Elene from Cyprus used great rich colors in the 12-round standard crochet mandala that she made for her contribution to the Mandalas for Marinke project.
Elene writes,
“It’s really strange how someone can affect you even by being so little in your life. I admired Marinke’s work. The way she used colors, her designs, her patterns, everything! She was standing out! Her personal difficulties were not affecting her work. If I hadn’t read about it, I would never have guessed about her having to deal with Aspergers and depression.”
She adds,
“My level of serotonin in my body is low so by default I have to deal with depression and melancholy. I have no clue how much Marinke suffered. I wish she could be here with us today. The only think I’m sure of is that it must have been hard for her.”
And finally,
“I miss you Marinke. Thank you for your love, your contribution, your openness to the crochet world. Thank you for being different, original, unique!!! Thank you for sharing your story with us; it gives me strength to go on. I love you.”
Elene is from Cyprus so, as with yesterday’s post from France, I thought I’d find out what I could online about mental health services and issues in her country. I learned the following from a World Health Report:
- 1.8 of 100,000 females and 3.2 of 100,000 males die by suicide in Cyprus.
- Neuropsychiatric disorders contribute to about 1/4 of the “global burden of disease” in Cyprus.
- There is dedicated mental health legislation established in 1997 with updates in 2003 and 2007.
- Approximately 42 out of every 100,000 nurses are working in mental health, compared to about 29 psychologists and 7 psychiatrists.
This is one of the posts made in honor of Wink, in celebration of crochet mandalas and to raise depression awareness. See all Mandalas for Marinke posts here.
