Moonshine Mental Health

Exercise and Recovery Theres often a common complaint held by people who have been through the NHS mental health system, myself included. When I was a mental health support worker, especially younger clients would tell me they feel invalidated and would say things like "I went to the doctor with suicidal thoughts and he told me to have a cup of tea and go for a walk". This seemed to be especially true of those than had been through the CAMS system. I remember being told similar things myself and it feels very unhelpful when you are in, or near a crisis situation. But that's not to say it's bad advice, just poorly communicated. It's sounds ridiculous, especially when you're in a dark place, but for me at least, a small amount of exercise like walking and choosing to eat healthily has been the key to recovery. Really its about taking back control of your life. If you can start to control what you eat and stick to an exercise routine it can help you feel more gr...

Surviving narcissistic abuse, part 2 Does evil exist? I've worked in healthcare for a number of years and spent a short amount of time working in mental health as a support worker. During this time I worked with people with a forensic history. They had done things that had required being sectioned, sometimes things that might be considered evil. Getting to know the clients I worked with, I realized that often their conditions had caused their behaviour and when they were healthy they were lovely people, that wouldn't wish harm on anyone. This would make me think evil doesn't exist and even the worst behaviour could be contributed to some form of mental health issue. That is until I think of my father, he's the exception to this rule in my mind. It's hard to see his actions with anything other than evil intentions. My father was always a violent man. He has been his whole life. He would always blame his upbringing, citing abuse he had suffered from his foster fath...