York Ending Stigma Podcast

In this episode, 4 of our YES Champions talk about what they whish they'd known about mental health when they were younger. The conversation includes people wishing they had accessible and reputable mental health information, awareness of coping skills, the importance of looking after your mental health and how to help seek, that there is more to life than academia, that it's ok to fail, the importance of being honest about the state of our mental health, and that its never too late to change and re-set goals.**Please note that this episode contains brief references to self injury and suicidal thoughts.**

In this episode, Emma and Hazel talk about their experiences of self harm in relation to their suicidality. For Hazel, self harm is a preventative coping mechanism, where as for Emma self-harm is usually an indicator that a suicide attempt may occur in the near future. There are no discussions or detailed descriptions of self harm methods, and both Emma and Hazel share towards the end of the episode the things that are helpful to them. The aim of our podcast is for positive suicide prevention, and as always please do consider your own wellbeing when deciding whether to listen.

In this episode, 3 of our YES Champions talk about their experiences of being bullied at school and the impact this had on their mental health. Loss of confidence, eroded self esteem, and becoming isolated and withdrawn are common themes. None of the Champions were bullied for their mental ill-health, rather for the way they looked, their sexuality, or their academic success. All of the Champions agree that experiencing bullying had a negative impact on their mental health, either making their existing mental health conditions worse, or causing poor mental health.

In this episode, 4 of our YES Champions talk about the societal expectations regarding relationships, parenthood, home ownership, education and employment status in relation to their mental ill-health. Our perspectives include whether or not we think our mental ill-health limits what we can achieve, why we think it's sometimes in our best interests not to meet societal expectations, and busting myths through talking about some of the things we have achieved.

In this episode, 3 of our YES Champions talk about their experiences of mental health and isolation as a university student. Experiences include distance learning, commuting to university, and the more traditional halls of residence experience.

As might be expected, social anxiety is a common theme. However, experiences of eating disorders, and of mania, whilst being a student are spoken about during this episode.

Listen to 3 of our YES Champions talking honestly and openly about their experiences of psychosis in this informative episode. Subjects discussed include what it is like to experience psychosis, busting some sweeping stereotypes about violence and psychosis, and of course the stigmas that our Champions have faced for experiencing psychosis. Please be aware that this episode does make a brief reference, but no details, about surviving a suicide attempt.

In this episode, we hear from 3 Champions who have experiences which include currently being a university student whilst experiencing mental ill-health, a Champion who didn't go to university but is a father of a university student, and from a Champion who left university due to mental ill-health but is currently studying through the open university.

The pressures to go to Uni include family, school, societal, and self pressures, as well as some Champions feeling that assumed expectations meant that alternatives to university life were never discussed. We talk about whether mental ill-health started before or during studies, and some of the stigmas faced especially around disclosing experiences of mental ill health and/or witnessing stigmatising attitudes as a student.

Listen to three of our YES Champions talk about some of the myths of receiving benefits due to mental ill-health.

Myths that our Champions have faced include being called 'work shy', 'lazy', and being told that receiving mental health benefit payments are 'an easy lifestyle choice'. Experiences include someone currently receiving benefits, someone who received them for years, but has since been in employment for over 14 years, and someone who's been on and off benefits until securing their current permeant employment nearly 2 years ago.

There are lots of myths and misunderstandings and this episode aims to help bust these through the sharing of real life experiences.

In this episode, 3 of our YES Champions talk about the mostly positive benefits on their mental health of being a pet owner, as well as the myth and stigma that some people think that people who are mentally unwell aren't capable of looking after a pet.

As always, our Champions are open and honest, with two people saying that their pets are in their crisis plans, and are credited as being life saving. Lots of nuances around the topic are discussed and even though we are of course talking about mental illness, there are lots of laughs in this episode and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it.

*Please note that this episode contains brief references to suicidal thoughts and crisis plans*

In this episode, five YES Champions talk about their experiences of volunteering and the, mostly positive, impact on their mental health. We discuss the importance of a 'good' volunteering experience, and try to bust some of the myths around unemployment and volunteering. Please note that this episode contains a brief reference to both a family death and a brief reference to suicidal crisis, leading to positive volunteering experiences for one Champion.

Grief is unique and complex for each of us. In this episode we talk about loss of parents, grandparents, and friends, including the loss of a friend due to suicide, and the relationship of grief with our mental health. Naturally, this episode talks a lot about death and as always please consider what's best for your own mental health before, during, and after listening to this episode.

Becoming a parent can be a major event for anyone, but how does it impact those of us who already struggle with our mental health? In this episode we hear from a new Mum, a single Mum, and a Dad of two, as well as some reflections from our host who doesn't think she'll ever have children due to her mental ill-health.

Please note that this episode includes reference to suicidal thoughts.

Hormones affect our body’s functions, from growth, sexual development, and mood, to how well we sleep. We're sharing our personal experiences which includes reference to periods (menstruation), Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and similar topics, and importantly the things we do to help keep ourselves as mentally well as we can whilst experiencing hormonal changes. Please note that this episode contains brief references to suicidal thoughts.

In this episode, we talk about our experiences, past and present, of caring for a parent and the impact that this has on our own mental health. We talk about guilt, expectations from others, self expectations, and some of the things we did to help keep ourselves mentally well whilst being a carer.

