BLASTING & BOMARDIERING...

Over the last 5 years Arts for Health and people who are part of our North West Arts and Health Network, have contributed to the development of three, yes three manifesto’s! A Manifesto for Arts and Health in 2011, a follow up in 2012 and just this year Recoverist Manifesto. We’ve contributed to similar developments in Lithuania and Australia and of course, influenced a National Charter in the UK. What connects all these statements of conviction - what are they all about - possibilities, passion and belief, but above all this, real vision.

So this week in the UK, we’ve seen the publication of political manifesto’s across the spectrum. As bedtime reading, I set about reading the major parties statements of principle, hoping for some glimmer of vision beyond hollow, promises.

I’m left deflated but not unbowed.

PART ONE
The Reality
First of all, these faux policy documents are intended to swamp you. Just too much sales jargon, with little in the way of meticulously thought through methods of delivery. The full documents, with all their big community photographs, would be beyond digestible to most people, the summaries all fur coat and no nickers. So, bleary eyed, I focused down to the arts and culture, (with a wary eye on health) or, as so many of them refer to them, ‘the cultural industries’. (question to self - does this make me an industrialist?)

Do I have to include UKIP? Well if I must, other than noticing only one black face in the whole epic shambles (and that was on the ‘overseas aid’ page), their cultural section is headed by the legend: ‘UKIP believes in Britain. We believe Britain can be a strong, proud, independent, sovereign nation. We are the envy of the world for our rich history, our art and our architecture, our monarchy’.  It’s leader is committed to scrapping, ‘tuition fees for students studying science, technology, engineering, maths, or medical degrees’. So here’s a clear message to arts and humanities students everywhere! That’s about it for their contribution. It’s worth noting that people from different ethnic backgrounds make up 14% of our population...that’s around eight million people, including the artists that provoke and entertain us and the surgeons that cut out your tumours, nurses that care for you and the teachers that educate your children - and just about every other walk of life that contributes to our grand country.

The Green Party manifesto was actually coherent and intelligent with great LGBT policy, but its references to culture and the arts were near nonexistent. Shame - in my heart, it feels it should be something they understand intrinsically. They suggest ‘Public support for the arts is part of a civilised society,’ but only go on to promise to ‘support initiatives the arts and sport accessible to all’. Other than working to support ‘fair pay’ in the arts - that’s about it, though their commitment to public health seems fair. 

The Liberal Democrats produced another very full document and their pledge to both transform mental health services and equalise parity between mental and physical health is not to be questioned. In fact most of the other parties have jumped on the bandwagon with this one. So too, they promise to ‘publish a national wellbeing strategy, which puts better health and wellbeing for all at the heart of government policy. This will cover all aspects of government policy, including transport, access to nature, and housing, at national and local level.’ I found this appealing and interesting, but the fact culture and the arts are missing here, is a real disappointment. In fact, I had to scroll through the index to find their minimal reference to ‘Pride in Creativity’, which started well with, ‘Liberal Democrats understand that arts, creative industries and culture are crucial to Britain’s success and essential for personal fulfilment and quality of life’, and ended with the usual platitudes common to all manifesto’s around the familiar refrain of maintaining free access to museums and galleries. They do however, seem committed to equality and diversity across the board.

The Conservatives sandwiched ‘Heritage, Creativity and Sports’ coquettishly between the NHS and Big Society! Do they realise how visionary they could have been if they’d bridged the two? So near, and yet so very, very far. They inevitably lead the way in the language of commodifying culture and the arts, declaring, ‘the creative industries have become our fastest-growing economic sector, contributing nearly £77 billion to the UK economy – driven in part by the tax incentives for films, theatre, video games, animation and orchestras we introduced. Our support for the film industry has resulted in great British films and encouraged Hollywood’s finest to flock to the UK.’ Hey Ho - it’s all about the money (...and yes, I know there are mentions of Manchester in there - obviously). 

