Be Kind to Your Mind

Hi guys,

Thanks for visiting my blog again and i'm sorry it has been such a long time since I wrote anything. I hope everyone is well.

As some of you may be aware from my previous posts I have previously struggled with mental health issues and this had an impact on my life for a certain time. I firmly believe that mental health is an issue that needs to be talked about more and more and we need to help raise awareness and help to educate others so they can look after their own mental health and take the necessary steps to receive help should they ever encounter a mental health issue.

This brings me onto a great initiative/project called "Be Kind To Your Mind" which was founded by the amazing Meg. As Meg has said herself "Be Kind To Your Mind was born with the overwhelming desire to raise the voice of those who suffer with mental illnesses, as well as fight against mental health stigma" and I believe this is something that matches what I believe too and it is something I am incredibly passionate about. I know that Meg has worked incredibly hard on this project and continues to do so with the sole intention to help support and educate others. To help eradicate stigma education is needed and an important point to remember is that projects like "Be Kind To Your Mind" and the #TalkMH chat on Twitter (founded by the amazing Hannah Rainey) are not just for people with mental health issues. #TalkMH takes place on Twitter on Thursdays between 8:30pm and 9:30pm Anyone can join as long as you are respectful/don't offend anyone or insult anyone because they are great avenues to receive education as the people involved are normally people who have experienced mental health issue first hand. Another important point to remember is that even if the person doesn't want to take part in the chat but just wants to learn then that is ok. Just search #TalkMH on Twitter.

One thing I do want to say about #TalkMH is that the people who participate in the chat are some of the most supportive people I have come across on Twitter and it is such a lovely platform for people to share thoughts and feelings. I do want to give a special mention to Hannah though because I know how much hard work goes into running #TalkMH. We may see a tweet from her a few days before the chat saying who is hosting and take part in the chat herself but I know there is a lot more to it then that and many more hours that she puts in to make #TalkMH a success. For example she has just launched a #TalkMH shop on her blog (link at the end) and to get the products to sell, send them out wrap them up, take it to the post office etc. Another example is that she has very kindly arranged for a #TalkMH meet in London and has send out emails and tweets etc. I can honestly say that #TalkMH is a great chat to be involved in.

One other project that I found to be a great way of learning about mental health was through a zine which was created by the incredible Lauren (link to Lauren's Etsy store where the zine is advertised is at the the bottom of this post). I recently bought my copy of the zine but honestly even thought I have experienced mental health issues myself i've learnt a lot more about the experiences of others with mental health issues. The brilliant thing about the zine is that people have talked about their experiences in many different forms such as art, poetry and general advice but a book like this can help offer encouragement, support and a feeling that somebody else understands their struggles but I guess all 3 of these projects can offer that.

Lauren is also currently in the process of promoting mental health related project which involves Art and Poetry and i've offered to help support her with this project and it is something that I am really looking forward to!

The point is with each of these 3 girls they all have something in common. They all want to help and support others with mental health issues and educate those who don't. The projects they have might be different but the 3 of them all want the same outcome. Like I mentioned in a previous paragraph for a project to work it takes time, commitment, effort, commitment, motivation and passion and I believe Hannah, Meg and Lauren have that in bucketloads because I can see how hard they try. As I believe the 3 of them have these components I believe all 3 projects will be successful in their own way. All 3 of them are incredible.

Thanks for reading guys but below are some links to the websites!

Be Kind To Your |Mind (Meg): http://www.bekindtoyourmind.org/
#TalkMH (Hannah) http://littlethoughtsblog.com/talkmh/ and http://littlethoughtsblog.com/store/
Zine (Lauren) http://www.laurenevie.co.uk/search/label/mental%20health and https://www.etsy.com/shop/laurenevietrinkets