School and my mental health challenges
We often hear that mental health is just as important as physical health, and I feel strongly that supporting positive mental health should begin early in a person’s life.I had a tough time at school, and feel that with better early support I might have been able to function better and perhaps manage my emotional problems more effectively.During my school years, I was a victim of bullying, sexual assault and directed violence.
My bullying was particularly bad during my GCSE years, in Years 10 and 11, and resulted in major non-attendance at school.At my lowest point, I was attending school just once or twice per week, which had a huge impact on my confidence and performance.Unfortunately, because I didn’t feel very well supported, I developed a mentality of not trusting or relying on anyone to support me.
I began to feel as though the best thing I could do was just keep quiet and not tell anyone about other traumatising experiences I had, including the directed violence and assault.Adding to this, I was also a young carer - due to a debilitating condition that my mum was unfortunate to be suffering from.
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