Mental health wasn’t really a term we grew up with. We heard of people being bonkers, mental or psycho – not really any positive inference with these though!
If I am honest I was aware people may get stressed or depressed but again I thought this was just a thing people got, I never understood anything around it.
We were aware of the negative things people got and not why, what it meant and most importantly what you could to rectify these things.
Today we know a little more about mental health, mainly due to the fact that active addiction impacted our own mental health. Between us we have had first-hand experience of stress, anxiety, depression and much of it recovery.
We have had to accept help, take action to rectify our mental state and become aware of our mental health on an ongoing basis. Not easy, some of it feels quite strange but it has given us an understanding…

Today we know that mental health can deteriorate, it can be maintained and even improved. In fact I often use the analogy of physical fitness and exercise. If I want to get fit or lose weight I need to stop eating junk, watch my diet and start putting in some daily action in the form ofexercise. In the same way if I want to improve my mental health I need to look at my thoughts, watch what I am putting in my mind and undertake some mental exercise.
For me that means things like meditation, reflection, affirmations and gratitude but it isn’t only these things. Sometimes its simply about doing things that make us feel good!!
We run sessions on mental health and wellbeing and often ask ‘what have you done for your wellbeing today?’ perhaps not surprisingly many have the same answer…. Nothing!!
So mental health awareness week has just finished and we have delivered a few sessions on the subject. If we have done nothing else I hope we have got people to become aware of what they are doing (or not) for their own mental health and wellbeing.
For more info from two ordinary lads on mental health and wellbeing, check our socials!!
L x