Panorama 46.pdf

A magazine by and about people with a mental illness living in the communityIssue #46 December 2012

Panorama#46

FREE!

Here are some images from Damien Osborn’s photographic tribute to the old Prestige Pack-ing premises in George Street, Redfern, which closed in mid- 2012. They are on exhibit in the staff room at the new premises in Marrickville.

G O O D B Y E T O R E D F E R N

Page 2 - Panorama - Summer 2012-13

Seen in...

Homebush

Fine DiningMoney is everything, right? Well, not quite: there’s also FOOD. Diane Ji and Sally Suwanno from RichmondPRA finance branch are seen here enjoying the food at Homebush’s best value restau-rant, Chez Lunch Room, where the Chef (also known as Sally’s boy-friend) has cooked up a gorgeous lasagne! This is all to get you in the mood for our cooking page “Mmmmake it and Eeeeeat it” on page 20

WILD WEATHER. WEIRD WETLANDSNovember 9th, 2012 Homebush was hit by a massive storm that lasted two minutes but caused the local drains to look like... like... like THIS [above]. What we couldn’t understand was how the Homebush ‘wetland’ area, surrounded on three sides by tor-rents, ended up looking like this [below]. By far the driest place in Homebush! Please explain...

Cycleway along Powell’s Creek, looking right.

Looking LEFT from the Cycleway along Powell’s Creek, at the same time.

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Bicentennial Lake. Serene setting for our Picnic Day. pp 11-14

Panorama - Summer 2012-13 - Page 3

About UsPanorama is the quarterly magazine of RichmondPRA (established as PRA in 1955). RichmondPRA works in local communities to help people on their mental health recovery journey. We are a new organisation, one built on decades of expereince. RichmondPRA is the result of two well-known and respected organisations - Richmond Fellowship NSW and PRA - merging in mid-2012 in order to pro-vide more choice and services across NSW and South East Queensland. United, we are dedicated to helping people with mental health problems to be part of their community.Helping PeopleWe are recovery focussed with people at the heart of everything we do. This helps people build on their strengths and focus on the possibilities for their recovery journey.Offering ChoiceChoice and diversity are important. This is what we offer when working with people to plan for and find a home to live in, the job they want and the things they do in their spare time.Also Assisting Families and CarersFamily members and carers can contact us to access information, support and respite, as well as connections to other people and groups in their local community.

ISSN 1834-4895Issued quarterly in March, June, September and December

Though not necessarily in that order

General Manager, Inclusion: Janet Meagher AM, Manager Peer Work, Peter Farrugia; Publications Officer [Editor]: Warren Heggarty, Assistant Publications Officer: Grant Fitter

ContentsSeen in Homebush 2About Us 3Get Qualified! 4How Study Helps 5Gerry on the Job at East Timor 6Jo’s Budgeting Success 7Yum Yum Balls Recipe 7Illness Is A Comma, Not A Full Stop 8TheMHS Cairns 2012 8Pathways to Recovery 9The Fight 10World Mental Health Day Picnic 11Art In The Park 12Activity In The Park 13The Champions of Croydon 14Living With Disability: Helen Keller 15Pigtails For Peace 16The Value Of Cool 16I Am Fat: Part One 17YMCA? Y Not? 18Hanging Rock 19Is Mental Illness Just A Metaphor? 20A Modern Greek Tragedy 20Equine Therapy 21Hopeful Voice Exhibition 22Deathsports: Volleyball 24

Contact usRichmondPRA Publications OfficerBox 3161 North Strathfield NSW [email protected]@richmondpra.org.au02 9701 3644

Jane on the Hopeful Voice p 22

More hopefuls p 23

YMCA... Y not? p. 18

Disclaimer: Panorama’s content is not intended as a substitute for the advice of any specialised or qualified professional. Views expressed in articles herein are those of the authors, not necessarily of Richmond-PRA, or any associated enterprises, their staff, management, em-ployees, or service recipients. Articles are written by Warren Heggarty and Grant Fitter, unless otherwise noted, and they take responsibility for all spelling mistakes, ideological impurities and grammatical er-rors...especially Warren.

Panorama

Picnic Day: Are You Here? pages 11-14


Certificate IV in Mental Health, Non Clinical or the equivalent is the standard set by the MHCC for peo-ple who work with consumers.

Increasingly, the people who are gaining this qualification are con-sumers themselves. And many are willing to take it even further.

In the future, the people who are going to be supporting people with mental illness will likely have lived experience.

And those who don’t have lived experience, will be able to learn and practice alongside those who do!

This is a far cry from the situation decades ago when the mysteries of mental illnesses and their treat-ment seemed to be the preserve of an elite profession - psychiatry. This set-up made people with mental illness passive recipients of some-times quite mysterious treatment.

Recovery requires that people liv-ing with mental illness take active control of their own lives. And hav-ing successfully begun their own recovery journey, many people will naturally want to support others in commencing theirs.

“100% of our team either has qualifications or is currently improv-ing them,” says David Holt at the RichmondPRA team in Griffith NSW. The team includes a mix of people both with and without lived experi-ence of mental illness, or experience as a carer.

David has a Diploma of Mental Health and Dual Diagnosis and is currently upgrading his studies to Clinical Pyschology.

Everyone in his team at Griffith is travelling along the Mental Health Coordinating Council’s qualification pathway.

‘We have staff here at Griffith who have lived experience as well as qualifications. Aside from times when they might be acutely unwell, they consider that experience to be an important part of their working toolbox.

• Julie Wilson , Nadia Ziliotto, and Glen Birmingham Di-ploma in Community Services (Alcohol, Other Drugs and Men-tal Health) have just started on their Certificate courses.

• Colleen Willis: Support Worker, Griffith and Leeton has a Certificate IV and is upgrading to a Diploma of Mental Health and Dual Diagnosis

• Cara Anderssen: Support Worker, Psychosocial Rehabilita-tion, has a Certificate IV and is upgrading to a Diploma of Men-tal Health and Dual Diagnosis

• Robin Doyle: has a Certificate III based around community services.

With a little help from our boss

Study is hard enough, but how can you manage if you have a job, or if you have a young family AND a job. Fortunately there are ways around the obstacles as we will see. If you are employed, it is a good idea to have a supportive employer such as RichmondPRA. Most employers, in fact, are usually quite keen on em-ployees bettering themselves.

David Holt says that during the two years he studied for his Dual Diag-nosis Diploma with the MHCC, PRA [a forerunner of RichmondPRA] was supportive in every way.

“The company allowed me to take time in lieu to travel to Sydney and other appropriate training centres as well as funding travel and ac-commodation costs,” says David. “Without this support my very busy professional and private life would probably have been problematic in terms of time management and resources.” Nadia Ziliotto says that with her team leader David Holt’s help: “I have received a scholarship through MHCC and I am currently enrolled at Leeton TAFE and have commenced the Diploma in Mental Health Drugs and Alcohol.”

Glen Birmingham says “I do my studies through distance educa-tion. I get support from a face book group, from work colleagues, Committees and other agencies I work with. My coordinator is also extremely helpful and supportive in terms of time management, super-vision and resources.”

“The support I received,” says Cara Andressen, “was from my Supervi-sor David Holt and also from my family and from my collegues.”

Obviously there is something in it for the employer as well as the employee!

Get Qualified:we did it, so can you!Warren Heggarty discovers why they are hitting the

books at RichmondPRA Griffith-Leeton


How study helps with mental health work

Looking into the future and think-ing of how her studies might help her with work, Nadia says: “It will help me focus and keep up to date in many aspects of work, such as effective communication, conduct, leadership, effective service delivery and much more.”

David Holt felt that formal studies can give you increased confidence

that what you are already doing is on the right track. “I feel the formal training in recovery-based service provision was helpful in that it reinforced the fact RichmondPRA staff in Griffith and Leeton were already providing a service rooted in these recovery based principles. The training was the “ theoretical framework” around which effective service provision was already being provided. Academic recognition and professional accreditation for staff is essential for career development and job satisfaction.”

