Published by:Australian Red Cross

PHaMs14b Cambridge St

Rockhampton QLD 4700Tel: 07 4922 0020

August 2014

PHaMs LOOKOUT

recovery

hope

stigma

wellbeing

trust stigma

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PHaMs news

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Art Project – CQID in

collaboration with PHaMs

continues to grow with weekly

contributions to the Centre walls of

beautiful cultural artwork.NAIDOC 2014

Celebrations for NAIDOC 2014

were held at the Walali

Neighbourhood Centre 10th July.

The day was marked as a day for

the Australian Red Cross to

honour our indigenous service

men and women. An attendance

of 120 visitors helped mark this

fantastic day with a special

thanks to the Rockhampton

Military Museum for the

wonderful displays. Ozcare

Homestay, PIR and SEEDs

programs provided the food.

Michelle Pollard from Horseland

for magnificent Horse which

contributed to our display and

the tremendous contributions

from our volunteers – Renny,Lis

and Alyson to which we owe a

very big thankyou.

Peer

Support

Monthly

meeting

7th

August

@ 11:30

Hearing test available;Australian Hearing

Will be conducting hearing test at the Walali Neighbourhood centre on 8th August for more details please call on 49220020

Age: 30

Born in: Rocky

Hobbies: scuba diving, yoga, reading

Favourite holiday destination:

Galápagos Islands - I got to swim

with dolphins, hammerhead sharks,

seals, marine iguanas, turtles,

sting rays and about 1000 different

species of fish!

Something you may not know about me: I

live in an old converted train carriage.

Dream job: my current job, or Dive

Instructor!

A minute with the team:Amanda Cowley

Caseworker,

Social ConnectA day at the beach. A

social day spent at Emu Park then a little

sight seeing29th August 2014.

Booking for the bus essential.

Friends meeting friends

New home for the RAI

team

“The Red Cross Referral

for Active Intervention

(RAI) team has recently

relocated to 4 Aquatic Place,

Rockhampton (next door to

Hog’s Breath). The premises

will be known as Nalu Bulba

– which is Darumbal

interpretation for Our Place.

Our new phone number is 

07 48364980.  Some other

Red Cross services are also

based at these premises.

Feel free to pop in.”

Barista Club

Made

Moist Choc Zucchini loaf

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup neutral oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

pinch salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb soda

1 1/2 cups firmly packed grated zucchini (I

used about 4 small zucchini)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Grease and line a

loaf tin with baking paper.

Place the sugars, oil, vanilla, eggs, salt and

cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Whisk together

until combined. Sift in the cocoa powder, flour,

baking powder and bicarb soda. Using a

rubber spatula, fold the dry mixture into the wet

mixture until just combined. Add the grated

zucchini and stir through.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and

bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a skewer

inserted into the centre comes out clean.

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Personal Recovery is an idea that has

emerged from the expertise of people with

lived experienced of mental illness, and means

something different to clinical recovery. The

most widely used definition of personal

recovery is from Anthony (1993).

  ….a deeply personal, unique process of

changing one’s attitudes, values, feelings,

goal, skills, and/or roles. It is a way of

living

a satisfying, hopeful, and contributing life

even within the limitations caused by

illness.

Recovery involves the development of new

meaning

and purpose in one’s life as one grows

beyond the catastrophic

Effects of mental illness.CONFIDENT COMMUNICATION 2 Hr Session  Confident Communication is a short

course for job seekers designed to:• Empower and build self-confidence • Assist in overcoming barriers to

employment• Improve communication skills

during interviews• Improve relationship

communicationsTopics covered include: • How the brain works • Emotions and behaviour • Dealing with conflict • Communication skills• Overcoming fear and anxiety • Mental flexibility  

registrations@centacare.netor Phone 1300 523 985

Where: Rockhampton Centacare

When: To be advised

Venue: 10 Bolsover StreetRockhampton 4700

RSVP: To be advisedCourse Cost: FreeTime: To be advised

Fellowship News

Fellowship meeting times have changed. We will be meeting each

Thursday (only) at 11:30am. These meetings are an opportunity for people to

come together and openly discuss their mental health & wellbeing stories, adopting new

wellbeing ideas and life strategies while feeling apart of a support community of Peers or others

who have similar experiences.

