Mental health - educating the future.

Mental health - educating the future. 

I've always said that if I hadn't of been a teacher, I'd of been a mental health nurse. Growing up, I was always aware of mental health and what it was. I was always aware of the variety and the severity of certain disorders. This was because my Mum was a mental health nurse and she kept me in the know. I understood that not everybody had the same brain which worked in the same way. I knew that sometimes people did things that were out of their control all because of the way their brain worked. It got to the point where I didn't even realise people were all that different. But, unfortunately this is not the way everyone is brought up. 

I've met people who are convinced that mental health disorders don't even exist. Honestly. I've met people whose mindsets are so fixed they genuinely believe that if you have OCD you need everything to be clean to be able to function (that's an entirely different blog post altogether). 

The education surrounding mental health absolutely disgusts me because it's non existent. Not once in the curriculum does it mention children being educated about mental health, not once. But children are expected to know when to use a fronted adverbial. This is partly why the stigma is created in the first place. If we want a positive outlook on mental health then we need to start with educating the future generation, because they are the ones growing up into the world and they are the ones who will 1. Have a friend with a mental health issue or 2. Suffer with it themselves. 1 in 3 of us, at some point in our lives will suffer with a mental health condition. Why aren't we educating children about this? 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we have to scare our children and threaten them with depression. What we need to do is make them aware it exists and make them aware of how to cope should they feel that way. When I started to suffer with my anxiety and OCD, because I was aware of what they were in the first place, I was able to talk to my Mum who then gave me coping mechanisms. If I hadn't of had the support from my Mum God only knows where I'd be now. And I'm not even being dramatic (for once). 

So, let's be a bit more positive and a little less judgemental about the well being of others. Let's ask people how they're feeling. Let's make other people know we are aware they exist and more importantly that we CARE. And let's talk to our children about mental health like we'd talk to them about chicken pox. You never know, you might save a life. 

Thank you x