Dr Jen Daffin ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ ๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐
@Jendaffin
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Community Clinical Psychologist | Director of Relational Practice + Change (Clinical Lead) @weareplatfform | Chair @psychangecymru | @urbancircle
Wales
Joined August 2010
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Pinned Tweet
If we want to begin to prevent mental illness we must reduce the prevalence of childhood trauma.
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Being a therapist in ๐ฌ๐ง right now feels like handing sunscreen out to people who are on fire.
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In cognitive-behavioral therapy, the central theoretical concept is that human distress is caused by โdistorted thoughts.โ
As a result, normal responses to significant life events become medicalized.
Who gets to decide what a distorted thought even is?
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What we have done is created an illusion of a vast mental health epidemic. Confusing normal responses to life with mental disorder.
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Ending child poverty is a mental health intervention.
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There is little point reducing waiting times or improving access to mental health services if we are re-traumatising people when they get there.
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Ending poverty is a mental health intervention.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has long been hailed as THE treatment for mental health.
We were told there was a significant body of evidence for its efficacy.
But recent reviews have uncovered weak research protocols + an unscientific manipulation of statistical evidence.
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Children in the poorest households are 4x more likely to develop nervous system regulation + social connection difficulties compared to those in the richest.
This isnโt a faulty genes problem itโs a social one.
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The DSM was not based on the scientific consensus of the time but on the moral judgment of a group of mostly white men with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The obvious example here is the inclusion then later removal of โhomosexualityโ as a โmental illnessโ
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Feeling you belong in your community is a mental health intervention.
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Weโve been sold a lie that antidepressants will cure depression.
When we understand depression is actually a symptom itself of overwhelm + toxic or oppressive circumstances then we can see where the solutions really are.
Medication is no replacement for thriving environments.
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Early intervention for โpsychosisโ starts with addressing deep poverty, injustice, child abuse + neglect.
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The UK is home to the unhappiest children in Europe + our mental health has been decreasing for years.
Improving childrenโs mental health is not about better access to
#CAMHS
We need to go up stream + ask why are so many British children becoming unwell in the first place?
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Why was homosexuality a mental illness in 1973 and then not a mental illness in 1974?
Because what we confidently call mental illnesses are decided by committee vote.
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Mental health at its simplest is about nervous system regulation + connection to self, others
+ our world.
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Depression is not a disease or a chemical imbalance. These old ideas lead to stigma, loss of hope + get in the way of healing.
It is better to think of depression as a warning sign of oppressive or overwhelming circumstances.
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โPersonality disorderโ. Time to call it what it is. Not a disorder or disease. Not an issue with personality but a response to trauma. Why? ๐ ๐งต
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Women are 75% more likely to be given a diagnosis of personality disorder. This is diagnostic overshadowing of trauma, toxic stress, oppression, abuse + injustice.
Itโs time we stop covering up the burden of prejudice + discrimination that women face
#InternationalWomenDay2023
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Early intervention for psychosis starts with addressing deep poverty, injustice, child abuse + neglect.
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The problem with the biopsychosocial model is the assumption that genetic predisposition plays the defining role + that social factors by themselves are not enough to cause mental illness.
But they are.
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To prevent mental illness we must address social injustice.
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The continued use of the term โpersonality disorderโ causes diagnostic overshadowing of toxic stress, trauma + injustice.
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Children in the poorest households are 4x more likely to develop nervous system regulation + social connection difficulties compared to those in the richest.
This isnโt a โfaulty genesโ problem itโs a social one.
#ChildrensMentalHealthWeek
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Feeling you belong in your community is a mental health intervention.
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The mental health epidemic is caused by toxic social circumstances. It is not a โbad genesโ or chemical imbalance issue. It is a preventable environment-based problem.
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Ending poverty is a mental health intervention.
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Feeling you belong in your community is a mental health intervention.
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You cannot reliability diagnosis borderline personality disorder in children or adults because it lacks scientific validity.
It is a misdiagnosis of trauma, neurodiversity, autoimmune issues and so on. It is diagnostic overshadowing that compromises peopleโs dignity + care.
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We know scientifically that there is an absolute link between adversity in childhood + adult mental health.
If we want our children to grow up to live happy healthy lives then we need to reduce their exposure to toxic stress, injustice + trauma.
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Depression is largely caused by circumstances that lead to nervous system overwhelm + loss of connection to self, others + the world.
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There is little point reducing waiting times or improving access to mental health services if we are re-traumatising people when they get there.
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Children in the poorest households are 4x more likely to develop nervous system regulation + social connection difficulties compared to those in the richest.
This isnโt a faulty genes problem itโs a social one.
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Talking therapy isnโt a substitute to addressing toxic environments + social injustice.
We need social + political change.
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There is growing evidence to suggest that antidepressants have significant, understudied and even long-term, permanent adverse effects.
