Fighting Monsters - Member blogs - Social Work Blog

Christmas and Depression

It’s distinctly emptier in our office this week. I don’t think it’s necessarily the snow – although that hasn’t helped with some of the time-keeping – it’s just a very popular time for annual leave. Next week will be similarly … Continue reading...

Published 22 Dec 2010 5:27 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, mental health, local authority, old age, elderly, health, depression, personal, Religion and Spirituality, Holidays, Christmas, Christianity, depression at christmas, Opinions, Religious

Music

Earlier in the week, I went to see someone who had been newly allocated to me. He had been known to our team for a while and had been previously allocated to a number of other care coordinators, who had found it difficult to establish a rapport with him...

Published 4 Feb 2010 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, mental health, local authority, old age, elderly, health, depression, cmht, Music, personal budget, individual budget, deaf, musician, deafness

Inside View

Just a quick post this morning as I had a little and completely non-serious accident involving my thumb and a fast-closing door meeting an an uncomfortably fast speed and thus am finding typing more painful than usual.. But The Times prints a story by...

Published 23 Nov 2009 6:45 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social issues, work, mental health, health, depression, the times, counselling, personal, thumb pain, couples therapy on iapt, iapt, edward monkton, on trapping a thumb in a fast closing door

The Price of Stigma

It has been said that the fight against the generally felt stigma about those with mental illnesses is a vain fight. Particularly, there was an article I alluded to about a month ago that comes to mind. And this was one of the points that came to mind...

Published 12 Nov 2009 6:40 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social issues, work, mental health, discrimination, health, depression, stigma, sports, personal, grief, depression in sports, football, german, teresa enke, robert enke

Capacity to die

This story from the Telegraph today gave me food for thought. Kerrie Wooltorton, age 26, had a history of depression and decided that she wanted to die. She, according to the story, drank poison and then called an ambulance. She had written a note to...

Published 1 Oct 2009 7:32 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, social issues, work, mental health, MCA, suicide, depression, mental capacity act, personal, right to die, Best Interests Assessor, consent to treatment, kerrie wooltorton, gmc, wooltorton, advanced directive, living will

Depression and Disclosure

My brain is slowly chugging back into something akin to functioning mode – after just a few days away it is always surprising how quickly it is possible to switch off. Fortunately (or not, as the case may be) I don’t have much of an opportunity to stand...

Published 17 Jun 2009 6:29 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, social issues, work, mental health, discrimination, health, depression, personal, cheltenham, christine laird, cheltenham borough council, the independent, employment discrimination, margaret wallace, sane

Tips for Good Mental Health

The Mental Health Social Worker pointed me to a campaign being run in the US by Mental Health America to ‘equip people with tools to deal with stressful times’. The campaign is called ‘Live your Life Well’ and has a nicely designed webpage with some surveys...

Published 28 Apr 2009 7:01 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work, mental health, health, depression, stress, stress management, positive mental health, good mental health, live your life well, Physical exercise, mental health america

The Drugs Don’t Work (or do they?)

Medication is not my forte’, but working as I do, in a multi-disciplinary team where there are doctors and nurses present, I have a great opportunity to check any information I’m need clarification about. I make liberal use of the BNF (British National...

Published 27 Apr 2009 6:50 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work, medication, mental health, health, psychiatry, depression, Schizophrenia, British National Formulary, bnf, Pharmaceutical drug, Antidepressant

Say it with a Song

It’s a scenario I see a lot. So much that even an explanation of the set-up will in no ways identify the individuals. Mr and Mrs L. He developed a severe and debilitating depression very soon after he retired. She quit her job to look after him...

Published 10 Dec 2008 6:07 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, older people, work, carers, mental health, old age, elderly, health, carer, depression, caregiver, Country music, Music

The Witness

I was on a routine visit yesterday. Mr R suffers from depression. He’s getting a lot better now and has had a significant amount of support from our psychologists. When I visit though, it’s as much to support his wife as him. She has gone...

Published 3 Dec 2008 6:50 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social issues, work, carers, local authority, elderly, health, depression, witness, statement

Leading Horses to Water

I was going to make a post specifically about Mr P but I never got around to it. He is an elderly man with depression. He lives alone in one of the ‘nicer’ ends of the patch that I cover. His flat though, is one of the worse I’ve seen...

Published 24 Oct 2008 6:07 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, local authority, old age, elderly, london, uk, housing, depression, house, sheltered housing, Landlord, assured shorthold tenancy, older, Property, regulated tenancy

Sick Days

I have been off work sick this year more than any other year in my working life. I am currently up to six days this year. Four of those days were in a block a couple of weeks back. Usually sickness makes me feel guilty. I think of the work piling up....

Published 20 Oct 2008 6:23 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work, mental health, health, depression, stress, stigma, Employment, stigma at work, sick day, Shaw Trust, time off work sick, mental illness, Illness

Hypochondria

Currently a couple of people that I am working with who have anxiety and depression are suffering from a form of hypochondria. And truly, it is as painful as a mental disorder as any physical manifestation of an illness could be. The word that is over...

Published 5 Aug 2008 6:20 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, older people, work, mental health, old age, elderly, health, depression, hospital, Cognitive behavioral therapy, anxiety, hypochondria, CBT, Mental disorder

Differences in Depression

Breaking completely unsurprising news.. Men and women express different symptoms of depression according to a study from Cardiff. But there are some interesting points that I wasn’t aware of. The breakdown of the symptoms is quite interesting. According...

Published 29 May 2008 5:51 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social issues, medication, mental health, psychiatry, women, sexism, gender, men, depression

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