John Howard

May your health be with you!

The month of May. Part five of the 12-stage annual installment of life. A month when Star Wars enthusisasts enjoy their most coveted date of the year, the hopes and fears of football fans are confirmed, and residents of the UK sincerely hope, wish and pray for a summer that lasts a bit longer than a few afternoons of glorious sunshine.  

The month has also the period when 'Mental Health Awareness Week' was observed. A real chance for an often taboo subject to take centre stage as various TV programmes and other media outlets invited the rich and famous to share their experiences and struggles to the world in the hope that it would break down walls and hopefully raise awareness and that it is ok not to be ok. That mental health issues and struggles has no prejudice and can affect anyone, regardless of position or status.  

Observed between the 10-16 of the month, I'm sure it won't have escaped your notice that I am somewhat late to the party in penning my thoughts on this topic. My chances of using hashtags or garnering a wider audience will have greatly decreased as topics move away (or back) to other issues and stories. 

And this year and last, there has been more than a few!

But, for me, I feel a sense of duty to carry on talking about a topic that, for so many, still creates division and embarrassment, while often destroying countless number of lives. 

If no one reads this, I have still made myself feel better by getting my thoughts off my chest. 

A former colleague, part of a wonderful charity I had the honour of working for, was, and is, very much at the coalface of mental health issues. A practitioner who worked with a number of those battling their inner demons, would often start a discussion or address a group by asking the audience who had mental health? Cue confused looks and uncomfortable silences as perhaps a few brave arms were raised tentatively in the air while the majority avoided eye contact at all cost. The silence would then be broken by another question: who has physical health? Confusion and awkwardness forgotten, hands would shoot up as a collective sigh of relief filled the room.

He had his talking point and their attention, now let's talk!

The point I always felt he was making was that the general consensus was everyone knew and took for granted they had physical health, be it good or bad, yet there was a distinct lack of knowledge over the appreciation of the human mind and emotion. Over the years I have become of the belief that they are two sides of the same coin and, in the vast majority of cases, one cannot not positively exist without the other. 

As human beings, we see someone in poor physical health and, again in the vast majority of cases, offer overwhelming encouragement that the individual in question can recover and overcome their physical injury. 

And quite right too! Whether it is your team's best player stepping up their rehabilitation to entertain their adoring fans, or, much more importantly, my own daughter exhibiting such bravery and determination to overcome a broken leg and once again walk unaided, the hope and will for a happy ending is strong. Those are the ailments you see.

Anxiety, depression, bi-polar, conditions which are still met with distrust by many and greeted with opinions of negative personality, attention-seeking and laziness, are often be far worse and far more destructive to society. Whether it is an over-reliance on modern technology, while physical health, on the whole, improves, resilience and mental health has become somewhat more fragile. There will be a number of opinions, topics and debates on whether my opinion is correct and what the causes are for this, but my purpose for this piece is simply stating that mental health is as important as physical and needs to be looked on as such.  We have awareness days, months, weeks, times where people are encouraged to speak out, ask for help and share their experiences. However, your awareness for your mental health should by 365 days over a 52-week period, every year. 

A wise man once told me that asking for help is a strength rather than a weakness. It is a mantra I have tried to live by with varying success. I sit here now in a good place, having had more than my fair share of bad days while on the roller coaster known as life. I readily admit that taking care of my mental health has been a far superior challenge than taking care of my physical being, but I still try to remain active, eat well and don't over excess on alcohol, nor put myself in potentially harmful situations if I can help it.  

Mental health should be no different!  

We all have limits. Know them. You don't have to push yourself to mental breaking point, attempt to please everyone, nor should you apologise for wanting time to do what you want to do, or suffer in silence. 

This again applies to the majority, but try and look after the mind the way that you look after your body. Not many would choose to step out in front of a moving car, yet many have often felt like a collision is happening inside their brain. 

Give your mind and mental health the support it deserves. You deserve it!

This article is dedicated to my friend, Jane. A fighter, a writer. Keep fighting, keep writing!