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Mental health
Mental health: ethnic minority experiences
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Mental health: ethnic minority experiences
Subject index
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Mental health
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Mental health: ethnic minority experiences
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Aged 30 - 39
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Sara - Interview 32
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Sara describes the "horrible" attitude of staff when she was in hospital. (Played by an actor).
Sara, 34, describes herself as Indian and has a diagnosis of depression. Sara's food bingeing was interpreted as psychotic behaviour and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In her late twenties, however, a specialist diagnosed an eating disorder.
Mental health
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Mental health: ethnic minority experiences
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Aged 30 - 39
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Dolly - Interview 14
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Dolly felt vulnerable on a mixed ward when the male patients made sexually explicit comments.
Dolly, a 36 year old writer and author of The World is Full of Laughter, is of mixed ethnicity (White/Asian), and first experienced psychosis aged 14. She finds Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Buddhism and meditation very useful.
Mental health
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Mental health: ethnic minority experiences
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Aged 60 - 69
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Anton - Interview 13
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Anton wanted to go to hospital until he discovered what it was like inside.
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
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Mental health: ethnic minority experiences
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Aged 40 - 49
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Jay - Interview 27
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Jay couldn't identify with her surroundings and thought they were not culturally sensitive.
Jay, 42, describes herself as Black-British. She was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder aged 34 and now works in mental health. Jay's voices say mainly negative things, but two voices encourage her and give her tenacity and drive.
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