I’m not sure how
to pinpoint exactly how I felt yesterday evening. As soon as Jonny Benjamin MBE
and Neil Laybourn walked into Hallam Hall I felt a wave of emotions-
excitement, nerves and pride. Firstly, I couldn’t believe that the event was
actually happening considering that everything was against us in terms of the
weather, but secondly, all of the attendees that made it were going to have the
opportunity to see one of the most inspirational speeches I have ever
witnessed. Thank you to the wonderful society committee members, the Students’
Union and the university, the event was going ahead and I could not wait to see
the impact it would have.
This next moment
I am about to detail is something I never thought that I would be able to do.
Neil asked me if this was the first time I had heard them speak and I detailed
that actually this was the second time I have had the pleasure of hearing their
story. Naturally he asked me where I had heard them previously, and whilst
beaming with pride I told him that it was when I was at Rharian Fields
Specialist Eating Disorder Unit in Grimsby. I say beaming with pride, but the
pride wasn’t solely based on the fact that my illness had led to hospitalisation,
but pride that I was now stood in front of them as one of the society committee
members that had helped to bring them to the university. I had been at an
incredibly low point in my life when I had seen them first time round, stood at
the side of the room at NAViGO House buried amongst other attendees;
embarrassed that they may notice me and ashamed of where my illness had left
me. This time was completely different. I was so proud of my journey and how
far I have come from the place I found myself in 3 years ago.
I hope that one
day everybody will be able to talk about mental illness in this way. Of course
it is important to acknowledge the low points, but these should be viewed like
platforms that have pushed you on to that next step. When I was suffering I
felt embarrassed, ashamed and like a failure, but now I can look back on those
moments and see how much I have progressed. I know that some people look at a
diagnosis of a mental illness as a label of shame, but why? I think that listening
to Jonny last night demonstrates exactly why our mindset needs to change about
how we perceive mental health conditions. He is doing amazing things and still
struggles with the illness that has brought him to where he is today. That
isn’t due to a miraculous turn of events; it is due to him making it happen. He
chose recovery, he chose to speak out and he chose to see the positives in a
situation that once led him to try and take his own life. I think that is
incredible.
I am still in awe
of what I listened to last night and I am delighted to have had the opportunity
to speak alongside both Jonny and Neil during the question and answer session
sharing my personal experiences. It felt like a dream and now I want to make it
my career. I want people to see that mental health recovery is something to be
celebrated, not something that should be hidden away, pretending it never
happened. I am ready to share my story further and reach out to those that feel
exactly how I did 3 years ago. It’s time for me to try and make this happen and
follow in the footsteps of the role models I witnessed last night. I would like
to thank Jonny and Neil for not only sharing their incredible story with an
engaged audience last night, but for inspiring me once again to take that next
step in raising awareness of mental illness.
No comments:
Post a Comment