Category: Mental Health Conditions

Christmas is the time of year when we’re expected to be our merriest and most joyful. There are friends and family to see, and a wealth of opportunities to have fun and let loose. For some of us, our reality during the festivities is far from this. It can be a stressful time of year with family duties, financial strain, pressure to keep to traditions and tricky logistics. It can also brings up some difficult emotional experiences, such as trauma and grief. So how can we navigate these challenges and protect our mental health?

Christian was born with facial differences known as severe craniofacial anomalies. Growing up, he had over fifty reconstructive surgeries to transform his appearance and improve his confidence and life outcomes. Opening up to the people he loved is what helped Christian change how he thinks and feels about himself physically, which in turn eased his mental health difficulties.

Lourdes Colclough is Rethink Mental Illness’ Head of Suicide Prevention. She talks to us about the part we play in suicide prevention and demonstrates the power of the community to change and save lives.

Some people associate their happiest memories with long summer days and experiencing the benefits of the warmer months. However for people with anxiety disorders, the heat may increase their symptoms of anxiety, and the summer months can feel the most difficult to face. 

Ramses Oliva is a valued colleague at Mental Health UK, as well as a transgender inclusion specialist and writer. One of his biggest struggles growing up was not having the words to describe his identity. Not only did this not stop him from being gay and transgender, but it also made it extremely difficult to ask for and receive help. Here’s his story.

Living with a mental illness can have a profound effect on your own life but also on family members’ lives, because they often take on a vital role in ensuring their relative has a good quality life. We spoke to Rich and his dad about what it was like living in a house where OCD dictated their day-to-day life.

Sophie is a 26-year-old mental health advocate who has lived with OCD for 11 years. She won a Bill Pringle Award with Rethink Mental Illness for her poem on managing OCD in 2019 and has spoken publicly about her experience on radio and on social media. She is open and vocal about mental health and mental illness because she knows first-hand how isolating and scary it can be in the beginning.

A new study cites financial worries, entertaining guests and keeping everyone happy as key factors in peoples’ mental health worsening over the festive period.

Our close supporter, James, was diagnosed with the eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa 6 years ago. He is a mental health advocate who raises awareness about how eating disorders can impact men, what some of the triggers are and how to manage the challenges they bring. Watch the video below where he brings his personal story to light, with the aim of improving mental health and reducing the stigma that still exists today.