"An honest, engaging and most of all, hopeful book."
- Adam Kay, BAFTA-winning, multi-million-bestselling author, TV writer and performer.
"Warm, funny and devastatingly honest. An incredibly insightful story full of hope and resilience."
- Dr Amir Khan, Sunday Times bestselling author and Resident Doctor for ITV's Lorraine and Good Morning Britain
"An inspiring rebuke to the nihilism which prevails in society about persons living with mental illness due to myths, misinformation and stigma.... Professor Hankir's personal journey bursts with courage, resilience and hope."
- Vikram Patel, Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, USA
Explore mental health, wellness, and illness in this engaging and insightful discussion from a practicing psychiatrist who himself lives with a mental health condition
In Breakthrough: A Story of Hope, Resilience and Mental Health Recovery, World Health Organization Award Winning psychiatrist, former psychiatric patient and mental health advocate Dr. Ahmed Hankir delivers a unique and powerful insight into mental health and wellness, mental illness, mental health treatment, and the culture surrounding mental health by tracing his own personal recovery journey from impoverished and shunned psychiatric patient, to becoming an NHS Consultant psychiatrist. In the book you'll explore many of the issues currently dominating the discussion of mental health and illness, including the impacts of poverty, unemployment, the cost of living crisis, homelessness, addictions, the use of medication to treat mental illness, the widespread prevalence of stigma, discrimination and racism in mental health and much more.
You'll also find:
- Comprehensive discussions about how to overcome shame and stigma to seek help if you're suffering from a mental illness.
- Explorations of how mental health practitioners and family members of people living with mental health conditions can themselves remain healthy as they care for others.
- Examinations of why mental health related stigma remains so stubbornly common in our societies and what we can do to combat it.
Breakthrough is a resource of hope and a companion for people suffering in silence who feel isolated and disconnected from society. It will also be of interest to mental health practitioners, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counsellors, addictions specialists, carers and clients. The take home messages are clear: living with a mental health condition is nothing to be ashamed about and, with the right support, recovery is a reality for the many and not the few.
Table of Contents
About the Author xiii
Preface xv
Introduction and Mission Statement xix
1 Seeking Sanctuary 1
2 Identity Formation and Fragmentation 15
3 Disillusionment 33
4 Breaking Point 57
5 Recovery and Discovery 75
6 Bittersweet 95
7 The Wounded Healer 119
8 Canaries in a Coal Mine 141
9 Dancing in the Dark 165
10 Reframing 181
11 Firefighting 201
12 Sorrow in the Holy Land 221
Acknowledgements 237
Index 245
