Sharing experiences is one of the ways that we communicate and learn. It is something we do every day without realising it. It may be a response to a question about how your weekend went, but you have shared your experience with someone else. From that sharing, the other person may learn something they did not know about you, discover something such as an activity they are interested in, or find comfort in interacting with another person.

For some years, I have shared my experiences with mental health issues. My sharing has been met both positively and negatively by others. Some have found it comforting or informative, while others have called me pathetic, egotistical and weak, and far more unpleasant things. The negative responses can be disheartening and have made me, in the past, question if I should keep doing so.

So, why do I share these experiences? There are three main reasons:

1. I find it useful. Sharing my experiences over the years has given me insights into some of the reasons for my struggles. Looking at where I have been has helped me carve a path that will reduce my chances of going there again or, at least, recognising it before things get too bad.

Sharing my experience has also allowed me access to other avenues of support and help that I would not have known about otherwise. I have been encouraged and supported by the shared experiences of others.

2. I want to support others who are struggling. Sharing my experience may offer insight to others on what they are experiencing. It may also guide them to a source of help and support they were unaware of. My openness may encourage them to reach out for the first time for that help or bravely reach out again if they’ve had a bad experience with doing so before.

3. I want to help end the stigma around mental health issues here in the UK and the whole attitude towards anything to do with mental health that still prevails here. I want mental health and all it encompasses to be treated as normally as our physical health (I am aware that there are still some attitude issues around this in the UK, but it is far less than it is with mental health). I want to be part of the wider education on mental health so that more of us can have a better quality of mental health and address any problems earlier. Things will only worsen if we don’t talk about this. Society cannot solve problems that it is not willing to talk about.

I, for one, will keep sharing my experiences with my mental health, both good and bad. If people want to judge me for that, that’s up to them. If they think their comments will stop me, they’re wrong. I know that I am not alone in this, and I hope that others will when they are ready to, will share their experiences too.

Written By Lorna Smart

Blogger @Poemstellium

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