Our latest discussions have been around developing our Wellbeing Tool box. Wellness Tools are

simple, safe, free and fun things you can do for yourself to help yourself. Diversity of specific

choices can include prayers, affirmations, meditations, books, audiotapes and music. You have to

find the right tools that work for you in your own life.

Maybe you already have a wellbeing tool box? Maybe your tools are well worn from use ? or

maybe they’re a little dusty and could stand to see the light of day.  Each week we will have a

closer look at different tool box resources available during Fellowship Recovery, giving everyone a

chance to swap ideas and share the knowledge.

In August we will be taking a closer look at Journaling and Mindfulness therapy. If you have any

questions on these or any other topics please see Shelly Green – Lived Experience Person at

PHaMs Rockhampton.

Promoting and sharing the knowledge together.

Meeting time are Monday & Friday 11:30am

Upstairs area at the Walali Neighbourhood Centre

14b Cambridge Street Rockhamtpon.

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Purpose of workshop:

• What recovery means ?

• The process of recovery.

• Other people’s experiences of

recovery.

• Our own experience of recovery.

Our next workshop:20th August

11am – 12:30pm

Exercise and Mental HealthExercise is good for your body. It helps with heart health

and prevents physical ailments among other benefits. But

did you know that exercise is also good for your head? The

most common treatments for depression, for example, are

psychotherapy or medication but Psychologists have found

that exercise is a third successful alternative.

It can be very difficult to find the motivation to get out of

bed or off the couch. In this case, just start gently. A walk

around the block is a good beginning, especially if done

with someone else as this helps break social isolation and

exposes you to sunshine. Then, slowly build up.

Tips on living a healthy

life1. Drink more water

2. Get enough sleep

3. Meditate

4. Exercise

5. Eat more fruits and vegetables

6. Journal

7. Breathe deeply

8. Learn to say No!

9. Hang out with healthy people

10. Enjoy simple things5

Language is a place to begin.

Language is powerful. It can open the world up like sunrise

and it can block out the sky like prison walls.

Words can be powerful seeds. The medical authorities offer

us all kinds of words to talk about ourselves and the

troubles we have, words like “depression” and “psychosis”.

Sometimes these words help us look back on our lives with

a new way of understanding what the heck was going on,

but too often these words end up putting us in sad, separate

boxes where we feel like there’s something wrong with us

and we can’t connect to anyone else.

We need to start talking and networking – finding more

common ground and common language with the other

people around us. We need to get together in groups and

find language for our stories that make sense to us and

leave us feeling good about ourselves.

Long ago people sat around camp fires and told stories or

sat alone and wrote by candlelight – there was a respect for

the written and spoken word, for their stories.

PHaMs Red CrossIs now running gym session

every

Tuesday and Thursday at the

Capria’s Gym located on

Cambridge Street. Under the

direction of Personal Trainer

Kylie James from PIR and with

the support of John Clayton

PHaMs, participants are able to

achieve all their personal fitness

goals. Kylie is also available for

personal training and can be

contacted on Ph: 1300 761 061

Further, to compliment this,

there is the Lifestyle, Health &

Wellbeing group held every

Tuesday afternoon 1:00pm at the

Walali Neighbourhood Centre,

hosted by John Clayton.

Wellbeing Resources

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MyCompass

www.mycompass.org.au

My Compass is a self-help tool accessible 24/7

from any internet-enabled mobile phone, iPad or

computer. It provides tools and techniques to

assist people to manage stress, anxiety and

depression. You can track your moods and

behaviour, schedule SMS or email reminders,

receive and print graphical feedback, and write

in your personal diary. You can also receive

helpful facts, mental health-care tips or

motivational statements by SMS or email. There

are brief therapy modules to complete which

help you manage stress, anxiety and depression.

