Misconceptions

Mental health and mental health issues have always existed, we are just more aware of them and how certain stressors in life affect us, so no, struggling or managing with your mental health is not just jumping on the bandwagon.

Many people used to die of “natural causes” or “old age” and were buried and that was the end of it, but because we have progressed in society to now understand the things that cause death and illness and now we just have names for these things now.

Please know that mental health issues are real, it’s not a fad and it’s not just the latest trend.

Autism is just something that is linked to “neurodiversity”, which basically means people process information in different ways.

This information could be words and numbers or it could be recognising people’s emotions.

On top of this autism is not caused by;

• Bad parenting
• Vaccines (such as the MMR)
• Diet
• An infection

Remember, autism is a spectrum, that means some people might manage and cope well and live relatively independently lives while and others might find it harder and need more help understanding things or with daily living. It really just depends on an individual situation. Either is completely fine. You’re not going to judge someone who wears glasses because they struggle to see and understand things far away from them. In that exact way, some people with autism need help with certain tasks.

Autism and Girls

Autism also often gets overlooked in girls because they often don’t fit the autism stereotypes.

This is why autism traits are under reported by teachers and other professionals.

It appears to be less common in girls, but whether that is because of your sex or genetics, we aren’t completely sure. From certain research it appears that there are a number of biological and environmental factors that may mean males have a higher prevalence for autism.

Later diagnosis usually occurs in girls because they have the ability to adapt better to their condition. I know this is very much generalising but the signs usually a little bit less obvious hence the later diagnosis age.

If there is something you are worried about that is affecting your day to day life, it is worth trying to either contact your GP or go to our support and services pages to see what might be useful to you.

It is a way that an autistic person may be able to show that they are feeling overwhelmed rather than a temper tantrum being to do with naughty or bad behaviour. Meltdowns are triggered by a number of things, and identifying what it is that may act as a trigger is important to anticipating and helping someone who might be about to have one. Example of such a trigger could be the change in routine or sensory overload like being in a crowded loud area.
If someone is having a meltdown the best thing to do is for a start by not judging them. What they will need is to have some time and try and to be guided to a safe calm space asking anyone watching to move along politely. Anything which reduce the sensory overload that person may be experiencing.

This is just another stereotype that we are here to break. ADHD is neurodiversity. People who have ADHD just process information differently and react and behave in a particular way.

It isn’t caused by bad parenting nor is the person who has it always going to be the ‘bad kid’. They often get labelled as such because of the sometimes impulsiveness or hyperactive behaviour.

At times we all have aspects of our personality that could seem similar to ADHD, but this doesn’t mean you have it. If you are worried that the way you are acting is affecting your day to day then the best way to go about dealing with it is talking to someone and trying to express what it is that you struggle with. From there, it will hopefully allow you to then take the right steps to finding the right help for you.

Baby steps is key, because many people with social anxiety withdraw from their friends and social situations, ranking the things that make you anxious means you can then work through them one by one to overcome them.

A good example of this is the anxiety lots of people felt when coming out of lockdown. It’s a matter of taking your time and realising what situations might make you feel worse but easing yourself into them. For example, if it was covid you were concerned about, then the logical step is going to a friend’s garden first, rather than going to a party with loads of people. Try to do the same with whatever situation it is that you struggle with.

By challenging yourself to do something scary it might appear awful and you may not succeed the first time, but by doing it over and over you will start to feel it gets easier and that’s because our brain likes things that we are used to.

When you are in a situation that you are scared of try focus on the present, really listen to what the person is saying and what the conversation may be about rather than what you are an

We are all going to have new situations in our life that may cause anxiety but having strategies to manage is what will help us going forward.

Sometimes they can be seen as the happiest person in the room or they also may be the quiet one, shy person or the one who seems to organise everyone and everything.

Depression can have many different symptoms and some people might find it very easy to hide those symptoms, and some may feel it is stuck to their face. I guess what I’m trying to say is, just because you or someone you know doesn’t conform to the ‘norm’ of what a particular mental illness looks like, it doesn’t mean they don’t have it.

You might think that this is you or you might be worried about someone else so it’s about being aware of how you might be acting or how someone else might be so it’s worth checking in on people.

When it comes to mental health, some things are easier to diagnose than others and some may take time and evidence. But even if you do get a diagnosis, it may not be accurate. I know that doesn’t fill you with confidence. If you think there’s something that you are trying to deal with on a daily basis and you cannot continue your routines without it getting in the way it might be worth trying to seek help. (Support and services 3)

Sometimes people didn’t have the symptoms that they had read about but may still get diagnosed so it’s important to realise not everything online may be the full story. Not everything I’m writing gives a full story of mental health but tries to give you a bit of an overview.

Diagnosing mental ill health is very difficult. Whether you go to your GP or go to seek support from a counsellor, you may never be diagnosed with a particular condition. This doesn’t mean you’re not struggling or not worthy of support in any way. You can still understand your own mental health and how to manage it without a diagnosis.

Being told you have depression may allow you to pin down how you are feeling on to something but how you manage to deal with it is going to be the same as someone who hasn’t got a diagnosis.

Sometimes when you are depressed or anxious, it’s scary and you may think it’s the only thing you’ll be able to experience ever again. Or you’re scared that even on your better days you’re worried about it coming to ruin them too.

Anxieties in life are sometimes unavoidable, we all experience bad days and bad things will happen.

However, you need to find what works for you, different strategies work for different people. From short term coping to long term managing, knowing what’s the best way to be kind to yourself and help you through certain days is the key.

It’s heart-breaking to think you do not feel as good today as you did yesterday or a year ago BUT anxiety and depression do not define you, and struggling today doesn’t mean you will always struggle. Looking back I have realised that I learnt a lot from how I felt. Of course it wasn’t nice and I don’t want to ever feel like that again but I can stop the signs, avoid my triggers and do the things that I know help me before it gets out of hand.

IT IS HARD and no one is saying it isn’t, but the fact that you’re reading this means you’ve acknowledged that something is wrong and you have taken the first step towards making it better.

Those who struggle with these conditions can lead lives where you or I wouldn’t even be able to tell they have it.

Films and TV usually show the people that have these serious conditions to be dangerous which is just so wrong. The industry glamourise and exaggerate people who suffer with these sorts of mental health illnesses to have criminal tendencies or to be the bad guy when most of the time you won’t even know if somebody has such a condition unless they tell you.

Someone may need extra medication or help dealing with the condition, but it does absolutely not mean they are “bad”. Just like all mental illness, it doesn’t affect your morals or whether you are a good or bad person, most of the time it’s an internal struggle that impacts them, not you or the outside world.

However, PTSD is very much descriptive in what it is. After a traumatic or very stressful experience someone can experience PTSD. These experiences are not limited to war or violence but can include a car accident, potential abuse or problems during child birth. Serious incidents in someone’s life can cause them to have flashbacks nightmares or just feel generally anxious due to their experience. For Elizabeth, it was a medical emergency and now she struggles with laying on the floor, not something you think she would need to do working here, but imagine an exercise class or first aid training, it could cause her to panic.

A lot of PTSD is treated through talking therapies like CBT that hopes to try allow you to accept and come to terms with your troubling experience. Medication is also used to help allow the person suffering to help them sleep or reduce the vivid flashbacks and nightmares which understandably would cause someone more distress.