You have bad days. Your car doesn’t start, you’re late to work, you miss a meeting – it’s a bad day. You just want to get home, put your feet up and write it off because tomorrow is a fresh start – an opportunity to reset your mind and put yesterday down to “just one of those days.”
Sometimes, a little push is needed to get the ball rolling.
Despite the fear of being perceived as nosy or intrusive it’s important to remember that when it comes to mental health, checking in with someone reminds them they aren’t alone when they’ve gone quiet.
In the summer of 2018 I found myself struggling with depression more than ever before. Work became increasingly difficult to show up to, I feared confiding in anyone about my mental health because I saw myself as a burden.
As someone who has been combatting mental illness for many years, I felt it was important to share this. I have suffered two major depressions in my life and also struggled with three different eating disorders. I know what it means when your mind takes control of every thought and distorts every single one into something upsetting, disturbing and self-destructive.
Next time you hear someone say how far we’ve come in the fight against mental health, take a moment to consider that statement. 1 in 4 people suffer from mental illness in the UK – around 15 million people. That’s potentially 1 in 4 people you know - one of your close friends, a family member, or a colleague sitting at the desk next to you.
