Mental Health with Kelly Winstanley, National Clinical Lead, Mental Health Matters

Speaker Key 

VO          Voiceover 

CB          Chantal Boyle 

KW         Kelly Winstanley 

00:00:00

VO

Welcome to The Sunflower Conversations, where we explore the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower and its role in supporting people with hidden disabilities.

CB 

Hello and welcome to the Sunflower conversations, I am your host my name is Chantal. Before we get started, we want to issue a content warning for today’s discussion as we are talking about the topic of mental health and will be referring to self-harm and suicide. If any of the conversation causes you distress and you need to speak to someone, please consider contacting a family member or friend for additional support. However, if you need professional help, please contact NHS 111 option 2. 

So, joining me today is Kelly Winstanley, who is the National Clinical Lead for the charity, Mental Health Matters, good morning, Kelly, thank you. We’re going to discuss what the difference between poor mental health and mental wellbeing is and how we can support ourselves and others. 

Mental health matters is a charity, and their vision is that everyone can access support for their mental health to live a meaningful life in a society free form stigma. 

So, I’m just going to give a quick visual description of myself, so I’m a middle aged woman, I’ve got brown skin, long brown curly hair, I’m wearing a sunflower ‘I support the sunflower’ lanyard which is white with green sunflowers on and it says ‘proud to support the sunflower’ and I have a um, the background behind me there’s a couple of plants on either side and I’m sitting in front of some white blinds. So, over to you Kelly. 

KW

Okay, so, yeah, I’m Kelly and I’m a white female, again, middle-aged, I’ve got medium length dark blonde hair, and today I’m wearing a long sleeve dark green top and black trousers and I have my work logo behind me today. 

00:02:25

CB

Thankyou. So, the first question, I think which is probably crucial before we continue further, is what is the difference between poor mental health and mental well-being?

KW 

So, I think poor mental health tends to refer to a state of mind where people are experiencing difficulties with their mental health. It might be stress, it might be anxiety, it might be depression, or other mental health conditions. 

I think it’s important to recognise that these impact on people’s thoughts, emotions, behaviours in a negative way and it tends to indicate the presence of mental health problems that may at this point require some additional support or treatment.

For mental wellbeing that tends to describe the kind of positive state of mind where a person’s able to cope with kind of regular stressors in life, and they can work productively and tend to contribute to community, it tends to mean feeling bored, feeling positive and they’re kind of functioning well and having a sense of purpose and emotional balance.

I think it’s important to say, promoting your own mental wellbeing can help prevent poor mental health, and I’m mindful that the NHS suggests there are, kind of, 5 steps that people can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing, again you can find these on the NHs website. 

But it’s things like connecting with people, building relationships is really important, spending time with family and friends, being physically active, moving, getting some exercise, getting some fresh air outdoors, maybe learning some new skills, can be like a hobby or DIY projects, or taking on a college course, giving to others so kind of, so random acts of kindness, asking others how they are ,spending time with those people maybe some additional support, and again paying attention to your present moment. we can talk about mindfulness, being more aware of your thoughts, your feelings, your body, and the world around you. 

00:04:35

CB

Thank you. So, the mental wellbeing is what we can do to look after ourselves and it’s something we can all engage and participate in. 

KW 

Yeah 

CB 

And it’s free actually 

KW 

Yeah, yeah 

CB 

But it, you know, the mindfulness is free isn’t it and we had a session as a team, and a lot of it was about, so for example, I go for a walk in the morning but I normally put my headphones on and I’m listening to a podcast and after the sort of talk with this professional, now I don’t put the headphones on for the first part of the walk and I listen to the birds and I listen to the cars and I listen to the leaves rustling and its yeah, it’s a  really nice thing to do and it does make a big difference. 

KW

Yeah, and I think if people are struggling to get outside, there are things that you can do in your own home, like you say, that are free, any steps that you take can help. 

CB

Washing the dishes is another one I do actually, like the running of the water, looking at the bubbles, the feel of the water when you put your hand in it to wash, so that’s another example of; it’s free and you can do it at home.

I’ve looked at the NHS website and there’s a long list of illnesses, which are described under mental health including, but definitely not limited to; Social Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar, PTSD, Hoarding Disorder, and Schizophrenia. They all sound very different but is there a similarity between them all?

00:06:15

KW

You’re right! I think there is a huge range of mental health conditions, they’re classified into various categories, but it’s really important that each condition has got its own set of symptoms and its own treatment options and I think everyone’s experience is different. But these conditions can have a significant impact on an individual’s ability to function in their daily lives and can in fact impact on their quality of life. 

They are kind of clustered into different categories, so there are examples of common mental health problems, which people will be very familiar with in terms of depression for example where, currently 4 in 100 people are receiving a diagnosis of depression each week in England.

