I’ve just had some exciting news that “BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO: Helping your loved one overcome depression” has been named SANE’S 2009 BOOK OF THE YEAR which is very humbling and gratifying at the same time.

 

After the success of my first book, it quickly became apparent that the family members of those suffering with depression were often desperate themselves. This lead to me researching over 700 depression caregivers and their loved ones, to find out exactly what questions they wanted answered. I’m sure this was a major reason why the book was nominated. I would like to sincerely thank those who participated in the research and of course my parents, who had faith in me when I had lost faith in myself.

FROM SANE’s PRESS RELEASE

SANE Australia Executive Director Barbara Hocking says family members of people with mental illness play an enormous role in providing care and support for people living with depression, as well as other forms of mental illness.

‘Not only does Back From The Brink Too provide much-needed practical guidance for family carers and raise awareness of the key role they play in helping to manage mental illness, but it also works to reduce the isolation many families experience,’ Ms Hocking said.

‘We are delighted to present the SANE Book of the Year Award to Mr Cowan for his contribution to helping the community better understand the experience of mental illness and its impact on families and friends’

Graeme Cowan says of the Award, ‘I am honoured and humbled that SANE Australia has recognised my book. Only after recovering from my own depression did I come to understand the tremendous toll that my illness caused my family.  I would like to dedicate this award to my loved ones and the two million other Australians that support those living with depression and anxiety.’

END OF RELEASE

What is more gratifying than the award is regularly receiving letters and email from people saying that both books have been a tremendous help to them.

 

If you know someone who is trying to support a loved one with depression, you might consider forwarding this email to them.

 

Further details regarding the book (and purchasing facility can be found at: www.DepressionCarer.com )

 

I am heading off to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles on May 25 to meet with Literary Agents and two major US Depression organisations with a view to doing US versions of both books. The award couldn’t have come at a better time.

 

Kind Regards

Graeme

www.IamBackFromTheBrink.com

Tags: depression book, depression caregiver, depression carer, depression help, depression treatments, overcoming depression

Last week we held the first of four web and phone based seminars on overcoming depression. It also differed from other courses on this topic as it was designed with both the depression sufferer and their caregiver in mind.

We had over 100 people participating from all over Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the USA which I was really very pleased with.

What really really works in overcoming depression

It was interesting running a session on this over the web as when you put depression into Google you get over 87,700,000 page impressions. Surely everyone can access anything they want to know. Unfortunately that is just the problem. Most people are so time poor and don’t know just where to start.

I also found this to be an issue when I was in the depths of my depression and just had a hunch that a session that covered 7 evidence based strategies shown to help beat depression would be valuable to some people.

From my perspective it was a little strange presenting to over 100 people without being able to see their response so I was very keen to do some market research after the event.

The information presented in the seminar was helpful

I was very pleased that 70% Strongly Agree and 30% Agreed with this statement.

There were suggestions made during the seminar that I could action this week.

Strongly Agree 60% Agree 40%

I was very pleased with this also as I truly believe that action is one of the main enemies of depression.

I found the telephone and web simulcast concept convenient

Strongly Agree 70% Agree 30%

It could be improved by:

Having more time for questions

Strongly agree 49% Agree 42%

One of the issues when people listened via the web is that they could not ask verbal questions. This was also compounded by me trying to cover too much in the first session. The technology does allow for written questions to be conveyed and based on the feedback, I have decided to cover the formal presentation in the first hour and then have 20 minutes of answering questions at the end.

All in all I was very pleased with this first attempt. Of course I will be very keen to get additional feedback after the end of the next 3 seminars but I am very hopeful that it will be a great medium for 2009 and beyond.

The next 3 sessions will cover:

Finding the right mental health professionals

Building a support network

Helping to prevent a crisis and sustaining the care

If anyone has any questions or comments regarding these seminars please respond to this blog or email me at graeme@IamBackFromTheBrink.com

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: beating depression, depression carer, depression phone and web seminar, depression sufferer, depression treatments, overcoming depression

Well the official launch happened on Tuesday September 9th at the Black Dog Institute in Randwick. It was a beautiful day and the room was filled to capacity.

The launch was MC’ed by Professor Gordon Parker, the Executive Director of the Black Dog Institute who brought us quickly up to date with some of the fantastic work the Institute is doing. One fantastic initiative they have is a computerised model called the Mood Assessment Program (MAP). This allows doctors to access the clinical expertise of the BDI. The patient fills out a computer based questionnaire that takes about an hour to complete. This then produces a diagnosis and treatment plan. It is in it’s pilot stage and is currently limited to NSW doctors but it will then be rolled out.

