#132: World Mental Health Day
3.5 years ago I wrote a post about my mental health and published it for all to see. It was a huge moment for me and i was one of very few people I knew of that had spoken publicly about their mental health. I only knew one other person in my entire network who had spoken about their mental health at that point.
Starting Sanctus in the early days felt like Fight Club. People would sneak into my WhatsApp, my insta DMs and my facebook messages. They’d open up to me in secret, not wanting anyone else to know, maintaining anonymity. I felt like a drug dealer for mental health, I’d get messages at strange times; “got any mate?”
People would turn up to Sanctus Events genuinely looking over their shoulder, with a look of fear in their eyes. Going to a mental health event after work - that was huge, nobody did that.
I’d give talks at companies sharing my story and I’d see a sea of glistening white eyes staring back at me in shock; “Is this guy actually sharing in this way? Here, at work?”
I remember saying “We all have mental health” on stage for the first time and seeing everybody’s head turn as if I’d just announced a no deal Brexit. I remember describing a world where mental health is seen like physical health and seeing people’s eyes widen even further.
3 years on and mental health has come a long way. In many industries and sections of our UK society mental health is no longer a taboo subject. In many cultures and industries it absolutely still is.
There are companies where the CEO has opened up to their entire staff about depression. There are companies where people walk past their boss’s desk to go to a Sanctus Coaching session in the middle of the day.
And there are still companies where people fear being judged for even daring admit they are stressed or anxious.
Culturally we have shone a light on mental health in many corners of our world and it is brighter. Yet much darkness does still loom and we have a long long way to go until mental health is as much a part of our day-to-day lives as our physical health.
We’ve made incredible progress. The world is changing before our eyes and whilst there is still a lot of fear and shame there is an ever growing movement of love that surrounds mental health.
In 3 years mental health has burst into our day-to-day lives and it is here to stay. It’s in the news, it’s on TV, its in Grime songs, it’s even on Britain’s Got Talent.
We can’t stop now. Awareness has been raised, yes we all know we all have mental health, so what now? What do we actually do?
Now. Now we talk. Now we write. Now we share. Now we open up to a mate. We call our parents. We message that friend. We read that book. We quit our jobs. We have that hard conversation. We take risks. We be vulnerable. We open our hearts.
We do the work on our own mental health. That’s what we do. Whatever that may be for you. Get a coach. Get a therapist. Start meditating. Start walking. Start reading. Start journaling. Get a floatation tank. Do yoga. Go running. CBT. Hypnotherapy. Have a bath.
Whatever it is. Do it. Do the work on your mental health, take that risk and the world will continue to change.
In 10 years I want October 10th to be another day, not world mental health day. Today it’s a day to celebrate how far we’ve come and look ahead at how far we have to go.
Onwards.
If you want to talk about mental health actively, follow Sanctus on social media today, we're doing a social media campaign anyone can get involved in:
James x