I feel compelled to write about something my wife mentioned this morning. She said that it was said on the news or somewhere yesterday, I don’t watch TV and don’t listen to the radio often, that Norfolk and Suffolk mental health teams/units have come under fire again as being some of the worst in the country. I don’t know how they rate mental health units around the country or how others using MH services in Norfolk or Suffolk find them, so can only speak from my own experience of MH services in Norfolk. However I can also mention that what I have experienced and told others that I know with MH issues around the country they seem envious of the treatment that I had. From my own experience using MH services near Norwich, we’re not supposed to sy where we went due to confidentially etc, for quite some time I was very impressed. I was seen as soon as I needed to be, initially this was about 2 weeks for my first ever appointment. I was listened to fully and they grasped pretty much fully what I was saying. Nobody ever made me feel uncomfortable. I never had to wait long in the waiting area. Everything was always explained well to me and when I asked about CAT or other types of therapies with a psychologist I had an initial asses net pretty quickly and then started therapies very shortly after. I can honestly say they have been a life saver for me. Had I not of had the care that I did, real human care, I would very probably be dead. What I do know about MH services is you get out of it what you put in. If you go there expecting them to fix you and do everything for you then it won’t work so well. Unless you’re willing to help yourself, like everything in life, you’ll get minimal in return and I don’t mean they won’t still try to help you. What I am saying is if you’re not willing to try changing the things you do that make you unwell then nobody else can fully help you.
Moving on to how I am now. This morning I woke up about 2:30 and lay awake briefly before going back to sleep in a small amount of pain but it’s tiny now. In fact since waking up about 7am I’ve not gone back to sleep yet today and I’m actually getting back my normal energy and normal clear thinking. Yesterday I still felt a bit mentally cloudy from the anaesthetic. I’m much much clearer today. Yesterday I felt down and like cabin fever was creeping in too. There are cases of post op depression so I feared that might be starting for me but today I feel much better. I’ve made a list of things I want to get done today. Things like not sleeping until after lunch if I even need to and to read for at least an hour as well as other little things to keep my mind occupied. I’m not sure of I’ll go for a walk or not today as we’ve got 45+ mph winds but Kara and I might go over to the allotment for a quick look. I’ll try getting outside for a little while even if it’s just wrapping up and sitting outside. Maybe I’ll go sit in the churchyard which is about 200m away from ours. Who knows. At least I’m back at a good level of coherence and I’m making ‘to do’ lists to keep my mind and body occupied a bit. I might consider going back to work at some point next week if I keep making gradual improvements. I can always do a few hours decorating on a job and then come home if I need to. I weighed myself on Tuesday and I’ve only dropped about 3 pounds in bodyweight which I’m pleased with and I’d actually say it’s a small amount of fat that’s dropped off. If I drop some muscle it’ll soon go back on when I’m able to start working out again. All will be well.
Edit: I’ve checked the subscriber list and have gone over the 12k mark which I’m amazed at. I find it crazy to think 12k people subscribe to this blog. Crazy. I hope it’s of help to some.
