My best mate committed suicide, and since then I've taken what you might call an amateur interest in mental health as an issue.

One of the things that I keep hearing is how the treatment of mental health, and psychiatric medicine in general is still in it's infancy in any country you care to mention.

In fact, according to the world health organization, the best mental health care system in the world is in Iran.

What?

Yes! Iran! Why? Because every community has a kind of social worker, as stipulated in the Koran.

This social workers job is to visit everyone in their community as regularly as possible.

They therefore know everybody on a personal basis, and so are able to spot the signs of emotional and/or mental difficulties early in the people they visit.

They are able to ensure that people nip their problems in the bud, because they give people with difficulties the opportunity to talk openly about what might or might not be troubling them.

I am a firm believer in the power of the community (when it exists). I myself have had emotional and psychological difficulties in my life, and they have taken a few years to deal with.

They don't go away overnight, and I think we must always be aware that we could slip into an unbalanced state of mind at any moment depending on the circumstances.

A group of friends is a remarkable forum in which to share problems and worries.

Sometimes we become so depressed that we lose faith in our friends even. It is at this point that you turn to them and say "help!".

I told my friends that I didn't want drugs or psychoanalysis, because I was thinking too hard as it was and I had taken a few recreational drugs in the preceding years.

I wanted to detox and to clear my mind of the debris of an inward looking, very critical imagination.

I felt, and I still feel, that the answer was emotional support when I needed it, and patience when I didn't deserve it.

I am against drugs as a cure to psychological problems.

I am a human being, and am therefore made up of every fucked up little quirk that makes humans what they are. I am capable of anger, love, fear, paranoia, psychosis, rational thought, genius, crass stupidity, generosity, selfishness.

I have a vivid and creative imagination, which, if ignored, will go to work by itself. I prefer to entertain it, and give it something beautiful, creative and/or constructive to do. If I don't, it will create illusions in my every day life.

It's not something to be scared of, and shat on with some chemical, it's something to explore and understand and use to make your life and others more rewarding and fulfilling.

I could rant on about this for ever, but you'll probably get bored.

My friend killed himself out of fear of his creative side. If anything characterized him, it was his creativity. The day that he began loathing it was the day that he lost all love and respect for himself.

love it, use it, take care of it and nurture it because it's unique, and you'll thank yourself for being so patient and kind. Be your own mother, father, sister and brother. Mollycoddle yourself. Don't try and cure yourself of "yourself". Your emotions, thoughts, dreams etc are not a disease. they are what make you a human being, and believe me, they are pretty wonderful - if puzzling - creatures.

Blah Blah Blah

lox