“The study helps me to better understand the clients”, says Glen Birmingham, “and to develop better approaches to them, encouraging them to achieve small goals that they have set for themselves.

“It goes both ways,” Glen says. “My study helps my work but work also helps with assignments that are required for my Diploma in Commu-nity Services (Alcohol, Other Drugs and Mental Health).”

Cara Anderssen says : “The quali-fication has helped me in doing my job and knowing that I can support other consumers who live with a mental illness and hopefully be able to inspire consumers into reaching their goals.”

Taking it further.

Do the team members expect to take their studies further in the long term? “Yes! It is my passion to take it as far as possible,” says Nadia.

David currently has an application in with Charles Sturt University in Wagga to be accepted into the Social Science Degree. “I intend to Major in Psychology.”

Once Glen Birmingham finishes his Diploma, he would like to progress to a Degree.

Cara Anderssen says she is concen-trating on the here and now with doing her diploma. She is taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to what she will do after that.

Do you have a story about study that you would like to share? If you share your story you will encourage others to go forth and enrol. Send your academic anecdotes to Panorama, Rich-mondPRA PO Box 3161 North [email protected]

Cara Anderssen’s Story “At the moment I am studying for my diploma in Alcohol and Other Drugs and Mental Health.

The hardest part of studying is actually finding the time to actually sit down and do the course.

As well as work there is also family commitments. Like the old saying, “there are not enough hours in a day.”

If I can do this diploma and also live with bipolar and work and raise a family, there is no rea-son why other people who are living with a mental illness can’t do it too!

You’ll be amazed when you fi-nally get that certificate in your hand - it’s quite an achievement too - and you can say “Wow, I actually did it!”

Mental illness shouldn’t hamper you in your day to day living as long as you are taking your medication and have a very good support network. Mental illness helps me in my job as it gives me an insight into what other consumers are going through and helping the con-sumers on the journey to recov-ery, and mental illness shouldn’t stop anyone from getting the most out of their life. So reach for that goal and you too will feel amazed at what you can achieve.

Glen Birmingham’s storyI have had depression and AOD addiction which developed from a family break up. I did not ac-cept for some time that I had these issues, until my behav-iour became worse, for exam-ple, when I was in public with friends. But fortunately, those friends who did not turn their back on me suggested that I get some professional help. So I went and saw someone. They gave me some anti-depressant tablets.

I am not a person who likes taking tablets, not even for a headache. I would rather have a sleep to ease it than pop a pill. When I took the medication I felt so drowsy and did not like what they were doing to me.

I honestly felt as if I had no emotions towards anything that was happening around me. I told the mental health clinic how they made me feel no good.

I decided in the end that I could believe in myself and become a better person by looking at things in a different way. Throughout this whole time I had family support and friends.

I owe a lot to my father who suggested to take two weeks holidays and to go out fencing with him. Well, at that time I thought he just wanted me to help him fencing, though now I realise he was getting me away from the environment that I was in which was triggering issues that related to my depression.

Now being a Support Worker I am able to understand how people feel and know the issues they face every day.

Consumersgettingqualified


In the September issue, we learned that Gerry Connolly of Prestige Packing Harris Park was off to East Timor with Yooralla Youth Minis-tries Australia to help build a centre for disabled children. Now he’s back... so here’s his story!

By Gerry Connolly

Travelling there was pretty lei-surely. A lot of waiting. There was an eight hour wait at Dar-win airport on the way there. And a six hour wait at Darwin on the way back. I took the oppor-tunity to see the war memorial at the wharf. This is a memorial of when the Japanese bombed Darwin Harbour during the Sec-ond World War.

There were twenty eight of us there in East Timor, all Aussies. We stayed in barracks, six to a room. I knew a couple of the other people from church. The food was all right. Mostly veg-etables and rice. Sometimes we got meat.

The work was very hard. Much harder that what we’re used to at Harris Park! For example, shifting wheelbarrows full of ce-ment.

It started getting hot early in the day, around eight o’clock it was already pretty warm. I drank a lot of water! We worked from 8AM to 5PM. There was a break at 10:30 plus a long lunch break from 12:30 to 2:30. Like a siesta!

There was only one day when it really rained, that was a Sat-urday and it poured. The rivers there are supposed to be lousy with crocs. There was a two

It was hot. It was humid. It was hard.

And there’s more to be done!

Gerry on the job in...

EastTimor

Gerry and one of his paintings at H

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meter crocodile apparently but I missed it!

There is still damage from the war with Indonesia. I saw the museum about the atrocity where the Indonesian military shot so many people. [This was a rampage in 1999 that led to the deaths of 1,400 people at the end of Indonesia’s 25 year military occupation of the coun-try. There have been moves by the current Indonesian president and his East Timorese counter-part to ‘patch things up,’ but ob-viously, this event will not easily be forgotten].

I saw the big Statue of Jesus in Dili, which is the capital city. There are 1,000 steps marked out in the stations of the cross. I went to a fish market too. You know, that was the only place that I saw cats the whole time. Mainly I saw dogs.

The only thing I learned in the local language was Bom Dia! That means Good day!

The highlight of the whole time was when the disabled people we built the centre for came to have a look at it. They were physically disabled people. Some of them had to be carried. Medi-cines Sans Frontieres are organ-ising wheelchairs apparently.

Well, there’s still a lot to be done. The brickwork is not finished. Some Kiwis will be fly-ing in to complete the gyprock work.

Next year I will have a bit of juggling to do because I am planning to go back to East Timor in September 2013. Plus there are meetings of the RichmondPRA Workplace Health and Safety Committee, and the Employee Advisory Committee. The other thing I’m doing is I’m going to Holland where I have some family. I’m going to check out a black tulip that they don’t grow here in Australia! It’s go-ing to be busy.

More Tropical Working

‘Holidays’:“I feel like lady muck with my corn flakes and OJ in the warm, balmy, misty morning with the sun hitting the mountain backdrop and beginning the process of raising the cloud cover. What is it they say? Beautiful one day, perfect the next?”

Read more about the goings on in CAIRNS 2012 on page 8.


Jo’s Budgeting Success!

By Joanne Quinlan

Being unwell affects every aspect of your life. Joanne describes how - with help and hope- she began to reverse the negative process and come out in front again!

10 years ago I joined a service called the Protective Office, which manages my financial matters.

At that stage of my life I was unable to handle my own money. I had a bad smoking and drinking habit and was also taking prescription drugs, like Valium.

At times I could not pay my rent, buy clothes for myself or even put food on the table at night.

Throughout my recovery, I still had bad habits and was always asking

the Protective Office for money to buy cigarettes and alcohol.

I did at times try to give up the bad habits, but it wasn’t until someone suggested I join the RichmondPRA service, Buckingham House that my life changed.

On my first day at Buckingham House, I was asked if I would like to join the working crew.

My jobs were reception, tutoring [see story on Multilit in September Panorama!] and working in the kitchen.

Then, as I began to focus on my recovery, I realised that I had to change. It would only be for the better.

So, one year down the track, I said to myself “Jo, you have to change now”, so at that moment I threw the smokes in the bin!

I went straight to the chemist for help and they suggested buying the patches and the gum. From that day forward, I was determined to beat the habit.

My peers at Buckingham House were a terrific support.

My next step was to start to save money which was a goal in itself. Earning money from my employ-ment through Buck House and re-ceiving the pension gave me great incentive. In August, I started a new job with RichmondPRA.

With my earnings, I have saved $1000.00 and bought a brand new 3D plasma TV! Not to mention buying new clothes and having food on the table each night.

Who knows where I will go next or what I will achieve. I believe that the power of spirit and determina-tion will take you wherever you want to go.

“...it wasn’t until someone

suggested I join the RichmondPRA service

called Buckingham House that my life

changed.”

N M H C Report Card

The newly formed National Mental Health Commission is soon to re-lease‘AContributingLife,’itsfirstannual National Report Card, at the end of 2012.

