Mentors for Mental Illness sufferers
The road to recovery from severe mental illness doesn’t have to be a solitary journey thanks to a new program launched by ANGLICARE in East and South East Sydney on July 27.
The Personal Helpers and Mentors (PHaM) program based at ANGLICARE Sydney’s Bondi Beach centre provides support for those wanting to reclaim their lives from depression, anxiety, panic attacks, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental health issues.
According to ANGLICARE’s Jill Wrathall, mental illness can rob people of the confidence and ability to organise their lives and plans for the future.
“In some cases it has stood in the way of education, employment, stability and happy relationships.
“This program is unique because it deals with the day to day – helping with basic things such as housekeeping and the shopping.
“Participants are encouraged to make small steps toward their own goals for recovery by focussing on their strengths.”
PHaM recognises people with mental illness often feel isolated and disconnected from the community in which they live.
“Connections with people and activities that bring some joy is vital,” Says Ms Wrathall.
“The biggest hope we have for the program is that participants develop a sense of hope.
“Every person needs to have a vision of a hopeful future and without that, living can be painful or meaningless.”
PHaM is funded by the Federal Department of Families and Housing, Community Service and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA).
Those wishing to learn more about the PHaM program can contact ANGLICARE directly on (02) 8362 3700 or through their GP or mental health professional.
A journey through Depression and back
Mignon Trethewey experienced her first episode of major depression as a 13 year-old.
“I didn’t understand what was going on and once I got over it, my family sort of put it aside,” she says.
“No one recognised depression the way they do today and in the years that followed as I began to socialise in my teens, drinking became my way of coping.
Over the next 15 years, Mignon’s schooling and close relationships fell by the wayside as she became more and more isolated from family and society.
“I couldn’t work or maintain a job. I was moving a lot and at times was homeless and living in squats.”
“I felt there was something wrong with me. I even knew it was psychological but had no idea there was a treatment for my problem,” she says.
At 28 years of age, Mignon happened to visit a GP for a physical problem who recognised and diagnosed her with major depression.
“He told me that after a couple of weeks of medication I would start to feel better.
“My reaction was relief – it was the most relief I had ever felt in my life.”
Recovery from the effects of depression has been a long and challenging road.
“I was extraordinarily shy and didn’t feel confident I could pursue anything for any length of time,” explains Mignon.
“Getting through an interview and being employed seemed impossible.
“But I was lucky to work with a psychiatrist who encouraged me to get involved in activities that interested me as a way of meeting people.
“I went on to study and teach horticulture and met people through the botanic gardens and gardening groups.
“Around that time, I had a child and began making friends through involvement with school.”
When Mignon’s depression relapsed the new friendships helped to carry her through.
Today she is reunited with her family and maintains a relationship with them.
Looking back, Mignon says medication allowed her to take steps back toward a normal life and society but she maintains recovery is about more than being stable on medication.
“With the help of peers and people who understood mental illness I was able to meet goals I never thought possible,” she says.
“Life can be full and wonderful – that’s what I’d like to say to people who are just beginning their recovery.”
Today, Mignon Trethewey is a Peer Support Worker with the Personal Helpers and Mentors program run by ANGLICARE Sydney.
