THROUGH DIFFICULTIES TO THE STARS AUTUMN 2015 EVEN KEEL Our aim at Even Keel is to offer friendship, understanding, information and a sense of hope to people living with Bipolar or other disorders Contact Us 76 Wittenoom St, East Perth, WA, 6004 e: offi
[email protected] w: evenkeel.org.au p: (08) 9425 2005 Open Fri & Mon 9:30a-2:30p Articles in this issue Mentally ill people being misdiagnosed and wrongly sent to jail, WA regional lawyer says pp. 5-6 Mental health patients Current List of Support Groups p. 4 choke EDs WA parliamentary report finds Perth emergency departments are being swamped mental health issues higher by unusually high numbers of seriously mentally ill among FIFO workforce pp. 7-8 patients waiting up to three days for a psychiatric hospital bed. What One Star Learned From Raising a Bipolar Son pp. Doctors are being forced to sedate, restrain or bring in 12-15 security guards to monitor the most disturbed patients 10 Tips for Living with a being held in emergency departments because of an Bipolar Person pp. 15-16 acute shortage of involuntary mental health beds. How to talk to your teen about The West Australian understands the situation has been depression, suicide pp. 17-19 triggered by the decision to give a young patient a six- bed ward to herself at Graylands psychiatric hospital, Feeling Bipolar Disorder In removing five beds usually available for others. Your Gut pp. 21-22 The State’s mental health system was plunged into a rare The difference between “code yellow” emergency, sending authorities into a bipolar disorder and regular scramble to sort out the crisis.