Where do we start?

Mental health is something that we have began to talk about more openly but we have yet to tackle the problem. We are having more conversations and it has become more accepted in society. It is crazy that it has taken us so long to even discuss the topic but at least we are now, right?

The sudden death of ex Love Island contestant Sophie Gradon has caused a great wave of concern across the country about the high suicide rate. Although her cause of death is yet to be formally announced, the words of friends and family, as well as her long history of depression has led to assumption that suicide may have been the cause. Whether this is true or not, it goes without saying that mental health disorders need to be tackled.

According to UK national statistics, there were almost 6000 suicides in 2016 alone. Although 2017 statistics are yet to be released it is very evident that it will have been very high. This number is the UK alone, leaving us with the question, how do we change this? Suicide is a worldwide problem caused by our lack of ability to treat mental health problems correctly and something needs to change.

Mental health is just as important as physical health and should be treated with the same urgency. It is not something that should be taken lightly and it needs to be treated well. Way too many families and friends have lost loved ones all because they couldn't get sufficient help or suffered in silence.

Where do we start? How do we change this? Rather than spending tremendous amounts of funds on defence, we should be funding the treatment of those suffering with mental health disorders such as Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar, ADHD and PTSD. ALL types and degrees of mental health conditions should be treated and ALL people should be given the right to help.

Where do we start? We should start from young. I remember being taught about the eat well plate and exercise from a very young age back in primary school but mental health was not a topic of conversation until I went to High School. I don't know whether that has changed now, however it is important that we teach children about its importance as soon as we can. We need to stop the stigma that mental health carries and ensure that it is understood. We need to demonstrate to young boys that it is not a "girl thing" and that they should never suffer in silence. We need to educate the future generation and cut this problem from the root.

With the rise of social media, mental health has become more of a problem daily. Hate comments. Heavily edited photos and videos. Distorted stories portrayed by the media. All causes of deteriorating mental health. Where do we start? We start by regulation. All social media platforms provide a list of terms and conditions, including the forbidden actions of users yet they are breached every single day.  I've seen violent language towards others, harassment, death threats, cyber bullying everyday this week on several pages across Instagram and Twitter. Why are they not being monitored? Social media platforms MUST regulate and monitor comments, images and videos posted to their sites that fuel or trigger mental health problems.

There needs to be somewhere that people can get help without needing to ask. Gyms, sports activities and classes are always being promoted, so why is it not the same for mental health? There should be regular drop in centres for conversations, social groups and check ups for mental health. Not only should we have check ups for our bodies but our minds.

There are many things that we could do to fix this problem, but where do we start? We start with us. Call a friend to make sure they're OK, donate to charities helping those in need, pray for one another and have each other's back. It can be hard to help others when we need our own help, but you never know what someone is going through.

If anybody needs professional help with anything mental health related, here are some resources:

Anxiety UK:

- Phone: 03444 775 774 (Mon-Fri, 9:30am-5:30pm)

- Website: www.anxietyuk.org.uk  

Calm:

Campaign Against Living Miserably (For Men age 15-35)

- Website: www.thecalmzone.net

Depression Alliance:

- Website: www.depressionalliance.org

Samaritans: 

- Phone: 116 123 (Free 24-hour helpline)

- Website: www.samaritans.org.uk

Young Minds: 

Service for parents and professionals on child/adolescent mental health 

- Phone: 0808 802 5544 (Mon-Fri, 9:30am-4pm) 

- Website: www.youngminds.org.uk

OCD UK:

- Phone: 0845 120 3778 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

- Website: www.ocduk.org

I tried my best to find a range to cover different things, however if there isn't one applicable to you, there are lots more helplines and websites on the NHS website here.

Thanks for reading, 

Have a great day x