These comments by Commissioner Janet Meagher AM [General Manager Inclusion at RichmondPRA] are taken from an interview she gave to MI Voice Update [Mental Illness Fellowship of Victoria].

“I can honestly say that I have rarely encountered such a coalescence of intention and determination to produce an outcome of integrity and transpar-ency. “

“The Report Card is not about the men-tal health system – it is about people. It will not just be confined to health services, but will cover all the service areas that affect the life of a person liv-ing with mental illness.

“… the report card will include the sto-ries behind the statistics… all the bits that…the statistics don’t show.

“… There is not enough qualitative data on mental health care and treatment and we need to change the way we measure people’s mental health out-comes. The challenge for all of us is to stop counting and start analysing. [Hey, reading Panorama could be a big help here!- Editor]

“… The Report Card will make it clear where work needs to be done, where there are gaps in our knowledge and where community need isn’t being met. And we will return to these gaps with each subsequent report card until there is an improvement.

“I think it is worth recognising that we have come a long way over the last 20 years… I think we have the best policy framework in the world. However… We [still] need to go beyond the paper to the person and put intentions into practice.

“I would also say that the role that non-government organisations are playing in delivering support services has been

anec-dotally successful and has raised the bar in terms of the care and sup-port avail-able.”

-More in March Panorama


Illness is a Comma,

Nota Full StopBy Grant J Fitter

I want to talk about recovery from mental illness. Yes, this is a regular feature in RichmondPRA magazines, but it’s something that needs to be accepted, and used as a crowbar of hope on the sealed wooden crate of the future: no matter what mental illness you have, whether schizo-phrenia, bipolar or depression, your life is not over.

There are no guarantees of where you may end up, but this should be embraced as a reassurance, rather than spelling doom. Yes, the life you were used to before your illness may have altered drastically or gone altogether, but you can rebuild, you can begin the process of who you will be tomorrow, rather than mourning who you were yesterday. I know that turning to drugs or alco-hol can only make things a whole lot worse, because if there is one group of people that can’t handle psy-choactive substances, it’s those of us with a mental illness. Don’t fool yourself: illicit drugs and alcohol are psychosis fuel for those of us with schizophrenia or bipolar. Anyone that says otherwise is either in de-nial or an idiot. They can feel free to pick which column they fit into.

I have personally gone through the kind of experience that would shatter most people into a million pieces, and I have to admit I often couldn’t see any hope on the dark horizon. I’ve spent eleven years straight in Aussie institutions. I’ve crawled through depression like it was a muddy trench. I’ve cried myself to sleep on many occa-sions. My schizophrenia has been so severe at times that the paranoia and delusions were far more real than anything else I could sense. My

Is Repetition Eclipsing the Real Recovery Message?

By Warren Heggarty

By the time you read this article, the second of two great histori-cal events will have taken place in Cairns North Queensland 2012. The latest, of course, was the total eclipse of the Sun on 14 November.

The other big event in Cairns was the “TheMHS Conference” in August (yes, for some reason someone thought that this would be a good name for it), the intention of which is always the total op-posite of a total eclipse, that is, to throw some extra light onto MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, to share and compare notes and to discuss the latest news in international Mental Health. It is attended not just by clinicians and staff, but by consum-ers as well –there is even a pre-con-ference consumers’ forum so we get a head start on all the others. Mwa ha ha ha!

This year, RichmondPRA sent forth its first combined presence, consist-ing of people such as Pam Rutledge, Phil Nadin, Janet Meagher, Cate Stanton, Jim Booth, Grant Wilson, Kerry Lynch, Lansi Lin, Peter Tos, Rebecca Tsang… have I left anyone out? Yes, there were other people associated with RichmondPRA but representing other organisations. You could say, everyone was there!But what about the conference?

The up sideRichmondPRA’s Pre-Employ pro-gram (hence Kerry Lynch, Peter Tos, Lansi Lin and Rebecca Tsang) was one of the groups presenting this year. Panorama’s undercover cor-respondent said “The session with Pre-Employ was eminently success-ful - thirty people in a small room was almost capacity. They had a receptive audience and many were excited at the concept and design of the program, particularly how it gained success through the mentor-ing and training aspects as well as

work experience.”

And Panorama discovered that at least one presentation managed to be confronting -even to seasoned conference attendees. Fay Jackson, a consumer who runs a training company, spoke about frustration and blame concepts for families where there is mental illness across the generations, and the distress and confusion with relationships when in that situation.

Janet Meagher summed up the reaction to Fay’s talk in a way that was echoed by others to whom Panorama spoke. “During the talk at different times people in the audi-ence went out to her and hugged her-“ perhaps it was all too per-sonal, too intimate for a conference. “But in another sense it was the most touching and REAL presenta-tion that we are likely to ever see.”

The down sideOverall, however, Panorama got the feeling the total eclipse paid an early visit to TheMHS. “I can’t hide my frustration” said one long term consumer activist, “as I see a lot of this conference as a squandered op-portunity. I see incredibly little evi-dence of real initiatives or genuine service commitment to what I see as recovery focus. I have heard the word ‘recovery’ repeatedly- often in contexts that would defy logic.”

Nor were Panorama’s informants overly impressed with the Keynote delivered by Robert Messina from Italy. One comment was that it was “not essentially different to two other keynotes which he delivered to TheMHS conferences in past years! I guess there were people present who haven’t heard it, but there are heaps of other foreigners AND Aussies who could have offered something other than this third car-bon copy!”

A challenge to our readers!Here’s the problem for our readers to work on for next TheMHS con-ference: We all want the message of RECOVERY to get out, but the very act of getting it out means the really keen people will have heard that same message time and time again. And if you repeat a message enough times, the essential radical-ism it might once have contained can become a mere cliché. A word used ad infinitum in health service reports, but never really LIVED. So, any suggestions?

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Building on hope for our future

By Matthew Roberts

As a new initiative at Richmond-PRA’s Prestige Packing business in West Ryde, the peer workforce is facilitating the strengths-focussed program, Pathways to Recovery. The program promotes self-development as a priority for participants.The small group of six participants, all employees of Prestige Pack-ing, met once a week for 2-hours. The group dynamics developed a positive atmosphere of support and inclusion, ensuring even the quiet participants felt comfortable and had something worthwhile to con-tribute.

Everyone enjoyed the course im-mensely and looked forward to each session. The participants are even excited about starting the next module. It’s been a wonderful expe-rience to focus on our recovery by utilising the workbooks in a group atmosphere of trust and empathy. Upon completing the module, the participants took pride in receiving their certificates. Here are some thoughts about their experience in the program.

John Wilson says “I think that each of us needs to be in the driver’s seat. We have a variety of needs and we need to make our own decisions. If I make a wrong decision I need to do a U-turn”.

Sam Wong believes “I think re-covery could really be improved a whole lot through enlightenment, tranquillity and serenity; blissfulness and joyfulness, not just happiness”.

Alex Menzies commented “Path-ways to Recovery helps me to listen and learn, by providing hope and direction toward thinking positively.

Pathways to Recovery showed me how to keep my cool and use self-discipline”.

“The Pathways to Recovery, it was good and encouraging, it makes me think in new ways”, said Jay Proops.

Umah Pathmanathan said “I think the Pathways to Recovery group was very good. It gave me great ideas to the road to recovery, dif-ferent ideas which I have learnt. I have gained different perspectives from other people in the group”.

As the facilitator of the Pathways to Recovery program at Prestige Packing, I was pleased to see the enthusiasm of the participants and enjoyed contributing to their suc-cess in completing the first module.

I hope that this program will de-velop further and be incorporated in other disability enterprises in other locations.

Ask your support worker about Pathways to Recovery!

By the Way....

In addition to our our article on Quals [see p 4-5] Matthew Roberts, Peer Work-er, West Ryde completed his certificate IV in Mental Health in 2011.

“I think it is a very useful course with up-to-date information. It wasn’t the same back when I was in hospital a few years ago. These days it is more recov-ery focused.

