I studied Psychology and have always been interested in human behaviour but I recently saw a documentary which made me think why do we still try and almost ignore the big factor that is mental illness.
So what has prompted me to feel this way, I recently saw a documentary called "Failed by the NHS" it was aired on the BBC Three and looked at a young man who has actually documented his journey with a mental Illness on you tube. At first when I started watching it I thought he was only talking about his illness but he decided to explore and meet many other young people who have struggled with mental illness and ultimately felt as though the current NHS system and other systems like CAMS etc didn't do enough to help them. The programme looked at depression,suicide,anxiety disorders and anorexia etc.
After I graduated from University I decided to volunteer for a charity called Mind and helped in their drop in centre. Dealing with patients who had depression,schizophrenia,anxiety disorders, bipolar etc. I was only 23 when I worked there and I remember my first day being a scary experience not because I was scared of the people but in the back of my head thinking just because they have a mental health problem people look at these individuals like freaks instead of understanding reasons behind it. What also scared me is it made me realise how much in control I was of my emotions whether this be my anger, sadness etc. Hardly any of the people who came to this centre had this and many of them lived alone and had been unable to work for a number of years. Part of them surviving was coming to the centre and meeting others who also had mental health problems and didn't judge them including the staff there who were so quirky. Clients did get aggressive due to their health and were sometimes rude but it made me think their emotions and the way they think are much more harder to control and this wasn't their fault. Amongst the medication they took to help calm them down the social aspects of the club kept these patients going.
Linking this back to youth of today I worked with Adults in Mind but if mental Illness is spotted in your earlier years shouldn't life be a little easier as an adult !! Well in theory we would hope so right? However many young people are still falling through the cracks. The BBC documentary I saw highlighted a couple factors where the NHS fails the first points of call which are the GP or the emergency room. I am sure this is true and properly does mean that many people are committing suicide as highlighted in this programme because their so called cry for helps aren't heard. So what can we as a nation actually do? What I really liked about this documentary is this young man was trying educate us. I think we sometimes think "that's never not going to happen to us now is it?" One in four of us may suffer from a mental Illness according to statistics from the mental health foundation. I will admit freely and without shame I have been depressed not severely because thankfully my GP identified I wasn't a danger to myself and others and it was during a bad patch at work. He also didn't wanted to prescribe medication to me just for the sack of it. So many people may be unnecessarily taking anti depressants to help cure the stresses of their life but does it actual help especially if it as my GP refereed to my situation was "reactive". So a situation where you are very upset but you aren't suicidal or harmful to others etc. Surely its more dangerous to be prescribing drugs which are very strong for the wrong reasons.
Mental Illness shouldn't be a Stigma in fact I think teenagers should learn more about it during PHSE(Personal,Health and Social Education) The impact of things like cyber bullying and technology makes its now easier for many teens to become depressed. If a young person hears a voice they are not weird and they need to understand its the kind of thing that needs to dealt with. I remember this very sweet boy I worked with he had no friends at school he would come and see me during lunchtimes. I told him he needed to stop doing this, when I looked into his case history the teachers described him as "odd". This young man had many problems at home and he would hum and talk to himself when alone he sometimes displayed pouts of anger at home and his family sometimes ignored his presence. I did inform my concerns to a teacher in the school stating I am pretty sure he has a mental health Illness, he was even seen by the child psychologist. I am not sure what the outcome of this boy was but the school were keen to get rid of him and make sure he didn't stay there for sixth form. I felt really upset by this because I don't think they even wanted to understand his problem. They saw his unusual personality as a hindrance to the school and wasn't looking out for his welfare at all. A example of how as a careers adviser I was powerless to help a boy who was ultimately distressed. What disturbs me about this incident is I am sure he properly isn't the only young person who is seen as burden to schools. People don't want to understand how scary mental illness could be for a young person who has no idea why they may hear a voice or see things that shouldn't in theory be there. Isn't it our job as adults to help point them towards empathetic and trained individuals who can help them. However until better training and understanding of mental illnesses is dealt I fear this with this won't happen. This is something the government needs to do something about sooner rather then later.
So much do we know about mental health? I studied mental health at university and I must say I pleased to say I have. I don't think its something to be shameful about I may not suffer from mental illness but that doesn't mean I should be smug and say I never will because I just don't know. The main thing I think we need to know is to keep educating ourselves about mental illness. Just because it's an illness we can't see doesn't mean we shouldn't do something about it. If you are someone who works with young people and suspect they may have a mental health problem don't ignore it. Referrals to appropriate people whether this be school psychologists, psychiatrists etc should be actioned because helping a young person at a crucial point could make all the difference. I would also say untill we break stigma of mental ilness and actually talk to others about it the barriers surrounding it will still exist.
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