At York Ending Stigma some of us are sceptics and some of us can't rate it highly enough when it comes to mindfulness and its benefits to our mental health. Listen to our mixed experiences to hear for yourself our first hand experiences of our relationship with the sometimes controversial topic mindfulness for mental ill-health.

At York Ending Stigma we certainly don't claim to be 'fixed' or 'cured' from our poor mental health, however we do have lots of things that we do (and other people do) to help to keep us as well as possible in work. In this episodes we share our experiences of what helps us in the hope that our experiences may help you. Please note that this episode contains a very brief reference to the subject of suicide.

People pleasing and burnout at work seems to be a common thing for those of us who live with poor mental health. In this episode we talk about the affects of people pleasing on our mental health and our employment, and the things we can do to help prevent burnout.

Reasonable adjustments for mental ill-health in the workplace can be a mysterious topic - what are reasonable adjustments, how can they help, and how much do they cost? In this episode we help to demystify reasonable adjustments and share our personal experiences of what adjustments help us to stay as well as possible at work.

Masking our poor mental health in the workplace seems to be something that a lot of us do, but often to the detriment of our mental health and our employment. In this episode we talk about how masking our true selves impacts our lives and how we wish for more honest workplace cultures.

There is no legal requirement to disclose poor mental health to an employer and during this episode we talk about whether we choose to disclose or not, and our reasons why. It's a complex topic and our experiences certainly vary! Please note that this episode includes very brief references to the subjects of suicide and self harm.

https://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/york-ending-stigma/employers-area/

What is social anxiety, how does it affect us, and how can you help someone experiencing social anxiety? We discuss these questions and more in this episode of our podcast. We're sharing our experiences to help bust myths, challenge negative stereotypes, and to end the stigma of living, as well as sharing what helps us to keep as well as possible whilst living with social anxiety.

Here at York Ending Stigma, some of us enjoy Christmas & New Year and some of us don't, but we all agree that it has an impact on our mental health in one way or another. In this episode we talk about the things that affect our mental health at this time of year, and the things that we can do, and you can potentially do, to help keep ourselves as mentally well as possible during the Christmas period.

In this episode we talk about the interactions of loneliness and isolation with our mental health, and the things that we do to reduce our isolation. As you might expect, we think that ending mental health stigma and having open and appropriate conversations is something that would help reduce our feelings of isolation, but we share other things too. 

Please note that this episode includes a brief reference to loneliness and suicidality.

We share our experiences of what self-harm means to us (this includes any connections that we may have between our self-harm and any suicidal thoughts and behaviours), the things that have helped us to reduce our self-harmful behaviours, and some of the things that we think both ourselves and other people can do to help us. We're sharing our experiences to help break down some barriers of talking about the subject of self-harm and to challenge some of the stereotypes associated with self-harm. We do not talk about detailed methods of self-harm, but we do mention general types of self-harm.

A blog written by Hazel about the stigmas surrounding self harm - https://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Self-harm-Stigma-Blog-by-Champion-Hazel.pdf

In this episode we talk about our York Ending Stigma - Let's talk suicide prevention campaign, why we think it is important to have conversations about suicide prevention, and we share some of the things that help us to keep as well as possible. We do not talk about any suicide methods or specific details of suicide attempts - we are sharing our experiences with the positive purpose of suicide prevention.

• Link to our WHY - Let's Talk Suicide Prevention project - https://whysuicideprevention.co.uk/
• A blog written by Lauren about her experience - https://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/I-never-saw-it-coming-suicide-prevention-blog.pdf
• A blog written by Hazel about their experience - https://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Suicide-Psychosis-Blog.pdf

(note both blogs written prior to out rebrand from Time To Change to York Ending Stimga)

OCD isn't all about hand washing, or simply being tidy.

OCD is a serious mental illness and in this episode 4 of our YES Champions talk about their experiences of living with OCD. This episode highlights the potential seriousness of the condition and also offers hope for the future as all of our guests talk about how they manage to lesson the severity of their symptoms.

Recorded via Zoom and edited by Emma

What is self-care and why can so many of us with mental illness struggle to undertake it when we're feeling unwell? Self-care isn't a magic cure for mental illness, and there's no one size fits all, but there are plenty of things that our YES Champions do to try to keep themselves as well as possible. Self-care can be complex, and our Champions try to unpack this topic throughout this episode.

How mental illness is portrayed by the media, be that newspapers, films, social media, and more, has a huge impact on mental health stigma. Listen as three YES Champions talk about some of the things that they have read and seen that they think have had a negative impact and a positive impact on the way that mental illness is portrayed. We believe that there is certainly room for improvement, but there are some good examples out there.

Managing finances can be tricky enough for some people at the best of times. Hear 3 YES Champions with a variety of experiences ranging from a cautious saver, to someone who had it all financially and then lost it all, and someone who experiences the benefits system and 16 years of debt. The impact of our mental illness on our finances, and vice versa, is certainly varied!

Please note that a brief reference to suicidal thoughts is mentioned during this episode

How does physical illness impact on our mental health, and vice versa?

In this episode four YES Champions share their experiences of living with a variety of both mental health and physical health conditions (and how these may have impacted on one another) in this frank and honest discussion

Warning - breif references to suicidal thoughts

How does our mental health impact on our experience of education? From straight A people pleasers to school dropouts, in this podcast episode listen to York Ending Stigma Champions in conversation about how our mental health impacted on our education, and some of the things that we think could have helped us at the time.