Reading your way to recovery

 

By guest author Janet Mulready
Health & Well-being Librarian, Powys

My work as a Branch Librarian in the early 1980s confirmed my philosophy that libraries can and should be central in offering support to the more vulnerable members of our communities. Libraries offer a safe and welcoming environment, and to paraphrase the author Matt Haig – whose books often reflect his own experiences of dealing with mental health issues – where else can you spend time where you are welcomed as an individual, with no mention of the contents of your wallet?

Janet Mulready, Health & Well-being Librarian in Powys

After more than two decades as a primary teacher, I was delighted to return to my library roots and I was very excited to be seconded recently as Health and Well-being Librarian for Powys. The role is funded thanks to the Welsh Government's Integrated Care Fund, through the Age Well Partnership in Powys; it is part of the project which is focused on scoping and development of community hubs, for these will be a source of early interventions to improve access to health-related information and advice. ​Being appointed to such a stimulating job in my 60s certainly shows that you can age well in Powys!

My job is excitingly diverse and has already involved building strong working relationships with other organisations seeking to improve well-being within the community. The provision of services to people living with dementia and their carers is important to Powys Libraries, and the development and dissemination of resources to support this is a significant part of my role. I am currently working closely with museum staff and library colleagues to devise a system of lending memory boxes and reminiscence hampers to care homes. We also supply resources from the dementia charity Playlist for Life via the collection service at branches to those who request them.

Another important role is to promote the Reading Well scheme (Darllen yn Well). The Reading Agency and Welsh Government have provided Reading Well resources in both Welsh and English, to support living with dementia, adult mental health and children’s mental health. All titles are recommended by health professionals and people with experience of the conditions covered.

I work with a colleague in disseminating this important service, which is linked to public libraries’ ever-expanding work around community health and well-being. The books can be referred via a Book Prescription, and are also available for self-referral via the Powys library catalogue, for collection from the local branch; some are also available as e-books or audio books. The system supports a self-management model, to encourage patients to take an active role in the decisions made around their health and well-being.

The Reading Well for mental health collection provides general information on mental health and well-being, and offers condition-specific titles, support for those difficult experiences which affect us all, such as bereavement and loss, and personal stories. To ensure the collection is accessible to a wide range of audiences, it includes a range of different formats and reading levels. Topics include therapies and approaches, common feelings and experiences, self-help books to support mental health and personal stories. The scheme supports living well and self-care and self-management models. As a community intervention, it also allows for public services to work together to support the health and well-being of their communities.

As well as signposting to sources of professional help and support, it recommends other well-being activities such as reading groups and volunteering opportunities. And of course, libraries are a vital source for the comfort of fiction. To quote Matt Haig again, “There is something about absorbing yourself in a story that can make you feel comforted. One thing about depression is that it is plotless, there is no shape. Stories have shape – and books became my antidepressants.”

A further remit I have is to help library staff to become confident with services that are available in Powys to support residents, so I prepare and disseminate regular ”How to Help with …” resources. The pandemic has meant that part of my work focus is working with colleagues to develop digital access to supportive services. We have initiated an “Ask a Librarian” enquiry service via the website and the loan of blood pressure monitors; many people are concerned about the physical health effects of lockdown and a more sedentary lifestyle due to home working, yet are understandably reluctant to “bother” a health professional, so they can borrow a blood monitor for free and have it delivered to their local branch for them to collect. As lockdown eases, we are looking to provide rooms in selected branches for individuals to have privacy for online medical consultations.

The importance of digital services and new means of communicating has become important for all of us, so my role also involves supporting colleagues in providing health and well-being information and services digitally. A large number of people are experiencing anxiety due to the restrictions on social interaction, and so we are working on producing well-being videos and resources such as adult literature hours, to play a part in reducing isolation.

A typical working day for me at the moment can involve giving a zoom talk on the Reading Well Scheme, applying for funding for well-being projects, making a video, and writing a Help sheet. Every day brings something new and involves me collaborating with some inspiring, committed people. I have a wonderful job and I am very grateful to have the opportunity, in a small way, to make a positive difference to people!

Many thanks to Janet for telling us about her new role as Health & Well-being Librarian for Powys. 

Find out more about the Powys library services on the English & Welsh websites below:

Powys Libraries' Services

Llyfrygelloedd Powys

If you have any queries then please drop them in the comments section below. Alternatively you can contact Janet directly by emailing: janet.mulready@powys.gov.uk or ringing: 01639 845353.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2017 - in Knighton

Yesterday Phil and I set up an information stand in Knighton Library to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week 8 – 14 May. The annual awareness week has been hosted by the charity the Mental Health Foundation since 2000 and previous themes have included relationships, mindfulness and sleep deprivation. This year’s theme is Surviving or Thriving?

“We all have mental health. Good mental health is an asset that helps us to thrive. This is not just the absence of a mental health problem, but having the ability to think, feel and act in a way that allows us to enjoy life and deal with the challenges it presents. Yet it can be easy to assume that ongoing stress is the price we have to pay to keep our lives on track. It is time to challenge that assumption”.

Following the sad loss late last year of a young man to suicide in the Knighton area, local people have been keen to raise awareness of the support that is available to people experiencing emotional distress of any sort and for any reason. Carla Rosenthal, who was at that time a Participation Officer in our team, and lives in the area, has been working closely with local organisations such as Knighton & District Community Support, Volunteering on Prescription and KINDA (Knighton Initiative for Dementia Action), along with the people of Knighton, to help organise activities:

“Events through MHAW aim to unite the community in Knighton through music, socialising and TALKING! Many local businesses are to host events but are relying on as many people to come and support them and raise awareness for a cause that's affected everybody”.

