Mental Health and Accepting Difference

*Disclaimer*

If you're not comfortable reading about mental health for any reason then don't read on. If you're suffering yourself, there are lots of different services and people you can contact for help. I will leave these website links down at the bottom of the post.

Last year was an exceptional year especially when it comes to Mental Health and Accepting difference. It used to be such a massive stigma and it still is now. People still struggle to speak out and don't react the right way and that's okay. It's not an easy subject. People find it hard to understand about mental health also and that's fine. I hope my blog post helps at least one person.

However, celebrities like Olly Alexander (Years & Years main singer) and Ariana Grande (Pop Queen) have spoken out about their mental health issues so widely this year that people are becoming more open and recognising that it's alright not to be okay sometimes.

Olly has helped the LGBTQ community and made them feel accepted through holding events including a concert at the O2 with full acception to LGBTQ people. He's worked alongside charity Stonewall also and has helped them help many people in the last few years. Ariana after the Manchester Bombing has not stopped being amazing. She has continued to talk about these events despite finding it hard and help the families and fans affected by that terrible incident. She turned down a Damehood because she is still grieving which I think is so respectful and she's planning a special show for Manchester in 2019! She also speaks out on Twitter mostly about her mental health and comforts fans when they need her.

Throughout my life I have had real difficulty with my Mental Health. From a young age I wondered why I was so different to my peers in school. I found out I had Aspergers Syndrome at the age of 13. This was more of a sense of relief for me than anything else because I could finally accept myself. I did a presentation to my year group to spread awareness of my disability and explained how it causes me great anxiety but actually how it taught me to love myself also. From then I was going to see Alis Rowe talks (Founder of the Curly Hair Project) and I even visited the Autism Show in London twice. I am passionate about my disability and I would like to think I will help others in the future who are like me.

I felt so privileged to see Anne Hegarty on I'm A Celebrity last year. With her determination and bravery, I was inspired but also proud. In my head whilst the show was on I said to myself "It was about time someone showed up on one of these programmes. People have such a lack of understanding of the Autism Spectrum altogether and seeing her daily struggles on telly would help millions." I wasn't wrong! I mean how amazing must that of been for her to receive a book of messages of thanks for inspiring me's and well done's from the National Autistic Society.

In most recent years I have battled severe Anxiety and Depression. I put so much pressure on myself during my GCSE'S and my Alevels that I made myself depressed and anxious. That was a really dark time for me and I hope with the cognitive behaviour therapy I had twice through those time would help me overcome these battles if they decide to return in the future. Luckily my anxiety is now controllable and doesn't affect me socially like it used to. However, I still have days where I would prefer to be in bed all day and that is fine. I've learnt that it's fine to switch off sometimes and to keep breathin'.

Another thing which I have struggled with recently is loneliness. I find this really interesting because how can the peak time of my life actually be the most loneliest? According to a report that the BBC did recently, 16 to 24 year olds beat the elderly over who is the most loneliest age group. I've not had the best of luck since joining university socially and reading this report made some sense of why I was feeling like this. I'm really lucky to have such a good family unit and support at University if it gets too tricky. The loneliness however I think will disappear soon. It's just dealing with it sometimes which is tricky.

So you're probably wondering then 'What can I do to help others with mental health issues?' or 'What can I do to help myself, I feel I can relate?'.

Find out below:

1) What can I do to help others with mental health issues?

- Be a good listener.

- Support them even when they say they're 'Just fine'

- Be someone they can trust, if they need a friend or someone for a hug then be there for them.

- Be understanding. Try to understand. Then you can help them.

2) What can I do to help myself?

- Understand that it's okay to not be okay.

- Do things you enjoy like listen to music and watch Netflix

- Find a new hobby

- Reach out to family and friends or even a doctor.

- Join Groups/Clubs/Societies to keep your mind distracted from negative thoughts

Remember that if you need help, visit:

Samaritans - www.samaritans.org

Childline - www.childline.org.uk

Mind - www.mind.org.uk