A Rather Surreal Experience

Yesterday I was on the TV and the radio. Doesn’t that sound cool? It was albeit the regional TV and radio, and I was on the TV for approximately 20 seconds, but still, I was on regional news, talking about mental health, and that was cool.

Last week I saw a post on Facebook from the Mental Health Foundation, saying something like ‘we are looking for someone who has experienced mental health treatment whilst under the age of 18, preferably in the Oxfordshire area’. Tick, tick, tick. I fit this description perfectly, so got in contact with the person listed offering my help.

It turned out that she was from BBC Radio Oxford, and the next day I was on the phone to one of their journalists who asked the basic questions about me and my experiences, really just to see if I was the sort of person they were looking for. I was, and they asked me to be on the radio the next week, which I was more than happy to do.

So Monday rolled around, with the broadcast being on Tuesday. The BBC people called me on Monday to check that I was all set for the next day, but then completely threw me by asking me if I would be happy to be filmed for South Today (our regional news). Of course you don’t just turn down an opportunity like that, so five hours later a lovely chap called Brennen arrived at school with lots of fancy camera equipment to interview me.

I have to say it was one of the most surreal and nerve-wracking experiences of my life. Sitting in the school meeting room with a ginormous camera and the furry microphones pointing at me was just the weirdest thing. I was ridiculously nervous and shaking uncontrollably, and this is coming from someone who jumped out of a plane without batting an eyelid.

The interview lasted for about 15 minutes (a bit long considering they only used 20 seconds of it..!) and then off Brennen went in his awesome BBC Oxford car telling me to watch South Today the next day.

Tuesday. I dreamt that I missed the radio call, so my subconscious woke me up at the ridiculous hour of 6.20am. I got a call at 7.00 and then was live on air! I was actually able to say some potentially vaguely inspiring stuff that people actually heard (link below), which was pretty awesome.

Later that evening, South Today was on, and I was able to watch the 20 seconds of my clip online. The link isn’t below because it expires at 7pm this evening, but if you do watch it this evening, don’t watch it for me. Watch the whole bit about mental health, because that’s whats important. It doesn’t matter that I’m an 18-year-old girl who used to self-harm because I put too much pressure on myself. What does matter is the fact that the numbers of children being admitted to mental health services is rising, and that’s what we need to change.

It’s Time to Talk Day tomorrow, which is run by the Time to Change Campaign. Last year it was a massive success with loads of awareness being raised. This year, the campaign is asking you to take 5 minutes of your day to have a conversation with someone about mental health. Think about how easy that is. Just 5 little minutes to talk to someone about one of the most prominent and growing health issues on our planet. Have a go. I dare you.

You can also sign their pledge wall to pledge to end mental health stigma. over 75, 000 people have already done this, and you can join them here: http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/pledgewall

It was pretty awesome being on the TV and radio this week. Something to tick of the bucket list, but it’s really about so much more than that. I, Eliza Lindsay, a young person who has been affected by a mental health problem, was able to go on the media and tell other people about my experiences, and to expose them to the brute fact that mental health problems exist, and are deadly, and that we need to do something about them. And I encourage other people to do the same. Young or old, suffering, caring for, recovering or aware of, if you know anything about mental health then go out and talk about it! Use twitter, Facebook, TV, letters, posters and most importantly face to face conversations! Never forget the power of speech, and what you can do with your words, because together, we can raise the awareness that is so important in order to help people with mental health problems.

My interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN3N-EAeUts&feature=youtu.be (ignore the elephant) 

https://www.facebook.com/mentalhealthfoundation

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/timetotalkday

DFTBA x

Optimism

These are some the most recent headlines regarding mental health in the British news:

‘England’s Mental Health Services In Crisis’

‘Mental Health Patients forced to travel miles for care’.

‘Psychiatrists warning over soaring use of pills in ‘depressed Britain’

Yesterday, an article was published on BBC news which revealed that 3,024 people have been sent out of their area in order to receive help for their mental health problems in the past year. This is over double the amount of people who were sent travelling for their care in 2011, yet over 1500 mental health beds have been closed since 2011. Some people have to travel over 300 miles to get help, and hundreds are being sent into wards for deaf people and even B&Bs due to the lack of beds.

BUT WHY? What on earth possesses the government to think ‘Oh, look. We have this major problem on the rise which we could easily help reduce, but nah, instead we’re going to DRAMATICALLY REDUCE FUNDING AND BEDS FOR THESE PEOPLE.’

I just don’t get it.

And it’s the mental health trusts, charities and organisations that are left to pick up the pieces and restore faith in humanity. One mental health trust spent £345,000 on placing patients in B&Bs last year in order to free up some more beds.

I could sit here and rant for hours about the way our government is dealing with this issue that has affected me and so many other people in the world, but I’m going to stop here and try optimism instead. I heard it’s a good thing.

Today I got an email from Time to Change asking me to complete a survey giving input on how they can extend and improve their work, and this gave me a lot of hope, as, despite all of the cuts and lack of funding and stupidity that we see so often in the media, there is this entire network of behind the scenes charities, organisations and trusts who do INCREDIBLE work. They save lives, and they’re the ones who are going to solve this issue, because they talk to us, and they listen to the people who have actually experienced mental health problems and take it on board and actually do something about it.

So even though it may seem as though it’s getting worse, it’s not. The strength and determination that we have to reduce stigma and HELP PEOPLE is what allows me to say with ease and confidence that IT WILL GET BETTER.

Optimism. It’s simple really. 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Check out this blog post by my friend @mirandasmurmurs: http://www.mirandabunting.com/2014/05/mental-health-cuts_6.html                                                                                                                              

 

Progress

I’m feeling rather optimistic, because slowly but surely people around me are finding out more about mental health. They know what I plan to do in school to reduce stigma and I think, well hope, that this is the start of a change, and more importantly a change that isn’t just powered by me, one that’s universal. 

Because in the past week or two weeks that I’ve been blogging and really starting to immerse myself in this whole blogging/ campaigning/ changing metal health world, there have been so many opportunities for me to talk to people that I wouldn’t necessarily talk to about mental health, and it’s amazing to be a part of. I can see them realising what’s happening and what needs to be done and how to do that, and that fills me with immense hope.

So despite all of the awful stuff in this world and in people’s individual worlds, I truly believe that better days are ahead. It may be hard for some people to see that, but all I know is that I had a time when I couldn’t see it. Now I’m better and already experiencing the better days, and no matter who you are and what you’re experiencing, it will be ok one day.