Guest Post by Pamela Zuber
A woman awakens with a start, her heart racing. She’s gasping for air and sweating, panicked and in an overall state of anxiety. This panic follows a nightmare that wakes her on a regular basis.
This woman could be struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While many people associate PTSD with male military veterans, PTSD is also common in people who have never seen war.
Guest Post by Rhiannon Long
“In the Caribbean, which is my heritage, there’s a saying – they who feels it knows it. If you feel comfortable with someone, someone you think will understand you, you’re more likely to raise concerns.”
Marie Gabriel is head of the East London NHS Foundation Trust – a body which provides mental health and community services across East London. She recently chaired a podcast about improving the experiences and representation of BAME staff in the NHS. For her, having a diverse and representative workforce is vital in improving the experiences of people using mental health services.
Guest Post by Jennifer Richards
The dismissive idea of the ‘snowflake generation’ suggests that vulnerability and being considerate is a weakness, but young people are the ones paving the way through their honesty, activism and brilliance. Whether it’s Amika Georgia, who created the #FreePeriod campaign, the students from Never Again who organised the March for Our Lives, or all the young people I see starting feminist, queer and mental health societies at their school, I’m inspired by young people on a daily basis.
Guest Post by Rhiannon Long
One of the most important steps in institutional mental health provision is providing that link between service and user. Bridging the gap, and ensuring you’re connecting the person to the right service, is key. But what happens when mental health services stop? What happens when you’re no longer meeting the requirement threshold, when the service closes down, or money simply runs out? Undergoing mental health treatment can feel like a safety blanket, but what happens when that blanket is pulled out from under your feet?
Earlier this summer, we launched our Women’s Mental Health Network in style, with an event all about the power of female voices, and turning the volume up on those voices that are so often ignored.
We had performances from comedian Jessie Cave, singer Misha B and poet Charly Cox, making it a celebratory evening about people coming together to campaign for change in the mental health system.
Women's Mental Health Network 