Although it’s on the back page of its manifesto and may seem out of the loop to our North West community, Plaid Cymru give 2 pages to the arts and commit to access for all, young people’s acces to the arts and family participation in the arts. Their celebration of Welsh culture and identity is rich and central to their strategy. Again, the Scottish National Party whilst seeming distant from the NW, inevitably holds some power in the event of a hung parliament. At the time of writing this blog however, they were the only party not to have published their manifesto.

And finally, for our English voters at least, there’s the Labour Party who kick off with something of a vision, that, ‘Labour believes that art and culture gives form to our hopes and aspirations and defines our heritage as a nation. The arts allow us to celebrate our common humanity in the creation and celebration of beauty. The arts should belong to all and be open to all to take part in. We will guarantee a universal entitlement to a creative education so that every young person has access to cultural activity and the arts by strengthening creative education in schools and after-school clubs. Institutions that receive
arts funding will be required to open up their doors to young people, and we will work with public bodies to rebalance arts funding across the country.

Labour do do something a little more solid, and balance the story of ‘economic innovation’ alongside the arts as being a ‘powerful force in social renewal’. But they offer a small nugget in a commitment to ‘create a Prime Minister’s Committee on the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries, with a membership drawn from all sectors and regions. The Committee will bring issues of concern direct to the attention of the Prime Minister.’ It’s early days, and this is of course a manifesto promise from a party in opposition, not in office. But if Labour are successful, the arts and health community must hold them to this promise and insure our agenda’s (plural) are heard, and acted on - not in some reductive, mono-cultural, geographically specific, prescriptive manner - but as a deeply rich movement, with cross-cutting potential across the political spectrum - less disease focused - and truly focused on the social determinants of health.

It should be mandatory for all eligible adults to vote. If you haven’t registered to vote do so before the end of play on 20th April @ https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote 

PART TWO
The Delusion
So, eight million people are from ethnic minorities in the UK and one makes it onto the pages of UKIP’s manifesto. I guess we should be reassured by our current senior ministers and the rich ethnic and gender balance of our Cabinet Office. Let’s have a peek eh? Of the 22 current Ministers, we have five women. Well that’s four more then when Mrs Thatcher was in power. OK maybe she let homophobic Janet Young have a seat at high table for a year, but my rather sordid namesake Cecil Parkinson, soon pushed her off it. Still, surely today's Cabinet must have a rich ethnic mix? Hmmm Secretary of Sate for Culture, Media and Sport and former Vice President at Chase Manhattan Bank, Sajid Javid. So that looks pretty much like 1 of 22 people. Oh dear. Still, we have Pickles in the cabinet - that’s one thing to be grateful of. (a pickle is a vegetable isn’t it?)

I actually miss Sayeeda Warsi being in cabinet. She resigned over the government’s policy on Gaza, which she described as ‘morrally indefencable’ - ah a politician with a free voice and principles - very rare indeed. Perhaps I’d give her a role in my dream cabinet alongside Glenda Jackson who could share some arts responsibility with Banksy. Maybe Adam Curtis and Warsi might make a great job-share in Justice. Peter Tatchell - you can share Equity + Diversity somehow with someone from Femen and maybe, just maybe we can rope Russell Brand in as PM for a while. Hey - maybe even as El Presidente? But I guess that's another story.

Hey ho - who’d be on your dream cabinet reshuffle? 

Still, we need to vote. If our arts/health agenda is concerned with anything and we’re serious about addressing inequalities and the social determinants of health - we should look to civic society and social justice in our work. Let’s exercise this right, long fought for by our relatives and let's motivate other people to vote too.

Let's remember the key things (edited down for this blog) that we agreed when we pulled our first manifesto together:

>we aspire to our vision of a better society, not a big society, and will share this vision far and wide and inspire and support people in the struggle to get there

>we will plant culture at the core of other strands of decision making and influence the hearts and minds politicians and the public

>our language will speak to a wider community and not be self-congratulatory or sanctimonious

>we embrace diverse disciplines and are not constrained by individual professions

>we will challenge ourselves to engage with the cynical

>we take the long-view and look beyond short-termism to generational change

>we will nurture local activity that embraces a world view

>we will not reduce our work to a standardised form, but will articulate our potency by co-creating a common language and shared vision

