Lived Experience Forum

[Eden1919]

I am not sure if this is the right section so if it isnt sorry. anyway i know this is like a month away but mental health week is always a very tense time for me for multiple reasons. 

1. sometimes I actually do want to do something for mental health week but then get too nervous about ruining my life by disclosing.

2. it can be super triggering listeing to the news/media talk about mental health especially when a lot of the time they say kind of offensive things even if it is unintentional. 

3. it is super weird to see all the posts on social media from people who you know dont genuinley care jump on board the caue of the week train. 

4. it always frustrates me that complex mental health is left out of the discussion 9/10 times. 

I know these all seem pretty negative and i guess they are but even still I often feel confused because on the one hand people are all saying it is ok to talk about this stuff but then on the other the week always ends and people go back to normal and go back to discriminating against people, but for some reason i still feel like i want to do something. 

What do other people feel like during mental health week and do you ever do something speical for it? what is your opnion on the event? I am really curious to hear about others experiences on this and also wonder if sane is planning anything? 

@greenpea @outlander @Queenie @Owlunar @Gazza75  @Shaz51 @Zoe7  (i tagged some people but sorry if i forgot you and those i tagged aslo dont have to reply but i thought you might have some interesting perspectives) 

[Gazza75]

@Eden1919,

I'm still coming to terms with a lot of the issues around mental health as I've only been dealing with it for a short period of time.  Around 18 months or something.  All of your points and concerns are valid, I don't think it's negative to express how you feel about it.

One of my frustrations is the R U OK day.  People all pipe up and we have posters at work and it's an issue for one day a year. I always think, what about the other 364 days where people are living and dealing with it?  

I don't feel very well supported at work by managers.  My old manager was alright, but, currently I'm managed by a young lady and its no fault of her own that she doesn't know how to help Me with things.  I'm not all that comfortable in talking with her about it for a number of reasons.  Mostly I just don't think she has enough life experience to really understand where I'm coming from. 

It's very hard to relate to people unless they have some firsthand experience or knowledge with mental health.  It's compounded by having for 4 or 5 managers in a short period of time, less than a year.  You don't have time to build any kind of trust with them.

I work for a large company and I think a lot of the mental health stuff they do is to make the bosses feel all warm and fuzzy and that they are doing something.  In practical terms I don't think they are addressing much or having any real impact on people that are effected.  

If someone from work asks me if I'm okay, 9 times out of 10 I will say yes and go along with it as I am reluctant to discuss mental health issues with people that aren't trained or professionals.  I think more often than not it's said tongue in cheek like they already assume the answer will be all is well in the world and aren't I brave and cool for asking.

As you stated, complex mental health is left out of any discussion as it goes into the too hard basket.  Maybe depression and anxiety will get talked about as its fairly generic and people think they know what it is.  Anything else is swept under the rug or ignored.  

Personally I'll be glad when the day/month is over and everything goes back to normal and the do gooders can go back to whatever it is they do the rest of the year.

Its a good topic and discussion area Eden.

edit: I'll just add that I have been using confidential psychologists through work and have found that quite beneficial especially during initial trauma.

[greenpea]

@Eden1919  Hi Eden1919 great topic btw 🙂 and Hi @Gazza75 . I tend to keep things to myself so like you Gazza75 if someone was to ask me if i was okay I would just go along with it even if I was dying inside  As for discussing mental health issues at any of my previous jobs there is no way on earth I would have brought it up for fear of stigma.

Personally I hate these kind of touchy feely events like Mental Health Week. It is so .... ummm...... I cannot think of the word right now but it makes me want to squirm inside. Cringe worthy isn't right but close. 

From the feedback I have received regarding mi is that people want you to take your pills and get back to your 'normal' self and get on with it.  No one wants to talk about it in any details not even the psychiatrists at times. Besides there are certain mi's which it focusses on .... leaving behind a range of others needing disussion.

So there you go Mental Health Week leaves me unfulfilled. Certainly it is better than northing but it is like all those weeks it is only the ones which are sexy that get the long term coverage and mental illness is not sexy. pea

[Eden1919]

@Gazza75 @greenpea  yes and yes if i was working i would never ever tell my employer any details other than cronic health condition. espeically when it comes to psychosis if it is depression people will say oh yes i have been sad before which is super frustrating because it is not the same as saddness but they at least dont think you are a monster and going to hurt them but the minute psychosis is mentioned everyone thinks you are going to hurt them or that you are "crazy" 24/7. 

and yes greenpea that icky feeling is something i get with it as well like i know it is meant well but to me if someone doesnt care on days other than the mental health week days then they dont really care. and i totally agree the message is just take your meds and be quiet. there is all these stories of people who were stressed and got better after therapy and meds for a year and it is assumed that everyone should and will be able to be like that but really many people will have to deal with this long term. 

the topic just really frustrates me and i am glad i am not alone on that because i sometimes feel like maybe the issues i have with it are all in my head but it is good to know others have thought those things too.  

[Zoe7]

For me Mental Health week is just another week @Eden1919 I don't pay much attention to it at all - it is something that should exist at all times in our society but unfortunately is not. I agree that sometimes such a week there are people that 'jump on the bandwagon' for that week but then forget about it soon after. I don't necessarily believe it aids in awareness longer term and therefore is not sustained in the wider society. I also believe that we are inundated with 'weeks' or 'days' that highlight an abundance of issues and as a general society we are becoming ambivalent to causes/issues. Every week/month there are different issues highlighted - whether it be media, social media, shops, etc. and it is information overload - Mental Health week just becomes another issue amongst many.

I am not saying that Mental Health week should not be highlighted and promoted but it should be something that we instill in every workplace, school, hospital, government agency, etc, all year round with the emphasis being ongoing mental health and that it is an issue for everyone to both deal with both personally and professionally. This can only be done if it is not just seen as a one week 'issue' but becomes part of the daily narrative just as physical health has become.

[Queenie]

Hey there @Eden1919 , you’ve hit the nail on the head. I used to jump on the MHW bandwagon, heck I even marched in awareness day marches but in the end most participants would go home and be totally ignorant towards those living with mental health issues the other 364 days of the year. I find it all too triggering these days, mainly because of my biological family and their poor attitudes towards mental illness. Days like RU Ok Day and mental health week, while they mean well, often open up painful wounds, made more so by ignorance and misrepresentation in the media.

I, for one, will be giving MHW activities a big miss.

[Eden1919]

@Queenie  yes i too find it triggering but it does make me wonder if many of the people who the week is meant to represent feel that it isnt doing that and that they dont find the week useful then why on earth do we even have it? is it to make nerotypical people feel less guilty or uncomfortable? i mean i am sure it started with good intentions but it just seems like maybe the message has been lost along the way perhaps. it is similar in some ways to when you have a non indigenous minister for indigenous affairs or a male for the minster for women. i personally feel the best people to represent the voices of marginalised groups should be the people themselves. and while it is important for others to join it should still be driven by the people who are affected, MHW i believe is not driven by said people.  

[Eden1919]

@Zoe7  i really thought i had replied to this but i was wrong haha. anyway yes i do agree that there are way too many "weeks" to keep track of and really all of them should just be common practise all year round.