0:02

The podcast from centre

0:02

by young people for old people

0:11

centre point is the UK is

0:11

leading youth homelessness

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charity. At centre point, we

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believe no young person's life

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should be defined by

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homelessness. We give young

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people the support they need to

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heal and grow no matter what.

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for over 50 years, we've been

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the centre point for change,

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personal and political. Everyone

0:30

has their part to play. With

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young people leading the way.

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This podcast has been created by

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young people with lived

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be shining a spotlight on some

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of the issues that affect us. We

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hope to challenge and change

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some of the stereotypes and

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bring others with us as part of

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a movement to end youth

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homelessness for good. Hello, and welcome to point made

1:07

the centerpoint podcast by young

1:10

people for young people. Today

1:10

we're going to be talking about

1:14

mental health. And this is a

1:14

subject very close to my heart.

1:18

My name is Kyla turret, and I am

1:18

a Centerpoint ex resident, and

1:22

I'm joined by some wonderful

1:22

panellists to help us discuss

1:26

this topic, which is quite often

1:26

a stigma. So I'll let you guys

1:30

introduce yourselves first. And

1:30

we'll get into the topic of what

1:34

mental health means to you. My name is Sharon. So basically,

1:36

I've recently been offered a

1:41

supported housing officer role

1:41

by centerpoint. But previously,

1:44

I have experience with being a

1:44

support worker in a homelessness

1:47

charity. So I'm just waiting

1:47

before I started with

1:50

centerpoint. Previously, I was

1:50

attend to quite resident, I also

1:55

volunteered in the policy team

1:55

for centre point. Also, I have

2:00

experienced had mental health.

2:00

So my topic is really important

2:04

to me. It's really an essential

2:04

topic to talk about in society

2:08

due to the stigma attached to

2:08

mental health. I've been in

2:11

hospitals with mental health.

2:11

I've had counselling therapy

2:15

through centre brain that are

2:15

supporting them to become more

2:17

independent today. Amazing. So yeah, we'll get a

2:19

lot of love from you about the

2:23

topic. Yes. And would you like

2:23

to introduce yourself?

2:25

Hi, I'm Nora. I'm currently

2:25

still receiving floating support

2:30

from centerpoint. I was never a

2:30

resident, I've always received

2:34

floating support. I think what

2:34

mental health and health means

2:39

to me in such a broad question,

2:39

but I think it's something I'm

2:42

living in learning and figuring

2:42

out for myself, I think as a

2:46

girl. Yeah, amazing.

2:49

And I live in the Wembley area.

2:49

I have ASD Autistic Spectrum

2:54

Disorder, which, in terms of

2:54

mental health makes it difficult

2:58

to communicate, build relations

2:58

and understand emotions. But

3:04

overall, I've learned to manage

3:04

these things. So I'm here today

3:08

to talk about that with you guys. So I do actually have a list of

3:10

questions. But now you've said

3:12

that I would like to ask, what

3:12

are some of the stigmas that

3:15

you've experienced? You know,

3:15

when you because of mental

3:20

health? Let's start around this

3:20

way. Yeah, yeah.

3:24

So I'm now I mean, I've

3:24

graduated, I'm now a social

3:27

worker, and I've got a job so

3:27

adulation. Thank you. I think,

3:32

throughout my whole career,

3:32

well, university time and

3:35

started my career, I was really

3:35

worried about, you know,

3:39

probably not getting a job. Once

3:39

they know, oh, she's been

3:42

depressed before, or she has

3:42

terrible anxiety. Like, what if

3:45

she can't handle the job? I

3:45

think I was very afraid of being

3:48

stigmatised in that sense and

3:48

seen as someone who's who could

3:53

be who's basically unreliable

3:53

because of my mental health

3:56

issues. So yeah, I think that

3:56

was my biggest struggle with

4:00

mental. So my biggest struggle with

4:02

mental health is definitely

4:05

being a university student.

