This is not a particular topic of my life i speak about publicly, but as someone that has grown up constantly been bullied, belittled, begrudged down and out but yet always had a smile on my face well one i would try to put on, this was not a era of my life that had help from any mental health teams due to at the time in schools it was just boys being boys but the mental torture still stays, this among with having several close members of my family dying due to a disability called muscular dystrophy my uncle and 2 young cousins unfortunately lost their lives during times of my life that schools were stressing you out about a future one which you had no plan on being part of. I never planned a life for myself after 21, and at that time i was 16, my depression and anxiety were only starting to manifest but not fully were devolved, i was going through family problems which amplified everything (but they are stories for another time) I didn't see anywhere for my mental health i could turn to, and then my 20s hit and friends i grew up with, one by one another death of suicide and it breaks my heart knowing I had contemplated it too, but not knowing they too were going through this pain, I tried reaching out for help with NHS and the doctor refers you to a mental health team who will contact you, they contact you 6 weeks later for a phone consultation and then from that phone call will assess if you are at priority needs to meet with a counsellor one which could be waiting several more weeks I was able to get out of my depression but there are too many that were not as fortunate as i was. More needs to be done and its one of the main reasons I am running in this election, We need to progress the North, open and honest conversations need to be the main vocal points.
