World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health Day. A day to stop, reflect and raise awareness of mental health.

There’s so much value to this - including even more people even taking a minute to consider their own mental health and that of loved ones, colleagues and community. Hopefully making a case for more people to take their own mind more seriously, and hopefully with compassion and care, rather than shame and blame.

But I also feel a bit of an edge to it. I worry about the amount of platitudes we see – the inauthenticity of reflecting on mental health without much action.

And here I’m not talking about the individual not taking enough action. Believe me, I don’t think we need to impose any more responsibility on individuals to improve the world we live in today. I’m talking about the systems and structures which actually do more to reinforce the issue than to support it, yet will vocalise support for it today.

And I know it’s not as easy as flicking a switch and having solutions to problems overnight.

But I do see people really struggling to show up for themselves because their priority has to be putting food on the table and making sure there’s enough money for heating through the winter.

I do see people experiencing discrimination and feeling powerless to challenge the systems which, ultimately, enable and support the perpetrators who inflict pain.

I do see people who’ve been waiting for support for years, yet are still on waiting lists and again feel powerless and as though there's no direction to turn.

I do see people not feeling welcome in their own communities due to division, fear and blame for the inequality we see rising in today’s society, which is hugely misdirected and unfair.

I do see people trying to find their purpose in life, applying for jobs that 100s of other people are also applying for, hoping for someone to take a chance on them.

And despite all of this, I actually am a hopeful person (honestly!). I just worry that big corporations, leaders and systems coming out today with messages of ‘It’s okay not to be okay’ is actually not doing anything to meaningfully address the elephant in the room. That actually, as much as I fully, wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment – people just don’t feel safe to not be okay a lot of the time.

Of course, that is what therapy offers. Space to actually be okay to not be okay, and hopefully build self awareness and skills to feel better and carry this outside the therapy room. But in every day life? It can feel like a real challenge to openly not be okay. People can feel shamed, disconnected and powerless.

I’ve struggled to know how to show up on here, but I’ve decided to be more honest and authentic.

The reason I became so passionate about mental health in the first place is because I feel a deep sense of social justice. I really do see the value in every person, and believe we all have a right to live healthily, happily and with hope. And honestly? I feel angry at how people’s fear about their own safety and livelihoods is being weaponised at the expense of people’s mental health, safety and sense of community.

We deserve better than that.

And that’s why for today’s Mental Health Awareness Day, I’m not going to tell you to drink a vegetable-blended, green iced smoothie up a cliff and scream into the abyss to release tension followed by a 5-hour meditation.

Instead, I’m going to ask you to give yourself a break – however that looks. It could just be 5 minutes of recognising that actually, you’re just trying your bloody best with what you have and you deserve a bit of credit. It could be texting your mate who you keep thinking about contacting but haven’t got round to it yet. It could be playing with a pet for 5 minutes, heading out for a walk, ticking off a big fat ‘to do’ that’s been keeping you up at night, or just having 30 seconds to close your eyes, breathe slowly and calm your nervous system.

What I hope to achieve by being more authentic and acknowledging all of this is to show that I see you, I understand and I am with you. I am not going to tell you that the problems that exist in your life that you’re powerless to change are your fault and just the way you’re thinking about them.

Instead, I’m here with you to understand that it isn’t that easy. Because sometimes, just that acknowledgement can help us to feel a little more empowered and a little more connected.

Once we recognise what really is out of our control, we can let go of that disempowerment and focus on the things that are, stepping into empowerment and hope. But before we get there, we need more understanding, honesty and empathy to see that things do feel hard for a lot of people right now. And that’s what I'm hoping to offer to you more of from now on.