So my blog is turning one tomorrow and I thought it was about time I wrote a post about my mental health, which was one my main reasons for starting this blog. This is a really brave post for me to write and I've never said too much about it before, but reducing stigma is so important and this seemed like the right time. 1-in-4 people in the UK will struggle with their mental health at some point in their lives, so why are we so afraid to talk about it? Being mentally unwell shouldn't be something to be ashamed of.
I've been struggling with my mental health since I was about 16, when I was in sixth form college. There's no significant event which triggered my decline but I'm pretty confident the extensive bullying I was a victim to throughout both primary and high school, finally took their toll.
My first attempt to get help for my difficulties was not a positive one, I visited my GP when I was living at home and I wasn't taken seriously, as is the case with many young people. I was told I didn't fit the criteria for depression because I hadn't experienced a "decrease in libido" despite me being a seventeen year old who had never been sexually active and who'd recently started identifying as a sex repulsed asexual. I was told I could "access online counselling" and sent on my way. Funnily enough, as a seventeen year old opening up and telling a professional that their mind is scaring them, I actually
wanted to be helped. I was made to feel like I wasn't "ill enough" - which
is never true if you open up and ask for help, you deserve to get it!