And people may be familiar with depression in a sense that it has an impact on an individual’s mood, people can have low mood, they can lose interest or pleasure in things, it can impact on how people feel, how people behave and again for those people who’ve got more severe depression, people can experience suicidal thoughts. 

You mentioned anxiety disorders and again there’s different types of anxiety disorder so social anxiety, health anxiety, and one called generalised anxiety disorder, which is currently, 8 in 100 people are diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder each week in England.

And again, this is the condition where you can feel incredibly anxious about lots of different things maybe you stress and worry affect your daily life, people experience physical symptoms kind of stomach issues, feeling dizzy, feeling tired and it can affect sleep, concentration, and mood 

And then you’ve also got all the mental health conditions which are categorised kind of, serious mental health conditions and they are longer term conditions, so things that people may be familiar with is schizophrenia, where a person’s thoughts or kind of perceptions appear different to what reality is, they can experience hearing voices, seeing things that other people don’t see. 

I think the common thing between them all is that, if people are listening find themselves experiencing symptoms or feel they’re struggling with their mental health or maybe they recognise that in other people, their family their friends or work colleagues, it’s really important to seek some help. See their GP, as soon as possible, again the earlier they treat it the better, but everyone different and these conditions can affect people in different ways. 

00:08:57

CB

I think that’s the importance of the podcast, and for people to listen to it who are experiencing great mental wellbeing and mental health just so that in case things do start to change in any way to be aware of actually, things are changing and maybe, you know, they can pick out some of the things you’ve spoken about and actually go and seek support sooner rather than later to have a better outcome quicker.

KW 

Yeah 

CB 

The Generalised Anxiety Disorder, the symptoms that you explained with that, that’s quite wide reaching isn’t it, so I guess you might actually just think you’re unwell, as opposed to like physically unwell, as opposed to mentally unwell so that’s really important to note some of those symptoms.

KW 

Yeah

CB

So, how do you know when the right time to seek support is and what support is available whether that’s like for yourself or for a friend or loved one.

KW 

Yeah, again I think this is a very kind of personal decision for when people decide that it’s the right time, it’s for each individual to make.

What I would say is 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem of some type each year in England. And I think I’d like to stress that people don’ need to feel any shame in seeking that support for their mental health and again I’d encourage anyone struggling to speak to a family member, a friend, a work colleague, or to seek professional help. 

Again, with their GP, it’s a really difficult time to get a GP appt, you know the demand for services is high and it can be really difficult to navigate mental health services. 

One of the real practical things that I would recommend is visiting something called the Hub of Hope, which is the UK’s largest mental health support directory. They share services local to the area that you are, and it includes charities, and organisations, but they also share mental health resources and again the website is HubofHope.co.uk, and the mental health matters services are listed in that directory too. 

CB

I guess what we should also be conscious of, is that this podcast goes out globally and so it’s important that you reach out to your region’s health care practitioners, and Hub of Hope sounds like an amazing resource but that will only be if you’re in England. And that is just England, it’s not the rest of the UK, right?

KW 

It’s the UK.

00:11:36

CB

It’s the UK, okay. – so, but if you’re in, I don’t know, Australia, Ireland, Canada, please reach out to your health care practitioner, relating to anything that we’re talking about on this topic. 

CB

You are listening to the Sunflower Conversation remember to hit subscribe 

What is a mental health crisis and what services are available?

KW 

So again, I think, just to kind of remind people of that content warning and the kind of topic that we’re going to be talking about now.

So, a mental health crisis can look different for each person, but it may include things like people experiencing feelings of wanting to self-harm, feeling suicidal, it may be that people are extremely anxious or experiencing symptoms such as hearing voices, or feeling paranoid.

A mental health crisis can be triggered by kind of, significant life events, it might be things like a relationship break down it might be work related stress, or someone suffered a bereavement, or things like financial stressors, or you know, anything that can increase stress levels to the point where it kind of feels overwhelming there is to much to deal with. 

For some people they may already have an existing mental health condition but others, it may be something that they’ve never experienced before. So, again, it’s services, things like during the daytime, it might be kind of emergency GP appt, if those were available. 

Again, NHS 111 Option 2, for mental health. There are national mental health helplines that offer confidential support from trained staff. And again, within the UK there are services known by a number of names, it can include things like a safe haven or a crisis café. Mental Health Matters run a number of those safe havens cross the country, these types of services are set up to provide an alternative to A&E for people experiencing a mental health crisis but who do not need medical or kind of clinical intervention at that time. 

What’s really important about these is that they’re a walk-in service, so there’s no need to be referred, there’s no waiting lists, it’s a warm welcoming kind of non-clinical environment, and staff will provide one to one support. It might be kind of, emotional support, practical kind of tips, we might sign post people to appropriate services, for example, if someone’s struggling with their housing.

