Unsupportive solicitors when it comes to mental health and crime

4 March 201715 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

Unsupportive solicitors

When it comes to being in trouble with the law its important that you don’t end up with unsupportive solicitors, like I did.

My first experience with the law was when I was arrested for something I never did back in 2015, and I have written this post because everyone needs to know how unsupportive solicitors are when it comes to mental health and crime.

Back in February 2015, I was arrested for harassment, then assaulting a police officer with intent and resisting arrest, and then perverting the course of justice when I got to the station.

I asked for a duty solicitor because I don’t know any lawyers and although I had never been in trouble with the police I don’t trust them, and they refused to let an appropriate adult come to the station with me for support.

The solicitor arrived nearly two hours later, and he was very unsupportive, and when I asked for a doctor, he said that the quicker we do the interview, the quicker we could get out of there.

He was falling asleep, and I was being asked the questions.

I remember thinking he just wants to get out because he is tired.

I was first asked about issues related to harassment and assault for which I was advised to answer with no comment.

I was then re-arrested for perverting the course of justice, and once again my solicitor told me not to say anything due to my mental state and memory and that he recommended that I get help for my mental illness because this will be going to the Crown Court.

I phoned my solicitor a few weeks later to see if there was anything they could do, for example, a deal with the police or CPS but all he said was that we would have to wait to see what I get charged with and that he had to go because he was busy.

I could tell what he was thinking “Not another mad criminal trying to get out of any wrongdoing”.

The truth is I had no idea I had done anything wrong and no memory of what I was being accused of.

I had an argument with someone who told me I was one of their best friends via email and I had no idea I had made a phone call to cancel a complaint made against me.

I had no idea there was a complaint against me.

I also have no recollection of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

This account never happened because my dad saw the whole incident.

Three police officers turned up at my house, and the investigating officer was sarcastic, damaged our property, and kneed me in the back several times and causing a bulging disc to the left side of the lower back affecting both sides.

Anyway, more about that in another blog post.

During my involvement with unsupportive solicitors, I came across three solicitors, two males and one female.

I was appointed a younger junior female lawyer after my visit to the magistrate’s court and my first visit to the Crown Court.

The female lawyer was a bit friendlier than the male.

The first male solicitor ignored my Dad when he introduced himself outside the police station and in the Magistrates court.

However, the female came across a little bit junior, and when it came to representing me at trial, she was off on that day, so I was told that another solicitor might be there if they finish at the magistrates on time.

They also said that it didn’t matter as my barrister would be there.

The problem was that I never knew who my barrister would be as I had three different barristers.

The first barrister wanted me to plead guilty to battery but the second barrister was a lady barrister who told me to stick to a not guilty plea as she tried to get the CPS to drop the assault charge.

The third and final barrister another male and my last solicitor also a male, advised me to get the case over with due to my mental state and plead guilty to Common Assault even though I wasn’t guilty.

So I told another lie and pleaded guilty to something I never did which will remain on my record all because my solicitor and barrister wouldn’t fight my corner because I’m just another nuisance criminal with a mental health problem.

It feels like you are an easy target if you have mental health, it’s easy to fire people, attack them, un-friend them, and criminalise them!

Have you or someone you know ever had an unsupportive solicitor when it comes to mental health and crime?

Comment below or start a discussion on our social media channels.

Any names given will remain anonymous unless permission is given to use real names.

Sock It To Eating Disorders Day March 2017

3 March 201715 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

Eating Disorders Day

Today is Sock It To Eating Disorders Day which means that it’s time to get out your silliest socks and post your #SockItSelfies on your social network channels to raise awareness of eating disorders.

Why not join thousands of others across the UK by wearing silly socks and taking selfies with your family, friends, and work colleagues.

How to make a Sock It donation?

You can also make donations to “Beat” (Beating Eating Disorders) by making a cheque payable to Make cheques payable to ‘Beat’, and send to Beat, Wensum House, 103 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, NR1 1DW.

Please include your completed paying in slip from your fundraising pack.

You can also Donate online by credit/debit card or Paypal – just select ‘Sock It to Eating Disorders’ from the ‘I would like to donate to’ dropdown menu.

Alternatively call 01603 753335 to donate by credit/debit card or send a text message to 70070: EDAW17 £3.

Your donations will help Beat answer more helpline calls and will help point people towards services which include a helpline, Online Support Groups, Message Boards, and a Helpline directory so you can look up therapists, support groups, and counsellors near you.

