Unhappy Child, Unhealthy Adult (Radio 4) | iPlayer
In Therapy (Radio 4) | iPlayer
The Forum: Anger (BBC World Service) | iPlayer
Of late, the BBC has been focusing on mental health and it’s felt a little depressing, if you can excuse the term. Not because we shouldn’t be talking about it – clearly, we should – but because the provision for mental health in this country is so utterly inadequate that almost every story you hear is a heartbreaker. Patients being shunted between A&E and police cells for problems that are clearly not physical. Women with postnatal depression having to cope on their own; with the depression, plus a baby. And oh, the stories of the young! Falling through the cracks – the yawning abysses – in the system. So sad.
So this week I’m reviewing a few programmes on the topic that made me feel hopeful or inspired. We all need to know that there’s something positive out there. First up, Unhappy Child, Unhealthy Adult. Presented by the calm, informed Geoff Watts, this programme was a mixture of hope and frustration. Doctors have discovered that childhood stressors – growing up with physical/sexual/emotional abuse, being neglected, having an alcoholic as a parent etc – not only lead to mental health problems later in life, but physical health problems too. Surely, this is hardly a surprise – my initial reaction was, “Duh, of course” – but you know doctors: they like evidence, and now there is some.
[For more of this story, written by Miranda Sawyer, go to http://www.theguardian.com/tv-...rapy-the-forum-anger]
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