Bella found the strength to call Samaritans when she was at her lowest. Now she wants to encourage other people in her community to talk more openly about mental health.
I'm here today because Samaritans was there to listen. There was one evening things got way too much, I’d had enough, I just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere. And then I phoned Samaritans.
In my community, we don't have a culture where you sit around at dinner and say “How’s your mental health? What's up with you?” You just don't talk about what's going on with you. A family member might say, “Oh, you're a bit down,” and it’ll be like, “Well, fix up. Just get on with it.”
If you're from an ethnic minority, it might be harder for you to attain in your career, it might be harder for you in general if you're seen as different. That means you put all your energy into getting through the day. So, if you're having any other feelings, you may not feel able to talk about it.
We need to break this stigma and get people in our community having conversations. People like going to the barbecue, people like going to church, and instead of saying, “Hi, hello, how are you?” we need to share, “Oh, do you know what, my therapist said this to me last week,” or, “Do you know what, I have depression but today I'm all right.”
I want to encourage people to talk about wellbeing. When you see one person talking about it, it motivates you and you start thinking, “OK, I'll talk about it too.” That's the change we’re trying to make.
