 Trigger warning: Mental health discussions generally can be triggering, but today we're talking about Self-Harm. If this is a triggering topic for you, we recommend skipping this blog post.
Today we're in discussion with Betty, 21 years old, about her experiences with self-harm. Betty has a dog called Billy and a cat called Bruce, and she spends most of her time walking dogs and grooming them too.
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 This week it's Mental Health Awareness Week and we're going to be discussing a different Mental Health topic each day. Take a look below for the schedule:
Don't forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date! We'd love as much involvement as possible, so do get in touch, like, comment and share all you can. On the 24th September HMIY's own Jenny Howard, her mum Angela, sister Katie and friend Jade are going to be running a half marathon to raise money for us at Hello Me, it's You! You may have read Angela's post previously on our blog, now it's Jenny's turn to give a bit of insight into her 'training process' ....  Growing up, I didn't have many relationships. I was always “too nice” and, although I had an interest in sex, I never had the confidence to initiate anything. When I was seventeen, I found myself in a very intense relationship.
This relationship lasted for five years and, by the end, we had a mortgage and a house. However, three months after buying the house, she decided to cut ties and move on. I moved in with my parents, whilst she stayed in the house. At first, it was heart-breaking; I couldn't see a future without her. After a while, I began to heal, and realised that she wasn't right for me in the first place. I started to see that things weren’t all that great: there were big cracks, and I was with her for the wrong reasons. I had forgotten about me. EDITOR'S NOTE: The post that follows needs to be prefaced with a severe trigger warning. The post is from the point of view of a young person who has experienced suicidal thoughts. Due to the nature of mental health issues and suicidal thoughts themselves, it gives a romanticised view of suicide itself. This blog post has been written honestly from the point of view of the sufferer and shows that while the contributor is aware of the actuality of suicide, the thought process itself can lure sufferers into thinking this way. It is a topic that is often shied away from, as death is a concept that makes many uncomfortable. I would describe it as one of the major taboos surrounding mental health issues. However, according to the Samaritans, in England and the UK, female suicide rates are at their highest in a decade. It is also a much documented phenomenon among young men, with the Samaritans reporting that male rates remain consistently higher than female suicide rates across the UK and Republic of Ireland – most notably 5 times higher in Republic of Ireland and around 3 times in the UK. For this reason, we think it important to share this post in order to increase awareness of the thought process and experiences of those with suicidal thoughts. Please do read with caution, and if you are suffering yourself or have suffered in the past from thoughts such as this, we advise you skip this post. The 24hr hotline for The Samaritans is: • 116 123 (UK) • 116 123 (ROI)  Fun Fact: According to the NHS, the top 3 causes of memory loss are depression, anxiety and stress. How do I know this? Because earlier this week I found myself googling whether or not you could get early onset dementia at 22 or whether my brain could just be turning to mush in my head. It turns out that instead? I just tick those top 3 boxes for memory loss.
This is just one of many odd side effects that I’ve found are linked to my mental health problems. In fact, the reason I was originally diagnosed with depression is because I could not stay awake. Not in a 'growing teen who parties all night' kinda way either, but a 'I could sleep for 18 hours straight and still be tired' kinda way. I went to the doctors 3 times with the problem before we twigged that paired with a loss of appetite, a prolonged state of feeling emotionally numb and generally struggling to cope with the all the highs and lows that come with uni, it was looking like depression. |
Hello Me, it's YouWelcome to the Hello Me, it’s You blog! We are launching this blog with weekly content from different contributors, giving their opinions and experiences on all things Mental Health. Archives
May 2018
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