Carla suggested our team set up an information display in Knighton Library for the week alongside one from the mental health charity Mid Powys Mind. MPM holds Outreach Sessions in Knighton every Friday, 1 – 3pm, at St Edwards Community Room, St Edwards Close, Knighton. Doreen wrote about the group in October last year in Thank goodness it’s Friday in Knighton!

As the theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Surviving or Thriving? we decided to ask visitors to the library to tell us what helps them to thrive. People of all ages engaged in a conversation about emotional wellbeing, describing what helped them feel better, and some common themes soon emerged!

Finding paid work was one person's answer to thriving better emotionally. Another woman told us that her dogs made her happy: "They need us and we need them." She went on to describe the great impact Nature has on her wellbeing and recommended reading a book called "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. Published in 1854 it documents the American's experience of immersing himself in the natural world whilst living simply in a small cabin for 2 years, 2 months and 2 days in Massachusetts. Thoreau observed: “Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will evade you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will gently come and sit on your shoulder.”

In fact, books were a common theme in boosting emotional wellbeing in the people we talked to - perhaps not unsurprising considering we had based ourselves at the local library! More in-depth conversations with people revealed an uneasiness with the way that the language of "illness" is used to describe those experiencing distress. One woman said: "Nothing is black and white. There is a spectrum of greyness." We discussed a recent BBC Horizon programme - "Why did I go mad?" in which Jacqui Dillon speaks about the traumatic incidents in her childhood which led her to experience hearing voices. Our library visitor had found the programme fascinating, particularly the Nature-Nuture debate. She said: "Even if 10% of people are predisposed to experience distress - they still need to be in the right, rather the wrong situation, for it to actually happen." 

Other visitors to the library told us how "mind over matter" - the sheer determination to "keep going" - helped them to maintain high spirits. Life could throw all kinds of obstacles at us. There could be challenges to our physical health, or withdrawal of local services due to cuts, but going out into the community and talking to others - getting on with life - really seemed to help.

Gardening cropped up regularly when we asked people what helped them thrive. But Carla had taken one step further, and celebrated World Naked Gardening Day last Sunday 7 May! She had planted rocket, lettuce, climbing beans and watered tomatoes - lucky for her the weather had been gorgeous that day!

Not naked at Knighton Library however! Carla is actually shown wearing one of the T-shirts funded by Knighton & District Community Support Project which were circulated to help raise awareness.

Two live music events have been organised in Knighton to take place this weekend to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week:

Saturday 13 May

The Barebacks at The Horse & Jockey Inn, 10pm - 12am

Sunday 14 May

Open Mic Night George & Dragon Inn 8pm - 10pm

DIY Futures: the library tour

When’s the last time you stepped inside a Powys library?

I was at Welshpool Library last week for the launch in the library service of the DIY Futures book – It’s the inside that matters - which Jane wrote about in January…  And a whole group of us chatted, drank tea, munched on grapes and digestive biscuits… and generally had a good old chinwag about the book, the Light the Way (mental health action group) meeting later that afternoon, the benefits of volunteering, and how many of us had lost freezer contents to the power cuts of the previous week… 

Which was great.  But what we noticed was… how different it felt to library experiences of the past. No one said “Ssssh!! Be quiet, you’re not allowed to talk above the level of a whisper in here…”  No one told us to pack away the nibbles and clear out with our cups…  Instead we were made welcome to share the content and success of the book with other library-goers and staff in our own DIY way. 

Many of the beneficiaries of the DIY Futures 1:1 service, which came to an end in March 2013, were there. Two of them gave short readings from the book. The event was accompanied by an exhibition of artwork created especially for this unique publication:

"This artwork was produced through a series of visual poetry workshops run by Celf o Gwmpas using their artist in residence programme. The workshop leader was Sean Burn, an outsider artist with a growing international reputation. His work challenges the language of racism and “reclaims the language of lunacy”; emphasising the way in which the language of illness pathologises natural responses to the ups and downs of life and for some people extreme circumstances, such as abuse, violence and neglect.

These challenges to established thinking parallel the work of DIY and the book. Instead of starting with symptoms and diagnosis, set ways of being told by someone else – this is who you are – the work of DIY started with the person – who you are, what do you want to change and what support do you need." Jane Cooke, DIY Futures Project Manager

This event is one of three taking place in the county libraries as the DIY Futures project draws to a close at the end of March 2014. Colleagues were welcomed at Ystradgynlais Library last Thursday, and are looking forward to attending Brecon Library on Wednesday 26th February (with the added bonus of a trip to The Hours café to look at the artwork and eat cake). 

The Powys library service has welcomed the book into its collections enthusiastically, and we would like to thank the staff for their support in this and the book’s ongoing promotion.

If you would like to borrow the DIY Futures book, each Powys library now has a copy in its lending collection. If you prefer to read books on a digital device such as a laptop, tablet, ebook reader or smartphone, we are working on an ebook which we hope will be available soon.

Have you been to your library lately? Tell us what you think, and the sort of books you would like to see stocked on the shelves alongside It’s the inside that matters.

Chatting to library staff about the DIY Futures book It's the inside that matters