“The issue is more the empowerment of the individual consumer. I would recom-mend doing this course because of the new thinking. Going through the Mental Health Coordinating Council is a way of ensuring you get the most up-to-date ideas.”

mood swings were erratic, I could become highly aggressive with very little provocation, and it felt like I’d stepped onto an endless rounda-bout. I was expecting life to be the same forever.

Things changed.

With time, I went through trials on at least half a dozen antipsychot-ics and antidepressants. After very little change I discovered Clozapine, and it worked for me. My paranoia and delusions dissolved to the point where I am now, where only the barest residual symptoms remain. Now, if I hear somebody laughing behind me, I just think it through: what are the odds that they’re laughing at me? They don’t know me, and I didn’t do anything to deserve it, so the odds are slim to nothing, right? And with my new-found stability, I don’t just try to convince myself: I actually believe it to be true. It’s amazing how clear things become with a little logic.

A factor that got me through the hardest times were writing my books. Looking back at my earli-est novels, you can almost smell the schizophrenia on every page. They were chaotic, nasty and made little sense. But now? The writing is lucid, logical and clear. My sense of humour has returned brighter than ever, and when people read them they don’t have to humour me any-more. Those novels are like a very clear graph of my schizophrenia over an eight year period.

My time in sheltered workshops at Harris Park transitioned to a position in the Pre Employ program early in 2012, and I was now at the stage where I could attend Ultimo TAFE in person to do a Certificate III in Information Technology. After years doing OTEN work in a locked ward, I was doing what I had only been able to dream about for a long time. Yes, it was hard work, but receiving my Cert III in the mail made every early morning and long train ride worthwhile.

I now work for RichmondPRA on their magazines (Panorama, Ozstars and Action), and in the space of three years I’ve gone from hope-less case to a white collar job that I actually look forward to doing.So let your illness be a comma, not a full stop. Any writer can tell you that it’s all about choice.

Pathways to RecoveryAbove: participants Sam Nong, John Wilson, Jay Proops, Alex Menzies, and facilitator Matthew Roberts


The Fight:

Attention vs

BoredomBy Grant J Fitter

Boredom is bad. It has been scientificallylinkedtoanin-creased risk of substance abuse, overeating, depression, anxi-ety and is a big factor in mak-ing mistakes. Nobody, from the greatest neuroscientist to the humblest dirt farmer, is immune to boredom, and with recent studies we may be closer to findingoutwhy,andwhatwecan do about it.

Beyond being unpleasant, there is no precise definition of boredom or how we can counter it. Yes, nowa-days we just flick on the television or go to a movie, but this is known as being a “passive recipient to stimulation”, and is only a Band-Aid solution. What happens the moment you hit some commercials? Bore-dom, inevitably, returns. And it’s never far away.

Everyone has a mental reserve of a fuel called “attention”; this is the act of blocking out all other stimuli in order to concentrate, and it is tiring no matter what the subject. Like all reserves, your attention levels will drop and temporarily run dry. I love

my video games, for example, and can play them all day, but it’s pretty common for me to daydream, lose focus, make stupid mistakes and generally have my fuel burn out like anyone doing anything else. Atten-tion returns, but is never unlimited.

Picture this. You’re at work, doing some really uninspiring task that is hard to concentrate on, which causes you to daydream. Then your phone rings. It may be about some uninspiring work matter, to begin with, but the caller quickly diverts to the specifics of a movie the two of you watched a month ago. Then someone comes to the counter.

Not only are you bored and distract-ed, but you are stressed about it, too. You really can’t attend to four matters simultaneously... although if you were really really bored, you might not care...

There is a limit to how much atten-tion you can pay and for how long. And there is a limit to how many things you can successfully pay at-tention to at one time. Usually it is ONE. Once you have reached your critical attention limit, you will start making mistakes.

OK, spelling Shaun as Sean might not be the end of the world. But strolling accross the road while talk-ing on the phone without paying attention may well be the end of the world! Life may well be a series of close calls, but if you work in a nu-clear power station, you don’t want to tempt fate by losing attention.

So how does boredom eat away at us? There are three components that will allow us to keep our atten-tion on a subject, and the failure of any of these is enough to cause boredom, resulting in the negative results listed above. The three com-ponents that make up attention are:

1. Having a task that provides enough stimulation to stop you from falling asleep;

2. Your own internal orienting sys-tem, which is that little bit of you that helps you pay attention to your surroundings, even when deep in thought or very busy;

3. Your “executive system”; this al-lows your mind to oversee and con-tinue your activity, even when the action itself is not interesting (shel-tered workshops, for instance…)

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING!(obviously not Panorama readers!)

So what can you do? There’s no permanent cure for boredom, and it is unrealistic to expect a to-tally boredom free life. But you can minimise boredom and maximise attention by doing things that fulfil you. Try to get a job doing some-thing that interests and challenges you, take breaks, get some hobbies, make some friends, meet people with similar interests, get a pet… AND READ PANORAMA!

Sources include: Ann Robinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 18.10.2012


Grab your picnic baskets, it’s

World Mental Health Day

and that means it’s RichmondPRA’s inaugural ‘together we’re better’

Picnic Day There was food, friends, fam-

ily, painting, tug of war, more food, volleyball, some more food, sculpture, ducks and a whole lot of green, green grass at the Bicentennial Park one sunny Wednesday October 10, 2012

BABY BOOM CRECHE The evidence cannot be denied. The fact that a creche sponta-neously formed at our picnic proves that our population is increasing!

‘I would not have imagined years ago that they would one day have a day like this, World Mental Health Day!’ - Brian

Brian Shaw is a mental health consumer and volunteer from the Penrith area. We asked him what he thought about the picnic day and to tell a little bit about himself.

It was tremendous. Great mate, really enjoyed it. You know I would not have imagined years ago that they would one day have a day like this, a World Mental Health Day.

I was born in Tumut NSW on 3rd February 1957. There was conflict in my family years ago and I devel-

oped schizophrenia.

Speaking of Volleyball…Over the years, my health has im-proved a lot, I now understand why I feel why I do at times. At the mo-ment I am with the Nepean Mental Health Service, because I live in the Penrith area. I’ve been with Cum-berland Hospital too, I’ve played volleyball there.

No stranger to HomebushI’ve worked in some pretty respon-sible jobs. I went to Homebush Boys’ High and my first job was as a Butcher in Burwood. I was a trainee in hotel management, that was at the Captain Cook Hotel in

Darlinghurst. And also I worked in industrial security jobs with Mayne Nickless.

Volunteering for the futureI love volunteering. What I would love to do is work towards improve-ment in Aboriginal Mental Health, because I am Aboriginal myself.

I’m the nephew of Penny Harris who lives in the Piliga scrub [that’s an environmentally important area near Narrabri, NSW for those unfamiliar]. My grandfather came from Redfern. I am thinking about doing some peer work to help out in future.


TREES ARE ART“I think that I shall never see a photo as lovely as a tree,” as this photo by John would have proved if it were not such a lovely photo!

FOUND OBJECT SCULPTURE [in natural environment]by Warren Draper

TREES IN THE PARK by Monique

WIRE SCULPTURE by Josip Bazdaric

ART IN THE PARKRobert Milczarski, a keen photographer currently doing a course through TAFE, took this pic of the art in the park group getting down to business.

ART in the PARK Coordinated by Jane Miller and Robbi Wymer

On the left, is a mixed media sculpture us-ing found objects and various binding agents. “Found objects” have been used in sculpture ever since the days of Marcel Duchamp. It shows that everything has the makings of art in it! In music too, “found sounds” were made famous on albums by Pink Floyd, David Byrne and Brian Eno. Today ‘sampling’ is standard in music!

Wired for Art!This sculpture by Josip Bazdaric is made from pieces of wire, chiefly black and copper. Panorama can see echoes of the work of the famous Swiss sculptor Giacometti, but it’s actually a work by one of our very own!

Monique McK has regularly entered our biennial Another Door Opens art competition. For the Picnic Day, she did a series of watercolours of the park.

