Mental Health Week 9th to 16th October 2016

[Paul]

Mental health week approaches.

It's a time of caring and awareness, a time of nurturing and being nurtured and a time to not be afraid to reach out for help. It takes courage to reach out and have that first conversation. Maybe mental health week is the time to consider what's stopping you from telling someone, or trying something new.

There is some amazing programming on TV during mental health week. Upsetting, hopeful and thought provoking.

Mental health week can be a week where we educate others in a gentle and loving way. There might be someone who doesn't quite understand that mental health isn't spotted by bandages or crutches or a surgical scar.

We love and we are loved, just like anyone else.

What will you do this mental health week?

Paul

[MsPurple]

Thanks Paul, those words made me smile and made me feel good about myself. I can not believe how blunt there were about why they let you go. That is wrong on so many levels. We have anti-discrimination laws that prevent people from dismissing people due to mental illness and other situtations. Did you call fair work regarding this? I want to break the stigma because I avoided getting help till I was 23 because I didn't want to be known by doctors, friends or family as someone with a mental health illness. But I got so tired and so unwell that I couldn't live like that anymore and I decided that it would be better living healthily with the chance of stigma than live unhappy and unhealthy. Now that I am in a better place my persecptives have changed as the more I open up the more others open up to me. SO many people have told me about themselves or even about their concerns about a friend to me. It feels good to help others and to hopefully lead to a day where there is no discrimination. My mum is now working as a night duty nurse (she prefers night duty) and is in charge during her shift. She has only told a handful of people she trusts at work about her mental health because she doesn't want to repeat history. She is actually happy it happened because after she left that job she went back to nursing and loves it. Sometimes we have to think things happen for a reason

I 100% agree with you geoff. I was not taught about mental health at school. I think it should be included in personal developement. I also thing school should teach us how to be a functioning adult (e.g. taxes and cooking) lol. I think they are starting in schools because my sister has touched on it a little, but not nearly enough