# MHApps Take Control – Work – Importance of Employment Occupation Or Work In Recovery

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- Work People who experience mental ill health want the same things as everyone else. A place to live, money in their pocket and friends to socialise with.
  The discrimination, or stigma, that people with mental health issues face, makes the achievement of these simple things very difficult indeed.
- Work is not the only way to fill a day Unemployment rates for people with disabilities remains very high and people with mental ill health are even less likely to gain employment in the open market. Many have found Community Employment Schemes to be a very valuable experience, offering as they do, part time commitment and opportunities for training.
  Many people also do not feel they want the pressure and anxiety of work in the commercial world. This is not just a “lazy” response; it is a very valid lifestyle choice for some. Once you remove the money, what most people want is a life in their day. Somewhere to go where they will feel valued, meet people, talk, have a bite to eat. Many people develop a flow to their week, a morning doing this, an afternoon or two at something else, a day at home watching the television.
  Society tends to frown on such a non-driven approach to life. Unemployed and retired people often struggle to develop a sense of value outside of the workforce by which they have been almost totally defined.

- Living life in a personally meaningful way, at least as many days as we can, is a wholly reasonable thing to do.

- The solution to improving employment opportunities for people with mental ill health is, in the end, a matter of continuing to campaign for better social inclusion overall, so that all levels of our society recognise and step up to their role in the elimination of unfounded prejudice and discrimination. For the individual, knowing what you want, setting realistic targets and working with someone who can guide you to the best training, education or voluntary experience are still vital first steps.
  The National Economic and Social Forum produced a comprehensive report on Mental Health and Social Inclusion in October 2007. Part of the learning of this report was that there was a lack of hard evidence relating to the area of work. As a result, they undertook research into the attitudes of employers and employees on their experience of mental health needs in the workforce.
  They concluded, as many others have, that work is a very important element of recovery.
- Work is the best route to recovery Employment is the best protection against social exclusion. However, only a fifth of people with severe and enduring mental ill health in Ireland are employed. Only 20% of Irish companies have a written policy on mental health, yet nearly all employers would welcome information and guidance in this area. There are negative attitudes among employers, with risks for employees in disclosing a mental health difficulty. Those with recent mental ill-health experience found the workplace more challenging and reported more negative attitudes among employers.” (Mental Health and Social Inclusion. National Economic and Social Forum. Report No 36. Summary).

- “I thought to myself, if only it was a drug addiction, something could be done, we would support her and be there for her, but this... she sat there with no motivation or any idea of what she should do. If she wasn’t crying she was just staring into space, I am ashamed to say it now, but I shook her until I could shake no more, all the time screaming at her, to please help herself.”

- “When a patient comes into the hospital, especially for the first time, they are often accompanied by their parents or family members, who are extremely upset and as bewildered as the client. We try to be as understanding as possible, but to be honest with you there is so much going on it is hard to find the time to address everybody’s needs. As nurses we are the ones who have the most contact with the clients and their family. We can’t always talk freely about what is happening. Sometimes because we don’t know, but sometimes because we know it’s going to be a long day or night and telling people the truth might not be particularly helpful at that point. Also, the patient is an adult. We can’t talk about them without them knowing about it. We do try to reassure families, but they need a lot more time, often more than we have available. At that point they have often been through a lot of high octane situations and a few minutes is not going to square all that off.”

- When you are admitted to any hospital ward there are so many forms to fill out. One of the reasons for this is that the Mental Health Act 2001 governs your admission. There is usually the interview with a registrar, from which he/she makes a decision on the best course of action. They may believe that you need to be admitted for observation. Or, they may decide that you should be discharged and you will be given an appointment to attend a Community Mental Health Clinic to see a psychiatrist there. If you are admitted, then there is a personal information form, a medical assessment form, followed by a nursing assessment, then a property form. After this you will be shown your bed or cubicle.

Work
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