25/07/2018

The face of mental health.



LISTEN. LOVE. LEARN

IF WE LISTEN TO THOSE AROUND US, SHOW PEOPLE AROUND US LOVE AT ALL TIMES  AND LEARN ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH THEN WE CAN HELP BANISH THE STIGMA ATTACHED TO IT. 




The face of mental health. The face of depression. The face of anxiety. The face of PTSD. The face of any mental health illness. What is it?
Truth be told they don't have faces, they don't have a set expression on each persons face. Some people hide it well, some people let it show. Both are normal, both are ok. When people think of 'the face' of mental health people imagine tears streaming down a face. This isn't always the case and I wanted to share mine to encourage others to open up and share theirs or talk about it. 

My face can be blank, my face can be the strongest smile, my face can be red raw eyes from flood of tears, my face can be exhausted eyes. They're all different and that's the scariest thing. You could be the smiliest happiest person but behind closed doors your other faces come out and nobody knows them, nobody knows your struggles as you're so well at hiding it. That is me, I'm always smiling around people, I'm always trying to lift people up but at home where I'm comfortable I have my darkest days and anyone outside wouldn't know meaning they can't help you. This is why it's important if you hide your faces or even wear them proud, tell people, talk to people about how you feel behind closed doors.

Here's me and my faces, vulnerable to the world, not hiding anymore. 








I was ok, I was ok for years. After losing my dad to suicide I was ok, or so I thought. I was ok in the sense I was a pro at hiding it, a pro at bottling it up. My family all went to counselling to help and guide them but not me, at the time I thought I didn't need it and it would make me worse. I continued this mind frame for years. I never really had extremely low points until around 2016.

When I met my partner Martyn it was great, it was great to be happy and still is, but allowing myself to love someone and let my feelings run free opened up the space for the negative feelings I had bottled up for years to run free along side the good ones.

In 2016 I did my Mental Health First Aid course which is one of the best things I've ever done and a main accomplishment in my life but this effect me in both good and bad ways. I would strongly advise anyone going for this course to make sure your head is in the right place first but 100% do it, it will do yourself and the world so much good. It allowed me to understand more how to deal myself with mental health and to help others. Key things to look out for. But with learning the key things to look out for when we got to the subjects of anxiety and depression I saw myself in the powerpoint. I saw the descriptions fitting me and that scared me, that scared me so much and opened up a can of worms with my mental health and the extremely low days started.

Id sit in a dark room, I'd sit in a dark room either numb or in floods of tears. I'd sit in that dark room with my dark mind not wanting to be here anymore. I have scars on my legs from it, I have scars in my mind about it. But as soon as I stepped outside of that dark room nobody would know. Only my boyfriend who I lived with would know and would help me as much as he could. He would help me when I had a handful of pills, he would help me when I had a sharp item in my hand ready to self harm again. If it wasn't for him helping me and listening to me when I needed to talk I really don't think I'd be alive today. I have only just started to tell my family now 2 years on about how low I got now I'm stronger. But I do know for sure if I had gone through it all alone, if I was living alone it wouldn't be me writing this now, it would be someone writing it in memory of me and that is petrifying. Talking helps, talking saves lives. A few weeks passed and I was feeling in a much better place, I saw it as if you have a chest infection all the bad stuff needs to come out of your body before you're feeling better again and with my mental health at this stage that was happening. Everything I had bottled up for years about my dads suicide and feeling the same way as him came up and out and it had to get worse before it got better. It was hell, I felt like I was living in a prison in my mind. At the end of it it made me want to help others even harder because I couldn't imagine feeling what I did for most days of my life and wanting live on and the sad case is so many people do feel this low for so many days of their life. I want to help those people.

Now 2 years on I don't self harm, I get the feeling sometimes to do it when I'm really low and those negative thoughts come creeping back in but I do everything in my will to not let it happen. I'm ok most of the time now I would say it's more anxiety that gets me now rather than depression. It can be something so tiny that sets me off now, I can be ok for ages them BAM something small happens and I feel like the worlds crumbling around me but I know my way out now and I know how to help myself.


