Mental health and how to know when you're doing better

TW mental health issues/suicide/media glamorization of mental healthI feel like I see a lot of information online depicting the negative sides of mental health and signs to spot when it's getting bad again or you're beginning to fall into bad habits. Especially around this time of year I think many of us are susceptible to the vicious cycle of lower mental health as work/school/uni pressures increase and the weather worsens. I wanted to provide a positive spin on this topic and speak about small things I've noticed in myself and from friends accounts that signify an improvement in their mental state and wellbeing. These things range from memory improvements and cognitive processing, to noticing lower levels of irritability and aggression when dealing with peers, to something as simple as looking forward to things again and actually experiencing feelings.I also touch on medias depictions of mental health specifically focusing on Euphoria and Skins (this is brief as I do plan to do a separate podcast focuses solely on these shows and the impact they had on our perception of mental health.) I speak largely from personal experience on how my view of mental health was severely distorted because shows like Skins made me think unless I was visibly in the midst of a psychotic breakdown, I was fine. This in me, created the issue of not being able to tell when things were getting bad, therefore being unable to rewire my negative thought patterns or self destructive tendencies that would inevitably lead to worsening states of mental health.Support lines and links:- Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: [email protected] for a reply within 24 hours- Text "SHOUT" to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line, or text "YM" if you're under 19- If you're under 19, you can also call 0800 1111 to talk to Childline. The number will not appear on your phone bill- 111 Non-emergency line will also be able to direct you to the right mental health support system for your needsSend me a MessageSupport the show