[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

[rachie]

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[mike pain]

I WONDER how many others will simply choose to ignore this post because to some the subject is still taboo and even shameful...

[shesheshe]

My life was turned upside down by somebody very close to me becoming mentally ill a few years ago and the sad part of it is is that there is just no support.

To be honest I think the majority of people dont give a damb about next man if they are mentally ill because its their problem or even worse they are mocked and ridiculed. I'll hold my hands up before it effected my family I was toatlly ignorant also. But for someone to just watch there child go in and out of those dreadful hospitals is just wrong. But it's not just the families who are at fualt, I mean like I said, there is hardy any support available for families and not enough information around.

[Black Lion]

Yeah... oppression is a byatch.

Have a friend who slipped into psycosis a while ago. Scary stuff.

[Black_Power]

I dont think people will ignor the post out of shame

rather tht your threads always seem to be along the same lines.. which then makes them a bore to read.

[MarcusGarveyLives]

[align=center]No problem - why not contactthe "chair" of the African Caribbean Mental Health Commission ...[/align]
[align=center][/align]
[align=center]... at £150,000 p.a. I'm sure he'll be delighted to assist you ...[/align]

[Incognito]

Friends son just got given the all clear. we need to get the weed out of the community.

[Le Moor]

Incognito wrote:

Friends son just got given the all clear. we need to get the weed out of the community.

and the crack....especially the crack.

[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…

[MarcusGarveyLives]

[align=left]Kunjufu wrote Sunday March 18th, 2007 14:56: ...

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

[/align]

[align=center]

*************************************[/align]
[align=center]Hopefully, we can also hear fromthe "chair" of the African Caribbean Mental Health Commission ...[/align]
[align=center][/align]
[align=center]... at £150,000 p.a. I'm sure he'll be delighted to helpus ...[/align]

[Kunjufu]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6464149.stm

[Kunjufu]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/hea...cle2361036.ece