The details above show a set of three smaller trees and one of a big fig tree. Look at how the drench-ing and drying action of the water on the paper has helped cre-ate the outline of foliage on the big tree. C’est magnifique!

Manet?Monet?Monique!

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Duck racing on the Bicentennial Lake? Well, they LOOKED like they were racing. Maybe they were just trying to escape the paparazzi!

TUG OF FUNTwo little girls and one petite lady proved that no matter how big your obstacle, you can succeed if you are deter-mined to have FUN!

Madaline, Candi, Gerry and Jimmy have their eyes on the action...

Meanwhile at the other end of the rope... oh dear! Come on you blokes!!!

ACTIVITY in the PARK

RECOGNISE ME?I’m the same found object sculpture [by Warren Draper] as the one on the opposite page, only this time I’m in a built environment! What a dif-ference an environment makes!

VOLLEY.... [now where IS that]... BALL. Croydon victorious.

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The light was too bright. They stayed in the shade.


The Champions:Croydon!

Volleyball gold cup winners

CUPS, MEDALIONS AND....the glittering prizes that round off a perfect picnic day. No snags here, but there’s a Whole Lotta Chocolate, and that’s even BETTER!

Driven toAbstraction

While we are in the mood, let’s look at a few more colourful contributions to the Hopeful Voice Exhibi-tion (see more on pages 22-23). These are by Jesse Lumb, Jane Miller and Josh Levett, respec-tively. And you thought they were a Mondrian, a Pollock and a Miro! Nice guessing!

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STOP PRESSStart LaunchYes, just as we were going to press, the fabulous launch of RichmondPRA was undergoing final prepa-rations for Parliament House 10 December. Pano-rama will have full details in our March 2013 editoin. In the meantime, here is an invitation and the last ever Richmond Fellowship NSW annual report to gaze at. And if you liked the story about East Timor this issue, nest time we hope to bring you a fantastic story about RichmondPRA... in INDIA!


Communication disability can cause extreme social exclusion, but there is hope. This issue Helen Keller (who was deafblind) will show us the way, then in March 2013 we will look at Annie McDonald (who had cerebral palsy).

Patricia James wrote in her 1997 Churchill Fellowship report that people who are deafblind lack the opportunity to learn to communicate about their most basic survival needs, let alone abstract concepts such as independence and advocacy.

For the deafblind, says Trish James, ‘Life is to be experienced rather than observed or listened to.’ Isn’t it ironic that this un-mediated first-hand experience of life is a state of affairs which so many of us seem to be SEEKING OUT nowadays! -WH

By Grant J Fitter

University is hard. Simple as that. So when I say that Helen Keller is an absolute legend for getting a Bachelor of Arts degree, you’ve got to take a few things into account. For starters, Helen was (shock) a woman in the Victorian era of the late 19th Century, but there were other factors that make this story exceptional. You see, Helen was totally deaf. And blind: deafblind, as they say. Yes, my brain turned itself inside out when I was told this. If you put a thick blindfold on me and jammed plugs in my ears, I probably wouldn’t make it out of the lounge room alive, let alone with a degree. So how is Helen Keller’s story possible?

Isolation Helen was born in Alabama in

1880 with her hearing and eyesight both intact, but after a bout of what is generally thought to be either meningitis or scarlet fever, Helen’s parents noticed that their daughter no longer responded to sounds or sights. At the age of nineteen months, Helen’s two primary connections to the world had been permanently severed.

This story might have ended with Helen as an invalid requiring round the clock care, if not for Helen’s iron will to adapt to the terrible hand life had passed her. She learned to communicate with the six-year-old daughter of the Keller family’s cook, who understood her signs, and by the age of seven Helen had over sixty home signs she used to communicate with her family.

Inspiration In 1886, Helen’s

mother was so inspired by a true-life account by Charles Dickens about a deafblind girl getting an education that she dispatched young Helen, accompanied by her father, to seek a way for their daughter to do likewise. After going through several experts (including Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone), Helen

found herself at the Perkins Institute for the Blind. This school was the same one mentioned in the Charles Dickens’ story that had inspired this trip in the first place. The school's director asked a former student by the name of Anne Sullivan, who was herself visually impaired and only twenty years old, to become Helen's instructor. It was the beginning of a long relationship that would stretch over half a century.

Frustration Lessons with Anne

started at the Keller's house in March 1887, and Anne immediately began to teach Helen to communicate by spelling words into her hand, beginning with "d-o-l-l" for the doll she had brought her young student as a present. Keller was frustrated by these lessons, because she did not understand that every object had a unique identifying word. In fact, when Anne was trying to teach Helen the word for "mug", Helen became so frustrated she broke her doll.

Keller's big breakthrough in communication came after another month. Helen realized that the motions Anne was making on the palm of her hand, while running cool water over her other hand, symbolized the idea of "water"; Helen then nearly exhausted Sullivan demanding the names of all the other familiar objects in her world.

Anne Sullivan introduced her to Phillips Brooks around this time, who introduced her to Christianity. Helen was famous for saying: "I always knew He was there, but I didn't know His name!"

Education Starting in May, 1888,

Helen attended several schools, some of which were tailored for the blind and others for the deaf, and her education culminated in 1904 when Helen received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College. She was the first deafblind person to manage this feat. To make this possible, Helen’s admirer, Mark Twain, had introduced her to Henry Huttleston Rogers, an oil magnate, who paid for Helen’s education.

Determined to communicate with others as conventionally as possible, Keller learned to speak, and spent much of her life giving speeches and lectures. She had learned to "hear" what other people were saying by reading their lips with her hands, as Helen’s sense of touch had become extremely refined. Helen was proficient at using Braille and reading sign language with her hands as well. Shortly before World War I, Helen discovered that by placing her fingertips on a resonant table top she could experience music in her own way.

Celebration Helen’s story

doesn’t stop there. She went on to become a world-famous orator and author, and is remembered as a fierce advocate for people with disabilities. Helen was a suffragist, a pacifist, an opponent of Woodrow Wilson, a radical socialist and a birth control supporter. In 1915 she and George Kessler founded the Helen Keller International organization; this organization is devoted to research in vision, health and nutrition. Helen travelled to more than forty countries, making several trips to Japan and becoming a favourite of the Japanese people.

On September 14, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the United States' two highest civilian honours. Helen devoted much of her later life to raising funds for the American Foundation for the Blind. She finally died in her sleep on June 1, 1968, at her home in Connecticut.

Despite severe, potentially overwhelming, disabilities, Helen Keller left an indelible mark on this world, and hers is one of the greatest inspirational stories you will ever hear.

Source: Wikipedia.

Further Information Deafblind Association NSW http://www.dbansw.org.au/ has information about the various different methods of communication that deafblind people use (it’s not just braille!) and the interesting effect that new technology has had.

Living with DisabilityPanorama’s column about the whole disability community

HELEN KELLER


Pigtails for Peace.picture from the facebook page of Maisie Kate Miller of Marblehead USA

Recently, newspapers reported

a novel way of dealing with bullying and ridicule. A teenage schoolgirl in Boston USA was

tormented by another girl for wearing pigtails. Apparently pigtails are a cause

of social death in Boston schools these days because of their association with geekiness. But anyway, our hero Maisie Kate Miller (the

next best name to ‘Gretchen’ for a lass in pigtails, don’t you think?) announced via social media that she would not be bowed, nor would she seek revenge over her tormentor, but would instead wear pig tails for a whole week. A large posse of other girls at her school decided

to follow, so that the next day at school became Pigtails for Peace Day and the rueful bully actually stayed home… before

apologising. Besides, far from being shameful, pigtails are downright

patriotic. The pigtailed pinup girl in the insert is WWII US

Air Force pilot trainee Shirley Slade.