Check out the Beats Twitter feed for a great range of Sock It Selfies, and add your own using #SockIt.

If you have taken part in any fundraising events for Eating disorders Day we would love to hear from you.

Comment below or visit one of our social media channels.

It’s Time to Talk Day

1 February 201715 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

Time to Talk Day 2017

Today is Time to Talk Day, and it’s not too late to open up about your mental health and talk to someone.

Too many people are isolated and alone and keep their thoughts and feelings locked inside.

If you are feeling a little lonely, why not call up an old friend or family member and start a conversation?

Or send them a text message to let them know you are thinking about them; after all, it is Time to Talk Day.

I used to love receiving friendly text messages now and then; it’s nice to know someone out there is thinking about you.

It could be that very conversation that gets someone to open up about their mental health, or it might encourage you to talk about how you are feeling.

I suffered from negative, depressive thoughts and highs from an early age which led me to become angry or over-excited.

I thought these feelings would disappear, but they didn’t and still haven’t.

I never told anyone because mental health was and is always portrayed negatively.

As a child, I would hear things about mental people being nutters and taken away in straitjackets.

Mental health charities and news was almost nonexistent in comparison to today.

I still hear bad things and people making fun of mental health which is why I’m unsure about revealing my feelings to people.

I have previously confided in people who have left me, lied about me, and have got me into trouble.

For them to be so cruel leads me to believe that people who laugh and mess people about with mental health don’t understand it or maybe that’s because they are in denial about their mental health.

If someone with mental health decides to trust you and let you in on their condition, please don’t laugh or ignore them, they are still the same person.

Just treat them as you would normally.

You can get involved with Time to Talk Day by tweeting #TimetoTalk and sharing your messages.

If you are alone and you need to speak to someone check out the Looneychick blog helpline page.

I fucked up! Now I’m a criminal with mental health issues!

31 January 201715 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

Back in 2015, I fucked up really badly and not only did I previously lose my job and my friends, but I also lost my clean record and my freelance business which was starting to take off, and now I’m a criminal with mental health issues.

The question is should I have been brought to court with a mental health problem.

Let alone be charged?

Especially when I had self-harmed when I was charged with Stalking, Perverting the course of Justice and Assault with intent and resisting arrest.

In fact, all three of those charges were wrong. I was later charged with Battery and Perverting the course of justice.

Despite the fact I never assaulted anyone, and it was me who was assaulted.

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police pushed their way into my home and started kicking and kneeing my radiator and kneeing me in the back, causing a bulging L5 disc affecting both sides of my back.

Perverting the course of justice wasn’t in fact that, how can I pervert the course of justice before I had even met a police officer.

I had an argument with an ex-friend because she had my money and equipment and when I tried to recover it she threatened to call the boys in blue on me and tricked me into giving her my address so she could go to the police.

However, when I asked my Psychiatrist for this in writing he then said: “Are you sure you weren’t drunk at the time”?

Due to my condition which is thought to be Bipolar and the Psychiatrist told me that I was probably on a high, although I have no memory of doing this.

I stupidly, fucked up by calling the police pretending to be my ex-friend and cancelling the complaint to the police.

My Psychiatric doctor then said he couldn’t get involved due to a conflict of interest.

He told the Police that I was fit to attend their investigation, despite me being suicidal and slitting my wrists following the news that I was being charged with three accounts.

How was I supposed to know she would do this to me!

I was taught never to grass it’s the worst betrayal ever.

Even one of my old school friends, who saw me a few years ago, remembered me for not liking people who grass and that they should have their heads flushed down the toilet.

I know I can sense things before they happen and I’ve had these premonitions’ since I was a child; I am not entirely psychic otherwise I would be able to predict the lottery numbers.

I can only predict when bad things are about to happen, the voices speak to me.

I’m not saying that someone with mental health issues should get away with doing something wrong, I’m saying that treatment should be in place and that they shouldn’t have to live with having a mental health issue for the rest of their lives by suddenly becoming a mad criminal.

People with mental health issues are discriminated enough, especially when it comes to employers, let alone having to deal with a criminal record.

I think individuals who are criminalised due to mental health issues should start campaigning to get their criminal records wiped?

Have you ever fucked up due to a mental health issue and been criminally charged?

Comment below, or we would love to hear your story if you would like to send us your stories email admin@digitalclassic.co.uk.