>this is a movement, we are the resources; we will tell the story of our work and like a virus, will spread 

>we will meet, we will talk, we will argue and we will influence change, thriving on critique and rallying our resources...face-to-face, person-to-person

>creativity goes beyond materialism and is like food and water, art is an expression of imagination and a powerful vehicle for social change

PART THREE

The Aspiration

At the Chaos and Comfort event in February, 200+ people came to MMU to discuss arts and public health research and practice. It was a damn fine day. As part of the event we discussed the Arts and Health Manifesto and where we were in the here and now. Those present made copious notes of which I have studiously aggregated and transcribed, so to round off this Election Special, and in a period where our politicians seem a little devoid of vision, may I share our rapid-fire 2020 Chaos and Comfort aspirations:

Prevention is Better than Cure (FACT)

The poorest people are disenfranchised, disengaged and disempowered by the current political system  

Arts and Culture inspire and influence people, but so many people feel disconnected to the arts 

Inequalities in health and culture are endemic amongst the most economically disadvantaged people 

Charges in education prevents people expanding their horizons and progressing

Increasing inequalities are unacceptable - our work is increasingly political with both a small p and a big p

We want to BE BOLD - BE BRAVE to GET TOGETHER & WORK TOGETHER

We will start with What Works and not get bogged down with what doesn’t 

We will smash & burn the BARRIERS & BOUNDARIES that we are told prevent us from moving forwards

By 2020:

- the economic case for the arts (+ health) has been accepted 

- artists and health professionals working together are being paid well for their endeavours

- a national/international body of evidence is freely available and constantly expanding

- we are a valued profession

- arts education from early years onwards is expanding and flourishing

- we will be providing free, enthusiastic support for each other through multi-sectoral events

- we have developed new research models

- culture will have escaped the clutch of pseudo-scientists and understand its value in its own terms

- the arts will be valued within their own rights, within health and social care and beyond slavish instrumentalism

- passion for the arts is nurtured in schools

- human experience will be valued alongside scientific evidence

- bridges between research organisations and communities will be commonplace

- the arts are reconnected to the people

- we speak a rich and common language

- health and wellbeing are influenced by participation and engagement in cultural activity

- research is undertaken for deeper understanding of culture beyond blind financial justification

- wellbeing is understood in terms beyond selfish individualism and superficial happiness 

- pessimism is not seen as a symptom of depression but a healthy response to injustices 

- health doesn’t just happen in a clinical vacuum and culture and the arts don’t just happen in galleries and theatres 

- we are a cultural and political movement

                                                                                                                             

Don’t Over-Tax Yourself Over Tax Season!

With the April 15 tax deadline looming, it’s an anxious time
for many people. Try these tips to keep your financial stress under
control at tax time ­— and all year round.

Break It Up. A mountain of paperwork for your tax
return or for any other financial responsibility, like applying for a college
loan or mortgage, can seem overwhelming. Break up the process into smaller
chunks, such as gathering pay stubs, finding your home mortgage interest
statements, or organizing your receipts. Then tackle each task one by one. But
before you do so…

Make a Plan. This is even more important when you’re
on a tight deadline (like being just a few days away from April 15). Once
you’ve broken down what you need to accomplish into pieces, put those steps in
order and write down how and when you’re going to make each one happen. This
will help you feel like you have control over the process. Being out of control
is very stressful!

Keep Mentally Fit. Eat well, get a full night’s
sleep, find a way to exercise every day, and connect with friends and loved
ones. Financial deadlines may have you feeling like you need to lock yourself
away and pull an all-nighter with a bag of potato chips and your 1040, but
you’ll just raise your stress level, and you probably won’t accomplish your
goal anyway.

Resist Unhealthy Temptations. When stress arises,
it’s tempting to cope in unhealthy ways such as binge eating, smoking, or drinking
alcohol. Avoid these negative coping strategies. Instead of a cigarette or a
glass of wine, take a walk or call a friend to vent.

Don’t Go It Alone. It’s not too late to get help. Ask
for help from a spouse, a trusted friend, or ideally, a financial professional
like a certified public accountant. Some tax professionals will even save you
the step of visiting their office and will review your documents and
calculations online. Having too much on your shoulders and no help is a recipe
for anxiety.

