Mental Health: In Our Own Words

13 people, aged 18-25 talk about what it's like to live with a mental health problem, and what helps them cope.

[adrienneandcarlie]

is easy for people to say you're not alone but to see different people who are like me helps a lot

[Dungeonfreak]

The problem with telling people to ask for help is it's not always available

[zXJulianXz]

'People love me for all of me and even my mental illness.' - This is so important. Mental illness is a big part of many people's lives. Sometimes our anxiety or depression is the thing which makes us look inside ourselves and understand who we are, divisibly from our mental health.

[KyLives]

There is a possibility that reaching out to people for help will lead to negative consequences. Every time I ever asked for help my life got worse. In reality people will mistreat you, will misunderstand you, will not help you. When a kid is told that nothing bad will happen when they reach out for help and then they have the most traumatic experience of their life following those instructions it alienates them in a way that is so much worse than just dealing with the issues on your own. If you reach out for help and you get the help you actually need, you are extremely lucky. I don't know about other countries but this is especially true in Australia. Kids are being refused treatment. Kids are just being prescribed drugs just to sedate them. Kids who want to kill themselves are being sent home because they are "not serious enough" because our government doesn't allocate enough resources to mental health; we don't have beds for these kids. I don't want to discourage people from seeking help but I do think it's really important that we find a way to increase the help available so that kids aren't being rejected in their darkest hour. I've begun a small independent project which attempts to slowly highlight the realities of mental health in Australia.

[zeolajackson]

These are some of the reasons I became a First Aid Mental Health Instructor so I can educate the community. Stop the stigma we need more people to Step Up & Speak Up about Mental Illness.

[ajmac]

I'm tried of being called mentally ill just because I think and feel different, no more labels

[lizziesmith]

I can relate to all of these feelings and statements 😓😭

[EduardoMendozaPhoto]

Beautiful video. In my own experience people around me has not been supportive at all and since I've started to ask for help and share my story I've been left alone more and more everyday, abandoned and in absolute desolation. I can't work and poverty is taking hold of my life. An endless spiral of going deeper into darkness.

[jesshanlon]

my school showed this video in an assembly when they were talking about mental health

[fernlulham]

Well done to everyone who took part in this video. Helps so much to listen to real people!

[cathypollitt]

Love all of you :)
It's so, so hard when you're older, everyone sees you as successful and yet you go to bed every night screaming inside, knowing no-one hears or understands
Please, if you're younger than me (nearly 55), do not leave it as long as I have...
Get help now and do not waste your life
Please
xx

[stephenmitchell]

Best type of video to send a message across is a message from the people who experience the event/experience themselves. Despite it being sad to see these brave people having gone/going through mental distress, its very inspiring!

[Jachim]

thank you for sharing this. I often don't feel like I belong anywhere but times are slowly changing and I feel more capable and confident to tell my story about my mental problems to other people just because there are more and more videos, articles, shows and awareness is growing bigger. people have a subject to talk about without stigmatizing when the informations are building a common knowledge and the discussions are not dividing but making a change.

[Erik_Aegir]

The most important step - a changed attitude from us "healthy".
Thank you for this film - from a dad with a struggling son.

[jermeldunn]

I think we are the most gifted and beautiful people in the world!!!!

[FULL-POWER]

In a time in my life I felt totally lost due to my mental health I really felt mind was a exceptionally important part of my life. It has taken over a decade for me to be more open and stand up and be counted. This is the reason I started my you tube channel.peace!

[MariaEstrada]

I love this video ! i have been struggling with my mental health since i was 3 years old. IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING YOU ARE A WARRIOR ! this is awesome xox

[ASMinor]

I am an avid #MentalHealthAwareness advocate and performer, and I love this so much. I travel the country trying to bring that awareness on stages, in classrooms, hospitals, and on my YouTube channel, so I get excited when I see other advocates. 💙❤

[devinwilliamson]

These people are all really beautiful. Both aesthetically and in their souls.

[deborahmiller]

the best help for me was found in spirit. heal your soul and take good care of your heart. best advice ever. Another, never ever give away more than you have to offer freely. giving is to be done FREELY, so no offering more than what is comfy. These two little tid bits helped me more than anything else that is mass marketed, mass-offered.