Today’s #SameHere Hero: “Creativity into Words” (Why the advocacy name instead of the individual’s name? The Global Mental Health Movement believes in an Alliance set-up. As such, I/we are all about inclusion & growing messages of hope, together. Some have asked when we’ve featured other advocacy groups in these Hero Stories – Eric, you are 3 months into your own launch, why are you promoting other pages? To me that’s not what it’s about…it’s about finding people around the world who share a similar message about hope & healing & openness. No one individual or organization is saving this world alone from this MH epidemic. It’s gonna take people – like the talented woman featured today, banding together with unique, but consistent messages. I thank her tremendously for sharing her story – another topic we haven’t yet discussed, about MH professionals dealing w complications themselves. I believe her work will help so many.)
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“I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology, & then proceeded to complete 2 masters in different areas of psychology. I got a job as a mental health practitioner, & worked for an organisation for 5 years, 3 fully qualified.
Then one day over a few months I became extremely stressed, I had family difficulties, my father-in-law passed away, & on top of it all, I was planning my wedding. Amongst it all, the service I worked for was going through major changes. I had a meeting with my manager who was telling the team about the targets we were not hitting. I took a step back to evaluate. I realised I may be helping people slightly, but not significantly. I looked back at what I was doing & concluded I spent more time trying to make my targets than actually making a difference. I knew in my role I would not be able to break away from the set process, & also acknowledged that people’s MH & wellbeing do not fit a set linear fashion.
I began thinking even further to my own stress, anxiety, & low mood. I started questioning if I, myself, feel supported in this fashion? I concluded, that I wouldn’t. I realised then, that more needs to be done than sitting behind a screen providing set interventions, to effectively help people.
I noticed over the course of a few months I had become reserved. I had always been a bubbly, positive person, & now I preferred to spend my days locked away in my room. I had no time to do anything enjoyable & over time I had lost weight. I knew I was not fun to be around & didn’t want to tell anyone because I felt like a burden. Everything seemed so bleak, & at a time I should have been enjoying myself, I was so caught up in work, targets, & training, it was exhausting.
So I took a step back. I pulled back from my role to get myself well first. I didn’t seek support in the services of others, bc as a trained practitioner, I felt I knew what to do, & like I’d be wasting service time for others (guess it was the thought of being a burden overpowering again). However I started practicing what I preached after tweaking it slightly to suit me, & began writing poetry as a bit of a journal to put my feelings on to paper.
I used Cognitive Behaviour Therapy skills, & put my energy in to my creativity.
When I opened up to my husband about how I was feeling about my role & how I could better help others, he really supported me off-the-bat, understood, & listened to the struggles & the dream I had. I then spoke to my brother-in-law, & he really inspired me. He boosted my confidence, & was the one who suggested actually going forward with the YouTube channel to help others. The rest of my family also supported my vision.
I started a YouTube channel called: Creativity into Words, & began posting my poetry on this platform. I have now pushed further, & alongside my poetry I post tips & inspirational messages on “keeping a positive you” which I wish I, myself, had when I was younger. I use my qualifications, research, & books to make sure I’m giving the right information – hoping that my humble approach finds the ears of the individuals needing support. I have all the social media platforms with this name, as now we live in a world of social media, & thankfully that allows us to be heard across the globe.
I didn’t tell many people of the struggles I went through initially. I only opened up to a few people at first, & I realised it helped me but at the same time, not everyone knows how to help or respond back. I do feel blessed with the support network I have – my husband, sisters, brother-in-laws & friends have really shown their support with helping me set-up, & even giving me advice.
When I started my channel, I got a lot of positive feedback…along with few questions due to how deep & involved my poetry can be! #SameHere , I’m really only just starting out but my determination to make a difference is strong.”