ETC ZINE
You’re Not Alone: Mental Illness and Recovery
By: Ollie Wells
[Content warning]
From my experience, mental health is complex. Sometimes an event can trigger something to snap inside your mind, taking months or even years to figure out, sometimes the cause of the problems you face can be hard to pinpoint. Whatever you’re going through, whatever the cause, you’re not alone. At the bottom of this article is a list of online resources aimed to help those who relate to any of the issues discussed here or are facing any other mental health problems.
This time last year, I was 16 and in hospital recovering from a drug overdose. The few months prior to that hadn’t been particularly out of the ordinary for me, I was working into the early hours, using substances, skipping class, being frustrated by my dyslexia, napping, so when I took the OD I found it hard to explain to the doctors why I had done it. The trigger only really came to me a few weeks later, after I had been discharged from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) as they couldn’t see how they could help me anymore. It was a build-up of everything, all the things I had been repressing and refusing to accept as the cause of how I was feeling, namingly being sexually abused at 12, that had moved me to resign myself to the belief that my state was not going to improve.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 10-20% of young people globally experience mental health conditions. I am only one of those many individuals, so what I have experienced and how I have moved forward from it will not apply to everyone. Even still, I hope that my journey so far can help inspire others to keep pushing forward, seeking help, and having hope.
Processing things as they happen in life is so important. Keeping the abuse to myself for four years out of fear of it changing how people viewed me was something I recognise now to be a mistake, and, though it gave me lasting GAD and social anxiety, I feel a lot more comfortable and at peace with myself now I’ve told people. Getting help and support for what you’ve been through or are going through is such a hard but valuable action, if it weren’t for my friends and family members who helped me through that period I can guarantee I wouldn’t be where I am now.
Since last June, life hasn’t been easy but it has been better. After going on antidepressants, pushing myself less with school work and working through past events, (though I understand it wasn’t as straight forward as that,) the months gradually turned from a monochrome display of depression and anxieties to a mixture of both the good and the bad. I met my lovely girlfriend at University of Oxford interviews and, despite the sadness and frustration at not being accepted after having pushed myself so much in the past, I can see it as valuable life experience and am applying again. I’m doing a journalism diploma in the meantime and am planning a future with the people I love, though concerns about how the coronavirus will affect this are very present, as they are for everyone at this time.
At the end of the day, life isn’t simple, mental health isn’t simple. The world needs to work to end the stigma around mental illness. If I were to say three things in this whole article it would be, don’t push yourself too far in anything to the point it consumes your life (you deserve better,) seek help if you’re suffering (you deserve support) and try to find the few people and endeavours that mean the most to you in life and hold on to it (you deserve a happy future.)
Resources:
Seeking help can be hard, recovery takes time and the first path you take may not work, but here are some good places to start.
A mental health support service for young people where you can remain anonymous, talk to councilors, participate in supportive chat rooms, and read articles.
An organisation that provides information and advice to people with mental health problems.
Provides a wide range of help including support groups, advice, housing, employment and support for carers.
They provide confidential support and advice to young people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and anyone worried about a young person through their helpline.
https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/
A platform for those seeking help with eating disorders including one-to-one chats, message boards, chat rooms, support groups and a helpline.
Provides a crisis helpline and webchat.
https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/
Support groups for people suffering from alcoholism.
Support groups for people suffering from drug addiction.
An organisation providing support for LGBTQ+ individuals via a helpline, confidential chat room, and email.
A group that supports young trans and gender diverse people through an online community, local community groups, a helpline, web resources, events and residential weekends.
A service that provides information on learning disabilities, a helpline, local groups, employment help, housing help and more.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/
An extensive list of mental health resources.
My dms are also always open to anyone who wants support or just a chat!
Instagram: @oliwxlls (https://www.instagram.com/oliwxlls/)