Tuesday 17th September

I haven't actually done very much the last few days.   I have been to the hospital chaplaincy a couple of times, I went this morning to take the flowers from Emmanuel to the chapel.   Yesterday I watched on television the horrific coverage of the mass killing in the Navy Yard in Washington DC.   Today more information has been forthcoming, and it has emerged that the gunman suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

Having worked  for a short time at the private psychiatric hospital in Ticehurst I understand how serious a diagnosis this is, and how potentially dangerous a sufferer could be.   At one stage - I don't know how long ago this was -  the gunman in question telephoned the police and said that he was hearing voices that were trying to get into his body, and he couldn't sleep. Auditory hallucinations like this are a classic symptom of paranoid schizophrenia, and in Britain it would have been picked up and acted on immediately. Professional help would have been called in, and he would if necessary have been detained under the Mental Health Act, but in this country they are all way too hung up on their civil liberties to detain someone suffering a mental health disorder.

In the five years I have been here this is, I think, the fourth such mass shooting caused by someone psychiatrically ill.  The media looks at the obvious mistakes that should not have happened - in this case there was a blatant lack of security which enabled the gunman to take his guns into the Navy Yard without being searched - they bring up and debate the gun laws (and the easy availability of them certainly doesn't help) and they pontificate on the 'evil in society' , but no one seems to want to address the underlying problem of the lack of mental health care.   I am wondering if it is because this is such a big country, they haven't got the psychiatrists per capita in the population that we have.

Turning for a moment to my own mental health problems, I wasn't looking up solutions on the internet but came across the following when looking for something else.   And I thought............I do that.

Having ADHD can mean that keeping organized is more difficult for you, but it can also make you a great “speed demon” cleaner. If you can’t stick with a project for an hour, break it down into chunks, and concentrate on the room where you are. Instead of cleaning the bathroom in one go, commit to taking out the trash and wiping down the mirror one morning, and scrubbing the tub and sink after giving the kids a bath.

Have a small list of things that are non-negotiable and stick to them morning and evening. For many people, that means that mornings include making the bed and clearing out the dishwasher. In the evening, it might include putting everything in the kitchen back where it belongs. This routine, if it becomes a habit, ensures that the most important parts of your home stay livable.

If distraction is your problem, you may benefit from tackling projects in 10 minute spurts. Set an egg timer for 10 minutes and set yourself to opening bills, or cleaning out the refrigerator. Getting through several small things can make it easier to face larger projects, too.

Fact: There are three subtypes of ADHD:

a) hyperactivity/impulsivity

b) inattentive

c) combined.

The inattentive subtype typically does not include hyperactivity/impulsivity.

 I am in subtype B.