What I Think About Mental Health Awareness Week (It's Not What You Think)

So this week is mental health awareness week, a week where the country comes together to raise awareness for mental health and mental illness.

We're going to hear a lot about it. Whether it's talks within your workplace, on the radio, on social media or even through the many documentaries and features that will air on TV throughout this week. But it really got me thinking.

Are we really doing enough?

Now I don't know where this post will lead.

I'm 3 coffees in, it's not even 10am here in the UK and my fingers are hitting the keyboard fasting than they ever have.

It's Time To Rant

Awareness around mental health is getting bigger, and more people are now admitting to their own struggles around mental health. Even with Prince William, the future king of England proactively sharing his opinions on us needing to do more for mental health you think things would start to change.

But why is mental health as a 'subject' still globally neglected within the schooling system?

Why is mental health still often stigmatised within society?

Are we still really doing as much as we possibly can to bring light to just how serious our mental well being is?

My Dad took his own life in 2009 without any real warning signs of being mentally ill. Shortly after, I too battled with depression.But even after being affected by mental health personally, it still took me years to discover the shocking fact that suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45.

Out of all of the suicides last year, 79% were men.

You know the UK? That tiny little country on the world map? A man takes his own life every 2 hours there.

Suicide is also the biggest killer of young people. A statistic that scares me as a parent now myself, but still more of a reason why we need to be doing more to proactively support mental health.

No #, no 'day', no 'week' and no celebrity tweet can change those statistics quickly, and even though it's a work in progress is still scares me how many people are avoiding mental health.

You read it...

I'm scared.

From a lack of knowledge amongst health professionals in terms of treating depressed, anxious and other mentally unwell patients to the fact social media allows us to compare ourselves to others and hunt for instant gratification within seconds of picking up our phones.

This is serious.

Changing the face of mental health is something that's going to take years, if not decades. You can't wipe away old conditioning and take down the way society views mental health by raising awareness through a #.

As they say in Tescos, "every little helps"... but for now I feel focusing solely on ourselves and the people close to us is the best way to tackle mental health.

Are you looking after yourself?

Do you know how important it is to work on your own mental well being?

When was the last time you asked a loved one... "are you ok?" and really meant it.

I'm not taking anything away from the amazing awareness and work we will see throughout this week, but please let's normalise the conversation around mental health. Mental health which we ALL have. Not 1 in 4 of us. 1 in 1 of us.

This is a conversation we need to be having 365 days a year to tackle those statistics.

Thoughts?