Clients at Action Mental Health Promote have been treating the cast and crew of a major national TV show to delicious treats during their hard-earned break time.

Presenter Nick Knowles and his DIY SOS Big Build team arrived in Bangor last week to kit-out a home for a local family with special health needs, and washed down their coffee at break-time with delicious traybakes made by the clients from AMH Promote.

AMH Promote provides opportunities for adults with a learning disability to be socially active and develop new skills in a supportive and engaging environment.

Nick Knowles and his team were fittingly attired in their trademark ‘purple shirts’ – the same branding colours of Action Mental Health – with the project marking the SOS show’s first ever Big Build in Northern Ireland.

The show was filming the transformation of the McCreight family house in Bangor, home to Mandy and Davey and their teenage children Ben and Kara.

Clients were star struck meeting the familiar TV face of Nick Knowles and his team, including DIY SOS build manager Mark Millar, a native of Bangor who was ‘over the moon’ to be back on home turf.

The gang from Promote were filmed handing over the traybakes, so hopefully they’ll make the finally editing cut and appear on the popular show when the episode appears on our screens in the autumn. The clients had to explain to Nick exactly what a traybake was after he said he hadn’t heard the term for the delicacies loved by the sweet-toothed Northern Ireland community.

AMH Promote Service Manager Niaobh Adams said clients were delighted to meet the DIY SOS team. “There was great excitement among the clients, getting to meet with Nick Knowles and the Purple Shirt team, especially since purple is our colour here at Action Mental Health.
“They all worked very hard in the kitchen, making a variety of tray bakes to make the cast and crew’s break time all the more enjoyable.  It was a great day for everyone at AMH Promote.”

The public can taste the tray bakes that the DIY SOS crew sampled during Promote’s regular coffee mornings that take place on the last Thursday of each month, the next one taking place on June 27.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re supporting a campaign spearheaded by MenCap and the Law Centre to make the Personal Independence Payment process better for people with disabilities. We especially want to gather responses from as many mental health service users as possible.

If you have claimed PIP, or supported someone who has, we want to hear from you. What went well? What didn’t go well? How would you improve the process?

Complete the anonymous survey www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PIPexperience

PIP Poster

 

This week’s Northern Ireland Alcohol Awareness Week poses a question to those of us who enjoy a tipple: “How Risking Is Your Drinking?”

Some 38% of men and 16% of women are now drinking above recommended limits – 14 units for both men and women – with 1.1m people in the UK being alcohol dependent, according to a recent report from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Its Global Status on Alcohol report found that people who drink to alter their mood – or to change their mental state – are ‘dicing with danger’.

“Sufficient evidence now exists to assume alcohol’s contributory role in depression,” the report stated.

Other studies corroborate the findings, illustrating that up to 12m adults in the UK drink to help them relax or overcome feelings of depression. However, drinking to mask anxiety, lift a depressed mood or to help cope with general unease has the opposite effect: once the alcohol wears off the physical hangover is very often accompanied by anxiety or low mood.

Drinking can also affect your judgement and might open people to decisions and actions they may regret later. Alcohol is estimated to be a factor, not only in 16% of road deaths, but 48% of suicides and 49% of self-harm presentations to A&E.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, in his forward to its report, Cheers? Understanding the relationship between alcohol and mental health, written by Dr Deborah Cornah, states: “The reasons we drink and the consequences of excessive drinking are intimately linked with our mental health, and this holds the key to dealing with growing worries about alcohol misuse.”

Evidence shows:

• significant connections between reported alcohol use and depressive symptoms
• people report using alcohol to help them sleep
• people drink more when experiencing moderate to high levels of shyness or fear
• anxious people use drinking ‘to cope’ and are more likely to avoid social situations where alcohol is not available
• as many as 65% of suicides have been linked to excessive drinking
• 70% of men who take their own lives have drunk alcohol before doing so
• almost a third of suicides amongst young people occur while the person is intoxicated
• anxiety and depressive symptoms are more common in heavy drinkers
• heavy drinking is more common in those with anxiety and depression
• there is a significant relationship between job stress and alcohol consumption
• many GPs believe that alcohol is a cause of mental health problems.

To counter these potential pitfalls, adults – men and women both – should restrict themselves to the recommended 14 units per week, which amounts to six pints of lager, or a bottle and a half of wine spread over three or more days, with a few days being completely alcohol free.

Adhering to healthy limits on your drinking will not only improve your health, you’ll also save hundreds of calories, considering 18 glasses (three bottles) of wine,  at 175ml per glass, is equivalent to 2880 calories – or three portions of fish and chips. The same number of pints of beer is worth 3240 calories!

If you’re uncertain about the levels of alcohol you are drinking why not test yourself at www.alcoholandyouni.com/audit

For further information, help and advice visit: www.drugsandalcoholni.info

 

 

One of our wonderful clients – John from AMH New Horizons Downpatrick, has just completed a work placement in RQIA. This was arranged through the Health and Social Care Board Disability Placement Scheme 2019.

The best news is that John has also just secured a full time job!

Congratulations to John and a big thank you to RQIA for providing the placement.

Our Chief Executive, David Babington today welcomed some of our partners in the Menhir Project to  Action Mental Health.

Pictured left to right : Antonio Benitez, Early Stage Researcher, Universidad De Granada; Prof Maurice Mulvenna, Ulster University; Prof Zoraida Callejas, Universidad de Granada and David Babington.

Zoraida and Antonio are currently on secondment in Northern Ireland kick starting the MENHIR project. #menhir_h2020

MENHIR, led by the Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain will research and develop conversational technologies to promote positive mental health.  The technology hopes to assist people with mild depression and/or anxiety manage their symptoms and prevent relapse via mental health monitoring through interactive conversations.