4:05

studying sociology and politics,

4:09

I felt that if I, if I over

4:09

shared what I was going through,

4:12

I felt like I would experience

4:12

judgement, because of how people

4:16

view mental health, especially

4:16

with like depression, anxiety,

4:19

anxiety disorders, a lot of it

4:19

is attached with stigma in

4:23

society, there's a lot of a

4:23

tarnished view towards it. And

4:26

people that experienced mental

4:26

health are quite marginalised in

4:30

society, and ignored by the

4:30

government. So I feel like I

4:36

felt like I couldn't share what

4:36

I was going through to my

4:38

university lectures. I felt like

4:38

I had to keep it to myself, but

4:43

having the services the NHS

4:43

Centerpoint being there for me,

4:48

it helps me to go to the point

4:48

of healing. So

4:51

yeah, that's that's very deep

4:51

point of view. And that's really

4:54

important. Yes, Ben, what you've

4:54

touched on it, but do you want

4:57

to maybe give us some Another

4:57

point.

5:01

So I found that I've, in terms

5:01

of communication, I found humour

5:06

was the best way to sort things

5:06

out. But this sort of became a

5:10

problem within itself. My

5:10

diagnosis started to become my

5:14

personality to a lot of people,

5:14

I would be introduced as the

5:18

autistic friend, which was

5:18

unfortunate, which returned me

5:21

into a sort of lightning rod for

5:21

jokes and everything, where I

5:26

felt at the end of every joke,

5:26

even though I enjoyed the self

5:31

deprecating humour, and I was

5:31

fine with it. It made my

5:34

friendships feel hollow, in a

5:34

lot of ways, and it made it just

5:39

a bit harder, not understanding

5:39

why I was the end of these

5:42

jokes. So, wow, that's

5:44

really interesting. I think, for

5:44

me, everything you've all

5:47

touched on, I can relate to in

5:47

some ways, the work that I do, I

5:51

have to be very social I'm, I

5:51

work in PR and marketing as

5:55

well. And I often have to be the

5:55

brave chi and go out there and

5:59

show the smiley, happy chi, but

5:59

there are days when I'm really

6:02

struggling, and how do you

6:02

relate? How do you tell them

6:06

that or tell people that and I,

6:06

I found that I haven't been

6:09

brave enough to actually be able

6:09

to find those safe spaces,

6:12

particularly with them work,

6:12

because you don't want to be I

6:15

don't want to be stigmatised.

6:15

And then be and then be known as

6:18

chi, who can't get the job done,

6:18

or who can't be social, you

6:22

know. And so I would actually

6:22

like to ask guys, how do you

6:25

think we, they can be a bit more

6:25

of a balance to really sort of

6:29

break past these stigmas and let

6:29

people be more aware about

6:33

mental health because I found

6:33

that when I do find that person

6:36

that I can actually be honest

6:36

with and say, you know, what, I

6:39

was going for a bit of downtime,

6:39

you know, or I'm feeling a bit

6:44

depressed, or I'm suffering from

6:44

anxiety. And actually, today, I

6:48

can't go out. They've also told

6:48

me even themselves, or a family

6:54

member has a similar situation

6:54

or diagnosis, and you realise

7:00

that you're not by yourself. So

7:00

have you had any instances where

7:04

you've opened up and found out

7:04

that actually, I'm not alone,

7:07

that other people that are going

7:07

through the same thing as me.

7:13

So I'll go first. Basically,

7:13

like I said, earlier, the

7:17

society there's a lot of stigma

7:17

attached to mental health, and a

7:20

lot of people feel like they

7:20

can't open up to their friends,

7:23

to their family, they have to

7:23

keep it to themselves.

