This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and I want to talk about why I began to share my mental health story. I also want to talk about why I think it is still important that I continue to do so. This blog has been written in support of the This Is Me campaign, which aims to raise awareness and change attitudes about mental health, by the sharing of personal stories.
Why We Still Need to Talk About Mental Health
It is true that mental health is now spoken about far more freely. There are many drives and campaigns throughout the year, which aim to improve various aspects of mental health. Whilst this has most certainly improved things for those of us who live with problematic mental health, I believe we still have a long way to go.
Mental Health and Employment
It is within the workplace, that many problems still exist. For example, many employees face discrimination because of poor mental health. As many as 300,000 people lose their jobs because of poor mental health. Additionally, only 16% of people feel able to approach their employer about their mental health (Deloitte 2017). Campaigns such as The Green Ribbon and This Is Me Storytelling, work with organisations to help address these problems. For example, by encouraging employees to wear a Green Ribbon to show support, or by sharing theirs, or loved one’s experiences of mental ill-health. It is by these personal stories, that opinions are changed because they humanise these everyday struggles.
The Power of Sharing Mental Health Stories
I am a firm believer, that personal stories are a powerful catalyst for change. I am incredibly passionate about mental health and I share transparently about my own experiences. Although it isn’t always easy to be open, there are many positive returns for doing so. For example. being open has allowed me to accept and own my mental health challenges. And, most importantly, being able to help others by sharing my mental health story, has turned a difficult past into a valuable gift.
Why I Began To Share My Mental Health Story
I have struggled with mental health issues since my early teens, predominantly depression and anxiety. Additionally, I have also had issues with addiction and alcoholism. I knew people whispered about me and walked on eggshells around me and I was deeply embarrassed. The shame only caused my mental health issues to worsen.
In 2008 I decided enough was enough and as a stand against the shame, I started to write a blog. This blog existed on the iconic relic that was My Space, which was the place to be at that time in the way that Facebook is today. Initially, my blog was a place to unleash my frustrations, at the stigma I felt and the injustice of having mental health issues.
Sharing Helped me To Stop Feeling Ashamed
Then, as time went on something marvellous began to happen. Firstly, the act of my choosing to be open empowered me to feel differently about my mental health. Then, I also began to connect with people online, with similar issues, which made me feel less alone. These things combined, led me to begin to accept my difficulties and to see that they didn’t have to define me. I began to see that having mental health issues was nothing to be ashamed of, any more than breaking my leg would be.
Being able to accept my mental health challenges, in turn, had a positive effect on my mental health. Carrying around shame, especially when it isn’t necessary, is not good for your self-esteem. Therefore, letting go of that shame, at last, was incredibly liberating. In turn, accepting my difficulties freed up more energy to discover ways to better manage my mental health. On realising just how much shame had held me back, I became even more determined to be open with my story.
Sharing Helped Me To Connect With Others
Alongside my personal growth as a result of sharing my story, I also began to notice the effect it was having on others. For example, I received many messages, from people who had also felt ashamed. These messages expressed the same things I had felt in finding others like me, that there was no reason to feel ashamed. People were thanking me for being open and saying how much my words had helped them to not feel alone.
My sharing was no longer limited to online either. Feeling more confident and less ashamed, I began to share more readily in person too. The same exchange happened in person as it did online. That, in my willingness to be open, people felt able to talk about their own challenges.
Sharing Helped Me To See My Story In A New Light
These powerful connections with similar people, also made me see how positive my mental health struggles could be. In being able to help others, I could now see my mental health story as something profoundly valuable. What had once been a source of shame and frustration, could now be used as a force for good. In seeing the value of sharing my story, I began to share in a much more structured fashion, this time in video form on YouTube and I also started my own website and blog.
The Power of Our Collective Mental Health Stories
Over the years since I first began to share, I have turned something which I felt deeply ashamed of, into something I am immensely proud of. I continue to share my mental health story to help the fight the against stigma which still exists around mental health.
The more people who can be visible and share openly, the more mental health can be normalised in our personal and work lives. Coping with mental health challenges is hard enough, let alone trying to deal with negative perceptions and discrimination.
Our Stories Need Not Define Us
Most importantly, I stay visible to show that having mental health issues need not define you. By sharing my story, I am to show that it is entirely possible to recover your life, despite having ongoing challenges. And additionally that you can have mental health issues and still live a happy successful life. By continuing to share, I hope that one day there won’t be the need to ‘come out about mental health’, because there will be no need to hide in the first place.
Do you share your mental health story? If you do, what are your reasons? I would love to hear in the comments below!
Hello! My name is Finn and I have a passion for creating honest content, that inspires personal growth and promotes well-being.
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Hi. I was amazed hearing you. I have many things in common. I wish I could talk to you.. I have never heard anyone with a similar story.. I am excited I found you.. Thank you so much.. I’ll keep coming back to this.
Thank you so much for that lovely comment! Feel free to drop me a message, I am always very happy to chat!
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