I, as have so many others, had various battles with my mental health over the years. The breakdown of relationships, time off work and that constant sense that when I’m healthy, I’m never that far away from losing control of it again.
I’ve sat there thinking it’s not fair; I’ve blamed myself, and others, and over the years, as I’ve learnt more, I’ve come to terms with it.
I am the one that can control my wellbeing, I can create an environment that gives me the best possible chance at maintaining positive mental health.
The theme for the 2021 World Mental Health Day has been mental health in an unequal world and as I have reflected on this, I start to see how my privilege is what is allowing me to manage my mental health.
That because I can afford to pay my bills each month, that I can afford to buy enough food, that I can be confident that I can get through the day without experiencing abuse or trauma because of where I live, I have a higher level of what we call protective factors.
There are millions of people in the world that cannot do this and these factors alongside so many others, put someone at greater risk of developing mental health illness.
When I have needed support in the past, I am part of a society that gave me access to medical support through the NHS and when needed, I could afford to access talking therapies at my own expense when I wanted. I am extremely privileged.
I am grateful that I have had support with my mental health and I want to pay it forward to give access to others. That is why I’ve donated to the charity Mind every month for the last five years.
I’m not suggesting that even in the UK, the access to mental health support is equal, it absolutely isn’t. With wait times for services ranging dramatically across the country.
A new standard was proposed for the NHS in July this year that looks to develop the world-leading programme of talking therapies for adults with common mental illnesses seeing more than one million patients per year, with more than half of those finishing treatment recovering, and 24/7 liaison services in 80% of general hospitals, up from only 39% in 2016.
This change would be dramatic. Ensuring that patients requiring urgent care will be seen by community mental health crisis teams within 24 hours of referral, with the most urgent getting help within four hours. Early intervention is critical.
But you know what, prevention is even better.
Everyday I speak with people who are on their own journey around their mental health. Some are learning more pro-actively, some want to learn more to understand what they’re going through and some want to learn more to help those that they see need support.
We speak regularly in our workshops and talks about our Window on the World and how everyone sees the world differently. But so often it’s only when we stop to think and reflect that we can see how we fit into it and where we can help others.
If you aren’t able to make a donation to support someone else with their mental health, there are so many other ways you can help.
Send someone some information to services they could access, talk about mental health to try and remove stigma.
Or the thing that can have the biggest impact – listen to people when they are talking.
Sometimes they don’t even know what they’re trying to say.
