Today is Time to Talk day, run by the campaign Time to Change. And I want to talk about this.
Of course, as you're reading this, it's not Time to Talk day (that was February 1st); it's taking me a while to get this blog together, I'm not a spontaneous person, things take time and they take preparation. I promise, however, that I am sat here writing on the relevant day.
Firstly, and above all else, I need to clarify something: I have no objection to Time to Talk. It's a great idea. It is hopefully benefiting many people, encouraging those with a wide range of mental health issues - or those affected by such issues in others - to find support from friends and family and colleagues. It is an important thing. It is a good thing. Far too often, we are afraid to discuss mental health, because of the stigma attached. I won't go into that matter here, better to link to the official site: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/about-us/our-impact.
So yes, it's a good thing, doing a good job. But something is missing, something remains missing from the wider debate around mental health. What if I don't have anyone to talk to?
I'm very isolated. I'll tell you my social activities for the year so far: on the 27th of January, I spent a few hours with my local Mental Health Mates group (I'll add something about that onto the end of this). And that is all. We meet once a month, and until I began attending those monthly walks last March, I didn't socialise at all. Also, hey, I'm autistic, so I have a lot of difficulty with social interaction - I want to write more about that, but it warrants its own post - and cannot stop work colleagues to chat about my mind. Nor can I ask about theirs.
And yet, time and time again, I see campaigns, posts on social media and so on, about the role that your friends play in helping your mental health, the importance of your social circle, of interaction. For me and countless others, the problems in our brains and the lack of people in our lives are interwoven; it can feel as though, if you haven't anyone to talk to or hang out with, then you're not deserving of care, have no right to recover. However well-intentioned these things undoubtedly are, they create the impression that an unbreachable line has been drawn between two different classes of people who need assistance - those who are sociable are worth helping, those who are not, well, best not worry about them.
I'm not calling for Time to Talk to stop or be watered down or anything like that. I repeat, again, it's a good thing. But please, if you're acquainted with someone who you fear could be isolated (a neighbour, a colleague, a distant family member perhaps), it may also be Time to Talk to them. Not necessarily about mental health - indeed, in many cases, it's far better to talk about anything else, to talk about 'normal' things, to be friendly. Isolation can be a crippling disease, yet it's one that can be cured remarkably easily.
And you can cure it. Go on, have a word with someone. You might help rescue them, even if all you do is blather about the weather.
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Mental Health Mates: informal, peer-to-peer groups, allowing people with any kind of mental health problem to socialise in a no-pressure, non-judgemental environment. There may well be a group near you - see here http://mentalhealthmates.co.uk/walks/, or @findyourwe on twitter - and if there isn't, perhaps you could set one up yourself. You don't need any qualifications, it's just a friendly place to walk and talk without judgement.
My local Mental Health Mates is run by the wonderful Natalie, who has a blog here: http://www.justanother5minutes.com/.
Of course, as you're reading this, it's not Time to Talk day (that was February 1st); it's taking me a while to get this blog together, I'm not a spontaneous person, things take time and they take preparation. I promise, however, that I am sat here writing on the relevant day.
Firstly, and above all else, I need to clarify something: I have no objection to Time to Talk. It's a great idea. It is hopefully benefiting many people, encouraging those with a wide range of mental health issues - or those affected by such issues in others - to find support from friends and family and colleagues. It is an important thing. It is a good thing. Far too often, we are afraid to discuss mental health, because of the stigma attached. I won't go into that matter here, better to link to the official site: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/about-us/our-impact.
So yes, it's a good thing, doing a good job. But something is missing, something remains missing from the wider debate around mental health. What if I don't have anyone to talk to?
I'm very isolated. I'll tell you my social activities for the year so far: on the 27th of January, I spent a few hours with my local Mental Health Mates group (I'll add something about that onto the end of this). And that is all. We meet once a month, and until I began attending those monthly walks last March, I didn't socialise at all. Also, hey, I'm autistic, so I have a lot of difficulty with social interaction - I want to write more about that, but it warrants its own post - and cannot stop work colleagues to chat about my mind. Nor can I ask about theirs.
And yet, time and time again, I see campaigns, posts on social media and so on, about the role that your friends play in helping your mental health, the importance of your social circle, of interaction. For me and countless others, the problems in our brains and the lack of people in our lives are interwoven; it can feel as though, if you haven't anyone to talk to or hang out with, then you're not deserving of care, have no right to recover. However well-intentioned these things undoubtedly are, they create the impression that an unbreachable line has been drawn between two different classes of people who need assistance - those who are sociable are worth helping, those who are not, well, best not worry about them.
I'm not calling for Time to Talk to stop or be watered down or anything like that. I repeat, again, it's a good thing. But please, if you're acquainted with someone who you fear could be isolated (a neighbour, a colleague, a distant family member perhaps), it may also be Time to Talk to them. Not necessarily about mental health - indeed, in many cases, it's far better to talk about anything else, to talk about 'normal' things, to be friendly. Isolation can be a crippling disease, yet it's one that can be cured remarkably easily.
And you can cure it. Go on, have a word with someone. You might help rescue them, even if all you do is blather about the weather.
--------------------------------------------------
Mental Health Mates: informal, peer-to-peer groups, allowing people with any kind of mental health problem to socialise in a no-pressure, non-judgemental environment. There may well be a group near you - see here http://mentalhealthmates.co.uk/walks/, or @findyourwe on twitter - and if there isn't, perhaps you could set one up yourself. You don't need any qualifications, it's just a friendly place to walk and talk without judgement.
My local Mental Health Mates is run by the wonderful Natalie, who has a blog here: http://www.justanother5minutes.com/.
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