In Sickness And In Health

It probably hasn't escaped your notice that this is the first post in a fair few months. In fact my 16 days of action post stands alone in a great chasm of time when I haven't otherwise blogged. For this I do feel guilty - being at and speaking at the UN General Assembly in September was an honour and an inspiration and I had hoped to share more with you in the subsequent weeks and months. 

Whilst I haven't been blogging, I have learnt some important lessons. I always tried to give 110%, in my work, my volunteering and in my advocacy. In total that adds up to roughly 330% and a pretty unsustainable amount of effort. The impact of this really hit me in October and I have been in poor health on and off since then. It has taken this for me to realise that whilst volunteering and advocacy might be really important to me, my health has to come first sometimes. 

It's like knowing there's probably something up with your car and keeping driving regardless, eager to make it to the destination. Odds are you'll break down before you get there and all in all it'll take a lot longer than popping to the garage as soon as you realise something's up. 

After a lot of to and fro with my GP and trying different things, I have now been referred to a hospital and have tests coming up this week to hopefully get to the bottom of the problem. I am most thankful that I'm currently living in a country with funded health care. Having had bronchitis in the USA last year with only limited travel insurance, I know this episode of poor health would be a lot more daunting if I wasn't in the uk right now. That doesn't mean that it's not worrying me a lot - the not knowing what the answer is going to be, and the loss of earnings for on and off sick days. But it is reassuring to know that whatever happens I'm not going to be bankrupted, or not get treated because I can't afford it, and for that I am extremely thankful. 

Health is an issue that I have heard talked about in Post 2015 agenda discussions. It was covered in several ways in the mDGs - the public health issues of water and sanitation and the targeting of specific diseases like HIV, malaria and TB. I think there is no doubt that it will be including in the new agenda in some form and it would be great to see the connections made for joined up thinking. Education, the environment, and being able to live a life free from violence will all increase health and well being globally. One key ask I have for the new global development agenda is that we take a holistic approach and we don't think about the 'problems' in silos. 

I'd love to see mental health included in the agenda in some form - but I think holistic thinking about physical health is the furthest we are going to achieve. I haven't yet seen any mental health NGOs engaging in the ongoing post 2015 consultation process and if those voices aren't putting their proposals on the table now it's difficult to see it being realised. I might be wrong though - if you've seen a mental health constituency putting post 2015 proposals out there, let me know. 

IDAHO. 17th May, Not The State.

So it turns out my post on mental health was not only very late (after the post that inspired it), but also very early as this week is mental health awareness week. My timing was just a little off for the celebration.

Getting ahead of the game, here's one about an event happening on Friday - IDAHO. You may be thinking isn't that the state between Oregon and Montana? Well, yes, you are right there. But this particular acronym stands for the International Day Against Homophobia.

It takes place on the 17th May to mark the anniversary of the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. You see the link back to the mental health post now.

We've come a fair old way since then, I would say - though it's difficult for me to comment as I wasn't born till a few weeks after that event - and that's thanks to a lot of hard fought activism worldwide. 13 countries and 12 US states now have equal marriage in effect or very nearly and, according to Wikipedia, another 21 territories have some kind of civil partnership for same-sex couples. But it's not so rosy everywhere.

In 2008, 54 member states of the UN signed a declaration opposing LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) rights, and homosexuality remains a criminal offence (sometimes with the death penalty attached) in many countries. There are still many more victories to be won in order to create a world free from homophobia and the horrible repercussions it has.

I recently shared this video on my personal Facebook - TRIGGER WARNING: there are graphic depictions of bullying and consequences of that so it's not a light thing to watch. But I think the point is conveyed in the first minute or so, before it gets too graphic. It basically turns homophobia on it's head. How would the world look if opposite sex relationships were the ones that were frowned upon, that caused kids to be bullied by their peers and disowned by their parents, and ultimately to see no other escape than through taking their own life? It's definitely a thought provoking video.

Then came this video from upworthy - a series of people in the street are asked 'a question gay people have been asked for years'. It's the 'made a choice' vs 'born this way' debate. By asking people when they chose to be straight it highlights the point that a) people probably don't get to choose their sexuality at all and b) there's at lot of people in the middle ground on the LGBT rights issue who, with a little bit of thought-provoking education, could come to support LGBT rights.

I didn't choose my sexuality, I didn't choose to fall in love with the person I did, but right now, I would really like the choice to be able to get married to that person and have our relationship recognised in the same way a heterosexual couple do.Come on the UK, let's make it 14 soon.

P.s. I spell checked this post and LGBT, Transgender and Facebook are not in the dictionary. Sort it out blogger.com!

A Slice of Mental Health

Inspired by a friend's post a few days ago (well more than a few by the time I've got this finished) I want to say something about mental health.

It was mentioned on the news today that GPs have been recommended to watch out for signs of depression and anxiety in carers - those who take on the demanding role of caring for a family member, friend or neighbour. As a particular susceptible group, I think that's a great idea, but then I think - 'Shouldn't we be looking out for the signs of poor mental health in everybody?'.

If you limped into a GPs appointment then they'd ask if everything's ok with your leg. Signs of poor mental health can be much less obvious, so to me it would seem imperative to do something proactive about it. Especially as there often feels like a taboo around the subject.

A few years ago, after a series of incidents, I started experiencing panic attacks. Having been asthmatic since 11, and with nobody ever really talking to me about the physical symptoms of a mental health problems, I had no idea what was wrong with me - I thought it was some kind of asthmatic attack combined with feeling feint. It was only after the attacks were exacerbated by taking on a stressful job that I sought out medical help. A nurse at the local walk-in centre diagnosed it from my description and gave me information on panic attacks.

My GP referred me to a counselling service, but because I said I wasn't suicidal there was a 3 month wait for my first appointment. I'd never been good at expressing how I felt in words and I chickened out and cancelled before that first appointment ever happened.

I've been recommended a counsellor, or giving information about such a service, several times since. Not once actually going.I was scared.

It's only since being with my partner, who grew up with the US health care system and absolutely loves therapy and the support it's given her, that I've a) been able to talk about my emotions and thoughts more readily, and b) come to think that mental health is as, if not more, important than physical health. I also think it's been many years since I was as mentally healthy as I am currently. Right now I wish I'd gone for that counselling the first time it was offered, that I'd learnt to talk about how I feel sooner, and how to process things that have happened to me in the past.

I've been thinking about all the things I've heard about health in the global development sphere - particularly the planning of the Post-2015 Agenda. Rarely is mental health mentioned. If we want to see true development for everybody, then we need to start taking a holistic view of well-being. It's particularly relevant for including gender-based violence - indeed violence in any form - as whilst the physical injuries may be treated, the mental repercussions of such experiences need treatment too.

We need to start talking. About mental health and about gender based violence. The two are often linked.