Surviving Suicidal Urges is an e-Resource sharing tips for recovery from the storytellers in The Butterfly Diaries, Vol 1.
The Butterfly Diaries is a creative book project sharing true stories of hope and transformation from people who have made it through the experience of being suicidal.
Storytellers took part in an interview and writers used the interview notes to turn their stories into creative works of fiction. The interview notes were also used to summarise each of the storytellers’ recovery strategies. These have now been collected together in the e-Resource Surviving Suicidal Urges.
Order a copy of the free book online to get the full story behind each set of tips.
You can find permanent links to this e-Resource on the Information Resources and Butterfly Diaries sections of the Engage Aotearoa website at www.engagenz.co.nz.
An important new forum for strengthening self-determination in mental-health recovery has been launched on the Changing Minds website – a brand new blog called The C Word.
The latest blog post on ‘The C Word’ was released on Friday the 15th of March, and this time the blogger tackles the word ‘Consumer’ and ideas of self-identification:
“Working in what is considered a “consumer” role, most people would assume that I identify as a “consumer”. But I don’t. Put simply, I just can’t identify with that term, and to be honest I feel the same way when it comes to alternatives such as “service-user”.
I choose instead to identify as a person.
I’ve had experiences in my life that have lead me to work in the mental health and addictions sector. These experiences probably enable me to work in this sector more effectively, because I bring personal knowledge as well as professional knowledge to my work. I don’t feel that I should need to share those life experiences to prove my validity as a humanitarian and as an asset to the community sector. I’m a person – a person with a strong sense of social justice and who believes that all human beings should be free from harm and treated with fairness and respect. ”
The Butterfly Diaries creative book project is drawing close to completion. For nearly a year, six writers have been working to tell the stories of six Kiwis who survived the experience of being suicidal and found their way to a better place. The first three stories are now complete and excerpts are available for reading and sharing online. More samplers will be loaded as stories are finished.
Click here to read The Butterfly Diaries Samplers.
Read excerpts from…
Emerging from the Past Transformed: Raewyn Alexander’s creative essay about Mary’s Journey
Enough Angels: Owen Bullock’s haibun (a prose-poetry cross) about Sean’s journey
Breathe and Breathe and Breathe: Phoebe Wright’s short story about Brad’s journey.
Have you been prescribed an antidepressant in the past five years?
A team of university researchers is keen to see what you have to say about a number of things related to your experiences with these types of medications.
The researchers, from The University of Auckland’s Department of Psychology, are for the first time surveying New Zealanders on their antidepressant use.
Anyone who has been prescribed antidepressant medication in the last five years is eligible to take part in the survey, even if they are no longer taking them. And, if you have been prescribed antidepressants but decided not to take them, you are also encouraged to take part.
The research team hopes that at least 1,000 people will take part in the anonymous online survey, which they have called: Views and Experiences of Antidepressants in New Zealand
A parallel survey of GPs is being conducted by a PhD student associated with the research team, seeking doctors’ views about depression and antidepressants.
This online community allows people from Auckland and across New Zealand to tell the Auckland District Health Board about your experiences of their services and let them know what you think about other health topics. They also agree to receive invitations from us to do short online surveys or join discussion groups.
The surveys and discussions are important, and the feedback they get helps them make the best decisions about their services and how we spend the health dollar.
Your feedback can be anonymous if you want it to be – just don’t tell them your full name! See the privacy policy on the website if you want more information about how they will and will not use your feedback.
You can unsubscribe at any time and you only take part if you are interested and have the time.
You can read more at www.healthvoice.org.nz
If you would like a link to place on your website, or other information please email sarahd@adhb.govt.nz .
