Sustainability and Mental Health II

Hi all

My previous blog gave an overview of how the term 'sustainability' and mental health recovery are much the same thing.  In other words, things you can do to be friendly to the environment can also benefit your mental health, and there are plenty examples of this.  The conference that I referred to in the previous blog convened on Wednesday 12 October in Birmingham, and I was really pleased with the way it went.

Antony Cobley winning an award for University
Hospitals Birmingham community orchard

As I said before, nothing was groundbreaking.  The messages were fairly self explanatory and obvious, even, but to see real life examples where organisations use sustainability practices to improve patients mental health injected some real inspiration into proceedings.  All the academics tell us that sustainability and mental health can be achieved together, but seeing it actually happen is something else entirely.  The conference was successful, I thought, in showing real-life examples of how organisations that have been spurred on by individuals to create innovative mental health care ideas whilst also improving the environment.

Neil Deuchar set the scene; although he is retired from the health care scene now, he has years of experience and kicked off the conference with a passionate speech about how we need to do more as a society.  His idea that we need to not just consider the next generation, but the next seven generations in our thinking, was well received by every single delegate in the room.  This is true sustainability and got people thinking right from the outset about how positive an impact even small projects can have on people today and far into the future.

Next up was Julia Crear and Sallie Butt from Living Streets, who are trying to turn us into a walking nation, in spite of the British obsession with the car. They provided examples of how walking in groups can dramatically reduce social isolation, something I took great comfort from.  As a keen walker anyway, I was heartened to hear that walking can give such positive mental benefits.  I can feel this myself whenever I go out walking, I must admit.  Finally before the break, Caroline Hutton showed this wonderful video of the great work of Martineau Gardens and how their therapeutic horticulture programme brings people from the local community into nature, improving the environment and, again, how this can benefit recovering mental health patients.  Caroline's wish is to see these gardens exist in every area of the country allowing easy access for patients.  I really do hope this can happen!

After a refreshment break, we heard from Public Health England on how we cannot ignore the impacts of extreme weather when it comes to its impact on mental health patients.  I've been doing some research into this myself recently on behalf of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) and found that the impacts are becoming increasingly quantified, but as Thomas Waite explained, there is still a long way to go before we understand fully the impacts of heatwaves and flooding on things like distress, domestic violence and long-term depression.

Then came more inspiration, courtesy of two local hospital trusts.  First of all, Antony Cobley with support from Chris Blythe from The Conservation Volunteers spoke about the University Hospitals Birmingham's work with their mental health patients and outdoor activities, volunteering and their community orchard, which literally acts as a form of mental health recovery.  There followed BSMHFT with Neil Cross talking more from an internal perspective; what has this Trust done to improve their sustainability?  He outlined their impressive waste, energy and transport savings in terms of both carbon and money, crucial in tough economic times.  Neil's presentation was very honest, though, and this was appreciated by the audience; he knew that he wanted to do more, particularly on the climate resilience side, to understand which of their premises and therefore their patients were most at risk from extreme weather.

The final 20 minutes of the workshop was spent with the delegates being asked to think of actions that they are going to take back to their organisation and their office afterwards.  I scribbled a spider diagram of these ideas during the session.  It struck me that people were inspired; what you have to remember is that most people attending the conference came from either a sustainability/environmental background or a mental health care background.  As such, one of the biggest successes of the event was to bring people from these two backgrounds together; this is crucial, and surely if these two different types of practitioners worked together they could achieve some excellent results and develop some inspiring projects.  Working together is, of course, crucial in times of low resources and to bring about funding opportunities.

This is the whole ethos of the organisation I work for.  I hope that, given our troubled times financially, we can carry on bringing these people and ideas together.

So all in all it was a successful, enjoyable and inspiring event.  I think the gap that remains, though, is a significant one.  When a person is in crisis, at their lowest ebb, what are the chances of them coming across an initiative like Martineau Gardens, or trying out a walking club, or using their community orchard?  Do they even know such things exist, and if so, would they be aware that they aid mental health recovery?  Even if they did, when you're at your lowest point, you can't possibly fathom such actions making any difference to your living nightmare.  So what we need is two things: 1) Better signposting and use of such initiatives.  But most importantly 2), a recognition that these schemes are not replacements for receiving adequate mental health treatment, whether it be talking therapy, medication or hypnotherapy. They can be complementary methods, of course, but not replacements. Sadly, mental health care in the UK is in meltdown and the sooner the government get their fingers out from their profit making materialistic backsides the better.  

You can find all of the outputs from the workshop on this webpage.

Best wishes
Al

Sustainability and Mental Health I

You may have seen on Twitter that I am lucky enough to be running a Sustainability and Mental Health Conference as part of my job on 12 October.  I will write part II of this blog after the conference to reflect on the event and the speakers and discussion that I pick up on during the day.  Of course, had resources allowed I would like to have done more than just run a half-day conference, but it's still better than nothing and allows people to understand the links between what sustainability is perceived as, and mental health care and recovery.

Martineau Gardens near Birmingham

My conclusion prior to the event - after which I suspect this conclusion will be reinforced - is that sustainability and mental health recovery, in particular, are part of the same thing.

