I am so pleased that this poem I wrote after volunteering at my local football club for Time to Change last year is going to be shared with followers of the national campaign.
Every time I have something to say about unhelpful attitudes towards talking about mental health and mental illness (and feel myself losing compassion) I will refer to the wiser me who was able to step back and write this.
It's Time to Change
It’s time to change
The way we talk
About what’s in our heads.
Our hearts, our minds
With our bodies, connect.
They grow on what they are fed.
We all have mental
Health, it’s not just
A buzz word or a fad
Just because you
Need to talk
It won’t make others mad.
For the one in four
Those who have spoken
There’s strength that can be found
Sharing experience lived,
How love, hope
And empathy can abound!
For the “general pop”
Those that don’t or
Can’t imagine how it feels
To be reduced
To questioning
One’s life and lost ideals;
Remember it matters
The way we talk
To each other and ourselves (as we do).
We have a choice
To be kind, to encourage
The parts of us most true.
It’s easy to see
Other’s differences
To find easy to judge and compare.
But start with one person,
Sow seeds of understanding,
We’ll find common ground somewhere.
by Lena Britnell
