Tag: mental health

Patient Stories – People Managing Chronic Conditions

The Agency for Clinical Innovation is an Australian organization seeking to promote innovation and implementation of innovation in healthcare. Their site offers a range of resources including narratives, networks, and information. Under the resources tab, they offer five patient stories about managing chronic illness with the stated purpose: “These patient story videos highlight the importance of self-management and coordinated care to support people living with chronic conditions.”

One of the featured videos titled “Kay’s Story,” provides an interview of Kay describing her experience and relationship with chronic illness, specifically diabetes, Graves’ Disease, and COPD. These diagnoses led to Kay developing agoraphobia, a fear of leaving one’s home or going outside. She reached out for help and support through the Aboriginal Medical Service, which provided her with steps to begin building confidence in going out, and self-managing her chronic illness and agoraphobia. The tone of the video is uplifting and positive, and she describes how this support allowed her to overcome her agoraphobia and begin practicing and advocating for self management.

Brief stories useful for undergraduates, especially pre-health majors. Also community groups looking for ideas to promote wellness.

“Rosario Tijeras” Jorge Franco

“Rosario Tijeras” by Jorge Franco is a Colombian novel that explores the world of drug trafficking and its impact on individuals. The story follows Rosario as she grapples with the trauma of sexual abuse, which has driven her into a life of crime within the violent drug trade. The novel also delves into Rosario’s mental health and the relationships she forms. Additionally, it sheds light on the effects of child sexual abuse and the physical toll of her criminal lifestyle as they lead to hospitalization. Undergraduates would be highly motivated by the storyline, dialect and characters. 160 pages, only available in print or electronic (paid) edition, but inexpensive ($10 used) and readily available.

“Una puerta se abre” por Adolfo Bioy Caseras

Almeyda considers suicide through internal dialogue that evokes the struggle to weigh life-sustaining alternatives against death. His contemplation turns surreal in an encounter with the idea that “time heals everything” and the possibility to sleep for 100 years. Theme throughout the story is that even in the darkest moments, there are options and opportunities to overcome life’s challenges. The final twist, with the reappearance of a key character, emphasizes that love and human connection can overcome even the most desperate times, making clear that suicide is not reasonable or desirable. 10 pages, upper intermediate readers; Argentinian dialect. Useful for a Latin American literature course.

Tuve Depresión Postparto Dos Veces y Nunca Me La Diagnosticaron

Describes a woman’s experience with two bouts of undiagnosed postpartum depression. She explains her thoughts and experiences of feeling unable to take care of her children and how these were largely ignored by health professionals. Story is framed with Q&A about postpartum depression: symptoms, frequency, treatment, etc. Acessible, magazine-style 10 minute read, intermediate and native speakers; good discussion starter for a community group.

El misterio del duelo, aprenda cómo estar presente

This story describes the pain of a mother who gave up a foster daughter, Coco. A year later, she adopted a baby boy, and described this grief to the social worker, noticing that having language to describe the specific loss – “duelo por falta de derechos,” – ‘grief because you have no rights (to keep the child)’ – helped the family move on. 10 minute read, upper intermediate level.

Depression Quest

This is a choose-your-own adventure game that aims to illustrate what having depression is like, specifically for those who have not experienced or have not been diagnosed with depression. The creators stress on the opening page that the game is not representative of everyone’s experience with depression, but is an amalgamation of different or shared experiences from people with depression. Each “level” has a different description of what the character, you, do or can do throughout the day. You then have the opportunity to choose between a few options that lead to different results or storylines. Some of the options are portrayed as beneficial while others are harmful. Some levels, specifically when the character’s depression is particularly extreme, show answers that are red-lined and unavailable to us, although we can read them. There are many different endings that appear depending on what choices you make throughout the game, meaning that everyone in the class who plays could have a different outcome or experience, which can lead to an opportunity for discussion.

The creators end the game with this message : “Instead of a tidy ending, we want to just provide a series of outlooks to take moving forward. After all, that’s all we can really do with depression – just keep moving forward. And at the end of the day it’s our outlook, and support from people just like you, that makes all the difference in the world.”

This narrative experience could be used to discuss themes such as immersive and experiential learning, including controversial learning models such as disability simulations It can also be used to discuss what we value in narratives: does the ability to act as the character immerse us more? Do we feel distanced without an author to connect with? The game play could be supplemented with other reading materials to compare and contrast different uses of narrative. When the game was released, it was also caught up in the “gamer-gate controversy” (described in a New Yorker feature article: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/zoe-quinns-depression-quest). This larger context for the game could prompt discussion about stigma associated with depression, and the appropriateness of using a “game” to educate in this way.

Users have the option to “play for free” or “pay what you want.”

Mental health Poems for Teens

The Poets.Org website of the Academy of American Poets has curated this collection of 14 poems related to mental health that were selected for teen readers (part of a series of “Poetry for Teens” on various topics). Some themes throughout the poetry are depression, anxiety, as well as hope and resilience. Each poem includes a description of some of the themes within it as well as details about the author. The pieces span a range of time periods and a variety of authors with different backgrounds including, for example, Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath, as well as Naomi Shihab Nye and Ada Limón.

Community Conversations – Epiphany’s Story

In this short video posted by the Medical College of Wisconsin, Epiphany Gold, shares her experience with depression. As the pandemic started, Epiphany struggled with her mental health due to the isolation, losing her mom, and failing her nursing exams, something that had been an anchor for her. Epiphany shares how she no longer felt like she could continue to go on, not even for her child which was the sign that she needed to go therapy. She reflects how she feels therapy saved her as well as her life. This video engages with the topic of what it means to be in relation to others, specifically your child, while struggling with mental health. This video could be used to explore ways in which systems, or the lack thereof, of social support aid in the general well being of people, especially in regard to mental health.

Personal Stories of Mental Health

Black Dog Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to medical research related to mental health. This online collection houses 18 different stories related to mental health (including bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety, depression), each representing the lived experiences of those who wrote them. Each story has a short description. A majority of the stories are from patient perspectives while some of them are based around a provider narrative. Since the themes throughout the stories vary so much, this site could be utilized in any syllabus focused on mental health. Such stories show the personalizing of diagnoses as well as show variability in how they are experienced, which can help to expand the general notions and stereotypes that are held around mental health

Jeraldine’s Story: There is Hope

This is one of several stories on the Patient & Family Storytelling website. The story begins with Jeraldine’s traumatic early childhood experiences and continues to describe her alcoholism and its impact on her life. Following treatment for cancer and liver disease, she reconnects with her culture. The story could prompt discussion of intergenerational trauma and its health impacts as well as the importance of providing culturally appropriate healthcare services that address trauma and holistic care.