Professor Parker then introduced Elena Katrakis, CEO of Carers NSW who spoke on a macro level of the the extraordinary work being done by carers. She explained that their are over 2.5 million caregivers in Australia and their contribution is mostly hidden.

Professor Parker then introduced Lucy Brogden to launch BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO.  Lucy spoke with honesty and compassion about the role carers play. She then spoke very personally about the roller coaster of emotions she experienced when trying to help her husband John in his battle with depression.

The audience laughed at her attempts to medicate John by feeding him foods with high levels of serotonin such as bananas and pumpkin seeds. She then disclosed that it would take 20 kg of bananas per day to be a therapeutic dose. The amusing anecdote highlighted the length many carers go to to try to help.

Lucy stressed the importance of self care and having “me time” in order to ensure on can sustain the help to a loved one long term. It was a brilliant speech which really touched those who heard it with it’s humility and honesty and genuine desire to help.

See www.DepressionCarer.com

Finally it was my turn to talk and thank those who had helped make BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO a reality. This included the BDI, Carers NSW, the generous caregivers who had completed the survey that became the driving force behind the content of the book and many others from the mental health area too numerous to mention.

I then thanked my carers - my ex wife Susan, and my siblings. My most heartfelt thanks was reserved for my parents, Alan and Judy Cowan, who looked after me for 18 months when I couldn’t look after myself. My two books would never have happened if they hadn’t hung in there. I owe them everything.

Afterwards we enjoyed a lovely light in the courtyard. It was a proud moment after a year of research and hard work.

Full details of BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO can be found at www.DepressionCarer.com

 

Tonight I am in Melbourne for the Victorian launch  which has been organised by www.grow.net.au

Kind Regards

Graeme

 

Tags: back from the brink too, depression caregiver, depression carer, graeme cowan

There is a common myth that you shouldn’t discuss suicide with someone who is depressed. The rational is that you will put ideas into their head. I can speak with some authority on this subject as I have felt seriously suicidal for periods up to three years. I have also made four serious attempts on my life. During those periods, I was 100% certain that I would never feel normal again. I knew that I had overcome depression before but after four years of unrelenting hell no logic could convince me that I could do the same again.

 

My parents say in the foreword to BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO (launched September 9) that not asking me if I wanted to take my life was one of their greatest regrets. Thankfully, for all our sakes, I was unsuccessful. Many other distressed people have contacted me, who have lost a loved one to suicide. Their despair and guilt is palpable. They are continually asking themselves “What if I had done this?” “What if I had done that?” To those people I say that some people are determined to die no matter what you say to them.

 

Looking forward however, my advice to people supporting someone with depression, definitely would be to raise it, if you suspect the person is in crisis. There is not enough room here to go into all the warning signs here but it is something I cover comprehensively in a chapter titled “Surviving a Crisis” in the new book.

 

There is still so much stigma around the word suicide that I think this is one of the major reasons people find it difficult to raise.

 

Perhaps a less confronting way to ask the same thing is: “Are you thinking of harming yourself?” If the answer is in the affirmative, I would suggest asking them “If you had to rate your mood, where 1 is actively suicidal and 10 is 100% normal, where would you score yourself?”

 

If they rate themselves below 4, you need to quietly but firmly suggest that you take them to see a mental health professional.

 

If you have depression and are thinking of ending your life, my emphatic message would be that people do feel that there is absolutely no hope for them and go on to fully recover. You only have to read the stories of Kathy McMahon, Brian Egan, Sonia Attard, and even myself from my first book to see that. Details can be found at:

 

www.OvercomingYourDepression.com

 

If you are caring for someone who you think could be contemplating ending their life, I would strongly encourage you to raise it with them by asking the two questions above. I would also say to you that just because someone is feeling strongly suicidal, it doesn’t mean that they can’t make a 100% recovery. See:

 

www.OvercomingYourDepression.com

 

Suicide Call-back Service

In the process of researching BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO I came across this fabulous service called the “Suicide Call-back Service” which very few people are aware of. It is a free federally funded service for people contemplating suicide, their carers, and those bereaved by suicide. It is manned by trained counsellors and you can have up to five fifty minute phone consultations with the same person at a mutually agreed time.

 

This service operates 7 days a week from 10.00am til 8.30pm. The number is:

 

1300 659 467

 

If you know anyone that falls into the above 3 categories, please share this information with them.

Please don’t be afraid of raising the subject of suicide with someone who is depressed. If you know the depth of their crisis you can take some appropriate action.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: crisis, depression, depression caregiver, depression carer, suicide