As a young adult who has previously had depression and now and again falls into the same dark hole, I was more than pleased with Theresa May's speech today. She has promised to have mental health training in all secondary schools, along with changes in the workplace and our communities. "..If you suffer from mental health problems, there's not enough help to hand," she said, with a hint of upset, discussing the injustices faced by our society. She carried on to say that we should "make mental illness an everyday concern for all of us."
During my time in secondary school, I was always seen as the 'problem child'. Although I wasn't diagnosed with a mental health issue/illness back then, I knew there was something wrong with me. A deeper underlining layer that would explain my random outbursts of anger, extreme sadness and troublesome behaviour. I remember feeling so angry one day at school, that I was repetitively kicking the stage and pulling at the hairs on my head simultaneously. Everyone was looking at me, like I had 'mad' tattooed all over my face and body. I remember the Deputy Head looking at me with an expression of confusion on her face, glued to the floor, not knowing what to do. Then there are the numerous times I've had to be excused from the classroom for suddenly bursting into tears and shaking with upset. Anxiety was my enemy back then and is still, to this day. When I was in secondary school, I remember my anxiety being so bad I often ended up in the medical room, only to be left completely alone for hours or told to suck on a peppermint, to 'calm down'. My teachers didn't really care - well that is what they showed me anyway - that they didn't. No one actually took out the time to understand or empathise with me during my time at secondary school.
Deep down, I knew I needed help. I just didn't know where to turn. I mean there were no counsellors present in my secondary school, nowhere to go to talk about your problems. Nothing. I was continuously put in the isolation unit, given long detentions and being excluded everytime I lashed out. No one ever asked my why I was so angry and disruptive in class. Mind you, I was top of the class too and so I would have thought, they would have invested more time in trying to investigate how to nurture my potential and help me avoid any obstacles. But no, because quite frankly the teachers did not care and/or not know how to help.
What made it worse, is during my time at secondary school, I was severely bullied, this made my time in school very hard. I had problems outside of school too, and so I felt trapped and alone. The bullying had a profound impact on my mental health too, I would argue it made me even more depressed and increased my anxiety. I soon started to bunk lessons every now and again, just to get that breathing space. Sure I was getting the best grades, but I wasn't being treated nicely by my teachers or my peers.
If May's plans to tackle mental health goes to plan, I believe there is hope for the younger generation and the rest of society. Mental health can affect anyone, at any given age. I feel as though, those younger than 16 have often had to face the brunt of their behavioural symptoms being dismissed for something quite trivial as 'just growing up'. We cannot turn a blind eye anymore. The annual health survey for England found that one in four adults had been diagnosed with a mental health illness at least once in their lives. Click here to read more : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35322354
Many of these adults who do end up having these diagnoses, developed mental health issues when they were younger and as they age and issues have not been dealt with make things worse. I wouldn't say diagnosing young people under the age of 16 is key, but there is need for mental health services to be available to the younger demographic. And maybe it isn't such a bad idea having mental health ambassadors present in the school (previous school alumni) who had issues but overcame them. That way, young people can relate to the people offering help and be open to receiving assistance.
The Conservative government have made many cuts to our health and welfare services last year, that are still affecting us today. May has given me hope that the discussion around mental health will no longer be stigmatised and that young people will no longer suffer in silence. I pray she delivers on her speech with action. Our society is full of traumatised people, we need to acknowledge this trauma and then follow on with mending hearts and minds.
Please take a listen to my recent spoken word poetry : http://bit.ly/2i3wLOz
Deep down, I knew I needed help. I just didn't know where to turn. I mean there were no counsellors present in my secondary school, nowhere to go to talk about your problems. Nothing. I was continuously put in the isolation unit, given long detentions and being excluded everytime I lashed out. No one ever asked my why I was so angry and disruptive in class. Mind you, I was top of the class too and so I would have thought, they would have invested more time in trying to investigate how to nurture my potential and help me avoid any obstacles. But no, because quite frankly the teachers did not care and/or not know how to help.
What made it worse, is during my time at secondary school, I was severely bullied, this made my time in school very hard. I had problems outside of school too, and so I felt trapped and alone. The bullying had a profound impact on my mental health too, I would argue it made me even more depressed and increased my anxiety. I soon started to bunk lessons every now and again, just to get that breathing space. Sure I was getting the best grades, but I wasn't being treated nicely by my teachers or my peers.
If May's plans to tackle mental health goes to plan, I believe there is hope for the younger generation and the rest of society. Mental health can affect anyone, at any given age. I feel as though, those younger than 16 have often had to face the brunt of their behavioural symptoms being dismissed for something quite trivial as 'just growing up'. We cannot turn a blind eye anymore. The annual health survey for England found that one in four adults had been diagnosed with a mental health illness at least once in their lives. Click here to read more : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35322354
Many of these adults who do end up having these diagnoses, developed mental health issues when they were younger and as they age and issues have not been dealt with make things worse. I wouldn't say diagnosing young people under the age of 16 is key, but there is need for mental health services to be available to the younger demographic. And maybe it isn't such a bad idea having mental health ambassadors present in the school (previous school alumni) who had issues but overcame them. That way, young people can relate to the people offering help and be open to receiving assistance.
The Conservative government have made many cuts to our health and welfare services last year, that are still affecting us today. May has given me hope that the discussion around mental health will no longer be stigmatised and that young people will no longer suffer in silence. I pray she delivers on her speech with action. Our society is full of traumatised people, we need to acknowledge this trauma and then follow on with mending hearts and minds.
Please take a listen to my recent spoken word poetry : http://bit.ly/2i3wLOz