Mental Health Awareness Week

It's Mental Health Awareness week and I wanted to spend a little time talking about it. For those of you who don't know, I studied Psychology at A-Level and became fascinated with the subject. I went on to do my undergraduate degree in Human Psychology at Aston University, Birmingham. For my third year at uni I opted to complete a placement year, where I went back to my previous school to work as a Teaching Assistant with individuals with special needs and behavioural difficulties. Spending the year gaining hands-on practical experience was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. It gave me the opportunity to really think about where I wanted to direct my career and apply all the theory into practise.

After I graduated I flew to Sri Lanka to volunteer with an organisation called SLV.Global, who run Mental Health Placements abroad for students and graduates. I'd never worked within a mental health setting before so this was new to me and being in a completely different culture and environment took some adjustment. Overcoming the language barrier was quite a challenge but it gave me the opportunity to really develop my skills and find ways to communicate without words. Along with the other volunteers, I ran therapeutic and creative activities with the service users. Anything from making Chinese lanterns to doing yoga and singing along to Britney Spears. Although we weren't running any psychological interventions (definitely not qualified to do this!) we had an impact on so many other levels; socially, cross culturally and interpersonally.

I took so much away from my experience and this brings me round to talking about how each and everyone of us can impact someone's life, whether you have letters against your name or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not disputing the importance of professional medical help. However, we can all do something small each day to help fight the stigma attached to mental health, wherever we are in the world. Smile at a stranger; say good morning, be that friend people can talk to, listen. I could go on and on.

I also think, as well as looking out for each other, we need to take care of ourselves too. The time we live in finds so many of us comparing ourselves to social media icons and striving to be more like someone else. I've definitely found myself doing it but have come to realise it's not realistic and not achievable. I'm me, I have my own life with my own goals and that's OK. What works for me doesn't work for anyone else, our bodies and minds are all unique. At some point or another in our lives, we all deal with stressors or difficult situations. So I ask two things of you this week, be kind to others and also be kind to yourself. Whether that's taking some time out, running a bath and having down time orcalling a friend you haven't spoken to in a while. Whatever it is do it for you!