Action Mental Health is one of the project members of MENHIR, a partnership of academia, private and voluntary sector organisations.

The other members are –

• Ulster University, Belfast, N. Ireland
• Universidad del País Vasco, Bilbao, Spain
• Intelligent Voice Limited, London, UK
• Universität Ulm, Ulm, Germany
• Universitá degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
• GLOBIT-Globale Informationstechnik Gmbh, Barsbuttel, Germany
• Universidad de Granada (UGR), Granada, Spain

MENHIR will use co-creation to develop a technology Chatbot to provide symptom and mood management, identification of patterns indicative of relapse and recurrence, personalised support, coping strategies, mental health education and signposting to online resources and local services.

Health today is best viewed from a holistic perspective – and good health means having a healthy body AND a healthy mind. International Men’s Health Week, from June 10 to 16 – Father’s Day – is reminding men about the importance of maintaining a healthy body and mind.

International Men’s Health Week is celebrated in many European countries, as well as in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a number of other places worldwide.  The overall aims of Men’s Health Week are to:

• Heighten awareness of preventable health problems for males of all ages
• Support men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices / activities
• Encourage the early detection and treatment of health difficulties in males

Most of us know that by keeping your waistline to below 37 inches you’ll have a fighting chance against illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Equally, we know that everyone  – women included – should be eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day to stay fit and healthy, and that men shouldn’t consume more than 14 units of alcohol a week.

If we know all this, why is there a need for Men’s Health Week? It’s due to the fact that research shows that men experience a disproportionate burden of ill-health and die too young compared to their female counterparts. In fact:

• men die, on average, up to four years younger than women do
• males have higher death rates than women for all of the leading causes of death
• poor lifestyles are responsible for a high proportion of chronic diseases
• late presentation to health services leads to a large number of problems becoming untreatable.

These statistics however, can’t be truly interpreted without looking at the statistics surrounding mental ill-health and suicide.

Northern Ireland in general has high levels of mental illness with some 39% of us suffering one form of mental illness in our lifetime. The levels of mental ill health here is greater than any other region in the UK and at least 25% higher than in England.

Suicide rates here are also high with 2015 seeing the highest number of people taking their own lives since records began in 1970s – of these 77% were male.

So what are Action Mental Health doing ….

We are continuing to call for a Mental Health Champion and a Mental Health Strategy in Northern Ireland.

We are working with Ulster University and Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody to repeat our call for action in an event in Parliament Buildings on 21 June 2019,  (for more details contact [email protected]).

We promote the five ways to well-being:

We advise everyone to talk about how they are feeling.

Talk to your family and friends, talk to your GP.  Lifeline is also available.  It’s Northern Ireland’s crisis response helpline service for people who are experiencing distress or despair. People living in Northern Ireland can call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000.

We operate 3 Men’s Sheds –

Steeple Antrim, Downpatrick and Fermanagh. Men’s shed is a project for men aged 50+ to share skills, socialise and connect with their wider community. Men’s Shed brings together men to share their skills, have a laugh and a cup of tea while working on practical activities of their choice.

It’s place for members to be themselves, a place to work at your own pace, a place to exchange ideas and learn, a place for members to support each other and build friendships.

Our Men’s Shed in Downpatrick is marking Men’s Health Week by exhibiting an array of their art, crafts and woodwork at the St. Patrick’s Centre, Downpatrick until June 15. To find out more contact Lisa, at [email protected]

#menshealthweek #menshealthbynumbers

 

The evenings are brighter, longer and the birds are chirping as the sun delays its nightly dip back behind the horizon – spring is here. The season allows us more time to enjoy the outdoors and to take full advantage of its soothing benefits to our bodies and minds – and particularly our mental health and well-being.

May has been National Walking Month so if you haven’t been for a wee dander lately, why not head out today, tomorrow or as soon as you can – and continue the good habit into the summer?

You could even grab a few like-minded colleagues at work and head out at lunchtime. Better yet, why not take the opportunity to encourage others less inclined to join you to find out why walking – especially briskly – is so good for keeping fit, and even better for your emotional and mental health.

Walking boosts the levels of chemicals in your body called endorphins and serotonin, which not only reduce pain, but also improve your mood. Like any activity, walking improves self-perception and self-esteem – even the quality of your sleep.

One client of Action Mental Health who has been experiencing the benefits of walking with her local AMH group, said walking, especially with a friend:

         helps to clear your head

         offers an enjoyable social aspect, having a bit of chat and a laugh

         offers an exercise that’s not too strenuous

         makes you feel good

So if you’ve taken up the habit of walking this month, Action Mental Health is hosting a few events in the coming weeks to let you join others with the walking bug – while also raising money for the charity.

This weekend, walkers are heading out on the Cave Hill Dawn Walk to traverse the picturesque peak over the city of Belfast and beyond. For more information and to sign up visit:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cave-hill-dawn-walk-2019-tickets-59230060706?fbclid=IwAR0S1TUlNkJSYhYaWfW3NZvaqQ30r2BBTAtHYRflok_aWCtzPINWnOo3gzg

In County Down, walkers can don their boots to experience the new stretch of picture-postcard Carlingford Lough Greenway, to walk the Dublin Road Bridge to Victoria Lock – a 5.7km walk, which is again being hosted to raise funds for Action Mental Health.

To find out more and to obtain sponsorship forms for the August 4 walk please contact B Hughes at AMH Newry on 028 3026 6117 or contact [email protected].