This is me!

FiFi

FiFi

Founding Member
#1
#1
Hi! I am Fiona, originally from the lovely Crowborough in East Sussex, now in Stafford, Staffordshire, via Wales, Wolverhampton and Shropshire. I 'm currently working as a Nursery Nurse on a Perinatal Mother and Baby ward at a psychiatric hospital in Stafford. I'm interested in mental health largely due to my job and having suffered periods of mental health illnesses myself.
I have 2 beautiful daughters, my eldest is starting university next week! My youngest will be starting A levels soon.
I don't have many hobbies, but I love watching films( bit of a film geek) spending time with my partner ( also a film geek) and attempting to train my puppy, Finnley. Music is a huge part of my life and I mainly listen to metal and classical music. I also am very interested in the paranormal and my partner and I love doing paranormal research, this has included spending a night in a haunted castle!!
I think I have bored you enough, but I am very happy to be here! 😊
 
Jon

Jon

Administrator
Staff member
#2
#2
Hey Fiona, good to see you onboard. I hope you have some fun here. It is good to share your experiences, especially when it comes to mental health issues. Support from our friendly bunch is always there!
 
FiFi

FiFi

Founding Member
#3
#3
Good to know! I am happy to share my own experiences with you all. Mental health is nothing to be ashamed of, I wish more people would feel that they are not alone. All part of this strange journey we call life!
 
Jon

Jon

Administrator
Staff member
#4
#4
I read that 20% of people in America have mental illness. I think in the past it was all brushed under the carpet, but we have better and more nuanced understanding nowadays, as the vocabulary that describes various forms of illness has been created!
 
FiFi

FiFi

Founding Member
#5
#5
Psychiatry is a fascinating branch of medicine. Working on an acute psychiatric ward we see a whole range of mental health issues and I have the privilege of working with an outstanding consultant psychiatrist. We see ladies from all walks of life, mental health doesn't discriminate. The main joy I have at work is seeing our patients recover and working to achieve this.
 
Jon

Jon

Administrator
Staff member
#6
#6
Oh yes, I forgot you said you work in that field anyway, so I bet you see a lot. Even Churchill was a depressive, same for an earlier prime minister of was it Sweden, or something like that. Then again, there are those outside of the clinical definition of "mental illness" who also have their own psychiatric issues. They are just not severe enough to be labelled but they are still there.
 
Jon

Jon

Administrator
Staff member
#8
#8
Yes, that's right I remember now. I watched a movie on him recently on Netflix. Got quite a different perspective of him from what I knew before.
 
T

The_Doc_Man

Founding Member
#9
#9
"I read that 20% of people in America have mental illness. " Probably true, Jon. The rest of us are just nuts.

Fiona, I have to ask as a matter of curiosity. You have a child starting "A" levels. For the USA types who use a different system, what age group does that generally represent?
 
FiFi

FiFi

Founding Member
#10
#10
The_Doc_Man said:
"I read that 20% of people in America have mental illness. " Probably true, Jon. The rest of us are just nuts.

Fiona, I have to ask as a matter of curiosity. You have a child starting "A" levels. For the USA types who use a different system, what age group does that generally represent?
Click to expand...
Sorry for delay in the reply...
A levels are for 16 year olds that have finished high school.(However anyone can do them at any age.) They take two years to complete and kids normally do 3 A levels.
 
T

The_Doc_Man

Founding Member
#11
#11
Sounds vaguely like what we might call "junior college." We do kindergarten which isn't really a grade, then depending on to whom you are talking, we do 5 or 6 years of elementary school, 3 or 4 years of junior high, and 3 years of high school totaling 12 years. Many schools are on the 6-3-3 system, but some use 5-4-3 and some use 5-3-4. Doesn't matter, most of the kids are disaffected by 12th grade anyway.
 
FiFi

FiFi

Founding Member
#17
#17
Well, I did nursery nursing that could have got me into teacher training or nursing. Emily did health and social care so that she got into Biomedical science course at uni. I guess the Btec you do is linked to what uni course you want to do.
 
FiFi

FiFi

Founding Member
#19
#19
It is! But she has the drive and determination, ultimately she wants to do medicine, but what ever she does, this degree will be a good foundation for her next move. I am so proud of her.
 
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