Vhi HealthClub

Mental Health Early Detection

I visit Dublin's St John of Gods hospital to hear about a new quick response mental health service called the 'Detect Project' led by consultant Dr Eadbhard O'Callaghan which can save lives and help prompt a full recovery. Mr O'Callaghan talks to us about the importance of early detection and also that the average time it takes for detection of mental illness in the Republic is 2 years.

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(3 mins 30 sec)

New Mental Health initiative can save lives.

In the past, when a patient presented to a GP in a suicidal situation it was often difficult for GP’s to get access to the correct mental health services. A new fast track referral service has been developed and is based in Blackrock in Dublin. With the aim of early intervention in crisis situations and giving patients the help they need quickly, the new service is now operating on a three year pilot. Aileen O Meara talks to some of the people behind the initiative about the added benefits of a more comprehensive and flexible mental health assessment unit including Dr Moran who hopes the initiative will be of great benefit to GP’s.

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(2 minutes 44 secs)

Headstrong – A Youth Mental Health Organisation

Headstrong is an organization set up to tackle issues around Youth mental health. Bob Illback from Headstrong moved to Ireland from the US, wanting to make a difference. Here he tells Aileen O Meara how pilot youth projects like ‘The Gaf’ in Galway are great starting blocks while we need for resources for our young people. Bob suggests possible reasons for stress among young people such as the rate of change in Ireland and the transition from childhood to adulthood. More information on Headstrong can be found on www.headstrong.ie

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(4 minutes 55 secs)

The Stress of Change

Dealing with change in our lives can be stressful, especially as we get older. Stress expert Karen Belshaw explains that we go through three stages when coping with change before accepting the change and that there are three types of person that each deal with change in very different ways. Karen also gives her top tips on how to reduce the stress of change!

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(4 minutes 09 secs)

Bi-Polar Disorder – One Man’s Story

The frantic highs and the terrible lows, the symptoms of Bi Polar disorder lie ‘like a mental weight on your shoulders’ in the words of Padraig Allen, a Bi-Polar sufferer. Padraig talks through his own experience being diagnosed with Bi- Polar disorder and living with severe depression and a loss of reality. He describes himself as having ‘lost touch with reality’ and being hospitalised for long periods. The cost was ultimately his work and family life but improved treatment and modern drug therapy has allowed him to re-build his life. Padraig is now on Lithium medication which he says has changed his life and allows him to live a ‘normal life’. Everyone, he says, should reach out and find help if they are worried about depression or severe mental illness.

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(4 minutes 10 secs)

Men & Stress

Stress – it affects all of us at one time or another, but how we cope with stress is very different between men and women. We hear from men on the street about what stresses them out, and how they do or don’t cope, while stress counsellor Karen Belshaw joins Aileen O’Meara to talk about men, stress and the, what Karen calls, classic behaviour of men seeking the company of other men, even just for a quit pint, to cope with their stress.  Tune in to hear more about coping with stress and about changing our ‘self-talk’ as Karen calls it to enjoy a more stressfree life.

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(3 minutes 15 secs)

Grief in the work place – Helping you back on your feet

Bereavement after the loss of a loved one can be very difficult to deal with. We all cope in different ways and experience different levels of emotional, physical and spiritual impact. Breffni McGuinness, the training officer of the Irish Hospice Foundation talks to Aileen O Meara about dealing with bereavement and how to handle grief in the workplace. He stresses that we all feel uncomfortable around death and that this is a normal response. Knowing what to say to a colleague can be difficult so we should let the bereaved say as much or as little as they wish and just let them know we are there. Tune in to hear all of Breffni’s advice and contact details for training courses coping with bereavement.

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(3 minutes 50 secs)