This 'invisible' job deserves celebrating...
Here's why (and how I researched it for my latest book)
“I think it’s hard to ask for help when you’re used to being the one helping others. But we need it too…”
The Lifeline, Libby Page
People who look after others need looking after too.
This was at the front of my mind when I set out to write my fifth book, The Lifeline, partly because of my experience of becoming a new mother and partly as a result of living through the Covid-19 pandemic.
When you become a parent you switch from looking out for yourself to putting someone else’s needs above your own. It’s a transition I found difficult - the sense of responsibility at times feeling overwhelming. But throughout the Covid pandemic I was blown away by the stories of people in the healthcare professions who do this all the time.
I was particularly drawn to the idea of mental health nursing. How do you protect your own mental wellbeing when your job is to protect the mental health of others? This inspired one of the main characters in The Lifeline, Community Mental Health Nurse Phoebe.
When writing Phoebe’s character, it was important to me that I was well informed so as well as a lot of reading I sought out mental health nurses who could share their experiences with me. I was especially fortunate to be able to speak with Dr Emma Wadey, Deputy Director for Mental Health Nursing for NHS England.
Here, she answers my questions about the role of mental health nurses like Phoebe, and explains why they deserve celebrating…
“Mental health nurses are the glue that helps put people back together”
Dr Emma Wadey, PhD FQNI RN (MH), Deputy Director for Mental Health Nursing, NHS England
Libby: As you know, one of the main characters in my book is a Community Mental Health Nurse. Can you explain the role of a Community Mental Health Nurse?
Emma: Community Mental Health Nurses work to support people who are experiencing mental ill health or mental distress, enabling them to stay at home and close to their family, friends and communities. They work with them on their recovery, whatever that might look like. That might include talking therapy, providing strategies to help manage anxiety and support with medication, among other things.
As a Community Mental Health Nurse you get to see the whole person, in their home space. It’s a very varied role. I’ve helped a patient clean out their goldfish bowl, helped with shopping, helped plan for a meal… We support them with what matters most to them. You get to see the difference these small kindnesses can make.
Community Mental Health Nurses also have a huge role to play in health prevention, particularly related to physical health. Those with a severe mental illness live on average 20 years less than the public and recently Community Mental Health Nurses have ensured access to vaccinations and physical health checks including cancer screening, and supported people to live healthier lives, including the recent national campaign to stop smoking.
The art of mental health nursing is human connection. It’s being able to connect with people who have lost the ability to connect with others. Mental Health Nurses are the glue that helps put people back together.
Libby: ‘Community’ feels a key word and is something that’s an important theme in my book. Can you talk about the importance of community for someone who is experiencing mental ill health?
Emma: It can be really frightening to experience mental distress and people can want to withdraw from friends, family and things that normally might keep them well. But it’s so important to continue reaching out, spending time with family and friends and doing things you enjoy. We know that if we enable people to do that, they are much more likely to recover quickly.
Libby: When we spoke as research for the book, you talked about mental health nursing sometimes feeling an overlooked profession, which really stayed with me. Can you say more about this?
Emma: Something I hear all the time from mental health nurses is that they feel invisible. It can be difficult to articulate exactly what a mental health nurse does. We’re so used to seeing images either in books or on TV of physical healthcare. It’s harder to conjure an image for a mental health nurse. We don’t wear uniforms in the community, for example, so we’re not easily recognisable the way a district nurse or midwife might be.
Although we are getting better at talking about mental health, stigma still prevails. That contributes to people not talking about either their own mental health or the support they’ve had from mental health professionals. And that means that the general public, and even probably my own family, don’t always know exactly what it is that I do or have done in the past during my career.
If you’ve got a wound, it’s easy to see the bandage and the dressing that has been applied. But it’s harder to see from the outside the work mental health nurses do. The complexities of building trust with someone and sitting beside them in their front room and listening to them… That’s harder to see and contributes to the invisibility mental health nurses can feel.
I also think it’s important to note the huge contribution that unpaid carers and families make to support their loved ones. This too can be easily overlooked and underappreciated but is vital.
Libby: My book deals with the issue of burnout, especially among healthcare professionals like Phoebe. Why do you think caregivers can be so susceptible to burnout?
Emma: One of the biggest issues we are facing right now is the level of demand. It means we can’t always spend the time we would like to with people and that can feel really stressful. But I think what we know about nursing and particularly probably mental health nursing is that we’re not very good at putting ourselves first.
We’re not immune to the pressures of life. We may have experienced trauma ourselves. But it can feel hard to reach out and accept help ourselves. There can be a fear to admit to struggling mentally because what does it say about your ability to help others if you can’t help yourself?
That’s something that as a profession we are trying to change. We need to role model seeking help. We need to look after ourselves before we can look after other people.
“You’re only human. And I would say that being “only human” is one of your great strengths in your job. We’re not so different from our patients, really, and that’s important to remember.”
The Lifeline, Libby Page
Book news and events
I can’t believe that The Lifeline comes out in just a few weeks! A huge thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered their copy. If you would like a special signed and inscribed copy you can order one from my local bookshop (who will deliver anywhere in the UK).
Some more exciting news… My book The Island Home is currently on sale on Kindle for just 99p. If you haven’t read this book, set on a remote Scottish island and about friendship, community and family secrets, then now is a great chance!
I’ve got some great events coming up over the next few months and would love to see you at one!
23rd April, Instagram Live event with Amanda Prowse (keep an eye on my and Amanda’s Instagram for full details)
28th April, Guildford Book Festival Spring Readers’ Day
11th May, Yate library, Coffee and cake event
19th May, The Swan at Streatley, Book talk and wild swim event
A few more events to be announced soon, so do keep an eye on your inbox for my next newsletter!
A huge thank you, as ever, for all your support of my books.
Hi Libby. This really resonated with me as my daughter is a Mental Health Nurse. She is currently studying/working towards becoming an Advanced Nurse Practitioner. I am so proud of her. She is such a kind and caring person so is the perfect career choice for her. She is awesome.
As someone with a long term mental illness, you’re very lucky if you have a community mental health nurse. I don’t get one at all where I live but when I lived 20 miles up the road I did. It’s a challenge