Sources: Washington Post USA, Herald, Facebook, ‘Pigtails Fad (1940s) Bulldog Vintage Blog

... and War

Kenneth Krause of La Crosse Wisconsin USA wrote to local TV presenter Jennifer Livingston (seen above eating in an ad for Wisconsin Beef Producers) saying that she was not a suitable role model for young people, girls in particular. Why? Because she’s fat. Livingston hit back in a four minute TV speech in which she pointed out that there was more to her than her weight.

Krause had written to Livingston that ‘obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain.’ Speaking of choice, there are probably quite a few people with a similarly jaundiced view of Krause’s choice of career. He’s a lawyer. But we digress.

Panorama decided to check out Jennifer Livingston! We find that she has suitable gravitas as a news anchor owing to her clear articulation and personable presentation.

Children watching her may well be in grave danger of emulating her habit of enunciating her words clearly while reading the news and interviewing guests.

Her well-dressed, neat and tidy personal presentation may well encourage youngsters to strive in matters of grooming and appearance. During light hearted items, her smile (we noted that her teeth seem quite sound) was most attractive.

She is married and has three children, so sorry guys, she’s taken!

by our overweight editor Warren Heggarty

Maintaining gravitas as a news anchor

The Value of Cool

By Grant J Fitter

Studies on more than 300 kindergarten kids has confirmed that the “cool” children have a higher chance of being happy, healthy and performing well at school. Now the way my life has gone makes more sense…

Of course, it’s common sense that

cool kids will be better off. They’re liked, influential, and spend less time getting their heads swirled in toilet bowls. There are many variables when it comes to being cool, such as the wealth of a child’s parents, but being male or female seemed to make little difference. Apparently coolness transcends gender.

So-called “prosocial behaviour”, which basically translates to performing actions that benefit others instead of yourself, was highest among less-popular kids from well-off backgrounds.

Fighting Metabolic Syndrome, discrimination, bullying,


By Grant J Fitter

Well, the rating of 27 on the Body Mass Index says it all: I’m officially within the obese range, and have been for some time. I’m six foot tall and weigh in at a hundred and twelve kilograms, and can barely look at myself in the mirror if I’m not wearing a shirt. I’ve wanted to lose weight for a while now, which is fatty-speak for “I haven’t got the slightest inclination to actually do something even mildly difficult about the obesity issue, but I hope to wake up one morning with my chub miraculously gone”. The odds of this happening are roughly the same as being cast as Brad Pitt’s butt double.

I’ve decided enough is enough. My chances of developing diabetes, heart problems and worse are ris-ing as fast as my blood sugar and cholesterol, and I’ve finally reached the point where something needs to change. I’ve declared war on my muffin top, and it’s going to get messy.

I’ve been seeing a dietician once a month. Basically, I go in, I get weighed, she gives me some advice and I promptly disregard it within

five minutes of walking out. After all, you tend to enjoy your second dinner slightly less if you think about what that plate of nachos is really doing to your body. What served as a bit of a nudge is that a friend of mine had recently gone on the OptiFast milkshake diet, and a whole pile of her deeply entrenched fat has vanished in a short period of time as a result. I’m pretty sure she’s dropped about fifteen or twen-ty kilograms and is rapidly becoming overweight rather than dangerously obese. Please note that OptiFast is not offering me any kind of encour-agement for this, and is done purely as my own life experience. I’m sure many other programs can give you results if correctly followed.

My weight has gone from 112kg to 109kg in a week. I eat one meal at dinner time with heaps of salad on the side, and replaced the other two meals with OptiFast shakes (they also have bars and dessert options, but they cost heaps more). That’s right: I no longer have a second dinner. The OptiFast stuff generally tastes pretty good, and I’ve been surprised with how little I’ve been tempted with food.

Don’t go expecting a McDeath thick shake, though. I’m not ecstatic with the idea of living like this for a long period of time, but I’m us-ing the same trick that helped me successfully give up smoking: this sucks right now, but looking back on this in the future I’ll be glad I went through it. Living in the now is a bad idea when you’re not having fun. Also just like giving up smok-ing, the psychological withdrawals are worse than the physical ones. Not spending all day constantly chewing like a dairy cow with a mouth full of cud is pretty jarring.One major downside to this pro-cess is that I’ve had to cut down on my beloved coffee, and now drink only one cappuccino or a cup of instant a day with skim milk and artificial sweetener. A saying of mine was “life is too short for skim milk”, but I’ve always been a man of extremes. I either go all the way with something, or lose interest and

drop it completely. Thankfully, I’m allowed to drink zero calorie soft drink, which includes Pepsi Max, Coke Zero and Sprite Zero. Yeah, baby!

My exercise is minimal, and I will definitely have to do more. I’m planning on regularly walking to Parramatta, and not rewarding myself with a mixed kebab meal with hot chips and a Coke-flavoured bottle of full-sugar poison. Why? Because it defeats the whole pur-pose of walking to Parramatta in the first place! I’ll also go on walks with some friends on a daily basis, but I’m not planning on hitting the gym or anything.

The next issue of Panorama will have I Am Fat: Part Two, and I hope to have some good news for you. Three months should be more than enough time to see some real re-sults, and you’ll be the first toknow.

I Am Fat:Part One

prejudice, addiction, you name it!

WHY ARE AMERICANSEVEN FATTER THAN GRANT?

THIS IS WHY:

THE BACON MUG!

Are words really necessary? The Bacon Mug is a fantasy night-mare, and you can see why. This creation consists of a cup moulded from biscuits, filled with cream cheese and Swiss cheese, and lots and lots of bacon wrapped around it. Mmm.. fatalicious...

This ungodly goblet of heartburn tallies in at 2400 calories and 158 grams of fat for the SMALL SIZE.


AnthonyKittlikestokeepfitandhe’d like to encourage you to do likewise. As a client of Rich-mondPRA, he reckons that the YMCA will leave you with a smile that lasts for days on end. And it got him thinking about what he could do role he could play in providing a service linking peo-ple with YMCA. It’s about life, not existence!

G'day! My name is Anthony.

With some determination and drive from within we can all help our-selves, mind, body and soul! We start with simple tasks such as eat-ing well or going to bed at appropri-ate times… but if you want to give it your all you can work your way up to bigger and better things that are really worth achieving! No I’m not a Doctor that wants to diagnose you. I’m just like you. I have a form of mental illness but I’ve just happened to have found an organisation that has opportunities for people from all walks of life to improve the quality of that life.

What you need is the dedication to say “I want to strive to LIVE life, not just exist.” We all have a choice in this world, where ever we have come from, rich or poor, we educate ourselves every day and never stop learning. We were all brought into civilization for a purpose, we aren’t

meant to just sit on the sidelines and ponder what we are here for the whole time. Let’s put some ef-fort into the next chapter of our life stories!

Brightside at the YMCA!Now let’s get to the juicy part shall we? YMCA. is a song from the Vil-lage People that we would do well to rehearse and sing. Because when the way is clear and we are on track to regain our health and vitality, YMCA. is where we’re going to go!

The YMCA. is a non-profit charity dedicated to making sure there is exuberance, fun and joy in each and every one of us! Just being there can leave you with a smile that lasts for days on end!

The people at YMCA. are like a family that wants your input into developing and running different programs and activities throughout NSW.

But the big talk on the town is a program called the 60 day Bright-side workshop. It enables everyone who lives with mental illness an opportunity to use YMCA. facili-ties at their own speed over a 60 day period. There are team sports, swimming pools, gymnasiums and heaps of other facilities, in a safe and reputable environment where you can be yourself and not feel judged or harassed in any way!

The YMCA. is a friendly place to come to and...• build friendships • learn new skills • help facilitate groups, family ac-

tivities, help out with breakfasts• go away on camps• go on trips abroad• get work experience• get chances for employment

Here’s the planI thought up an idea that could help me and help others too. If I can get as many RichmondPRA people as possible interested in using YMCA facilities, I could act as a link be-tween the two organisations. I could give you an insider’s introduction, I could answer your questions, I could even drive you down there in a bus.

I would need to get information about numbers of people, address-es, pick up points, YMCA locations, times and so forth. There is a lot to it, and I’d need to get as much information as possible to make it work.

