In an effort to increase discussion of mental health by young people, the Scottish charity, See Me, will embark on a fresh campaign later this year. This initiative will be done in the context of the Year of Young People 2018.
In order to make sure it is as relevant as possible to those it is aimed at, the charity is calling on those whose age is between 12 and 26 to participate in a survey they have published on their website, seemescotland. The survey aims to elicit young people’s thoughts on various aspects surrounding mental health (MH). See Me reassures anyone who would like to participate that responses will be anonymous and confidential.
To take part in the survey, follow the link at the bottom of this post from See Me’s official Twitter account.
📣 Yesterday we launched a survey to help get young people 's voices heard about #mentalhealth for our new #YOYP2018 campaign. Are you aged 12-26? You can help by taking part here. ➡️ https://t.co/94t4ol4XJi pic.twitter.com/ZxRVlm4Z8a
— See Me (@seemescotland) 1 May 2018
See Me, funded by the Scottish government and Comic Relief, is a charitable programme enabling those who experience MH issues to have satisfied lives. They aim to do this by stopping stigma and discrimination towards mental health. The programme is managed by SAMH and the Mental Health Foundation.
Increasing awareness of MH
Children’s MH in Scotland is a topical concern with news earlier this year being reported that at least 18 000 children have had their referrals to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) rejected.
This call for respondents to See Me’s survey also comes at the time of the Mental Health Awareness Week which is running from today (14th) to the 20th of May.
The annual awareness week is this year focussed on stress and seeks to encourage discussion of this issue and ways in which stress can be reduced. With a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPD) recently revealing that stress is at high levels in UK workplaces accounting for 50 percent of long-term absences, the focus of the week is extremely current.
The Mental Health Foundation, responsible for the MH Awareness Week, intends for mental wellbeing to be boosted by encouraging people to find out more about how stress can be challenged, reduced, and coped with. Events are to be held nationwide across the UK and some of the many events can be seen on the Foundation's website.
It's Mental Health Awareness Week! Let's tackle stress and improve the UK's mental health. https://t.co/lNvllYW358 pic.twitter.com/o6Z6rKdluU
— Mental Health Fdn (@mentalhealth) May 14, 2018
With initiatives like See Me's forthcoming autumn campaign and the MH Foundation's Awareness week, more discussions should happen about MH. The ultimate hope would be that, in the future, MH is thought of by society to be on an equal footing with physical health, as indeed it should be.
They are very much interrelated and are both important. As See Me says on their website, "Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to receive fair treatment if they are ill or distressed. A broken leg takes time and medical support to heal. A broken mind is no different. And although it will not go away overnight, with the right support, we know that two-thirds of people diagnosed with mental ill health go on to make a full recovery."
