Our Young Mental Health Ambassador (YMHA), Zoe, has started a mental health focused blog which she has shared in our digital takeover for Children’s Mental Health Week. Healthwatch Essex has partnered with Place2Be and is handing over our online platforms, giving the opportunity to our YMHA to share their work, feelings and stories.
“My name’s Zoe and I’m a first year animation student and mental health ambassador. After struggling with mental illness throughout my teenage years, I decided to volunteer as an ambassador for my local organisation, Healthwatch Essex, which aims to improve healthcare services by listening to people’s lived experiences. I enjoy digital art, films, travelling, and cats amongst other things; whilst you can expect a blog or two about those, I mostly post about what I believe is crucial to enjoy anything in life: trying to have a healthy mindset.
As technology becomes more advanced, social media seems to get taken over by people who do not actually exist in real life, or at least not in the way you would think. It is so easy to believe everything you see online, but a lot of the time we don’t realise the negative impact this has on our brains. I think everyone, including myself, is guilty of subconsciously hiding behind a screen and projecting this seemingly perfect version of their life onto the internet. I want to do my bit to change [that view] and show people a realistic version of what might be happening in the minds of those people.
Although my blog does not have such a specific niche per-se, it is mostly focused around seeing my life from a mental health point of view. Recently, particularly through lockdown, I have been dedicating my time to trying to have a more positive mindset – so I thought, what better way is there than to write about it?”
If you feel that you relate to topics Zoe has mentioned or want advice on mental health services you can get in touch with our Information & Signposting team at [email protected].
Join the conversation online with #ExpressYourself or to read more from Zoe’s blog you can click here.