Thursday 2 February 2017

GUEST BLOG - Tina McGuff - Seconds to Snap

Hi guys -

Happy New Year!!!
Seems a little late to be saying that, but I realise I haven't posted since before Christmas.
Apologies!!

This week's guest blog is from Scottish author, Tina McGuff, who discusses her own experience with mental health.

Please get in touch if you'd like the opportunity to guest blog -
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutmentalhealth 
Twitter - https://twitter.com/letstalkmhealth  

Suzy x


Tina McGuff is a Scottish based author of Seconds To Snap – Critically acclaimed & bestselling memoir of anorexia and the recovery process. Now being screen written for movie options.

Since Tina  released her book Seconds To Snap the wave it has created has been immense. It’s also shown Tina that there is a huge need for mental health, mind maintenance and self-awareness not only to mitigate future pressures on the NHS – but also for families, relationships and friends to get through the illness as it effects everyone.

Hope this helps others and early intervention is key to any recovery so please speak out as soon as you can.

Why the world needs to see & hear this message …

This is going to be my first ever blog. I’m nervous….however since I released my book Seconds To Snap the wave it has created has been immense. It’s also shown me there is a huge need as I anticipated for mental health, mind maintenance and self-awareness not only to mitigate future pressures on the NHS – but also o n families, relationships and friends.

I suffered first hand with anorexia (a very complex psychological illness ) – which also came hand in hand with severe OCD, depression, high levels of anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal tendencies, intrusive thoughts, self hate, self-loathing, social isolation, insomnia, self-harming, lack of confidence, distrust as well as a massive terrifying episode of psychosis. There was not a moment back them when I expected to live let alone have a great and worthy life one day. However an incredible doctor gave me a tiny glimmer of hope to which I clung in the off chance it may be true.

Through huge amounts of intense inpatient treatment, medication and self-discovery I turned my whole life around to become a valuable member of society, a wife, mother and friend. I love my life and am truly grateful each day and thankful to all the people who saved it.

So when I wrote the book I wanted to help others come out of the shadow of fear and shame and to also offer them the same glimmer of hope that I had as it was all true. Also to thank the patients who were my family and friends, but also a huge acknowledgement to the staff and doctors who tolerated my crap each day to save me. I’m forever in their debt.

Everyone needs hope – love – stability – early intervention and especially knowing that if they did get sick there would be help available in their home town with the same urgency as any other emergency. There would be a bed. Especially so for your people. There is nothing more terrifying than a severe episode of mental illness – it must be a million times worse for child who can’t understand what’s going on. They need to be close to family each day for extra emotional support. It’s also very traumatic for the family when someone can’t access treatment or get a bed. And then the cycle of their own stress and anxiety starts.

I asked a parliament member recently how he would feel if he had a heart attack that day and went to the hospital and was told – sorry you need to come back in a few months as there are no beds, or doctors. How would he feel? As from my experience and everyone I’ve spoken to in the despair of mental illness you can’t afford to wait.

You can die – it can be terminal.

The brain is an organ and a very special one at that controlling everything about us. Neuroscientists are working hard each day to bring us more knowledge and insight into this incredible part of our body which contains such complexities like our personalities, thoughts, feelings and memories.

 It has to be triaged the same way as every other part of our body when it requires help and attention.

So at the end of the day it’s all down to money for resources – there is not enough to go around, we can’t treat everyone when there is need as there is not enough money.

If there is early intervention and insight with education regards mind health and everything associated with that – we can help stop the need for it in the long run. Thus less urgency for funds and less strain on the doctors, nurses and NHS.

I did an article recently as there was a child who had to wait 22 months for an appointment with CAMHS. UNACCEPTABLE!!! All due to lack of money as they had no doctors available for the appointments. The family as well as the child were hugely distressed.

Another awful story was a young girl I had been told about had tried to hang herself in January – the first appointment they had to give her was June!!! UNACCEPTABLE!!!!

Let’s get talks like mine into schools, workplaces, hospitals, universities across the globe.

Mind health, mental health, self-awareness, meditation, mindfulness, body confidence, resilience all need to be taught and spoken about on a daily basis to prevent the devastating impacts they are predicting on the NHS by 2020.

So in short this is why the world needs to see & hear this message!

It’s our society and I’m doing all I can to create change alongside some incredible people one day at a time.

Tina x