So now what I propose is for each and every one of you have an ink-ling of interest getting in contact with me directly or through your support workers, and also putting the word out among the whole of RichmondPRA.

I’m hoping that if I could get to-gether a list of interested parties from all sectors of RichmondPRA, then I could be your facilitator and bus driver who is happy to give you all an insider’s introduction to the YMCA.

But I do need honest opinions and answers, and I think I would need to have a certain number of regular people to prevent the idea flopping!

So come on guys, the realisation that you can lose weight and get your body into peak shape must be an appealing factor! Who’s in? I know I am!

More information- Contact me, Anthony Kitt “the body’s my temple” on 0400 361 426.

I’m only a phone call away so please get on the blower and let’s make it happen!

More information about YMCA Brightside (run in conjunction with the Mental Health Associa-tion) can be found on the web:http://www.ymcasydney.org/centre/caring-bah/activity/brightside-mental-health-and-wellbeing

Live your life, be freeOpen up your mind and you will see

YMCA? Y Not?

“…we aren’t meant to just

sit on the sidelines and ponder what we are here

for the whole time.”


Kicking Duel at Hanging

Rock*from Grant Wilson

Batemans Bay RichmondPRA held a Sports Activity Day at Hanging Rock Sports Ground and Clubhouse in October. Football was the main par-ticipation sport, with AFL,Soccer and Rugby League balls in use for kicking duels. This day out was in con-junction with Schizophrenia Fellowship, Workability and the

local Eurobodalla Shire Council.

Music for the day was provided by “Ironic Circus” [pictured above], a local band formed by people who have dis-abilities. [For bookings, call Paul Johnston 02 4471 6630 or 0416 640 0270] Local businesses donated plenty of prizes, and these were awarded to all in attendance, with an emphasis on sports par-ticipation. A healthy options BBQ lunch was enjoyed by all as well [pic below]. *By the way, If you have seen the famous movie ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’, sorry, but THAT hanging rock is near Mt Macedon in Victoria. Our Hanging Rock is a sports complex near the Beach at Batemans Bay NSW, with a Library and animal park at the complex.

They came from as far away as Bowral! RichmondPRA Buckingham HousehostedadayofvolleyballatTheRocksonFriday7September 2012. With support from The Mental Health Sports Network and the City of Sydney, we took over the King George V Recreation Centre for the day to have a clinic, a lunch and a competition.

The clinic was for people to learn about volleyball from experts. The fundamental Volleyball movements are a little different to some other sports, so first timers sometimes need to get a bit of practice in before strutting their stuff on court. Briefly, you play on a court (like basketball) but you serve the ball with a punt (like Aussie Rules) across a net (like tennis) which is high (like badminton) and you have six a side (like… six a side). A bit of everything means something for everyone, and those who didn’t want to play just came and cheered the others on!

You can always tell the experienced players in a volleyball match. They are the ones who bend their knees! (Keep practicing and you’ll be bending with the best of them.)

A free BBQ lunch was provided by the City of Sydney’s Housing Liaison Office. The KGV centre has some pretty good facilities, too. It has all the usual things you’d expect in an indoor sport complex, PLUS a kid’s playground (for the young at heart) and a shop. You can get to it easily from Wynyard or Circular Quay. It is built right next to the Harbour Bridge approach in Cumberland Street.

After lunch came the competition. Five mixed teams played with the winners and runners up getting medals. Third place earned genuine Buck House water bottles. By the way, people who paid the comp registration of $5 also covered Mental Health Sports Network events till December 2012. There was a presentation at the end.

There was a pretty good crowd, too, including people not just from Buck House, but also places like Flowerdale Cottage and others. There were plenty of familiar faces and plenty of new faces, too. And we even caught up with an ooooold friend of ours who used to be a regular on the pages of Panorama back in the old days. That’s her in the purple on the back cover! See if you can guess.

If you ever get the chance to go to a day like this, or any of the events put on by RichmondPRA or Mental Health Sports Network, jump at it! More pictures in colour on back cover! WH

Mental Health Sports Network http://www.sfnsw.org.au/MHSN/mhsn/default.aspx Phone0298792600

Photos by Warren Heggarty Indoor volleyball

clinic and competition


Disempowerment:A Modern Greek TragedyBy Grant J Fitter

Possessing one of the lowest

suicide rates in the world until just recently, a tragedy in Greece is being played out in the shadow of economic hardship. Experts say that although the number of people that take their own lives in the Mediterranean nation each year is relatively low – about 600 – the jump in related statistics is frightening: since the financial crisis started in 2009, the yearly suicide rate has leapt from 2.8 people per 100,000 to 5 people per 100,000. Related issues, such as unsuccessful self-harm attempts, the use of anti-depressant medica-tion and the need for emergency psychiatric care also rose steadily. In a country that is not accustomed to such a crisis, there is a grow-ing alarm for the wellbeing of its citizens. Psychiatrist Kyri-akos Katsardoros works at the Greek suicide prevention hotline and attests to the steep in-crease in shattered citizens who call up because they just want to die. It’s the same story again and again, all day and night: their jobs have vanished, their savings are gone, financial stress has destroyed the happiness of their families and the future is bleak at best. They feel they have no hope and people are beginning to see suicide as an answer to their problems. Hatred towards the world lead-ers they see as responsible for this misery is at an all-time high, and there have been numerous suicide notes cursing the politicians and corporations for ruining their lives. In other words, people feel there is nothing they can do to influence those in power who seem to control their lives. This is known as disem-powerment. Despite the fact that many of us think the financial crisis is over, Greece is clear proof that things are far from back to normal. Australia’s suicide rate is in the order of double that of Greece, although it has been declining since a peak in 2001.(Source: Daily Telegraph, 30th of April, 2012 and the Australian Bureau of Statistics)

Is Mental Illness just a metaphor?

Thomas Szasz (1920-2012)Thomas Szasz, who died recently aged 92, be-lieved that illness only applies to bodies, not to minds.

To him, the term mental illness was at best only a figure of speech. This figure of speech, however, gave false legitimacy to two things: compulsory

psychiatric treatment [coercing the innocent] and the insanity defence [excusing the guilty].

Szasz was Professor Emeritus at State University of New York at Syra-cuse. The most famous of his many books was “The Myth of Mental Illness” (1961).

The increasing medicalisation of human life seems to support Szasz’s basic ideas. Recently, for example, we have come to see obesity as a medical/emotional problem to be treated with drugs rather than a gustatory prob-lem to be conquered by self discipline. Recently we have read more and more stories about people who have allegedly committed multiple assaults who have avoided punishment on the grounds of mental illness.

For those who think Szasz’s idea that mental illnesses do not exist is a little strange, it stops short of B.F. Skinner’s earlier idea that NO mental states really existed! And by the way Szasz’s last book (2011) was a protest against suicide prevention! -Warren Heggarty

Thomas Szasz Timeline1920: Born in Budapest, Hungary1938: Leaves Hungary when it becomes a Nazi state, and settles in the USA1941-50: Graduates in Physics, Medicine and Psy-chiatry1961: Writes “The Myth of Mental Illness”1969: Co-founder (along with the Church of Sci-entology) of the Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights.

Source: Anthony Stadle ‘Writer and psychiatrist insisted mental illness does not exist’ -Guardian News and Media

mmmmmake it!eeeeeat it!

Yum Yum BallsBy Grant J Fitter

My mum used to make these, and I recently managed to find the long-lost recipe online. These are super easy, quick to make and more addic-tive than crack cocaine. You can even get the kids involved in making them (unlike the aforementioned crack cocaine).

Ingredients - 1 cup of desiccated coconut, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, 1 packet Milk Coffee biscuits (or other biscuits), 400g tube of sweetened condensed milk, extra desiccated coconut for coatingUtensils - Rolling pin, sandwich bag, mixing bowl, wooden spoons, small bowl for extra coconutDirections - Put all the biscuits in a sandwich bag. Seal it, then crush them with a rolling pin. Place the crumbs in your mixing bowl, then add condensed milk, 1 cup of desiccated coconut and the cocoa. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Wet your hands, then roll chunks of the mixture into balls. Roll finished balls in the bowl of extra coconut. Try not to eat them all in one go, fail at this, and admit it was worth it.