A happy and healthy 2017 back on track

13 January 201715 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

Happy and healthy 2017 logo

Here are some things that can help to take your mind off things and help you get back on track to a happy and healthy 2017:

Play an instrument

I play the guitar, so I’m going to continue to play new songs.

I have six guitars and two pedals, so I hope to improve my guitar playing, purchase the pedals I want to buy, record some songs that I have written and plan to purchase a microphone stand and the Rode NTA microphone.

I will also be attending the Shaw Academy Ultimate guitar course and will take the exams.

I need to also brush up on my music theory as well as practice.

Getting fit again

Since my back injury occurred in 2015, I’m hoping to leap back into shape.

I have purchased Pilate’s DVD’S to help me get back into shape, and I have also bought a scooter so I can improve my balance.

Towards the end of 2016, I started using my Wii again, however, since I bought a double bed, there isn’t a lot of room in my bedroom for exercise and with mum currently off sick, both her and dad are always in the lounge.

When the weather improves, I will be scooting around and will take pictures on walks.

Cornwall is a lovely place to go on coastal or country walks and take some pictures of scenery for my blog posts.

I plan to Vlog about my journeys

Originally I planned to start a Vlog in the New Year, however, because I currently haven’t had the best start to 2017, I have decided that I will go with the flow and start vlogging when I feel ready.

I haven’t ridden my bike since October 2010.

I want to clean up my bike and start riding again. I lost lots of weight when I started mountain biking seven years ago.

I stopped when I got the push from the job I was in. I used to ride to work and back, even on wet days.

The reason I got the push was because I was accused of threatening my boss, then they just said that I never liked the job I was in and that I never got on with the boss and they had made up their mind and would pay me until the end of the month.

In 2016, I started reading books again. I started by reading autobiographies by Eric Clapton and Johnny Cash.

I then purchased a few SEO books on Amazon, and I’ve got my eye on buying a few more books.

I have recently read The Million Dollar Blog, and I’m currently reading Brian Wilson’s autobiography that my mum got me for Christmas.

I’m hoping that reading books will help me improve my writing and grammar skills.

Meditate daily

Many therapists and people from my Bipolar group have recommended meditation.

I’m keen to try it. I have tried some mobile apps, but unfortunately, like everything they come at a cost.

I’m going to have a look around on YouTube and see if there are any meditation videos I can do maybe once or twice daily to help relax me.

Let me know what you are doing towards a having a happy and healthy 2017?

Are you taking up a new hobby?

Are you Planning a new challenge?

Or going to a place you have never been to before?

Comment below and join in the discussion on @AdminChick .

Theresa Mays motives towards Mental Health

10 January 201715 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

Why I’m questioning Theresa Mays motives towards mental health?

Theresa May might have only been promoted to Prime Minister last summer.

However, she has been in government for over ten years which leads to the question of why has she suddenly decided to do something about mental health?

Is she looking for more popularity votes or does she really want to help?

The other question is how she can help when the NHS has no more money and is stretched for staff as it is?

Yesterday, Theresa May announced a few new policies aiming to help people who experience mental health issues.

However, she forgot to mention the cuts to disability benefits that the Tories brought in and she also dodged the question of whether she would protect extra money put aside for children’s mental health.

Mental health and children

The Prime Minister’s plans thrown into the Mental Health agenda; included a green paper on Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services; Mental health first aid train for schools; the reconfirming of a programme to help young people support their peers; an extension to digital mental services (mostly already pre-funded).

In addition to this, work on employment and mental health; with an extra £15m thrown into the pot to extend the provision of alternative places of safety and a restatement of the commitment to suicide reduction.

It’s been almost a decade since the coalition government started national campaigns like Time to Change and whilst this initiative has recognised mental health as a serious issue, there is still a lot of work to do when it comes to people with mental health being misdiagnosed, not receiving the correct treatments and being discriminated against in the workplace and being seen as second class citizens.

The public may be fooled into believing that Theresa May is a caring prime minister and is concerned for people who suffer from mental health problems.

Let’s not forget that it was her party along with successive governments have made cuts to disability benefits, leading to the breakdown of local authority funding and the decline of NHS support for those suffering from long-term mental health needs.

Lots of people can talk the talk but this doesn’t help solve the problem.

Only time will tell if we will witness a change towards mental health in 12 months’ time.

what are your thoughts on Theresa Mays motives towards mental health?

