‘Mental Health is Something We All Have’: Shifting Ideas and Practices Regarding Mental Health in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom today, people who aim at improving social understandings of, and attitudes towards, mental illness have developed a number of innovative campaigning strategies. Among a multitude of media representations, individual narratives, social actions and discussions, new ways of presenting mental health problems have emerged; I consider these jointly under the rubric of mental health activism. Of our particular interest is the activist notion that mental health is something ‘we all have’. This suggests that mental health problems could affect all of us, and therefore responsibility for mental health is (or should be) universal. In aiming at maximum reach, activists deploy a wide range of broadcast and social media in the hope that positive representations of mental health problems will lead to better understanding of these issues, and encourage widespread interest in mental health. During fieldwork between January 2009 and March 2011, these new practices and notions of health were explored in a range of locations across the UK and on the Internet. Fieldwork included participant observation in activist events, projects and users’ groups aiming to develop a coherent voice; non-participant observation on Facebook; interviews with individuals concerned with mental health problems, and volunteering work for a mental health-focused project in South-West London, during which I filmed individual and collective strategies for recovery. On the basis of the data collected, I explore shifting ideas and practices of mental health and related forms of sociality by investigating the limiting and enabling potential of language and environment in mental health-focused actions. I show that practices of discussing personal experiences of mental health problems are critical to activism. They carry with them a potential for desired social change and lead to the redefinition of meanings of mental health and illness by pointing away from their individual or aetiological extent and towards their social, or we could say, environmental dimensions

Nature doesn't judge you – how urban nature supports young people's mental health and wellbeing in a diverse UK city

Reviewed research reveals a lack of young people's voices articulating if and how urban nature supports their mental health and wellbeing. This paper presents qualitative research with young multi-ethnic urban residents living in a northern UK city and offers an important counter-narrative to the pervasive notion of childhood nature-deficit disorder. Using interviews and creative arts workshops, we explored the value of urban nature for the mental health and wellbeing of 24 young people aged 17–27 years, 9 of whom had lived experience of mental health difficulties. Trees, water, open spaces and views were frequently experienced nature typologies offering benefits. Deteriorating landscapes, young people's shifting identities and perceived time pressures disrupted support. Young people expressed how urban nature encounters were experienced as accepting and relational, offering a: stronger sense of self; feelings of escape; connection and care with the human and non-human world

Ogólne twierdzenie Stokesa i jego zastosowania

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Návrh a realizace modelu výtahu řízeného pomocí průmyslové sběrnice ASI

Import 10/10/2006Prezenční455 - Katedra měřicí a řídicí technik

Dance for people with chronic breathlessness: a transdisciplinary approach to intervention development

Objectives: A transdisciplinary research approach was used to develop a holistic understanding of the physical and psychosocial benefits of dance as an intervention for people living with chronic breathlessness. Methods: The dance programme was developed in collaboration with British Lung Foundation Breathe Easy members in NE England (Darlington) and London (Haringey). Members of the Darlington group were invited to participate in the programme. An exercise instructor, trained and mentored by a dance facilitator delivered 60–90 min dance classes for 10 consecutive weeks. Exercise capacity, mobility, quadriceps strength, health status, mood and interoceptive awareness were assessed at baseline and after the 10-week programme. Second-to-second heart rate (HR) monitoring was conducted during one of the classes. Results: Ten individuals were enrolled (n=8 women). Mean (SD) age was 70 (24); Body Mass Index 29.7 (8.1) kg/m2; one participant used oxygen and one a walking aid. Seven completed the dance programme. Improvements in all outcome measures were detected, with the exception of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, which individuals found hard to comprehend. Eight participants wore HR monitors during one dance class and spent on average 43.5 (21.8) min with HR corresponding to at least moderate intensity physical activity (≥64% HRmax). People found the dance classes enjoyable and those with relevant past experiences who are optimistic, committed to staying well and playful readily adopted the programme. Conclusion: A dance programme bringing both physical and psychosocial benefits for people with chronic breathlessness is acceptable when coproduced and evaluated through a transdisciplinary approach