Mental Health “I am here” is an initiative I  would like to give a  mention to two great speakers  I came across today.

One is  from Prof. Jordan Peterson and a  lecture  he  gave entitled The Reason for  Almost All Mental Illness .

If too many things are happening

His analysis is  based  on the  concept  that if there are  too many  things  happening in one’s  life   then they can very  well have  severe consequences for the  person experiencing them. Professor Peterson  says that lives are  complex and  there is alot  always going on with every one. Examples could include  the political system and economy being shot, or one’s finances are not currently enough,  or  a person looses their job, or someone that  its loved dies,  or maybe two people  die around the same time, or  the person gets cancer.  Often these things  can all happen  within a  small space  of  time and  then they can almost  spin out  of  control with night sweats, anxiety, loss of  appetite  etc. People are like balloons where is there is too much pressure  they  will explode.

Why do we come to a psychologist ?

Professor Peterson   says that people do not come to a psychologist because they have mental illnesses but  because their  lives have started to collapse and they cant stay on top of all the moving element of their lives. When all of these things happen it is completely possible they will get physiologically ill, maybe they’ll start drinking or develop an anxiety disorder or get an obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression will inevitably  occur.

Mental Health “I am here”

Today I  came another new great initiative in Ireland called Mental Health I am here. “I am here”  which is led by Jim Breen. Jim is another great advocate spokesperson for mental health, and in particular,  our understanding of suicide in Ireland.  I have been familiar with Cycle Against Suicide for a long time but it never captured my imagination as well as today’s presentation. Mental health I am here, gives a starting framework and steps a  concerned person can take towards identifying someone they know that may be struggling with underlying issues that are displayed through exhaustion, apathy and other unusual signs of out of character traits.

The mental health “I am here”  campaign provides some tools to carers, friends, supervisors that  are genuinely  concerned for a  person that is  struggling and not  coping well. Some people that  may be at  such a  low  ebb that  suicide  for them may “reasonably” be seen as a possible  solution to their  trials.   

The mental health I am here  campaign works with a CLEAR acronym  which include Compassion, Listening, Empathy, Listening, Acceptance,  Real. By  demonstrating  courage, confidence and “clear”  skills  it  will be possible that a concerned individual can point a distressed person to  the right location for help. Asking for help is  totally ok.

Disclaimer:

I am not a mental health expert and the materials for this blog have been referenced to the “I am here” campaign through https://iamheretribe.com/ . For more information please have a look at their site. The Reason for  Almost All Mental Illness is taken from Prof. Jordan Peterson YouTube lecture