Refugees

Sadly Australia witnesses the daily tragedy of refugees from around the world fleeing their homeland. It must take a tremendous trauma to make you think of leaving your homeland, family, friends, culture, language and livelihood and seek a new world. While we debate the lawlessness of 'people smugglers' and the flimsy boats they use to bring people here ad understand that it is our sovereign right to protect our shores, where is the humanity, ethics of care when we arrest them, detain them for years, place these people in deserts, isolated islands and places we would not want to live in and then break up families all in the name of security. Most of these people are not terrorists but genuine refugees I assume. Most terrorists are home-grown or fly in on an expensive jet with red carpet treatment. 
If you placed yourself in the shoes of the refugee for a moment you would understand how lucky we are in this country and how terrifying the world can be. We should welcome these people and provide a safe ' environment while 'processing' them. Even the word processing shows a dehumanising attitude. I am sure if you were in the refugee's shoes you would request better treatment. You would want to be integrated into the new homeland as soon as possible and welcomed by your neighbours.
The long term abuse and neglect is making their trauma even worse. Sometimes this can effect many future generations with traumatic stress.The political response however seems to forget that these are fellow humans in need. We send millions of dollars of aid overseas but cannot deal with need on our doorstep. Where are the voices of those people advocating for refugees rights? You do not hear them above the politicians gaining political mileage out of their suffering. We need to start lobbying for human rights.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal process in our bodies, akin to fear. Without it we would not survive. In one context it is a pleasurable experience when we use it for bravery, courage, facing our fears and taking on mountain climbing, sailing, assignments, difficult situations when we can find a positive outcome. It motivates us.
                  Here we have a welcome response.
Clearly the flight or fight response is useful in survival. We don't often face predators in our modern life but we do have to deal with car accidents, robberies, threats by violent people, the taxman, bank statements and the legal system to name a few.
                 This is a normal response.
Anxiety related to internal thoughts that threaten us are not helpful. The body responses are seen as unwelcome and scary in their own right. Tingling hands and lips, sweaty palms, shaking, palpitations and shortness of breath coupled with nausea, tummy pain, loose bowels and urgency to pass urine, at its worse fainting, remind us that the anxious thoughts of our mind are intricately interwoven with our body responses.
                 This is when people need help.
What can be done. There are medications that help.Xanax is the worst choice. Antidepressants and anxiolytics are very useful.
Breathing exercises can reverse the body responses. Meditation can stop the anxiety altogether. Learning how to manage conscious thoughts is useful. Socialising, having fun, thinking about happy thoughts, other people, giving to others can block the anxiety, unless you have social anxiety of course. Facing your fears and winning helps considerably. Exercise helps reduce the adrenalin.
Help is available. See you general practitioner.
Anxiety is normal.
About one in three people have abnormal anxiety, so it is common.

Environmental Debate

Save the planet and psychiatry?
Many psychiatric problems are medically induced. If we look at our pollutants, air, water, food, fabrics and building materials then we see the bigger picture. Irrespective of the longer term issues of climate change, short term issues of pollution are intuitively important reasons to consider moving away from fossil fuels.
Money, an important cause of stress, trying to get some, keep some and save some for later use. Buying less will save a lot of stress. Most of what we buy we do not need. 30% of the food we buy rots in our fridge. Make your own, grow your own, buy less, eat less produced food, buy less clothes, technology and save your working life from causing you stress.
Spend more time with friends. Less time isolated in front of the computer with virtual friends and more time connecting with other people is a good way to ensure mental well being. This cares for our social environment. Do some voluntary work, maybe even related to . to saving our planet. It is good for you as well as good for the greater scheme of things. So many people feel that their life has little value. It could have huge value if you look around at the need in this world seeking someone to lead the way.
Thanks to the inspiration of 1 million women, presentation last night at the PowerHouse in Brisbane and the leadership of Natalie Isaacs.
www.1millionwomen.com.au

Grief

Today the people in Christchurch honour the loss of friends and family in their community following the earthquakes. Who can believe that a year has passed so quickly.  Loss and grief are normal parts of life. It is only that we love and are attached to people that makes it so painful. A life without love is very empty however. So we have to cope with loss as an integral part of love. It creates anxiety for us in relationships because the threat of loss, rejection and abandonment is ever present.
If however we are happy with our own company, have good self esteem then others are not those we depend upon, we depend upon ourselves. We can then quickly move to thanks for the times spent together and the wonderful memories which make life rich. If we live in the present moment, laying down the memories of those experiences rather than always anxious lest they pass, life becomes richer. Grief becomes normal. The ritual of letting go, like honouring the dead in community fellowship, are important ways of finding the support in the present to make it easier to cope. 