Request an Extension. If you’re utterly overwhelmed
and you feel like there’s no way you’ll have it all together by April 15, talk
to a tax professional about how to request an extension on filing. You’ll still
have to pay your estimated taxes on time (or pay interest), but you’ll have an
extra six months to get your paperwork in order.

Plan Ahead for Next Year. If you’ve procrastinated
about your taxes this year, use the stress you’re experiencing now as you try
to get everything together at the last minute for a good cause: Keeping you on
track to plan ahead for tax time 2016. Set a realistic budget and stick to it,
and keep track of your finances as you go along. Having a plan and living
within your means makes your life much less stressful.

by David Ginsberg,
M.D., clinical associate professor and vice chair for clinical affairs,
Department of Psychiatry, and chief of the Psychiatry Service, NYU Langone
Medical Center in New York City.

…the door is ajar

Short and sweet again this week, but back to normal (whatever that is) very soon. For a number of reasons, I find myself coming back to Dennis Potter and his conversation with Melvyn Bragg in which he describes seeing the spring blossom with new insight, only possible - he insists - when you’re facing your own death.



It was and still is, a remarkable interview. I’ve just read a small collection of poems by Clive James, called Sentenced to Life. Coming to terms with his own mortality, James shares his powerful and personal ruminations eloquently and in a way, for my part at least, that would be beyond my ability. I could share so many of these profound pieces, but I guess it would be far better to buy the book, so here’s one that’s freely available on his website.

Event Horizon
For years we fooled ourselves. Now we can tell
How everyone our age heads for the brink
Where they are drawn into the unplumbed well,
Not to be seen again. How sad, to think
People we once loved will be with us there
And we not touch them, for it is nowhere.

Never to taste again her pretty mouth!
It’s been forever, though, since last we kissed.
Shadows evaporate as they go south,
Torn, by whatever longings still persist,
Into a tattered wisp, a streak of air,
And then not even that. They get nowhere.

But once inside, you will have no regrets.
You go where no one will remember you.
You go below the sun when the sun sets,
And there is nobody you ever knew
Still visible, nor even the most rare
Hint of a face to humanise nowhere.

Are you to welcome this? It welcomes you.
The only blessing of the void to come
Is that you can relax. Nothing to do,
No cruel dreams of subtracting from your sum
Of follies. About those, at last, you care:
But soon you need not, as you go nowhere.

Into the singularity we fly
After a stretch of time in which we leave
Our lives behind yet know that we will die
At any moment now. A pause to grieve,
Burned by the starlight of our lives laid bare,
And then no sound, no sight, no thought. Nowhere.

What is it worth, then, this insane last phase
When everything about you goes downhill?
This much: you get to see the cosmos blaze
And feel its grandeur, even against your will,
As it reminds you, just by being there,
That it is here we live or else nowhere.

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, the European exchange programme for entrepreneurs is open for applications. Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a cross-border exchange programme which gives new or aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to learn from experienced entrepreneurs running small businesses in other Participating Countries. The exchange of experience takes place during a stay with the experienced entrepreneur, which helps the new entrepreneur acquire the skills needed to run a small firm. The host benefits from fresh perspectives on his/her business and gets the opportunities to cooperate with foreign partners or learn about new markets. The stay is partially funded by the European Union. The programme is open to new entrepreneurs, firmly planning to set up their own business or have already started one within the last three years; and experienced entrepreneurs who own or manage a Small or Medium-Sized Enterprise in one of the Participating Countries who would be willing to host a new entrepreneur. Read more at: http://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/index.php

The Day I Stood Up Alone

I'd like to share a Ted Talk (for first and last time maybe, as a lot of them seem like hot air and self aggrandisement). Here however, is Boniface Mwangi and his story about standing up to powerful forces and utilising the arts. Our arts/health field seems saturated with the genteel benevolence of affluent middle England - (thanks to MR for sharing this) - showing that beyond the gated community of Albion, there are people not just blowing their gilded trumpets, but attempting to address social and political change.

