Yesterday (10th October) was World Mental Health Day.  We have more things going on at the moment, which I am not ready to blog about yet, that means that this feels more relevant than ever. What I can add is that mental health is as important as physical health. If I had a bad leg that had been bothering me for 4 weeks, you’d notice my limp, and probably hear me moan. If, however, I had been feeling down for 4 weeks and had been struggling to get out of bed in the morning, would you notice? Would you notice me being a little quieter than normal? That I am not quite as chirpy as I can be? Would you ask me if I was OK? Would you press me if I said yes, but you thought I wasn’t being entirely truthful?

If I had a magic wand, I wouldn’t rid the world of mental health issues. Neurodiversity and all the problems and issues that come with it make the world a better place, and if we got rid of the problems that come with it, we’d get run the risk of getting rid of neurodiversity too.

What I would do with my magic wand, is make neurodiversity more acceptable. I would make mental health & well being as important as physical health and well being. Being anxious would be as acceptable as having arthritis, for example. There would be support for any mental health issue. There would be no judgement on parents or partners or carers for ‘letting this happen’, and we would all work together to make sure that the person who has a mental health issue gets all the help they need to get better and back to their own normal, whatever that may be. We would celebrate our differences, so that the child with ASD, that adult with ADHD, the teen with ODD or the older person with OCD is accepted for who they are, and their strengths celebrated, and their weaker areas supported. Society could then become an amazing multi-coloured multi-layered jigsaw where we all fit together, work together and support each other.

My magic wand would give us all a place to feel safe, love and respected regardless of colour, gender, mental health, physical health or anything else that may otherwise divide us. And together, we would be amazing!

#RUOK #ItsOKNotToBeOK