Mark sought help from mental health services after believing his TV was mocking himBenfleet mental health patient Mark tells his story<\/p>\n
When Mark started believing that the TV was talking to him, he realised that \u201cenough was enough\u201d \u2013 he needed help. Mark was extremely unwell, and experiencing intense periods of paranoia, bipolar, and schizoaffective disorder.<\/p>\n
Eight years into treatment at St Andrew\u2019s Healthcare in Benfleet, Mark points to music and therapy as bringing him hope for the future. Now, he couldn\u2019t be without music, which he says helps him with everyday tasks.<\/p>\n
The 50\u2011year\u2011old said: \u201cI\u2019ve come a long way since I\u2019ve been [at St Andrew\u2019s]. I\u2019ve done a lot of work on myself. The main thing in my life is still music. I get through my days better with music. When I first arrived at St Andrew\u2019s and found out there was a music room, I was over the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark was first admitted to hospital, experiencing complex mental health conditions. He said: \u201cI was talking to the TV and I thought it was talking back. I thought people were mocking me and laughing at me. I\u2019ve been to hell and back with drugs too, but I reached a point where I realised enough was enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cBecause of all the music sessions, the therapy, and the staff here saying they believe in me more than I believe in myself, I\u2019m starting to acknowledge that I can do things if I put my mind to it. I\u2019ve got so much hope now.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mental health has improved thanks to his headphones, which help him to do everyday tasks. \u201cI don\u2019t like getting on buses without music. I suffer with paranoia bad, and when people start chatting and laughing, I [think] straightaway \u2018oh they\u2019re laughing about you, Mark, and talking about you,\u2019 which they\u2019re probably not. When I\u2019ve got my headphones on, I blank everyone out. I\u2019m all right, I\u2019m on my own there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alongside music therapy, Mark has also started attending gym sessions with St Andrew\u2019s Healthcare\u2019s onsite sports therapist. Mark said: \u201cI\u2019ve started weight\u2011lifting, which has really helped because exercise gets your endorphins working. When I look back at who I was before I came here, I don\u2019t recognise myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, all I had was darkness. Gradually, little by little, light started to appear. And now, I don\u2019t just see a light – I see a floodlight. I have nothing but hope for my future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Samantha Dove, Clinical Director for Essex, who has overseen Mark\u2019s care, said: \u201cMark\u2019s story highlights why it\u2019s so important to offer a range of therapeutic approaches. Here at St Andrew\u2019s we recognise that bespoke treatment is vital to ensure people receive care that reflects their individual needs, interests and strengths, alongside clinical support.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople respond in different ways, and for Mark, music and physical activity became a vital part of his recovery alongside clinical care. Mental Health Awareness Week is a reminder that when we listen to what matters to individuals and support them in different ways, recovery becomes possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark sought help from mental health services after believing his TV was mocking himBenfleet mental health patient Mark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":675867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":["post-675866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}