.png)
Mind Matters – Isolation is a Terrible Beast
Dearest readers, as some of you may already know, I am fascinated by the workings of the human mind (always have); with my previous employment (Support Worker) I was fortunate enough to work with and support adults with numerous health conditions -including mental health. I witnessed, first hand, my own prejudice to mental health and also how ‘healthy’ people (within a professional field or not) overlooked (and still do) the simplest of needs these individuals have. Confused? Over the next few weeks/months (let’s see how I feel with my schedule), I hope to shed some light on human nature and how our mental state can develop or falter in certain situations/circumstances. Today I will attempt to analyse how isolation can be detrimental to your health and how a little outside influence can make a difference. Curious to know how? Let me explain.
Before we start, I do hope you have watched the video above (it’s about 6.30 minutes long and worth every viewed second); not watched it yet? Well, we can wait a few more minutes until you do. Ready? Ok then, here goes…
The video is a great example of how the human psyche can deteriorate without any stimulus. I hope in this article I will be able to explain this with clear evidence and insights from my observations on the job and my chance encounters in life with people I’ve met or those who are within my close family/friends circles.
During my time as a Support Worker, I have worked with many elderly and vulnerable adults, all with varying needs (some less, some more); however, what I noticed during my 5 year career-span was that they all had a common need, the need to not be isolated.
Isolated?
Yep, I too used to think that was absurd, surely they have loved ones who look after them and those care homes, they must be great…
Grooming of Another Kind: Kill Me if You Can
Thursday’s Topical Tête-à-Tête: Exploitation through the internet and internet ‘grooming’ is something we are all becoming aware of as the days/weeks/months/years pass by; it is frightening to acknowledge such atrocities are taking place; especially when it involves an innocent child/adolescent. This topic disturbs me to no end therefore, I will not delve too much into it as the direction I want to take is slightly different from the normal discussions surrounding this; however, similarities are likely to be observed.
I watched a documentary a while back, oddly titled Kill Me If You Can (please click on the link (it has a blurb and discussion feed) and take a quiet moment to watch it (or watch it below) -it’s 49 minutes long but it is a must see; I promise you it would be worth your time); why did I watch it? Other than the blurb and the title, the way in which the documentary was filmed piqued my interest (sometimes creativity rules over everything else!); so I watched it till the end and then it got me thinking… (If you still haven’t watched it, now would be the perfect time -unless you are happy about possible spoilers!)
To this day I still wonder if this was a work of fiction rather than an actual criminal case!
read more
Grooming of Another Kind: Kill Me if You Can
Thursday’s Topical Tête-à-Tête: Exploitation through the internet and internet ‘grooming’ is something we are all becoming aware of as the days/weeks/months/years pass by; it is frightening to acknowledge such atrocities are taking place; especially when it involves an innocent child/adolescent. This topic disturbs me to no end therefore, I will not delve too much into it as the direction I want to take is slightly different from the normal discussions surrounding this; however, similarities are likely to be observed.
(As always there is a pdf document at the bottom of the post for those who may find this a difficult read.)
I watched a documentary last week oddly titled Kill Me If You Can (please click on the link (it has a blurb and discussion feed) and take a quiet moment to watch it (or watch it below) -it’s 49 minutes long but it is a must see; I promise you it would be worth your time); why did I watch it? Other than the blurb and the title, the way in which the documentary was filmed piqued my interest (sometimes creativity rules over everything else!); so I watched it till the end and then it got me thinking… (If you still haven’t watched it, now would be the perfect time -unless you are happy about possible spoilers!)
To this day I still wonder if this was a work of fiction rather than an actual criminal case!
Here is a classic example of how modern day technology; films, video games, internet, etc… can play havoc with an innocent child’s mind. I sometimes wonder if too much information is doing more harm than good. For instance, take John and Mark; both teenagers, both happy-go-lucky-types, both bored to an extent that they both resort to the Internet to make friends -all normal teenage behaviour I hear you say; yes very true -that is the worrying aspect of it, as you do not realise what is actually going on in their minds (bear in mind I am not saying we need to know everything that goes on within a child’s -or any persons head; as that is unethical). I just wonder if we have come to an era where fiction and reality just blur beyond reason. When I was studying Fine Art with Related Arts at University; one of our subjects were Postmodernism and there we discussed art forms -be it written or visual, taking shape where the lines of reality and fiction/imagination becomes a blur; at that time I thought it was absurd (people could not be so naive to not know the difference) but I also thought it was plausible for artistic creation. I would never have guessed that this could actually become a scary reality! The story of John and Mark is a good example of this. John masterminds a story so evocative, so enticing -that despite it being far-fetched, Mark is reeled in to the extent that he takes the bait; he believes he is a special agent and working for Queen and country!
read more