Introduction to the 'Nutrition, Diet, and Mental Health' Chy-Sawel Conference

Sandra Breakspeare Founder & Trustee of the Chy-Sawel Charity introduces the conference, and explains her reasons for setting up the charity.

Due to the mental health issues of one of her sons and the fact that Anthony couldn't cope with the side effects of the treatment of the day (mainly psychiatric drugs) and both Sandra and her son asking for some other form of treatment were told there was NOTHING, only the drugs.

Sandra decided to look for some other form of help for her son. She attended various conferences in London, Oxford University, Belgium and also travelled as far as Canada for six consecutive years to three-day conferences. On returning to the UK she managed to form a committee of interested people and registered as a Ltd. Company eventually registering as a fully-fledged charity with the charity commission.

The main aim of the charity is to set up a therapeutic centre to help and support sufferers who like her son can't cope with the medications prescribed. With residency during the duration of the treatment which nutritional therapy will be a large part of the support but with also talking therapies and a whole person approach with a view to a more natural approach to their recovery to better mental health.

Sadly Anthony, after many years in various mental hospitals, on many different medications over the years and given ECT was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  He sadly died on the 23^rd December 2019 only being home for three and a half weeks after nineteen years of solid hospitalization.

Although Anthony passed away Sandra can't give up on her vision knowing that there are many like Anthony. Their families suffer as she did and so she wants to be able to allow people to have a choice and not be forcibly given medication which causes many dreadful side effects which they find difficult to cope with.