5 Reasons to Talk About Mental Health in 2019

For someone who suffers from anxiety, the idea of opening up and talking about something real and personal is so far removed from what I am comfortable with. Yet in 2018, that's exactly what I did. Online and offline. At times it did feel utterly cringy and self indulgent but in doing so I also realised the value and strength in allowing yourself to be vulnerable and how it can also help those around you. There are so many reasons why talking about mental health is a good thing, but for the sake of this blog post I've shortened it down to five of the most important reasons that I discovered in 2018...

1. The robots are coming, let's be human. 

I genuinely believe that in our fast paced modern lives, world of technology (the robots are coming), Trump and Brexit, we need our humanity more than ever. There is nothing more human than emotion, even the negative ones. It's also something which has affected generations before us but they suffered in silence.

2. As a driven millennial, it's ok to be broken.

I masked my anxiety for years thinking that if I acknowledged this sense of panic then I couldn't be successful in life. I think for people my age it is a common trap to fall into. I think this is also exacerbated by the expectation of having to 'live your best life'. We feel the need to be busy, in work, in our social lives and then also during chill time with endless notifications. With this constant noise, it's not surprising that anxiety levels are on the increase and not just within millennials. 

An important lesson I learnt this year was you don't have to always be busy to be important, you don't have to be living the glamorous life of all those people you follow on instagram and always be happy, as everyone on these platforms tend to be. I find it utterly refreshing to see and follow accounts with people being incredible honest about their day, good or bad. Not just the highlights real.

3. Don't let ignorance win.

I used to play conversations with people over and over again in my head, over thinking everything I could have said and hating what I did say. My self worth became based on horrible things said to me over the years. Part of my anxiety was also overplaying those scenes within my mind daily, they became a scary movie that lived in my subconscious that I couldn't get away from. It was only in September/October time this year that I really started to let go of those words.

 I was able to do this by getting involved with an amazing mental health awareness campaign called 'Time to Change Wales' and as part of this volunteer work I was challenged to tell my story to others. I heard the gasps and shock on the faces of others when I had to repeat some of the horrible words said to me. Words that had plagued my mind for far too long and were only serving to make me an angry person. I realised listening to the strength of others in the room who had also suffered stigma and discrimination that I had a choice, I could let those words eat me up and tell me I was a failure or I could accept that they came from those who were ignorant and uneducated in regards to mental health and having emotional intelligence. After this realisation I was able to channel these feelings into my ambition to talk and educate. I feel like I've made a start on this in 2018 but I also know that really I'm only just getting started.  

4. Make conversations happen.

The most rewarding thing for me this year is seeing the direct result of my talking, since I have opened up both online and offline, I've had people open up to me about their own struggles. People have approached me saying they haven't been feeling so good lately, I was then able to sit with them and have a open conversation. As soon as I allowed myself to be vulnerable, it brought down a barrier and suddenly something which was an elephant in the room became something so utterly normal and human. Some say "doesn't it feel cringe to share your life like that?" and my response is always "no", as I know I've helped at least one other person and therefore it's worth how unnatural it feels initially. If you can make even one conversation around mental health happen that might not have previously, you could have helped someone more than you'll ever know.

5. Once you start talking, you realise you're part a much bigger crowd

The thing that often prevents people suffering with a mental health problem from talking is the fear that others won't understand and you'll be on your own. I've found, even when talking to a room of strangers, most of the time people will empathise and want to understand, some may also immediately feel compelled to hug you! If you're in a situation where you open up and they react differently or negatively towards you then get yourself out of there, choose you and your wellbeing and take yourself out of that toxic situation. The majority of my experience however has only been positive and has honestly been vital in my recovery process.

When anxiety does flare its ugly head I remember all the positive and encouraging reactions I've had and the realisation that so many others are going through this. I am most definitely not alone. You're most definitely not alone. 


If you'd like to read more about the amazing work done by Time to Change Wales or are interested in becoming a mental health champion for them then please visit timetochangewales.org.uk