I am writing this and sharing my own struggles to show it's ok to open up. I have certain people I feel comfortable talking to my own struggles about, not everybody, but you just have to find the people you feel comfortable with talking to about it because boy oh boy it really helps. I know now if I ever got so low like I was in 2016 I can go and seek some help at my local GP and I wouldn't hesitate to either but for some people this is the scariest thing and they put it off until it's too late and to be honest I don't blame them and I understand. There is still a stigma around it, I have seen it improving in the last two years but sadly it is still there and it does hold people back from getting help and this is NOT right.

Please be mindful, please talk, please listen. You never know what somebody is facing behind closed doors.

Thankyou.

LISTEN. LOVE. LEARN

IF WE LISTEN TO THOSE AROUND US, SHOW PEOPLE AROUND US LOVE AT ALL TIMES  AND LEARN ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH THEN WE CAN HELP BANISH THE STIGMA ATTACHED TO IT. 



Below are a collection of videos I have researched watching them all one by one and that I feel could help people learn about mental illnesses and also help people with certain mental illnesses know they aren't alone and can be a 'pick me up' on their worst days with tips of how people going through the same as them cope. Just simply click on the title of the video and it will open it up on a new page for you. I have put them into sections of genres so they're easy for you to access when needed. Please remember these are always here, you could even bookmark this page so if you ever need to hear words from someone who is going through the same as you you can listen to them whenever you need to. 


Mental Health awareness, general videos and ones that could help people learn
Buzzfeed
JacksGap

Vice-Mental health in children

Whatmiadidnext
Katimorton
Edensparadise



Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Whatmiadidnext

Meghanrienks

Zoella



ADHD-Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder


Buzzfeed




Bipolar 



Body Dysmorphia

Shane

Howcast

Savannahbrown



BPD- Borderline Personality Disorder



Depression



Eating Disorders



OCD- Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder 


Postpartum/Postnatal Depression



PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder



SAD-Seasonal Affective Disorder



Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder



Suicide prevention/awareness and dealing with a loss

Mayoclinic

Buzzfeed

Watchwellcast

Tedtalks


Also, if you're ever feeling alone and need to talk or want to find support for someone you know here are a number of charities and help lines who's job it is to help anyone in your situation. Please don't be afraid to reach out, it isn't a sign of weakness. If you had a problem with your car you would call a mechanic for advice and help so the same principal should apply to mental health. Any help is good.



Anxiety UK
Charity providing support if you've been diagnosed with an anxiety condition.
Phone: 08444 775 774 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm)
Website: www.anxietyuk.org.uk

Bipolar UK
A charity helping people living with manic depression or bipolar disorder.
Website: www.bipolaruk.org.uk

CALM
CALM is the Campaign Against Living Miserably, for men aged 15-35.
Website: www.thecalmzone.net

Depression Alliance
Charity for sufferers of depression. Has a network of self-help groups.
Website: www.depressionalliance.org

Mental Health Foundation
Provides information and support for anyone with mental health problems or learning disabilities.
Website: www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Mind
Promotes the views and needs of people with mental health problems.
Phone: 0300 123 3393 (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm)
Website: www.mind.org.uk

OCD Action
Support for people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Includes information on treatment and online resources.
Phone: 0845 390 6232 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5pm)
Website: www.ocdaction.org.uk

OCD UK
A charity run by people with OCD, for people with OCD. Includes facts, news and treatments.
Phone: 0845 120 3778 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
Website: www.ocduk.org 

No Panic
Voluntary charity offering support for sufferers of panic attacks and OCD. Offers a course to help overcome your phobia/OCD. Includes a helpline.
Phone: 0844 967 4848 (daily, 10am-10pm)
Website: www.nopanic.org.uk

PAPYRUS
Young suicide prevention society.
Phone: HOPElineUK 0800 068 4141 (Mon-Fri,10am-5pm & 7-10pm. Weekends 2-5pm)
Website: www.papyrus-uk.org

Rethink Mental Illness
Support and advice for people living with mental illness.
Phone: 0300 5000 927 (Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm)
Website: www.rethink.org

Samaritans
Confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair.
Phone: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline)
Website: www.samaritans.org.uk

Sane
Charity offering support and carrying out research into mental illness. 
Phone: 0845 767 8000 (daily, 6-11pm)
SANEmail email: sanemail@org.uk
Website: www.sane.org.uk

YoungMinds
Information on child and adolescent mental health. Services for parents and professionals.
Phone: Parents' helpline 0808 802 5544 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4pm)
Website: www.youngminds.org.uk

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