Registering to use myCompass is free.

myCompass is a guide to good mental health – it

points you in the right direction.

eheadspace is a confidential, free and

secure space where young people 12 - 25 or

their family can chat, email or speak on the

phone with a qualified youth mental health

professional

Young people may contact us if they need

advice, are worried about their mental health or

are feeling isolated or alone. eheadspace can

help with a broad range of issues like bullying,

drug and alcohol issues, depression and anxiety,

relationships, concerns about friends, fitting in

and isolation. We also have experts who can

provide work and study advice to young people

and specialist support to parents and carers who

are worried about a young person 12 - 25. 

For more information visit headspace.org.au

Depression and our sense of smell

(olfaction): are they linked?

Depressive illness – persistent depressed mood,

lowered self-esteem, loss of interest and fatigue

– is accompanied by changes in the ‘limbic’

network of the brain. The limbic system

underpins emotions, behaviour, motivation, long-

term memory, and also olfaction – our sense of

smell.

Evidence suggests that olfactory processing and

depression are linked (especially in animal

studies), and patients with an impaired sense of

smell or with congenital anosmia (i.e. born

without a sense of smell) are more likely to show

signs of depression. Conversely, patients with

depression have a significantly poorer sense of

smell and their ability to process olfactory

information is reduced. However, after

successful depression treatment, the sense of

smell and the ability to process odours returns

to normal.

What does this mean for me?

The finding that olfaction is a marker for

depression indicates a further diagnostic tool to

assist with identification of the illness. Though

these results are from a small sample,

nonetheless in these woman depression was

accompanied by reduced olfactory processing

and reduced activation in olfactory relevant

areas of the brain. Their olfactory processing

normalized as their depression improved. A

further study finding was that fluctuations in

their sense of smell overall appeared to be a

good marker for the likely course of their

disease.

Current Research

Australian Red Cross PHaMs is located at the Walali Neighbourhood Centre

14b Cambridge Street, RockhamptonPh: 4922 0020

Walali Neighbourhood Centre activity hours10:00am – 3:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday &

Fridays

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Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday

What's happening at Walali Neighbourhood Centre14b Cambridge St, RockhamptonPh: 4922 0020 August 2014

Social Connect Event

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Walali

Centre

Closed

1st

•CQID art project &Ozcare Homestay gardenproject @ 10:00am

• Almost anything goes

@ 1:00pm

4th

•Fun & Fitness @ 10.00am

• Choir @ 1.00pm

5th

• Crafty Yarners 10.00am

• Gym @ 11:00am

• Lifestyle, Health & Wellbeing group

@ 1:00pm

6th 7th

•Sew N Tell @ 10:00am• Gym @

11:00am• Recovery

Fellowship @ 11:30

• Barista Club @ 1:00pm

8th•CQID art project &Ozcare Homestay gardenproject @ 10:00am

• Almost anything goes

@ 1:00pm

11th

• Fun & Fitness @ 10.00am

• Choir @ 1.00pm

12th

• Crafty Yarners 10.00am

• Gym @ 11:00am

• Lifestyle, Health & Wellbeing group

@ 1:00pm

13th 14th• Sew N Tell @ 10:00am• Gym @ 11:00am• Recovery

Fellowship@ 11:30• Barista Club @ 1:00pm

15th

• CQID art project &Ozcare Homestay gardenproject @ 10:00am

• Almost anything goes

@ 1:00pm

18th• Fun & Fitness @ 10.00am

• Choir @ 1.00pm

19th Crafty Yarners 10.00am

• Gym @ 11:00

• Lifestyle, Health & Wellbeing group @ 1:00pm

20th 21st• Sew N Tell @ 10:00am• Gym @ 11:00• Recovery

Fellowship@ 11:30• Barista Club @ 1:00pm

22nd•CQID art project &Ozcare Homestay gardenproject @ 10:00am

• Almost anything goes

@ 1:00pm

25th

• Fun & Fitness @ 10.00am

•Choir @ 1.00pm

26th

• Crafty Yarners 10.00am

• Gym @ 11:00

• Lifestyle, Health & Wellbeing group @ 1:00pm

27th 28th

• Sew N Tell

@ 10:00am• Recovery

Fellowship@ 11:30am• Gym @ 11:00• Barista Club @ 1:00pm

29th

• CQID art project &Ozcare Homestay gardenproject @ 10:00am