                .    

Giving Kids a "Sip" of Alcohol Can Send the Wrong Message About Drinking

That little sip of wine or beer that some parents offer
their kids at a wedding or on New Year’s Eve may muddle messages about alcohol,
according to a new study by researchers at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies at Brown University. The scientists surveyed middle school students for
three years to learn whether even a taste in early childhood was a predictor of
risky behavior in high school.

The Internet-based study, published in the April 1^st
issue of the Journal
of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, included more than 500 Rhode Island school
students. More than one-third of the kids surveyed reported trying their first
sip of alcohol by the sixth grade, and most said that their first taste took
place at home. Wine and beer were the most commonly tried beverages, usually at
a special occasion, such as a wedding or a holiday, and adults were the primary source of the alcohol. Nearly three-quarters
of the children were offered sips by their own mom or dad.

The study also showed that
kids who sipped alcohol by the sixth grade were five times more likely to down
a full alcoholic beverage by the time they reached 9^th grade—26% of
sippers consumed a full drink versus 5.5% of non-sippers. The earlier sippers
were also four times more likely to get drunk or binge drink by early high
school, and trying alcoholic beverages earlier in life also raised a child’s
risk for trying other substances.

Even when the researchers
controlled for other factors, such as risk-taking behavior, the drinking habits
of parents, and a history of alcoholism in a parent, kids who’d sipped before
sixth grade had higher odds of alcohol use by their freshman year of high
school.

The take-home message:
Offering a child a sip of your beverage may send the wrong message, says study
author Kristina Jackson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of
Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown School of Public Health.

"Parents should provide
clear, consistent messages about the unacceptability of alcohol consumption for
youth,” Jackson advises. “Younger teens and tweens may be unable to understand
the difference between drinking a sip and drinking one or more drinks.
Certainly there are exceptions, such as religious occasions,
so the most important thing is to make sure that children know when drinking
alcohol is acceptable and when it is not.”

The context of alcohol use is important, says Oscar G. Bukstein, M.D., M.P.H., medical director at DePelchin
Children’s Center and a clinical professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of
Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, who was not
involved in the research. “Often, by allowing children to sip or try alcohol on
‘special occasions’, the message delivered may be one of ‘this is how we
celebrate’, we drink,” Buckstein says.

He says that sipping may be associated with increased access to
alcohol, too, or more lax parent attitudes and that undermines any anti-drinking
messages kids hear.

April 21^st is the national day to talk with your kids
about alcohol. Visit Mothers
Against Drunk Driving’s (MADD) Power of Parents
page to learn more.

by Mary Brophy Marcus, health writer, APA

Autism Awareness Month: Learning more about a complex condition

You probably know someone with
autism—in your neighborhood, in your workplace, in your school, in your family.
  In fact, an estimated one in 68
children in the U.S. has been identified with autism spectrum disorder,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   The data on adults is less clear, but the
numbers are growing. 



April is Autism Awareness Month – a chance to raise awareness and learn a
little more about this complex condition affecting so many.  Here are just a few sources that might help
answer some questions.

Want a good quick overview of what autism is?  Check out the CDC’s main autism page.

Looking for a good app to help someone with autism function better?  There are many apps available to help people
with autism with communication, behavior, organization, creative arts, and
more. In fact, there are so many apps that it can be hard to know where to start
or what might be useful for a particular person. Check out Autism Speaks’ searchable
resource on autism apps –
with information on function, device, target age, and the research data that’s
been gathered to evaluate or inform the app.


 One resource you may be familiar with already is Siri, the personal assistant
on the iPhone. See a New York Times
column by a mom of a child with autism who has made good use of Siri, “To
Siri, With Love: How One Boy With Autism Became BFF With Apple’s Siri.”  Siri is not only tirelessly patient in
responding to repetitive questions (common among some with autism) but lets you
know she doesn't understand (leading to practice with phrasing and enunciation)
and will gently encourage polite language.

Want to know how to talk with parents of children with autism?  See a recent Today.com article on “11
things never to say to parents of a child with autism (and 11 you should).”

