terence lewis

Young believe they are immortal. Old know they are not.. #Covid19 Dilemma

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill will create new laws that potentially significantly impact NHS managers and those who have for years covered up, lied and avoided accountability in past scandals:

@KnightonMuseum I was at Stradey when Llanelli beat the All Blacks. Such memories!

I was in the crowd in 1957 when they returned with the FA Cup. I lived in Trinity Road in 1970 and they’d let us into the ground at halftime for free to watch the ‘friendlies’. Happy days.

@wendyburn @Parody_RCGP Nor a sin

@Parody_RCGP Small point but suicide isn’t a crime any more so best to say “died by suicide”. Thanks.

While I commend The New York Times for providing practical tips for stopping antidepressants, I want to point out a few places where the information misses the mark: “Experts emphasize that antidepressants like S.S.R.I.s are very safe drugs with few serious health risks.” The average antidepressant trials submitted to the FDA typically last 6–8 weeks, yet millions of people are prescribed these drugs for years or decades despite no robust long-term data on safety or effectiveness. “As a general rule, experts said people could consider going off their antidepressants when they felt they were back to their normal selves… That would include feeling their moods are stable, that they’re motivated and engaged in life again, that they are functioning fully compared to how they were when they were depressed.” Many people do not feel benefit from taking antidepressants, so the notion that the right time to stop them is only after one feels “stable” or otherwise “better” may lead to unnecessary long-term use and the varied health risks that come with it. The article does acknowledge adverse effects elsewhere, but suggesting switching to other treatments as a solution. “Experts say that after a first depressive episode, people have a roughly 50-50 chance of becoming depressed again.” These statistics don’t generally account for the fact that withdrawal symptoms are routinely misclassified as relapse, making it hard– if not impossible– to determine who actually has a “chronic” condition warranting indefinite medication use. “They’re not dangerous, but they can be very uncomfortable.” (Regarding antidepressant withdrawal symptoms.) Withdrawal from antidepressants can be life-altering, leading to months or even years of agonizing symptoms caused by drug-induced nervous system injury. In some cases, people lose the ability to work or care for themselves or their families, end up hospitalized, or sometimes even kill themselves out of desperation for relief from the pain. “[A] general guideline is to reduce the dosage by 25 percent each week, stopping over the course of a month.” This is essentially cold turkey, and incredibly dangerous. For many, this kind of rapid taper can be catastrophic. Because the medical profession has not yet had the chance to be meaningfully trained in safe hyperbolic tapering protocols, they generally consider a month to be “slow,” which is part of why so many people are misdiagnosed as “relapsing” when they are actually in withdrawal. Many people are walloped with symptoms of withdrawal after feeling fine for weeks or even months after stopping their meds. “People have been taking the drugs for years without evidence of widespread harm.” Because the adverse effects of long-term medication use are often misinterpreted as people’s “chronic” or “worsening” “conditions,” it’s fair to say that little attention has been paid in clinical or research settings to properly analyze the scale of widespread harm caused by long-term use of these drugs. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. As our country builds momentum towards ensuring that doctors and patients alike are given reliable information about taking and safely tapering off antidepressants and other psych meds, it’s vital that we all come together to ensure everyone is empowered to make meaningful choices. We’re in this together. There is no “us” and “them.”

Cumbria officers PC Heather Watson and PC Matthew Johnston, who survived a violent and unprovoked knife attack while responding to a call for help from a vulnerable person, have been nominated for the National Police Bravery Awards orlo.uk/MQpJ3 #PoliceBravery

We don’t talk enough about psychosis and severe mental illness, and we certainly don’t talk about how psychosis hijacks our minds and bodies. I wrote about my own experience of psychotic depression as an adolescent: @anniehickox/my-psychosis-part-1-eca47261e8e9" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@anniehickox/m…

@wendyburn @M_Moutoussis Wise words, spoken from experience.

@M_Moutoussis @PARITYFORMH Of course it’s not black-and-white, but what I have seen again and again was elderly people caring for their partners to the point where they were completely worn out. Just the physical demands of caring are hard, never mind the emotional ones.

Why not? Earlier generations did.

@KnightonMuseum Hope his knees are trouble ftee.

This is the stool that l need to use to try to straighten my knee. Correction, this is Billy the Kid’s stool.

Brilliant

The British & Irish Lions are incredibly sad to hear of the death of Lion 617, Scott Hastings. All our thoughts are with Scott’s family at this deeply upsetting time.

@wendyburn Thank God, no.

@PARITYFORMH Have you cared for someone with dementia?

@wendyburn @DaveDaoggio @HeldinEU Indeed.

@DaveDaoggio @HeldinEU @PARITYFORMH Hard enough but it’s even worse when it’s your partner and you are old and frail yourself.

@BettyBlue168 @wendyburn It can a very hard road. Thank you.

@wendyburn @PARITYFORMH My Mum is on a section 3 and diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. I cared for her at home as she deteriorated and sadly became abusive through no fault of her own. One thing the ward has taught me is that it takes a team - and for that I have no need to feel ashamed for not coping.

@DaveDaoggio @wendyburn @HeldinEU So sad. Thank you for sharing.

@wendyburn @HeldinEU @PARITYFORMH That’s how Mum ended up with vascular dementia she was absolutely determined, it was so strongly her role, to look after Dad at home, sabotaged, or refused or cancelled any input until she had a stroke ☹️

NEW MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTATION Labour has launched a call for evidence to shape a new ‘Mental Health Strategy for England’. Deadline: 10 July. tinyurl.com/5n9y7x97 We’ll need as many responses as poss. It’s prevention and AI focused with an emphasis on work. Fonagy chairing.

indeed it is. A joy to visit Carmarthen on livestock market days to hear Welsh spoken widely.

Celtic language distribution across Britain and Ireland

A @SurreyPolice police officer who pulled an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle moments before it exploded has been nominated for his exceptional bravery in the national #PoliceBravery Awards. A deserved nomination for PC Jay Wakefield. orlo.uk/67L62