Tackling Mental Health Stigma: A Younger Person s Perspective

Transcription

1 Tackling Mental Health Stigma: A Younger Person s Perspective

2 Why Service User Involvement is Important What to expect from the day. History of Lost Luggage Our Stigma agenda What we have learnt Awareness Video

3 What to expect from the day Be aware of own emotions Opportunity to learn from young people Information stands in the Foyer & Feedback Tree Please stay for Q&A Evaluation Forms

4 History of Lost Luggage Origins of name Re-branding in 2011 (incl. criteria) Regular Meetings & Projects Mission Statement & slogan Raising Awareness & providing Feedback Working with local business and University

5 Tackling Mental Health Stigma: A Younger Person s Perspective

6 Our Stigma Agenda Moving from participation, service involvement to challenging stigma. For young people, participation is noted to provide opportunities to share experiences and helps them feel their views, opinions and ideas are valued and that they can make difference. Therefore, it is though enabling service user participation, we have been able to challenge stigma

7 STIGMA Stigma refers to the way that individuals can be labelled or branded different. Stigma is harmful to young people with mental health difficulties as it can make it difficult for young people to talk openly about their experiences through fear of being bullied and/or judged. When someone experiences a mental illness it can be difficult for others to understand what that person may be going through and how they can help

8 STIGMA In a recent Time to Change survey, young people described stigma as feeling Isolated Shamed Misunderstood Criticised and demeaned as a person... In fact, many said the stigma they received from friends, family, boyfriends or girlfriends, teachers and even doctors was worse than the illness itself! The fear of stigma can prevent people from accessing help they need, but can also stop them doing everyday things like hanging out with friends, leaving the house or going to school, college and University. For many people with mental health problems, the fear they ll be labelled can make them want to give up their hopes and dreams. Stigma is a serious problem.

9 But how have/are lost luggage already contributing towards challenging mental health stigma? some of our projects

10 Training Workshops are delivered by Lost Luggage members who have experienced a range of difficulties. Through raising awareness to relevant agencies and professionals, we hope young people are encouraged to get help and support as early as possible We have already delivered training to nursing students, GP s and social work students. Training provides a bridge between the young people and professionals working with them.

11 Being creative and working with other services Lost luggage have worked with local services, for example this year they worked with a local drama company and helped inform a script for a production about how to promote positive emotional well-being and mental health in Primary Schools. Young people are creative, passionate and can achieve positive things. Last year Lost Luggage set them selves the challenge of wanting to produce a DVD to be delivered in schools to help with their mission, more about our DVD later

12 Fundraising We are always looking toward opportunities to raise money for the group, whilst also raising public s awareness of mental health. One way we in which we have raised money is bag packing in Asda. This shows that young people with mental health difficulties are not invisible, and are not afraid to be seen or heard, even in a busy supermarket!! It was also good to talk to members of the public about mental health. Lost luggage has held an annual charity cake sale at a local CAMHS clinics. The young people are talented bakers and shows that mental health is only one small part of a person.

13 Presentations This has provided more opportunities to share experiences and to challenge the stories you see in the media which are not necessarily real reflections of mental health. Provides more of a evidence based approach. Real Stories and real understanding. Young people can often feel invalidated by responses to their mental health e.g. how many times do they hear its just hormones they re at that age just hiding in their room, its what they do at that age.

14 Website (Blogs) Accessed Charity funding (Pro-Help) and local Graphic Design Company (Optima) designed our website. By sharing experiences and stories of recovery, we hope more young people will speak out and seek help. Helps others feel that they are not alone. Our website is informative, and by providing young people with information has shown to improve attitudes to mental health and help seeking behaviours.

15 What we have learnt. Lost Luggage provides the opportunity for us to meet other young people who have a shared experience and who we can relate to. Lost luggage means reducing the stigma of mental health. It s a way of using our own experiences of mental health to make a difference to the lives of people still struggling Lost luggage means making awareness of mental health and reducing the stigma of it. We can share out experiences and use these to help others with mental health problems. Lost luggage means to me 1) knowing people who have been through the same sort of things you have gone through 2) Being able to educate people about mental health issues 3) getting rid of the mental label

16 What we have learnt. Belief in young person s voice Young people as active participants Possibility and Positivity Importance of focusing on strengths and interests Proof that we really don t know everything!! Struggle vs Survival The value of peer support

17 Challenges to promoting participation?

18 Q&A