Want to know a
little about what it’s like for some people with autism and sensory
sensitivity issues to experience their environment? (Note of caution:  Every person with autism is different. No two
experience sensory sensitivity in the same way.) View the short video from the
UK-based National Autistic Society, Experience For 60 Seconds How The World Looks, Sounds, And Feels To
Someone Who Has Autism.” Some people
with autism have difficulty processing multiple sensory experiences at once. An
animated video by the Interacting with Autism project gives a glimpse into sensory overload and how sensory experiences intertwine in everyday
life.

Want to know more about the latest
research on autism spectrum disorders or the latest clinical trials? Find out how your family can participate
in research  or find out about clinical
trials.

Have more questions? Visit national organizations, such as Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America, or federal
agencies, including the CDC
and the National
Institute of Mental Health.  Join the conversation #autismawareness, #autism, #mentalhealth.

by Deborah Cohen, senior writer, American Psychiatric Association

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,,,☁

Sound Artist Vic McEwan has been in residence at Alder Hey over the last couple of weeks and I am thrilled at both his primary explorations and the way the community of the hospital have embraced him and all his ideas. I would very much like to share our plans for the next year, but that might be premature. Needless to say, the collaboration is proving fruitful and my personal thanks to Dr Jane Radcliffe and Vicky Charnock for making this all possible. Great things ahead. To find out a little more about Vic and catch up with his online diary, click on the hospital machinery above.

WEAPONS OF MASS HAPPINESS 
Embarking on some exciting new work in Manchester this last week, I was thrilled to meet new artists and like-minded free thinkers, and hope some of our aspirations come to fruition! It was great sharing my new work Weapons of Mass Happiness, (teaser above) which I’ll publish soon, but it’s made me revisit some earlier writing which I contributed to the exhibition, Mortality: Death and the Imagination curated with Dr Steven Gartside in 2013. So if you want to read my essay from the exhibition catalogue, please click on the Present Tense image below. Following an intense period of work, I’m shutting up shop for a couple of weeks and this blog will keep its door closed. Normal service will resume mid April.

  

Are Some Jobs More Stressful Than Others?

Everyone has bad days on the job—a project that you put hours into bombs or a task you need to accomplish is difficult and stressful. But are some jobs harder overall on our mental health than others? Depression may be more likely to occur in some professions, research suggests. And according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, suicides in the workplace, while not commonplace, are on the rise. Their research, published in the March 16 online edition of the “American Journal of Preventive Medicine,” showed that 270 people committed suicide in the workplace in 2013, a 12% increase over 2012.




Men and those over 65 were more likely to commit suicide in the workplace than others. Law enforcement jobs -- police officers, firefighters, and detectives -- had the highest rate of workplace suicides with 5.3 suicides for every 1 million workers. Farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and forestry workers came in next with 5.1 suicides per one million. The authors also noted that minorities may be at a greater risk for workplace suicide compared to non-workplace suicides. Their research did not include military jobs.




This month’s “JAMA Psychiatry” also addressed the topic in a “Viewpoints” op-ed co-authored by two medical interns from New York who said that being a physician, especially a young intern, may leave some people vulnerable to mental illness and suicide. Doctors are twice as likely to kill themselves compared to non-physicians, and female doctors are three times more likely to do so than their male counterparts, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). According to AFSP, though, the workplace can be an ideal place for suicide prevention programs. Their Interactive Screening Program (ISP), for example, is an anonymous online survey that IDs at-risk people and connects them with support. The NFL and the Boston Police Department have used the program. The authors of the “Lancet Psychiatry” op-ed say some work programs, like one at the U.S. Air Force, have successfully addressed workplace depression and mental illness in a variety of ways. One initiative: The USAF designates certain supervisors as mental health “gatekeepers.” Their job is to identify at-risk employees and channel them to screening and mental health services.



Want more info on managing workplace stress? Read about APA’s Partnership for Workplace Mental Health. Learn more about the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s ISP program by contacting the Program Director at isp@afsp.org. Read Mayo Clinic’s article: Work-Life Balance: Tips to Reclaim Control.



by Mary Brophy Marcus, health writer, APA



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