Category: Mental Health Conditions

Money worries are leading to suicidal thoughts and panic attacks in people living with severe mental illness amid the cost-of-living crisis, new data from Mental Health UK has revealed, with significant numbers of people experiencing a relapse and having to increase their medication dosage.

Health anxiety is a lesser spoken about condition that can have a severe impact on someone’s life. The anxiety that you’re going to get unwell or that you are unwell can cause daily life to consist of panic and fear. We spoke to Lillian about her experience with health anxiety and how she reached out for support.

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.

Fundraiser, Luke Hamer tells us why putting his mental health first made him stronger – as part of our World Mental Health Day campaign encouraging people to make their mental health a priority.

Ramses Oliva is a valued former 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.

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.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work, live and interact with others. This is all bound to have an impact on our mental health, but it isn’t always bad. Liz shares with us how she’s finding lockdown with bipolar disorder.

Adrienne Rennie has recently conducted a postgraduate research study at Swansea University as part of the Masters programme in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. With help from eating disorder charity B-eat, she explored stereotypes within eating disorders and their effects on non-stereotypical individuals. Here, she gives us a summary of her findings…