Comment below or join in the discussion on @Adminchick or join our new facebook page.

Taunted for having a mental health illness?

3 January 201715 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

mental health bullying

I was disgusted to hear that people find depression and bullying acceptable after a former Eastenders actor revealed in an interview how the public recently taunted his character for having a mental illness on social media.

Danny-Boy Hatchet who played Lee Carter in Eastenders said he was honored to have taken part in the storyline which sees his character pushed to the brink of suicide, bullying at work, resorting to taking out loans, arrested for a raid on his families pub.

However, he said that he was also disappointed to hear that viewers were taunting his character on social media by tweeting comments such as “Lee is so miserable” and “Lee needs to do the unthinkable and own up.”

He said: “If Lee was a real person he would feel even worse than his character.”

On New Year’s Eve, Eastenders fans watched as he climbed on top of a roof and went to jump off before being talked out of it by a lady who was on duty.

https://youtu.be/hKHxxFSl31o

I have personally been a victim of being snubbed and taunted for having a mental illness by several people who have pretended to be my friend and ditched me for being too miserable.

People have even accused me of doing things I haven’t done and called the police on me because I have a mental health illness.

I knew someone at school who used to have bulimia, and I would hear them laughing and egging her on to make herself sick.

It’s disgraceful how sick and twisted this world really is.

Some people joke about mental illness because they don’t know what to say or how to deal with someone with mental health or they sometimes think that tough love can help.

However, mental health issues go a lot deeper than trying to get someone’s attention or trying to get out of trouble.

An article published last month in the Huffington Post says that “Suicide is the leading cause of death of men and women aged 20 to 34, overcoming heart disease, road accidents, and cancer.”

“Men find this particularly challenging, which is why the suicide statistics are increasing, especially for older men with families who feel the weight of financial responsibility and keeping stability.”

Have you ever been snubbed or taunted for having a mental illness? Comment below or tweet @AdminChick #Neverafraidtospeak.

I’ve finally finished Christmas shopping

23 December 201615 December 2020 ~ Vickyw

Christmas shopping

Today, I’m feeling less stressed out because I’ve finished shopping the Christmas shopping presents and food.

The only things I have left are to get some Ale and Beers from the Co-op with my vouchers and Blogmas which officially finishes tomorrow.

Today we were all up and in Exeter by 10am, for the last few shopping gifts.

The town was fairly busy as usual but not unbearable.

I was on the hunt for something for my Dad as he has been really good to me this year.

I have had to deal with court appearances, doctor appointments, hospital appointments, probation appointments, and appointments to college with a career advisor.

My Dad has been giving me lifts and has traveled over 100 miles to get to the hospital for my back injury which Devon and Cornwall Police are responsible for.

I went into FatFace to look for a jumper to keep my Dad warm as he feels the cold and he’s a diabetic.

FatFace doesn’t start their sales until Boxing Day so I went into Superdry and couldn’t find anything that stood out.

My niece was with me so we had a quick look in HMV and after a brief chat with my Mum on the phone, I decided to buy him the last ever David Bowie album on vinyl, so Dad could enjoy playing his record player again.

He recently fixed the needle on his old stereo, so bringing vinyl’s back was ideal for him.

We went for a look at Debenhams and my niece found a jumper she liked which was reduced to nearly half the price.

We spotted my sister in the shop with her friend, so we asked her to have a look and see what she thought.

She liked it, so we bought it.

I was almost out of money by that point, so I went to the cashpoint for some money to pay my sister back for my mum’s present and on to Wilkinson’s where I was told that there were lots of soft dog toys for Winston.

I don’t usually shop in Wilkinson’s and now I know why.

Half of their shelves were empty and there weren’t many dog toys left so I got him and Bean some cheese and beef treats and some mint dog dental sticks.

Winston will have to wait until his birthday for a soft toy, in February.

We came back from town and then went back to Lidl for Mum and Rachael’s Chocolate Christmas puddings and more Danish pastries, cinnamon buns, and blueberry muffins for the kids.

I’ve just had a hot chocolate with cream on top. Yum! Yum! I’m just finishing off blog posts on my other blog and then I’m going to watch a film.

Hopefully, I’m going to have an earlier night than last night.

Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Comment below or tweet @AdminChick.

The Looneychick Blog

This is an award-winning blog featuring real life stories about people who suffer from mental health illnesses