectioned, and then find out that in two twos they let her wander off a secure ward.... So as the son, you now have to hunt down your own mother and then call the police on her to have her taken back to hospital who aint doing JACK!!!!.... Now once is bad enough, but imagine you do that, andthen the idiots let her wander off for a second time!!!

And then the staff want to talk to you anyhow, understandbly the young brother was NOT best please and I can't blame him... This for me is NOT an example of a WORLD Class system..it is how fair typical fr some of the slap dash care people are recieving and it isn't right....

No way a boy should have to be faced with calling babylon on his own mother once never mind twice!!!!

[blessingfromgod]

Kunjufu wrote:

Mike Pain: perhaps one of the reasons why people didn’t respond to this thread is because you made it too simplistic and too linear ….the problem with Mental health isfar too complex a subject to bring down to Black Vs white..it just isn’t THAT simple sorry..



So for me the REALLY tough questions/points are these……



Drugs: all communities (not just the black one) needs to get a grip of the fact that there is a connection between cannabis and increased mental health among the youth no doubt about it.. especially if you consider the strength of skunk in the compound of the cannabis smoked today. The Labour Government made a massive mistake in downgrading cannabis and this too has led to increase drug induced psychosis among BLACK youth who are misguided into believing cannabis is harmless it is not.. True.

More importantly we must tackle the relationship between the youth and drugs ie what is the trigger for drug useage and what maintains it….because if things do not change the numbers in our community becoming ill will rise out of all recognition. FACT!!! True, HoweverI dont think this isanything more than youths being experimental... most youths will dabble with drugs, the issue is what they are trying these days- Skunk and it's addictive properties!Maintainance,it's their need to belong to something...everybody who is cool is doing it!

So, IMO,the gov mustfocus on those who peddlethe drugs which filter down to the youth and preventative measures (ie)sustaining the youth in education/Training/Employment, astheir over indulgance in drugs is when they have nothing better to do with their time -which inevitably leads to criminal activity to sustain their habit, also prevention regardingtheir knowlege (which they are doing already - ask FRANK and drug clinics for the youths, which focus on alternative therapies to reduce their useage,and information and knowledge aboutbecoming dependant on it... (ie)moderation is the key...dont let it control you...use it responsibly) so maybe it's necessary for theirprevention to be focused on younger ages.And like you said...the declassification of the drug to class C certainly didn't help...but then we would haveeven more Black (youths) going through the CJS because of their drug misuse! Locked up with their drug dependancy andmental health...devastating.



Why are Blacks becoming ill in such high numbers: having just got back from the JA, the simple truth that struck me whilst in JA is that I did not see the high numbers of black men ad women walking the streets in a maddy maddy state….and my question is why? I’m sure anyone reading this will back me up when I say that tomorrow if we go to work or about our business, it will be a case of spotting the sane BLACK man on the street…. So why is it that a so called developing nation like JA and Africa appears to have significantly less cases of mental illness compared to the so called developed nations.. This is a serious question that has to be asked… I suspect that there is something about being BLACK and in the WEST that is seriously detrimental to the mental wellness of BLACK people.. I’m not sure what it is but for me this is becoming a firm conclusion comparing my experiences and clinical knowledge of the two cultures and the intelligentsia among us need to investigating why this is… Aside from the fact that youths are becoming unwelldue to drugs useage...another factor is mis-diagnosis... was speaking to a Mental Healthsocial worker from Uganda, he states that in Africa (for example) those being diagnosed with MH in the UK are simply those who are able to see visions back home.Thus the UK's need to understand Black culture in more depth. However, they dismis these factors to our detriment- see Fernando et al (199?)



Blacks in the system: I know for a fact that there are two KEY issues that contribute massively to the high numbers of Blacks returning to the system…. 1[suP]st[/suP] is that if you accept that social issue contribute massively to mental illness.. then it seems to me highly questionable to section someone, treat them medically, butthen return them to the same issues that triggered their illness in the first place….all that happens in this example is a culture of dependency on the system when things get tough, instead of independence and that’s the really BIG problem at play here… also a higher rate of relapses.

not that WHITE are being racist, the issue is that the system is meant to contain, not FIX the situation… secondly it is a fact that BIG BIG money to spend on black people whilst in care, in fact I think its fair to say that the system spend TWICE as much on us than they do on whites FACT!! However this is NOT a cause for celebration or joy, why because those high cost figures reflect the fact that many of us (black) when in care are held in high secure and more expensive hospitals… that many of us like the chap from Springfield who was let lose and then killed the man in Richmond park… pay a heavy price for the incompetence of clinical staff time and time again…and once you have a criminal tag under the system trust me the threshold for re-admittance is much lower and the likelihood of re-admittance is significantly higher FACT!!! It is also a fact that we (blacks) pay a higher price compared to whites when we commit crimes when unwell…



Knowledge of family: this bit is the most difficult bit to grasp, the fact is our in built fear of the system is without doubt contributing to the high numbers of BLACK in the system… a common scenario is that family and friends will shield a clearly unwell person from the system.. until the moment when they become uncontrollable or worse they commit a capital offence… at this point the above points raised in the previous paragraph comes into play… I understand why it happens, but seriously sometimes WE are our own worse enemy on this issue… Mental illness is like any other type of illness if you do not get help early enough, it can become permanently rooted and in effect incurable. (read circles of fear by the Sainsbury foundation).. The simple fact is this, some families are misguided in their view that it is BETTER to hide their loved ones from Babylon… the fact is the longer you delay treatment the worse the situation gets all round…. However if you have a loved one that is unwell, the other big factor is that too many people are ignorant of the LAW that governs mental health, the types of treatment routes available and worse ignorant of their RIGHTS are parents and carers..and THAT more than anything contributes massively to the high numbers of blacks in the system… unless we step up with our knowledge on these areas this will continue.. Agreed.



Finally and for me crucially we will continue to have increased numbers of BLACKs in the system, if we fail to understand the strength and power of the family and extended family unit…unless we re-establish these support systems we have pre and during the Windrush period……none of what I said above will count, because there is little doubt in my mind that a strong family and friend support system (community) is key to alleviating this situation without it the numbers will grow and grow….



Now Mike Pain( or forum) I’d like your response, views or opinions to the points I’ve just made…