First of all, what do we mean by 'sustainability?'  It's such a broad term, a bit like 'environment' or 'resilience.'  I'm not going to bore you by providing a series of definitions that exist on sustainability, such as 'living within our means both now and in the future,' but this is the general premise.  One issue I still have to grapple with as part of my day job is that when people say the word 'sustainability' they instantly think of 'climate change,' or at the very least 'the environment.'  I think in most cases by 'environment' we're referring to things like nature - trees, forests, animals etc.

This isn't wrong, and indeed climate change and the natural environment are hugely important components of a 'sustainable' future.  Incidentally, both of these aspects are being hugely neglected at present, I believe. 

However, sustainability is also about addressing health inequalities, improving economic productivity and achieving social justice.  Ensuring that this country can overcome its current NHS crisis, for example, is hugely important for sustainability, otherwise millions of vulnerable people and those with health - physical and mental - problems will be at risk, which of course is not remotely sustainable for our future.  Sustainability is about everything and everyone - which is why the term isn't too helpful in many ways.

Indeed, the vision of the organisation I work for is: "By 2020 businesses and communities are thriving in a West Midlands that is environmentally sustainable and socially just." Businesses suggests economy, social justice suggests fairness and wellbeing. 'Environmental' is just one part of it.

So, with all this in mind, ensuring that our mental health care is 'sustainable' is massively important in terms of us achieving this vision, but also for the country as a whole.  Like the NHS, it isn't inaccurate to say that mental health care is currently in crisis; I recently attend North Staffs Mind's 40th anniversary lecture which focused on this very issue. So looking at how you can combine different aspects of sustainability to improve mental health care and the livelihoods of patients, without relying as heavily on the NHS, is crucial.  Indeed, to call the forthcoming conference 'Sustainability and Mental Health Conference' is almost inaccurate - as they are part of the same thing.

But there are small things that individuals with mental health problems can do themselves to help in their recovery and make it less likely of their need to be a burden on the NHS. Because let's face it - every single one of us is a burden on our NHS at the moment as we collectively abuse such a wonderful system.  There are various academic studies and practical examples that provide the evidence for the benefits of undertaking these 'small things,' which I won't quote here as there are too many, and because the Conference on 12 October will do a lot of this for me.  However, in summary, some of the brief examples are:

- Walking, especially in the countryside. Those who have followed my blog for the past four or so years will understand my passion around this and how it has benefited me over the years.  Walking is not only good environmentally - getting out of the car - and for your physical health, but there is strong evidence to support the mental health benefits too. That's why I'm delighted that Living Streets will be speaking at the Conference on 12th.

- Cycling - much the same as walking.  It is more vigorous and physically stimulating and may not be beneficial for those, like myself, who suffered badly from health anxiety (heart rate increase = thoughts of a heart attack = panic attack... etc) but over time it can be equally as beneficial.  Indeed, I have started cycling in the past few months and I'm reaping the benefits.  Sadly in both the cases of walking and cycling, our country is wedded to and has been designed for the car - hence why there is an obesity epidemic and public transport provision and infrastructure is being slashed.

- Gardening/horticulture. Now this isn't something I know much about so I'm keen to listen to the Director of Martineau Gardens at the conference. They offer something called 'horticultural therapy' which in simplistic terms allows people in mental health recovery to help in the Gardens.  It can be relaxing and rewarding and of course, gardening and improving green spaces more generally is good for the environment.  Far too much of our land is being paved on at present, damaging wildlife and causing more flash flooding, to name but two examples.  There is also the wonderful NHS Forests initiative; some hospitals that have taken up this programme have effectively developed a forest within their grounds that offers a calming place for recovery of patients of both physical and mental health issues.

Negative consequences of our environment can also cause mental distress. One key example of this is flooding, which, if severe or frequent enough, can cause significant levels of anxiety and depression in people whose homes get washed out.  People with pre-existing mental health conditions are also less likely to be prepared or aware of extreme weather events, such as a heatwave, leading to a greater risk of physical problems and, lo and behold, an even more negative impact on mental health.  Such cycles are only likely to worsen in future.  I'm pleased that Public Health England, who are supporting the conference, will be talking about this very issue.

I could go on, as there will be numerous other examples where sustainability refers to both improving the environment and people's mental health as part of the same thing. The two agendas should be worked on together, as almost always something that improves our struggling environment will also have a positive impact on people's mental health and wellbeing, thus alleviating pressure on our creaking NHS.

I'm so pleased that I am in a job that allows me to run this conference.  It won't be groundbreaking, that's for sure, but what it will do is showcase some excellent examples of local action that benefits 'sustainability' - in all of its forms.  That, combined with attendance from a passionate and compassionate bunch of delegates, from the NHS, local authorities and elsewhere, who strive every day to do their best for the world and their patients.

I will blog again after the conference and share my thoughts from the day.  Before then, I'm off to Wales (as it now tradition - fifth year running!) on Tuesday to Saturday for a break filled with sustainable walking.  

Best wishes
Al