What is wrong with me in this photo?

Well 2017 is underway, the Christmas decorations are packed away in their boxes and Easter Eggs are already in the shops. I have had a relatively quiet start to the New Year, perhaps slowed down a little by a touch of man-flu but did attend an amazing course in Corby yesterday. The subject matter was Sexual Trauma and the speaker was an incredible lady by the name of Zoe Lodrick. Her ability to keep you engaged with real life stories told with such eloquence despite the heavy nature of the subject was quite brilliant. She really does help you understand the deluded mind of a sex offender but equally how the victim is likely to react which goes against most popular thinking. It also explains why so many juries find ‘not guilty’ verdicts despite a shed load of evidence to the contrary. From my client’s experiences, I thought I knew a lot in advance of yesterday but didn’t realise how ignorant I was on so much about sexual trauma.

In the same way, so many people think that they understand mental health but I am seeing more and more evidence that they do not have a clue. Some of you will have seen an article I posted earlier this week about a young man who was prosecuted for attempting to commit suicide. Why would educated people choose to punish someone who was so poorly, who crashed his car sober and was causing no danger to others. It defies logic and imagine the outcry if the court case had pushed him over the edge. I like his alternative suggestion which can be read on this link:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-i-have-been-criminally-punished-attempting-suicide-quigley?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like

I still suspect (and it’s understandable) that we largely assess someone’s wellbeing by their external appearance. This photograph of me appearing to come out of a swimming pool wearing a suit captures me when my mental health was at an all time low. All I could think about that day was how I was going to lose my job and never own a house. I thought that I was going crazy and that my world was about to collapse. That picture shows me looking well and acting a ‘clown’ proving how easy it is to mask your own true feelings.

swimming-pool

I also posted this week that 81% of people when they say they are ‘fine’ do not mean it. This just puts the challenge of supporting people with mental health even more in perspective. After all, if we look okay on the outside and then tell you that we are ‘fine’ what else can you do? It also explains why when 40% of people contemplate suicide it comes as a complete shock to their loved ones.

All of this further strengthens my resolve to inspire people suffering in silence to seek help. They can only begin their personal road to a healthier wellbeing once they feel comfortable in asking for help. My crusade to ‘break the silence’ is taking me on a humbling journey and I am meeting many wonderful people who are offering to support me in so many different ways. Your inspiration is driving me forward and I thank you all


This entry was posted on Friday, January 6th, 2017 at 3:40 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.