World Mental Health Day

I have seen a number of posts referring to the importance of World Mental Health Day. Rightfully so. It's a frightfully important subject and it's only right that awareness is raised.

But it's simply not enough.

Going through my social media I've seen stories of people seeking urgent assistance with their mental wellbeing only to be met with a 34 week wait. I myself have only recently started a course of CBT over the phone after seeking assistance for over a year.

What is the point in encouraging people to open up when there is nobody there to help them? I would never want to do anything to put people off discussing their mental health but it is not enough to just encourage this. More has to be done to help.

Since 2011 mental health trusts - in spite of frequent government promises of record spending - have suffered in real terms losses of their annual budgets, the number of people dying by suicide has more than doubled in some areas and the resources available to those who reach out are rapidly diminishing.

But the UK Government have come out and launched a new campaign with a catchy new name and probably a good hashtag so that'll help.

If you're struggling please do reach out. Please do talk about how you are feeling. But do not think it is acceptable for you to be treated as a second-class citizen. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be healthy. You deserve to exist.

You're more than a hashtag. You're here and you matter.

Fuck it and fight it
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