A bit brave

A conversation with my friend David Although by no means as severe as hearing voices literally in your head, other people can perform that role, impacting on our subconscious, shaping our own beliefs about ourselves positive and negative, shaping our behaviours and it is this subconscious chatter we need to question if our behaviours and beliefs about ourselves are negative. So to those who hear voices in their head, not wishing to belittle what must be a constant challenge, know you are by no means alone in this, it's just that you can hear them, whereas some of us can't. We don't realise this process is happening to us as well, until a crisis occurs and we start to challenge the negative voices of our subconscious minds from our past. Only then can we reset our negative behaviours and beliefs about ourselves and others. David Ryan From  abitbrave.blogspot.com

Hearing Voices In one of my blogs, I talked about John Nash and how he had mastered his mental illness. My understanding of John Nash’s life came from a film and therefore is quite abstract but I have met a couple of people who, as part of their condition, hear voices. M any people might see them as inadequate and unable to cope with the ordinary things in life or even a threat, but I have seen first-hand the bravery needed to exist with these conditions. Peter has a job and is supported by his company to work in ways that allow him to cope. That’s a gold star for the company because many businesses don’t understand how to help people with mental illness. Peter goes to work each day on public transport and returns home to his one-bedroom flat in an evening. Peter sounds as though he is living a mundane life but every day survived is a triumph for him. He must find ways to control the voices telling him he is worthless and should kill himself. He must deal with unreasonable people w

Being Alone When anxious and depressed it is hard to feel part of what is happening around you. It is difficult to switch off the feelings and take part in what is happening. You can attempt to join in but you are not absorbed by the conversations or actions of those around you. You may be touching but it feels you are miles apart. You are overwhelmed by your own negative feelings. There is no room for anything else. You are surrounded by people but you are alone, yet still, you smile. A self-imposed exile in the middle of a crowd. You start to avoid these situations. Everyone with mental health must find ways of coping and activities that distract and relax. Music, cinema, and sport do help many people and these can be group or solo activities. Some people paint while others write but talking about how you feel is not an easy thing for men in our society. For me, there is one exception. At Andy’s Man Club I don’t have to pretend. The conversation is raw but pertinent. Some men

John Nash You don’t get to 73 years of age without meeting a number of people with mental health issues because 1 in 4 people will suffer sometime in their lives. Anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and borderline personality disorder are some of the illnesses that people are living with. Mostly we walk past people in the street completely unaware of their lives and needs but sometimes we get into conversations when those suffering from mental health issues open up to us. I have found that all the people with these illnesses have one thing in common. They want to get well or at least manage their illness, so they can have a normal and productive life. To me, these people are brave in an unacknowledged way . In 1959, John Forbes Nash the famous mathematician began showing clear signs of mental illness and spent several years at psychiatric hospitals being treated for  paranoid schizophrenia . After 1970, his condition slowly improved, allowing