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• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Getting information >> Getting information

Getting information

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• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 20 - 29 >> Ali - Interview 33 >> Ali says he didn't want to seek help because mental health is a taboo and because he was worried about being in the mental health system for a long ti

Ali, 27, was born in Pakistan and has been studying and working in the UK. Ali says that although it's easier to explain things to professionals from the same culture, as long as the other person is understanding, you can always clarify things.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 30 - 39 >> Shaukat - Interview 17 >> Shaukat diagnosed himself after reading about social phobia and then meeting people with experiences similar to his.

Shaukat, 36, was born in Pakistan and came to the UK aged 9. He has been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and general anxiety disorder. He finds going to support groups and talking to other people with similar experiences supportive and helpful.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 30 - 39 >> Shaukat - Interview 17 >> Shaukat doesn't know what triggered his anxiety but felt less to blame when he found out it was an illness and can happen to anyone.

Shaukat, 36, was born in Pakistan and came to the UK aged 9. He has been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and general anxiety disorder. He finds going to support groups and talking to other people with similar experiences supportive and helpful.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 60 - 69 >> Mae - Interview 04 >> Mae says getting information to people is important because it could encourage them to seek help, and may help to reduce the stigma attached to having

This 62 year old woman has manic depression and describes herself as mixed race. She enjoys life now and is glad to be alive. She thinks going to groups is important and says black families sometimes push away relatives with mental health problems.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 30 - 39 >> Shaukat - Interview 17 >> Shaukat read lots of different books to try to work out what was happening to him and this helped him to ask for treatment when he went to see his GP.

Shaukat, 36, was born in Pakistan and came to the UK aged 9. He has been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and general anxiety disorder. He finds going to support groups and talking to other people with similar experiences supportive and helpful.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 40 - 49 >> Niabingi - Interview 01 >> Niabingi read books to find out more about her diagnosis and discovered Black psychiatry; she says she now seeks a Black opinion because she can ident

This 42 year old Black, British born woman was diagnosed at the age of 25 with paranoid schizophrenia but disagrees with the paranoid part. She believes that her mental distress was caused by the racism she experienced when growing up.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 20 - 29 >> Patricia - Interview 16 >> Patricia says getting information from the internet about other people's experiences has helped her cope with her mental health problem.

Patricia, 25, describes herself as White European. She was born in Portugal and came to the UK to work and has been here for 9 months. For the past five years, Patricia has felt anxious every day and experienced numerous panic attacks.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 40 - 49 >> Rehana - Interview 18 >> Rehana says she was given lots of information leaflets and attended a support group, but found it difficult to understand the English because of all t

Rehana, 49, describes herself as Pakistani and has lived in the UK for 27 years. She experiences severe depression, anxiety and panic attacks. Rehana feels ashamed of having depression and is worried that if people find out they might make fun of her.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 60 - 69 >> Anton - Interview 13 >> Anton was given conflicting opinions about treatment and when his doctor suggested he look for more information he wished someone would make the decis

Anton, 64, is an Asian man who came from Sri Lanka to the UK in 1962. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder aged 45 and was given various medicines but none worked. Now he is not receiving any treatment: he was told by doctors they had "given up" on him.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 50 - 59 >> Raj - Interview 19 >> Raj didn't get enough information and found things out for himself; he would have liked more information about social security benefits and carers. (A

Raj, 55, describes himself as British-Indian. He was born in India and came to the UK aged 13. He developed depression following a heart attack but says it took the doctor a long time to diagnose it. Raj's wife helps care for him.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 20 - 29 >> Tariq - Interview 06 >> Tariq thought it would be helpful if professionals work more with families, and provide information in layman's language and contact details for organ

This 21 year old Asian student was diagnosed with manic depression and then schizophrenia. He disagrees that the mental health system is institutionally racist, saying that he encountered discrimination due to his mental health not his ethnicity.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 40 - 49 >> Hanif - Interview 30 >> Hanif says professionals should campaign to reduce the stigma associated with mental health problems and for more funding for the mental health sector

Hanif, 49, describes himself as Indian and has lived in the UK for 25 years. Hanif experienced cannabis induced psychosis and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder aged 23. Hanif works in mental health, campaigning to reduce stigma.