It’s about crisis de-escalation and the staff will kind of help people create safety plans, staying well plans. What I would say though is for anyone who is in a mental health crisis and is at the point where they don’t feel like they can keep themselves safe or someone else safe or if somebody’s life is at risk, for example, if they’ve seriously injured themselves or taken an overdose, they should call 999 or go to A&E 

00:15:14

CB 

Thank you. So, 999, in the UK is the emergency response service, so if you’re located outside of the UK then it’s your, your emergency response services that you need to contact immediately. 

So, the sunflower is a discreet tool to indicate to those around you that you have an invisible disability which includes mental health. How useful do you think it is to let people know that you are experiencing poor mental health.

KW 

I think again this is a personal choice for individuals to make. I think it’s a real subtle way to signal to others though that you may need some additional support. It might be you need some additional time or a different space, a different environment, without having to disclose personal information to strangers or having to re-tell your story to others.

I think particularly for those with anxiety, it may help to reduce anxiety levels within social situations, knowing that others are aware there’s a hidden disability, and again you’re using the badge, helps raise awareness and encourages our society to be more inclusive and understanding of the needs of people.

CB

So, it was World Suicide Prevention Day in September, can you explain what the Zero Suicide Alliance is please?

00:16:46

KW 

Yeah, so the Zero Suicide Alliance, it’s UK based organisation, it’s based in Merseyside in the Northwest, and it’s dedicated to suicide prevention. It’s aims, number of aims really, to raise awareness about suicide, to reduce stigma and to also provide training and resources for individuals. The online training courses that they offer are free, and they’re for people over the age of 16 and they are designed, created for people from all walks of life, so you know for professional, for volunteers, it might be for general public, with the concept that it equips people, gives people more knowledge and confidence to talk to somebody who may find themselves struggling or at risk of suicide, or find somebody else close to them in that same position. 

More than 6,000 people die by suicide in the UK every year, so, Zero Suicide Alliance is striving to contribute to the reduction to that and hopefully improve outcomes for people who have got mental health conditions. 

CB 

That sounds like a really valuable service, it feels like such a taboo subject, suicide, less so in maybe the last couple of years, but really only the last couple of years and those are staggering statistics, so globally I can’t imagine what that is at so I’m definitely going to check out that because I think that everybody would benefit from knowing a little bit more and feeling like they’ve got a bit more tools in your tool box to be able to help around this area, and even to have the discussion because it feels so taboo. 

KW 

Yeah, I think people sometimes avoid having that conversation, because they think it might make it worse, whereas, actually having that conversation kind of opens door, makes things easier for people to talk about.

CB 

Thank you, so, where can people listening access information to support better mental health for themselves and others, outside of obviously the Zero Suicide Alliance. 

00:19:13

KW 

I suppose it’s visiting your GP, typically your first point of contact is your doctor who can assess your mental health, can offer you advice and potentially refer you onto a specialist service that you might need. 

The NHS website is really useful, offers information on conditions, there’s lots of resources on there that kind of, self help tips and details of local services and again it provides links to what I would describe as kind of trusted organisations and helplines. 

NHS Talking Therapies provides psychological intervention for adults who are struggling with anxiety disorders and depression. Again, these services tend to be a referral from your GP, however in some areas you are able to self-refer. 

Again, I’d stress about accessing, kind of, local support services, again, the hub of hope is a useful directory for people in the UK, and again there’s helpline and support organisations out there. 

CB 

And how can people get int ouch with Mental Health Matters?

KW 

Yeah, so you can find information about Mental Health Matters on our website which is www.mhm.org.uk 

If you have any particular question or you’d like to find out more about the services, please email us on info@mhm.org.uk. What I would say is this email address is, kind of, a core business hours, it’s not manned 24/7 so please don’t use this if you’ve got urgent queries or you’re in a mental health crisis.

And again, we’re on social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, so please, yeah, reach out and follow us! 

CB 

Thank you very much, I just want to ask you Kelly because I know that we had to kind of work quite quickly and with haste to record this. How important is it to you to have this conversation?

00:21:27

KW 

I think it’s really important. I think we’ve talked about how the last couple of years, it’s becoming less taboo, but there’s still work to be done in terms of raising mental health awareness and reducing stigma, so that messaging is really powerful, for people to kind of reach out if they’re struggling themselves, you know if they’ve got friends, family, work colleagues, try and encourage them to seek help and again, the use of the sunflower is really powerful. 

CB

Thank you, and thank you so much on behalf of me and the whole of the sunflower community, and I just want to say again if any of the conversation in today’s episode has caused you distress, and you need to speak to someone, please consider contacting a family member, or friend or for additional support, you know if you need professional help, contact the emergency services. In the UK that would be NHS 111 option 2, but your local region will have their own number but please do seek support if you need it

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VO        

If you'd like to share your Sunflower story or conversation, please email conversations@hiddendisabilitiesstore.com. Find out more about us or listen to this recording again by checking out our Insights page at hiddendisabilitiesstore.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Please help, have patience, and show kindness to others. And join us again soon. Making the invisible visible with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

00:23:36