It’s time for another chat about a very important topic which is extremely close to my heart: Mental health.
I’ve spoken about my own mental health situation on my blog and YouTube channel before (If you haven’t seen that post you can catch up on it here). But today is more about you guys.
This coming week, the 14th to the 20th of May, is Mental Health Awareness Week here in the United Kingdom, where I live.
Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with 7.8% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis and 4-10% of people in England will experience depression in their lifetime.
Mental health problems are one of the main causes of the overall disease burden worldwide and it is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem. [Mental Health Foundation]
Between 2003 and 2013, 18,220 people with mental health problems took their own life in the UK and Suicide is the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 years in England and Wales.
And so, for Mental Health Awareness Week, let raise some awareness about that and try to lower those heartbreaking statistics.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. I only ever affiliate myself with products and companies that I believe in and either use, or would use, myself.
Now if you’ve watched my other video, you know that I struggle a condition called Borderline Personality Disorder and that I’ve attempted to take my own life before. Luckily I’m doing a lot better these days!
But this video and post is for those of you who are struggling and don’t know what to do about it or where to turn.
If you’re in that pit of depression, or suffering from severe anxiety, here are some things you can do.
Five things that can help improve your mental health
- Reach out to a trusted family member or friend. You may be scared to do this because you think it might change how they see you or feel about you, or what they might say. But believe me, a burden carried together is a smaller burden than one carried alone. It makes such a difference to open up to someone and simply get out the words of what’s on your mind.
- Secondly, if you’re not feeling like you can actually speak about what’s on your mind, you can simply reach out to someone who you trust for some social time. You can just say “Hey, I need some quality time, I’m struggling a little, don’t really want to talk about that but I reckon hanging out with you and doing something fun would be cool right now”. This can help a bucketload, even if you’re not talking about things yet, this can help improve your mood, and may or may not eventually lead on to talking like in point number one.
- Engage in some self care strategies. I have a video and post on my favourite self care strategies, which you can find here. Self care strategies include everything from getting some exercise, eating healthily, doing some meditation or yoga, to treating yourself to a nice bubble bath and getting a massage. Strategies like these can help you make yourself feel an improvement in your mood, and it is just such a powerful thing to feel that you have helped yourself in some small way.
- Do things that make you feel good. Now this can tie in with self care, because things like exercise and eating healthily are proven to help make feel good. But this can also mean keeping up with activities or social groups that you enjoy doing, even if right now you feel like you’d rather stay in bed. Getting out and doing these things will help make you feel good, trust me. You just need to get yourself past that first point of getting up and out the door. The regularity and the routine kept by participating in these activities has also been shown by studies to help combat depression and anxiety so there you go.
- Get professional help. This is one point that I advocate so hard for. There is so much professional help out there, and I know it can seem daunting to reach out to your doctor to say “I’m struggling, and I need help”, but it can be the most life-changing thing you’ll ever do. You don’t have to feel the way you feel right now, there are so many services in place to help.
BetterHelp
One such service who I recently connected with, they emailed me and told me about their amazing service, is BetterHelp. BetterHelp are a online counselling service, so you can access professional help from the comfort and safety of your own home. BetterHelp provide anyone over 18 facing life challenges with easy, discreet and affordable access to professional counseling from a licensed therapist. They have helped over 60,000 people around the world so far.
With BetterHelp you can get counseling via message, live chat, phone or video conferencing – You sign up and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 24 hours. BetterHelp have provided me with a link which my readers can use to access online therapy if they wish. You’ll find it here.
Full disclosure, BetterHelp haven’t paid me to make this video, it’s not sponsored, but if someone does sign up to their service using this link, I will make a small commission. But that also means I’m provided with the opportunity to help any of you guys out there, my amazing viewers, who are struggling and need help, to connect with that help you need, and that’s the reason why I’ve accepted this affiliate opportunity.
Because helping people I care out get the help they need, is an issue very close to my heart. I’m always the first person to suggest to anyone I know in my real life if they’re struggling, that getting professional help could be what they need. So if you are one of those people who need a helping hand, don’t be afraid to reach out.
I hope this post and video has helped give you some ideas of what you can to help if you’re struggling with depression or anxiety. This UK Mental Health Awareness Week let’s try to lower those devastating mental health statistics, and help those who need it most – even if that’s you. Especially if that’s you. Take this opportunity to reach out and start that process of climbing out of that dark hole you in. You don’t have to stay there. Everyone deserves happiness, and you can get there.
Love M x