(how to NOT kill yourself) - by Adrian Kenton
about Adrian Kenton
Background -
Adrian has personal experience in extreme mental health issues from the perspective of a person who 'slipped the net' of much available support. He endured extensive childhood sexual, psychological and physical abuse. After establishing a successful independent life as an adult, he suffered a complete breakdown, isolation, madness, catatonia, suicidal compulsions and many other symptoms. Over a lengthy period he somewhat recovered and for over a decade now, has managed Bi-polar (manic depression) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder without medication.
Campaigner -
Adrian has 27 years of experience in voluntary care, with all ages, gender, persuasions and backgrounds. As an independent speaker, advocate and campaigner, he has benefitted in recent years from working alongside many statutory and voluntary mental-health support organisations in the UK, from front-line services to the boardroom; and is able to blow the whistle on counter-productive, even abusive, practices and attitudes in health care and the wider community, that sustain a hostile culture towards mental illness. He has sought no formal accreditation for any of his work - his campaign is for a greater acceptance of a more common, accurate language and validity of everyday people's experiences and views.
Writer -
Adrian writes fiction and non-fiction, incorporating both (poetry etc) as a means of communicating things that are not always grasped through logical explanation. He is above all a humanist, though not quite pragmatist. His material is essentially experiential and examines extreme issues such as - sexual, psychological and physical abuse; incest; severe depression; low self-esteem; self-deprecation; self-abuse; madness; obsessive compulsive disorder; breakdown; dissociative disorder; paranoia; sexual compulsion; self-condemnation; isolation; religious judgment; loss; homelessness; catatonia; poverty; estrangement; repeated suicidal instances; anger; hate; violence and hopelessness. He seeks to highlight the unseen and often unspoken realities, for which we hardly give ourselves credit, and challenges the paradoxical precepts we have transferred, in our historical assumptions of what we term 'positive' and 'negative', 'strength' and 'weakness.'
Perspective -
Adrian maintains that most recovery occurs away from health services and considers philosophically, the spectrum of everyday, non-medical influences that are available to all people, but not generally accommodated as part of their formal recovery process. He asserts that even severe psychological reactions to extreme trauma, and the most bizarre symptoms, can be perfectly reasonable and a sign of healthy mentality, rather than mental 'imbalance;' that our hostility and fear towards this subject hinders our options to accepting aspects of our selves and of our fellow human beings; particularly those most taxed and distressed. Not only do we thus self-harm, but we are systematically robbed of these options for relief by the more 'responsible' yet largely ignorant and antiquated mental health system.
This is just a small part of a rapidly growing global disease, responsible for the increase in 'mental illness' affecting one in four of the UK population, prior to the recent world financial crisis. A completely avoidable disease already undermining the determination and capabilities of an entire nation. He describes it as - 'Social, Political & Institutional Denial.'
Adrian has personal experience in extreme mental health issues from the perspective of a person who 'slipped the net' of much available support. He endured extensive childhood sexual, psychological and physical abuse. After establishing a successful independent life as an adult, he suffered a complete breakdown, isolation, madness, catatonia, suicidal compulsions and many other symptoms. Over a lengthy period he somewhat recovered and for over a decade now, has managed Bi-polar (manic depression) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder without medication.
Campaigner -
Adrian has 27 years of experience in voluntary care, with all ages, gender, persuasions and backgrounds. As an independent speaker, advocate and campaigner, he has benefitted in recent years from working alongside many statutory and voluntary mental-health support organisations in the UK, from front-line services to the boardroom; and is able to blow the whistle on counter-productive, even abusive, practices and attitudes in health care and the wider community, that sustain a hostile culture towards mental illness. He has sought no formal accreditation for any of his work - his campaign is for a greater acceptance of a more common, accurate language and validity of everyday people's experiences and views.
Writer -
Adrian writes fiction and non-fiction, incorporating both (poetry etc) as a means of communicating things that are not always grasped through logical explanation. He is above all a humanist, though not quite pragmatist. His material is essentially experiential and examines extreme issues such as - sexual, psychological and physical abuse; incest; severe depression; low self-esteem; self-deprecation; self-abuse; madness; obsessive compulsive disorder; breakdown; dissociative disorder; paranoia; sexual compulsion; self-condemnation; isolation; religious judgment; loss; homelessness; catatonia; poverty; estrangement; repeated suicidal instances; anger; hate; violence and hopelessness. He seeks to highlight the unseen and often unspoken realities, for which we hardly give ourselves credit, and challenges the paradoxical precepts we have transferred, in our historical assumptions of what we term 'positive' and 'negative', 'strength' and 'weakness.'
Perspective -
Adrian maintains that most recovery occurs away from health services and considers philosophically, the spectrum of everyday, non-medical influences that are available to all people, but not generally accommodated as part of their formal recovery process. He asserts that even severe psychological reactions to extreme trauma, and the most bizarre symptoms, can be perfectly reasonable and a sign of healthy mentality, rather than mental 'imbalance;' that our hostility and fear towards this subject hinders our options to accepting aspects of our selves and of our fellow human beings; particularly those most taxed and distressed. Not only do we thus self-harm, but we are systematically robbed of these options for relief by the more 'responsible' yet largely ignorant and antiquated mental health system.
This is just a small part of a rapidly growing global disease, responsible for the increase in 'mental illness' affecting one in four of the UK population, prior to the recent world financial crisis. A completely avoidable disease already undermining the determination and capabilities of an entire nation. He describes it as - 'Social, Political & Institutional Denial.'
Warning:
Some content on this site deals with extreme psychological issues. The author and publishers do not accept any responsibility for the effect to any individual from considering this material. Some items contain language that some people find offensive
Some content on this site deals with extreme psychological issues. The author and publishers do not accept any responsibility for the effect to any individual from considering this material. Some items contain language that some people find offensive
Publishing
Website & Graphics
Sounding Off UK
2013
© Adrian Kenton 2013
Adrian Kenton asserts his right as sole author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, recorded, used or stored in a retrieval system, electronically or otherwise, without the author’s explicit written permission. This publication is protected in the UK in accord with The License, Copyright and Patents Act of 1988; and internationally in accord with the Berne Convention and Council Directive 93/98/EEC - Oct 1993.
Adrian Kenton asserts his right as sole author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, recorded, used or stored in a retrieval system, electronically or otherwise, without the author’s explicit written permission. This publication is protected in the UK in accord with The License, Copyright and Patents Act of 1988; and internationally in accord with the Berne Convention and Council Directive 93/98/EEC - Oct 1993.