In their own words...
'A nutter, that's what all the kids at school call my mum'
Life can be unpredictable when you live with mental illness; unpredictable for the person experiencing the illness and also for all the family members.
Mandy is Gloucestershire Young Carers' Mental Health Development Worker and it is her responsibility to listen and respond to children and young people who live with the impact of a family member's mental ill health......... and what they have to say is very powerful:
"My worry is if mum escapes from hospital they will section her... If she runs away four times she will have to stay in there for years"
"I've got a worry; my mum cuts herself with a razor and burns her arm"
When Mandy met Jenny for the first time she was 12 years old. At their first meeting Jenny just cried and did not want to have anything to do with Young Carers. Some weeks later, Mandy encouraged Jenny to join a small group of young carers working on a booklet for other young people living with the impact of parental mental illness. during the following month Jenny grew in confidence. She learned a great deal about mental health and mental illness and in particular about schizophrenia, the illness that her father had.
Jenny now helps Mandy to train professionals about the impact of mental illness on dependant children. She confidently informs her audience, 'now I wouldn't change anything about my dad but I have changed'. She felt strong enough to tell her friends about her father's illness because now she can tell them the facts and can dispel the stigma associated with mental illness.
The booklet 'Minds, Myths and Me' has received international acclaim and has been taken on by The Royal College of Psychiatrists' for reprinting and distribution.
Young Carers in Gloucestershire are lucky in that they can attend a unique support group specifically for children living with a family member experiencing mental illness. This is what they have told us about the group:
"It has taken a lot of stress off my shoulders and I can concentrate better"
"I worry less because my mum and dad worry less about me"
Gloucestershire Young Carers is recognised nationally as being at the forefront of understanding and developing services for young people caring for a family member as a result of mental illness.