By Julia Macintosh
On 25 September I was delighted to host an ISPS UK online event featuring Bella Jackson, the author of Fragile Minds. This book chronicles Bella’s experience of training as an NHS mental health nurse, and her dismay and concern about the attitudes and practices she witnessed.
Bella read a selection from her book, a passage about a young woman named Daisy who had been brought to A&E by her friends in an altered state of mind. The story progresses to involve Daisy’s family, and a number of nurses and doctors.
Bella and I had agreed in advance about which part of the book she would share as a reading, and chose this particular piece for a few reasons. First, the scenario features all three perspectives which reflect the ISPS UK membership: lived experience, friends and family members, and professionals. Secondly, the story reveals the diversity of approaches to be found within the mental health profession. The outcome depends largely on who you see and how they respond, it is a subjective practice. Finally, the story reflects the assumptions and errors which professionals can easily make – for example when the duty nurse cites as evidence of delusion Daisy’s claim to be releasing an album (a simple online fact-check reveals that she is indeed a folk singer with an upcoming recording.)
Fragile Minds is full of these disturbing anecdotes, of exhausted and indifferent staff, of patients fast-tracked into serious diagnoses and medication regimes, of carers dismissed or sidelined. It describes a broken system, and calls for change.
Following the reading, Bella and I discussed her experience of writing this book. It was, she said, an attempt to make sense of what she had witnessed and to bring it to the attention of others. She admitted that she had wrestled deeply with the issue of sharing other people’s stories on their behalf, but also felt that these voices deserved to be heard. She takes her role as an ally very much seriously and to heart, and wishes to contribute to changing things for the better.
We also chatted about the various responses that she had received in the wake of publication. Bella alluded to a critical review that had been published in the Guardian, by Dr Rachel Clarke, and pointed out that the review itself was ironically similar to the gaslighting and dismissals experienced by patients within the mental health system. In such instances, those with power and platform are unwilling to take on board another’s perspective and to engage in the self-reflection that is so sorely needed.
Bella also took questions and comments from the event participants, and it was clear that her book resonated greatly with those in attendance. Bella was a gracious and inspiring guest with whom to hold a conversation, and left us all with much food for thought.
Fragile Minds is published by Penguin Books
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/463932/fragile-minds-by-jackson-bella/9781529939774