In Equine Assisted Therapy and Hippotherapy, horses influence us in ways that can help us recover from

illness. They say that as far back as ancient Greece, people saw the therapeutic benefits of being around horses without placing bets on them! Being with horses can help some of us to straighten ourselves out where other methods have failed. Equine Therapy can be used to help a psychosocial disability, or to help troubled teenagers. Bonding with our animals can give us an outlet for our feelings, help us to take responsibility and develop leadership. Hippotherapy is where the horse can, through its movements, actually influence or retrain the movements of the client. This can stimulate recovery in people with cerebral palsy, brain injury learning disorders and many other conditions. The therapy turns hard work and patience into something natural and ‘serene.’ Occupational therapists and Speech and Language Pathologists are some of the professions that might use Equine therapy. The Equine Psychotherapy website states that much of what can be learned applies to the real world. For instance, when students are just beginning a program, the instructor will have the horse stand in the middle of the arena. The youth is asked to get the horse to move outside of a large circle without touching the horse at all. Many of the students often

clap, whistle, yell… all to no avail. The lesson is that when people try to get us to do something, the best way is probably not clapping, whistling, forcing or yelling… whether we are talking about ourselves, parents, friends, counsellors or people in authority. Most often, when trying to lead a horse, they begin by trying to pull on a lead rope, standing in front of the horse. They learn that the best way to lead a horse is not in front or behind the horse, but by its side. This is a metaphor for the way people like to be treated. It is genuinely easier to motivate a person from their side than from a position of dominance or authority.

Warren Heggarty

Riding for the Disabled is an Australian organisation that conducts Equine and Hippotherapy

http://rda.org.au/riding-therapeutic.aspxRiding for the Disabled Queensland P.O.Box 529

Burpengary 4505, QLD, phone 07 3888 5277, [email protected]

Riding for the Disabled NSW, Sports House 6A Figtree Drive, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW 2127, 02 8116 9726

[email protected]

Web Sources: http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org http://www.equine-psychotherapy.com/equine.html

Equine Therapy

PHOTO BY MISS KELLY CHEUNG


From Trish’s speech

This speech is for everyone who has ISSUES.

Our medical diagnoses are used by health professionals to classify us and help us to rehabilitate, but we remain people, not mental illnesses. We are artists, poets and photographers. We all get up every morning and try to make a difference. We help fellow human beings by offer-ing a hug or a friendly word of encouragement.

To all those people who have picked up a camera and ven-tured into my photography workshop: you have helped me find my HOPEFUL VOICE!

Trisha offered me some pay and a new title, and I found a new attitude and a strength I’d never known before. I quickly learnt to be asser-tive and treat everyone with respect.

By pointing out beauty, I found beauty in myself. I also found it in others, in little smiles without regret, the smiles of people hopeful about the future.

- Patricia Merriman, delivered at Hopeful Voice Night

“Hopeful Voice”

Exhibitionby Jane Miller

The 4th annual “Hopeful Voice” exhibition was opened on Octo-ber 20th, 2012 at Penrith Regional Gallery and The Lewer’s Bequest in Emu Plains.

The Hopeful Voice initially began as a small art group in the Penrith of-fice of RFNSW facilitated by Amy Pa-ton, Tim Paton and Jane Miller. From these art workshops an exhibition was born, which the participant’s decided to call the “Hopeful Voice”. The Hopeful Voice being a bridge to the community through art to help demystify and destigmatise mental illness. The participant’s of the art groups helped to organise the exhi-bition and Penrith Regional Gallery and The Lewer’s Bequest through Penrith City Council loaned us the exhibition space.

In 2011 Westclub (PRA), Aftercare and Uniting Care were invited to join the art groups, which were held at St Marys Community Centre and members from the community could come along and participate.

In 2012 the art groups were held at Westclub in Penrith and at the Henry St offices. This year many of the art groups were facilitated by members whose skill and knowledge brought about a fresh and invigorated feel to the Hopeful Voice concept. Malcolm Nash, Trish Merriman, Cheryl Amin,

From Malcolm’s speech

In the months preceding the exhibition, Malcolm Nash conducted free art workshops through RichmondPRA at Westclub Penrith, with Cheryl Amin, assisted by Craig Holden, Caleb Barker and Jane Miller. Trish Merriman also worked incredibly hard in conducting free photo-graphic workshops.

‘I believe these workshops could be the foundation of something in-credible’ said Malcolm Nash at the opening night. ‘These workshops have given a voice to those with no voice… they have enabled all of us to grow… a chance to build our confidence.’

‘There is great art in each and every one of us regardless of disabil-ity or age, regardless of labels…

‘If you think you can’t create a good painting, well, think again. Just look at the great art around you.’

Angela Haber and Lisa Roylett were the facilitators across painting, drawing, photography and jewel-ery making. Many of the members also attended meetings, brought in fresh ideas, assisted in framing the artworks, and helped hang the artworks.

The Hopeful Voice exhibition open-ing was attended by many of the artists and their families as well as staff members. This year we had forty exhibiting artists and 120 works of arts across many creative mediums. These included painting, drawing, photography, jewellery, in-stallation and poetry. The standard of the artworks was exceptional and judging from the feedback received the artworks were appreciated by all of the viewers who attended over the four days of the exhibition.

Jane Miller Community art coordinator RichmondPRA

PHO

TO BY

TRISH M

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Painting: Craig Holder


Some highlights of The Hopeful Voice Exhibition 2012 at the Sonia Farley Studios of the Penrith Regional Gallery, Emu Plains 20 October 2012. Photos by Trish Merriman

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Hopeful VoiceMain photo teatures Cheryl Amin, some fabulous creatures and jewellery. Top middle of the page is a collaboratoin between Tom Penfold and Jane Miller. It is a sort of ‘starry day’ against a bright white sky. Far top right is by Susan Mayne and the beach below that is by Malcolm Nash. At the very bottom right is an assemblage by Jill Clark. To its left is anohter Sysan Mayne. And finally, you can almost smell the bush in this scene by Judy Panter. So it’s both clients AND staff who display big artistic talent. There were some more paintings on page 14 and still more that we weren’t able to include this issue which we hope to show in later issues.


Panorama has volleyball fever!!!

Read about our SUPER Volleyball day in Sydney on page 13.

More volleyball picnic day picspp.17and 18

Photos by Warren Heggarty

He’s a work of art, that CalebBarker of Westclub, Penrith. More on The Hopeful Voice inside pages 22-23

Volleyball:It’s not technically a deathsport(tell that to my busted fingers)

‘When am I going to get my photo taken for Panorama?’ asked Greg Leeson at the Harris Park Prestige Packing Company. “Right now, if you like,” said our oblig-ing editor, who took his photo at once. ‘How long have you worked here?’ ‘Thirty-one years!’ said Greg proud-ly. ‘Phew! Thirty-one years! I’d better take another picture then!’ said the editor. Anyway, here’s one of them…

The proverb warns that “You should not bite the hand that feeds you.” But maybe you should...if it prevents you from feeding yourself.

Thomas Szasz 1920-2012 see page 20

RichmondPRA Publications OfficerBox 3161 North Strath-field NSW 2137

STOP PRESSIan Kerr and Buckprint

With the closure of Buckprint Graphics, The Editor would like to acknowledge the contribution of Ian Kerr, who is leaving Richmond-PRA even as we go to press.

My bet is he’ll open a shoe shop on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, but we’ll see.

And to all the former employees of Buckprint who have put their indi-vidual stamp on the magazine, how will Grant and I cope???

All the best in your future endeav-ours and one day when Panorama is really big you’ll be able to say with pride “I did that!”

Warren Heggarty 11/12/2012

Panorama 46.pdf

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