World Mental Health Day: I’ve suffered with my own mental health battles and now as a Senior Peer Support Worker I’ve learnt to value myself again

For World Mental Health Day, Monday 10 October 2022, we’re talking about mental health and how important it is to look after this, to talk about things and to get help if you are struggling.

Andrew works at Nottinghamshire Healthcare as Senior Peer Support Worker at Arnold Lodge. Before joining the NHS, he worked as a management consultant specialising in grant funding and IT management. Andrew shares his story about his personal experience of mental health difficulties, his recovery journey, and his role as a Senior Peer Support Worker.

Colin's story: “It’s about being independent and respecting who and what I am”

For this year's World Mental Health Day, we're shining a spotlight on the Trust's Employment Support Service, Futures Positive. 

Stigma and discrimination experienced by people with mental health issues doesn’t just affect their physical and mental health. It can also affect their training and educational opportunities, as well as their future job prospects.

Earlier we told Sarah's story. After experiencing mental health issues during Covid-19, she found herself unsupported at work, before turning to Futures Positive for help. 

For Colin though, employment support came after almost 20 years of mental health issues. Following 14 years out of work, he was referred to Futures Positive by his Occupational Therapist after expressing an interest in finding employment again.  

Sarah's story: “I am still finding my way but having a purpose is allowing me to sustain my recovery”

Stigma and discrimination experienced by people with mental health issues doesn’t just affect their physical and mental health. It can also affect their training and educational opportunities, as well as their future job prospects.

The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is Mental Health in an Unequal World, so what better opportunity to shine a spotlight on the Trust’s Employment Support Service?

Futures Positive support people with mental health issues to find paid or alternative employment. Being employed in a role you enjoy has lots of benefits for your mental health; it can give structure, meaning and purpose to life. People with lived experience can act as mental health advocates in the workplace too, helping to break down barriers and challenge stigma amongst others.

Sarah* enlisted the help of Futures Positive earlier this year. After experiencing mental health issues during the pandemic, she found herself unsupported at work and overwhelmed by the idea of what to do next.

Helping people adapt to new ways of living during the coronavirus pandemic

Megan Dixon

The Trust’s Let’s Talk – Wellbeing service provides patients across Nottingham City and parts of Nottinghamshire, and Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland with psychological assessment and treatment (talking therapies) for common mental health problems.

Megan Dixon, Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner, is one of the team offering telephone support for people experiencing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. She says that while the problems patients speak to her about haven’t essentially changed over the last few months, they have clearly been exacerbated by the isolation people are feeling.

World Mental Health Day: ‘There is hope and where there’s hope you can find help’

World Mental Health Day (WMHD) is globally recognised on October 10^th every year, with the aim of raising awareness of mental health difficulties and sustaining efforts to support mental health.

The theme this year is suicide prevention, enabling people who have experienced suicidal thoughts to share their story in the hopes of spreading awareness and destigmatising mental health issues.

Service user, Debbie, has decided to share her experiences, in the hope that someone experiencing similar difficulties, would read her story and feel as though they are able to get better.

She really wants readers who may be suffering to understand that ‘it can change, and the pain does become bearable and easier to manage.’