Mental Health Awareness Week

 Living with a mental illness isn't a choice, it's a daily grind,

A constant battle with your own mind.


Putting on a smile, the perfect mask,
Whilst inside you're sinking fast.

Facing trauma, fear, swimming against the tide
Whilst you're smiling, joking and "functioning" on the outside.

Getting told to "reach out" over and over,
But being let down at every corner,

It's wanting to recover, wanting to thrive,
But also wondering if you can cope with being alive.

It's going from nothing to "fight or flight",
Whilst trying to internalise your plight.

But recovery is possible, there is hope out there,
We need to make people feel safe to share.

Safe to share their emotions, their feelings, their true self,
Whilst we validate, support, listen and don't ever judge.

We need to support them on their journey, without condition,
Because inside they are on a huge mission...

A mission to find their quality of life,
One that is unique to them, and not without strife.

But a life worth living, a life they deserve.
Mental health is not something we can swerve.

Open up the conversation, open up your mind...

Because we ALL have mental health.

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