Stigma

Much has been written and said about the stigma of mental illness. In reality it means that people suffer in silence rather than seek help because they don't want to admit they have a problem to themselves or others. It is very real. At one end of the scale there are increased insurance fees, Jet's Law which means you have to give this information to the Main Roads Department in Queensland, with no confidentiality and then the employers who will not employ you or the friends and family who abandon you. Sociologists call this deviancy theory, meaning it resides in the group that is rejecting you because it is their way of defining themselves as not ill at your expense.The 1980s saw a process of de-institutionalisation to decrease stigma, but probably more to decrease running costs. It did not really work. An advertising campaign to educate the community about mental illness may have been helpful but I have seen no research to prove that this is so.
The problem is that it comes from within us all. We can accept an invasive germ causing medical illness and freely talk about other organs and systems failures but we have a collective denial that our minds and brains are inextricably one and feel that brain disorder is clearly different to mental disorder. A problem of Cartesian thinking no doubt.
Mental functioning however is higher end processing and clearly more important than body. We need both of course but one can live well without a toe, not without a mind. If we use the computer metaphor.  We need the hardware of course but if the software is not working, wrong program, wrong language, has programming problems, the result is dysfunction. Changing the program, re-booting will mean return to full function. That is the same as mental illness.
Thankfully advances in psychiatric care, pharmacological as well as psychotherapies means that the outcomes for most people are good and return to normal living. So if we talk about the good outcomes more than the scary process of the illness hopefully we de-stigmatise mental illness and become a caring society.

Youth Mental Health

This weekend I attended the first youth mental health forum in Melbourne. It was run by the College and chaired by Prof Patrick McGorry.
Youth- our investment in the future,
are suffering the vast majority of mental health problems.
With timely interventions, they can deal with the problems, have great outcomes and avoid the accumulation of problems that mental illness causes by interrupting education, relationships, family relationships, social skills and developing sense of self. The wonderful young people who co-chaired the event were proof of this.
It is a pity that the detractors outside the conference picketing that we are only interested in medications, did not come to the conference as they would have seen that this is not so. All of the conference was about the non-medication treatment of mental illness.
We are left with some problems.
     Manpower- how to get enough psychiatrists in the field.
     Access- how to help young people identify their problem and know where to seek help
     Families- also need support as they are going through the pain as well.
     Rural needs are especially difficult given this large country of ours.
     Most young people use their friends for help- how can the friends help and what does this do to the friends- such a huge responsibility.
     Adult services are inadequate, too severe and do not understand the needs of young people.
     Youth 12-26 years of age straddles our traditional child, adult model of the magical number of 18 years and results in a sudden abandonment of services.
     Funding resources excludes general practitioners and psychiatrists and therefore excludes access to these important services for young people.
What are your thoughts tot he solutions?

Psychiatrist

Dr Joyce Arnold
     Bachelor of medicine, Bachelor of surgery
     Master of Arts (psychoanalytic studies)
     Master of ethics and Legal studies
     Master of Business Administration
     Master of Online Education
     Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry
     Certificate of accreditation in child and       adolescent psychiatry
Member of the Faculties of Psychotherapies, Forensic Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and SIG Philosophy and Psychiatry,
    
Sixth Floor
Watkins Medical.
225 Wickham Terrace
Spring Hill, 4000
Queensland
Australia
phone 07 38395626
E-mail, drjoycearnold6120a@gmail.com

• Child and adolescent psychiatrist
• General adult psychiatrist
• Forensic psychiatrist
• Psychotherapist

Welcome to my blog.
Please add comments or ask questions.

Attachment-anxious.

Mother and child attachment underlies attachment theory and therapy. Many women are so worried about their mothering such fragile things as a newborn baby, especially when its the first time. Talk about a steep learning curve. There is always so much information and advise that the whole thing becomes overwhelming. Even the most educated and intelligent mothers can find that the knowledge is tacit and not available in a book. In the first days it can be difficult to learn to communicate with your baby as he talks a whole new language. It takes time for both of you to learn this. Relax.
Your baby communicates through emotion. If you are stressed, he will be stressed.
Easy to say. Sleep out the window, a whole new responsibility. No adults to talk to any more. Your body is still a blimp. Your husband is rushing out the door to fulfil his role as provider and grateful to escape. All the congratulations and presents and focus on the baby and nothing for you.
You feel guilty that you would rather be at work, at least that has routines and coffee breaks.
All this is understandable and normal.
Meditate.
Take time away.
Stroll in the park.
Listen to lovely music.
Show your baby that you are in charge of you and not your baby (comes in handy by the time they are 16 and want the car).
Show your baby the joy of life. Show him the flowers, trees, birds. Read to your baby ( from Day 1).
Keep up with your friends and have fun. make new friends who have babies and know how to cope.
One night a week, for you and your partner. Let your baby know your relationship is in control.
Relax. Women have raised babies from times before there were guidebooks or education. Watch and listen to your baby. Try to figure out he he is. What can he be thinking. How is he responding to sound, smell, touch, the dog, the car, music, the fresh air. Massage your baby- they love it.
Anxious babies don't sleep well, don't eat well, scream a lot, vomit, need lots of comforting. Their constant demands make you further stressed, worn out and resentful.
If you are having ongoing problems, think of your own mental health. Post natal depression and anxiety are treatable. See your family doctor- that is what they are there for.