Thatโs not ok.
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There is little point reducing waiting times or improving access to mental health services if we are re-traumatising people when they get there.
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The continued use of the pseudoscientific term โpersonality disorderโ causes diagnostic overshadowing of adversity, trauma + injustice.
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If we want to get childrenโs mental health right we need to get it right for their parents.
We need whole family approaches.
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The continued use of the term โpersonality disorderโ causes diagnostic overshadowing of toxic stress, trauma + injustice.
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โMental illness does not existโ is very different to โthe DSM lacks scientific validity + our approach to mental health is limited by thisโ.
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The DSM was not based on the scientific consensus of the time but on the moral judgment of a group of mostly white men with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
The obvious example here is the inclusion then later removal of โhomosexualityโ as a โmental illnessโ.
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The use of the term โpersonality disorderโ causes diagnostic overshadowing of developmental + complex trauma.
It masks a hidden epidemic of child abuse + prevents people, especially women, from receiving appropriate support.
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When we understand that our mental health is largely about our circumstances it makes no sense to rely on mental health services for the answers.
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Poverty is as much a cause as a consequence of poor mental health. In this
@psychmag
article we explore integrated community focused solutions.
A focus on the treatment of individuals can only be one part of the solution to improving our mental health.
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Safe + secure housing is a mental health intervention.
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What we have done is created an illusion of a vast mental health epidemic. Confusing normal responses to life with mental disorder.
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The diagnosis of personality disorder is how the mental health world has long silenced victims of abuse. When we use it we are part of that silencing.
That silence perpetuates harm + violence. Itโs time to move to a trauma informed understand of mental ill-health.
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The well-meaning โ1 in 4โ mental health mantra suggests an equal + random distribution according to the fate of our biology or personal resilience.
But this is not true. It masks that our mental health is more accurately determined by our circumstances.
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Feeling you belong in your community is a mental health intervention.
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The continued use of the term โpersonality disorderโ causes diagnostic overshadowing of adversity, trauma + injustice.
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The use of the term schizophrenia causes diagnostic overshadowing of childhood trauma, developmental disruption + social injustice.
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Iโve worked in NHS mental health settings since my early 20s. What I see time and time again is people with tough lives, that have had awful things happen to them having a tough time. And itโs slowly got worse.
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Fixing the mental health crisis isnโt about better access to mental health services itโs about fixing society.
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We need specialist mental health services + providers that understand the link between trauma + mental illness.
Not ones that work against it or cause it. If theyโre not up to the task then we have a serious quality of care problem.
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Thinking of depression as a disease or from a chemical imbalance reduces recovery outcomes, leads to stigma + loss of hope for recovery + healing.
It is more helpful to view depression as a warning sign of unsafe, oppressive or overwhelming circumstances.
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We must ensure talking therapy isnโt a substitute to addressing social injustice + inequality.
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We know scientifically that there is an absolute link between adversity in childhood + adult mental health.
If we want our children to grow up to live happy healthy lives then we need to reduce their exposure to toxic stress, injustice + trauma.
6
44
141
We know scientifically that there is an absolute link between adversity in childhood + adult mental health.
If we want our children to grow up to live happy healthy lives then we need to reduce their exposure to toxic stress, injustice + trauma.
5
40
138
Reducing mental illness means shifting our focus from medication, therapy + neurobiological innovation to social + economic policy change.
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We need specialist mental health services and providers that can work with trauma + distress not against it or cause it.
If theyโre not up to the task then we have a serious problem.
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What if we saw depression as a warning sign or a symptom? The brainโs evolved signal that something needs to change?
Rather than a disease it is an evolutionary adaptive response.
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Half of mental health difficulties are established by the age of 14 + 75% by age 24.
Yet we spend 7% of the mental health budget on children.
Investing early not only + most importantly saves lives it is also a prudent use of health care resource with huge economic saving.
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Children in more deprived areas are more likely to be prescribed antidepressants.
This is the medicalisation of poverty.
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Mental health cannot be separated from the social determinants of health.
To improve mental health on a population level we need to ensure people have safe homes, jobs, food security, free medical care + community connection.
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Antidepressants use:
62% reported sexual difficulties
60% felt emotionally numb
52% felt not like themselves
47% had experienced agitation
39% had experienced suicidal ideation.
Most importantly, prescribers did not warn people about the possibility of these side effects. ๐
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It's time to move beyond the outdated beliefs that our suffering is due to chemical imbalances + recognise how our life circumstances impact our mental health.
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The continued use of the term โpersonality disorderโ causes diagnostic overshadowing of toxic stress, trauma + injustice.
6
33
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When we understand our mental health is largely about our circumstances addressing this is then not about better access to 1-1 therapy or mental health services but about addressing our exposure to toxic stress, injustice + inequality alongside improving our relational health.
