Let's chat about mental health.

This week alone, 1 in 6 people will have the symptoms of depression or anxiety and 1 in 4 people will suffer with a mental health issue at some point in their life. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and each year 70 million days are lost from work meaning mental illness is the leading cause of sickness and absence from work. Around 1 in 5 people have suicidal thoughts and 1 in 15 of us attempt suicide in our lives. Suicide is the most common death in men aged 20-49 and figures are rising, yet only 1 in 8 people are getting the treatment they need and 9 out of 10 people state stigma and discrimination means they don't access treatment. THINGS NEED TO CHANGE, THIS ISN'T OK!

Hello everyone, after suffering with my own mental health and as a student mental health nurse, I see the need for change and my aim is to take away the stigma attached to mental health and ensure people get the treatment they need. All mental health needs is awareness, there are so many stigmatising comments i hear on a day to day basis because people don't have an understanding of mental health. It is still taboo in our society, yet by 2020, Depression will be the most common illness in the world- higher than any physical health condition.

Here are some things i want to combat:

People with mental health conditions are NOT psychopaths / dangerous

Just because sometimes people may have mood swings does NOT them bipolar

You should NOT label someone with a mental illness because they act in a certain way

Just because someone is clean & tidy does NOT make them 'OCD'

Someone with depression is NOT weak

People who self-harm or attempt suicide are NOT attention seeking

People with a mental illness CANT just 'cheer up' or 'get over It'

You CAN have a mental illness and function normally, just because they don't 'seem' depressed doesn't mean they aren't

You should NOT joke about mental illness, It's NOT okay

Do NOT judge people for self-medicating, you do not know what they are going through

Do NOT force people with an eating disorder to eat or state they are 'too skinny' - it's not kind or therapeutic to them

BE MORE AWARE

There are so many stigmas attached to each individual mental illness but why? Just because you cannot see it doesn't mean it's not there. You would not stigmatize someone with a heart condition or with cancer, so why stigmatize people with a mental illness? It can be just as debilatating as a physical illness and less people seek treatment because they know they will be judged for it. Why in our society are we still judging people for having a mental illness? 1 in 4 of us will have a mental illness at some point and I'm sure all of you know someone with a mental illness or have even experienced it yourself. We need to show kindness and offer support for those struggling rather than pretending it doesn't exist. I suffered with low mood and anxiety after the loss of my grandfather and I did not want to tell anyone, especially since I am a mental health nursing student, as I thought people would think I wasn't good at what I do and that i was weak. I was going through the normal grief process and yet I couldn't get the support I needed, it's not okay that people are suffering in silence!

Please all i ask from you is to make yourself more aware, know the early warning signs to look out for and be a support network for someone if you feel they are struggling. No one is asking you to be an expert in mental health but take more care with what you say- 'Your mood always changes, you are so bipolar' 'all you do is clean, you are so OCD'. These statements trivialize something that is not funny, labelling someone is not okay and it makes a joke of the illness when only those suffering know how hard it is to live with a mental illness. Please spread some awareness and let's STOP the sigma to allow people to be open about mental illness.

On Tuesday the 10th of October (2 days time) it is WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY! PLEASE use this day to spread some awareness and get involved, you may learn some things you didn't know about living with a mental illness and it may change your perception. One of my goals in life is to change the world's perception on mental illness and combat the stigma attached. Now I am only one person so I need some help, please share this around and encourage people to become more aware, it's free, quick and easy to do but could make a huge difference in our society and make it a better place for everyone. People with a mental illness are second in our society and they shouldn't be, the more we welcome people with a mental illness, the better and more rounded our society becomes.

As more celebrities talk about their battle with mental health, the more aware people are becoming. The royal family set up 'Heads Together' to raise more awareness which is amazing as only 6% of the NHS budget is spent on mental health and there are cuts all the time. As a student nurse working in mental health, I am used to staff shortages, lack of resources and people not getting the treatment they need but why??? Why is this happening??

All I can say is PLEASE DO NOT suffer in silence, regardless of what people say, your mental health is the most important thing and you have to take care of yourself. If you are suffering then please talk, it is okay not to be okay sometimes and you deserve to live an incredible life. Coming from someone with personal and professional experience, people will not think you are weak or crazy, you are a human being with an illness no different to something physical, you deserve the best treatment possible and it's something you can fight! You are strong, brilliant, wonderful people who just unfortunately haven't been dealt the best cards but better things are always around the corner if you are willing to stay around and experience them. Just know someone always loves you even if you don't feel they do, you only have one short life and regardless of what life throws at you, its up to you to make the most of it!

If any of you are struggling right now or know someone who is, please get help. I am here for anyone who wishes to talk, just please don't suffer in silence. I love you all so much.

Please share this if you feel it may help someone and spread some awareness so we can finally combat the stigma around mental health. Remember: IT'S OKAY NOT TO BE OKAY.

Below is a link to a list of hotlines you can call if you need some help, these are all confidential and most are open 24 hours so please utilise these if you feel you need them.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/mental-health-helplines.aspx