Very recently, (like a month or two ago) I had spoken at a CAMHs stakeholders meeting, it was very nerve-wracking, my anxiety was raging inside me. But i had managed to do it! I was so proud of myself, words could not explain how far I have come recently. I was told i should write it out so here we go, I will make a post out of it.
Fun fact: The word panic is actually from the greek word 'panikos' referring to the Greek God Pan, who would apparently shout at people who were alone in the woods and freak them out.
I have been under CAMHs for around three years and have recently aged out of the service as I had turned eighteen. CAMHs has helped support me through times when I really needed someone to talk to and understand what i'm going through.They have helped me gain confidence and self-esteem. It was really nice knowing that someone was there to help me through anything, even the smallest things, like catching a bus.
For the past year, i have been involved in a group called Service User Participation. Which gets current and ex-users of CAMHs to meet up and talk about the service and how we could improve it. Through this we are able to share opinions, give valuable feedback and whilst we do this we gain confidence and friendships.
I will not lie, my school experience wasnt that great, but the support that I had recieved was amazing, without that I would not have gone to CAMHs. But we all know that support in schools can be improved tremendously. I, of course, was lucky enough to have a great support system in school. But alot of young people don't have that oppurtunity to have that support.
Did you know? one in ten children and young people aged 5-16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder. That is around three in every class.
It is and has been extremely important to me to have been able to give my advice and feedback to the new school's team, who go into schools and train teachers and talk to students about how to appropriately deal with students who suffer from mental health disorders. I, wholeheartedly believe that our future is based on those in schools, and we need to tell them that sometimes mental wellness comes before grades. Young people are 100% our future.
Sometimes we just have to tell them that you are strong enough for getting out of bed in the morning when it feels like hell.You are brave for doing things, even though they scare you or make you anxious.And you are amazing for trying and holding on, even when life gets hard. So I hope you're proud of yourself. You deserve it.
I also am writing for my desire to decrease stigma on having a mental illness and educate not only young people but older people too. Stigma definitely plays a role in one's recovery, I have been called a princess and an attention seeker when having an anxiety attack. See this is the stigma, because, unfortunately, we live in a world where if you break your leg, everyone runs over to sign your cast. But if you tell them that you have a mental illness, everyone runs in the other direction. That's the stigma you see, we are so accepting of any body part breaking down, other than our brains. And that is ignorance. Pure ignorance. And that ignorance has created a world that doesn't understand depression. That doesn't understand Mental illness.
Anxiety attacks aren't always the textbook hyperventilating. They can come in various forms such as Unpredictable bouts of rage and/or irritability. Pickiness and sometimes even hypersensitivity to change. Fast-talking, stuttering, and/or stumbling over words. Not talking at all. Sitting still, seeming zoned out. Understanding the way anxiety works can help decrease stigma, in the school place and at work. It also helps those around someone who is having an attack to help them calm down, this just says a few, but there are so much more.
Mental illness is a part of my life and I want to raise awareness for others with mental illness. I don't believe I have anything to be ashamed of. Sometimes people forget that Teenagers and even children suffer from mental illness. This is a difficult subject to talk about trust me. I know. But if we talk about mental health more, people will understand and help reduce the stigma. I wrote this as I want to inspire people, I want someone to look at me and say 'because of you, I didn't give up'
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