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For good mental health we need a society that prioritises relationships.
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We know scientifically that there is an absolute link between the experiences of childhood trauma + adult mental health.
If we want our children to grow up to live happy healthy lives then we need to reduce their exposure to adversity, injustice + trauma.
13
26
129
What we have done is created an illusion of a vast mental illness epidemic. Confusing human responses to toxic unjust social + living conditions with mental disorder.
7
38
122
The DSM was not based on the scientific consensus of the time but on the moral judgment of a group of mostly white men with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
The obvious example here is the inclusion then later removal of โhomosexualityโ as a โmental illnessโ.
7
33
127
โAs I dived deeper, I encountered ideas that shook me and my message at the foundations: decades of criticism, not just of diagnosis but of the entire medical model.
I put down my laptop, lay down on the sofa and cried.โ
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Feeling you belong in your community is a mental health intervention.
9
24
121
Children in the poorest households are 4x more likely to develop nervous system regulation + social connection difficulties compared to those in the richest.
This isnโt a faulty genes problem itโs a social one.
2
29
116
We know talking therapy canโt fix poverty, housing, welfare + universal credit issues.
Yet as therapists, counsellors or PWP workers we are expected to do just that everyday.
Working in this way made me feel hopeless and it rarely solved anyoneโs mental health struggles.
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In Wales people living in our poorest communities feel such despair that they are 3 x more likely to die by suicide than the richest.
This isn't a โbad genesโ problem itโs a social one. The cost of living crisis is making it worse.
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The chemical imbalance theory of depression causes diagnostic overshadowing of oppression + injustice.
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For good mental health we all need a sense of belonging, to feel safe, connected, have meaning, trust and good relationships with our families, friends, and communities.
This is because our mental health is fundamentally about our social health.
#MentalHealthAwareness
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When we understand our mental health is largely determined by our circumstances a focus on the treatment of individuals can only ever be part of the solution to improving mental health.
We need policy change to create healthy societies too.
0
36
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Children in the poorest households are 4x more likely to develop nervous system regulation + social connection difficulties compared to those in the richest.
This isnโt a faulty genes problem itโs a social one.
1
21
103
Ending child poverty is a mental health intervention.
3
31
101
Your postcode is a better predictor of your mental health + illness than your genetic code.
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Mental health at its simplest is nervous system regulation + connection to self, others + the world.
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I canโt stop watching this!!! Itโs possibly the best inclusion campaign Iโve seen EVER!
Hey bartender!?!!! ๐๐ช
Negative assumptions about people with Down syndrome can become self-fulfilling prophecies. Try positive assumptions and maybe we can create more opportunities at school, in the workforce, in sports, and in social life.ย
#AssumeICan
ย
#EndTheStereotypes
#WDSD24
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Our predominant approach to dealing with trauma is screening + treatment, consistent with a medical model.
But we must also create healthy thriving communities + social conditions for people to grow up, live + heal in.
4
21
98
In Wales people living in our poorest communities feel such despair that they are 3 x more likely to die by suicide than the richest.
This isn't a faulty gene problem.
It's a social one.
1
28
91
The Mental Health First Aid programme is not evidence based. Instead it obscures workplace induced trauma + distress.
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Did you know 95% of serotonin, the chemical formerly known as the cause of depression, is estimated to be found in the gut whereas about 5% is found in the brain? ๐ง
Mental health is a whole body thing. Not just about the mind. ๐คธโโ๏ธ
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90% of the population believe depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. But this is not true.
Depression is largely caused by nervous system overwhelm + loss of connection to self, others + the world.
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We need a holistic + social justice approach to mental health.
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It has been said that if child abuse + neglect were to disappear today the diagnostic statistics manual (DSM) would shrink to the size of a pamphlet + in two generations the prisons would be empty.
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Well meaning statements like โone in four people will experience a mental health problemโ imply that poor mental health occurs equally + randomly across the population according to the fate of our levels of โpersonal resilienceโ or biology.
But this is not true.
1
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Our postcode is a better predictor of our mental health than our genetic code.
3
22
94
There is a strong link between a diagnosis of mental illness + childhood trauma:
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We need specialist mental health services and providers that can work with trauma + distress not against it or cause it.
If theyโre not up to the task then we have a serious problem.
6
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โWe found evidence of causal links between poverty + nine mental illnesses.โ
Dx of: ADHD, anorexia, anxiety disorder, autism, bipolar, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder + schizophrenia.
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Our predominant approach to dealing with trauma is screening + treatment, consistent with a medical model.
But we must also create healthy thriving communities + social conditions for people to grow up, live + heal in.
7
27
87
Reducing mental illness means shifting our focus from medication, therapy + neurobiological innovation to social + economic policy change.
4
25
91