If you have been affected….

How many times do we now here ‘if you have been affected by anything in this programme go to..’? It is something that we hear many, many times and I know it is there for good reasons. The aim was to try and give people somewhere to go if they watch something and feel their emotions are triggered. But this is now just the wallpaper that we don’t recognise anymore.

Yesterday was World Mental Health Day and there was a lot of discussion about the importance of mental wellbeing and resilience. There were stories about how people had struggled at work and shocking statistics about how many people are dealing with mental health challenges. I have been very open about my own challenges. They started when I worked for the police and was absorbing a lot of very difficult issues without realising the impact it was having on me. Slowly chipping away about my mental wellbeing.

In the past six months I have suddenly come face-to-face with the huge mental challenge of grief. Grieving is like no other emotion I have experienced before. I have realised that I am not only dealing with the huge losses that have happened, but I am realising that my life, my attitudes to things and my thoughts of the future are also changing. It is huge and life changing.

I know there are many people dealing with their own grief and difficult situations. More people are in this space than most of us realise. We are still trying to understand the real impact on Covid-19 on all our mental wellbeing. These are daily battles and not just something that can be for an annual awareness day.

Last night I sat and wondered what my purpose in life was? How would I be able to move forward without my Mum? How can I fill the many hours I have now I no longer have my horse? And ultimately who am I now after these six months of traumatic experiences? I don’t yet have any answers. I do know that those ‘have you been affected’ announcements feel a bit hollow when you are in tears worrying about how you can carry on. We need to be much more proactive about how we approach these things, and perhaps now it needs to go beyond a tick box that links to support being put in place.

If you have been affected by anything in this blog, please reach out and let me know. Talking is one of the best ways of making sense of traumatic experiences. And don’t wait to be affected seek out some help and support now.