7:25

Statistics show that men are

7:25

more likely to commit suicide

7:28

because of the stigma that's

7:28

attached to it. There's also one

7:31

in four people in society that

7:31

have mental health issues. So I

7:35

feel like one thing that will

7:35

help with the stigma is actually

7:37

finding a community of people

7:37

that will understand you, one

7:41

community that's helped me as

7:41

the church, I feel like the

7:44

church has really been helpful

7:44

in my healing. And me being able

7:47

to understand and know myself

7:47

and navigate ways to religion

7:52

has helped me to know myself

7:52

more, and why know myself, I was

7:55

able to be more bold, in myself

7:55

more confident, more assured in

8:00

everything that I'm doing. And

8:00

also, it's it's led to my

8:04

healing has led to me being more

8:04

independent living alone. Being

8:07

a student, that's been our final

8:07

year, it's been me being my

8:10

final year now, I'm just like,

8:10

wow, like it's been. It's just

8:13

only, it's only the confidence

8:13

that I have in myself and only

8:18

by the grace, as a Christian, I

8:18

say, as an ally by the grace of

8:21

God, that I've actually been

8:21

able to get past a lot of my

8:24

anxiety and depression, and

8:24

nearly be a graduate, which is

8:27

being the first graduate in my

8:27

family is amazing, for me is an

8:32

achievement. So I'm really

8:32

grateful. And I'm grateful for

8:34

this opportunity. That sounds really empowering

8:35

and enriching. What about you?

8:39

Um, for me, it was definitely

8:39

figuring out, of course, a good

8:42

support system people you can

8:42

rely on. And as you said, Say to

8:46

tell them, Oh, I'm having a hard

8:46

day today. But I think as

8:49

someone who has an anxiety

8:49

disorder and does struggle with

8:53

depression, do you tend to

8:53

relapse in it, let's say,

8:57

because I've struggled with

8:57

depression for over five years.

9:01

Sometimes it's very repetitive.

9:01

So it's almost like it gets

9:03

hard, it becomes difficult for

9:03

you to then go back to that same

9:07

friend probably and tell them

9:07

again, oh, I'm feeling depressed

9:10

again. It's, it almost makes it

9:10

harder every time you relapse.

9:15

So for me, it became about kind

9:15

of challenge channelling other

9:19

people's, you know, bravery of

9:19

opening up to me. So for

9:23

example, as you were talking

9:23

about men, how it's mean, for

9:28

me, at least my male friends,

9:28

they don't really open up. But

9:31

when I'm sitting with them sometimes, and they're talking to me about their social

9:33

anxiety, and I'm like, what?

9:37

Since when you're the loudest,

9:37

you're literally the loudest in

9:40

the group. So things like that

9:40

are things that I don't, you

9:43

know, I don't perceive them as

9:43

someone who's anxious or who has

9:46

gone through a hard time or

9:46

who's ever been depressed. And

9:48

when they're sharing that stuff

9:48

with me, it can help me be like,

9:51

oh, gosh, like, if they're

9:51

opening up to me, I can do the

9:54

same. I'd either open up to them

9:54

or I'd go back to that one

9:58

friend I trust and say, You know

9:58

what? I'm having a hard time

10:00

again. And thank god, I've had a

10:00

really good support system. So

10:03

they will be there for me. But I

10:03

think it's just sometimes when

10:06

you're in that rut, it's really

10:06

hard to believe that people are

10:08

truly there for you. And then

10:08

again, honestly, if nothing

10:12

works, you've got your faith,

10:12

I'm in the same boat.

10:15

And they think so. That's

10:15

amazing. Ben, do you have a

10:18

support system or circle of

10:18

friends that you that you can

10:22

fall back on? I've found that opening up to

10:24

people has gotten easier over

10:29

time. But I've also found that

10:29

opening up to the wrong people

10:34

can happen every now and then.

10:34

So I think my support systems

10:40

are mostly professional. Even

10:40

though I'm slowly coming off a

10:46

lot of other support systems and

10:46

managing a lot on my own, I

10:51

still feel the need to check in

10:51

because even when I'm doing

10:56

well, quote unquote, well,

10:56

things are good, the good days

11:00

are coming. And there's not many

11:00

bad days in between, I still

11:03

need to work on my mental health

11:03

to prevent relapsing, which I

11:09

haven't been doing as much as I

11:09

should be doing.

11:11

I think, I think you make a

11:11

really important point there,

11:15

that, you know, there are

11:15

professionals out there to help

11:18

us and support us. And sometimes

11:18

if you open up to the wrong

11:21

people, that could also

11:21

backfire, and actually make you

11:25

feel even worse. So just always

11:25

knowing who you can go to the

11:29

other professionals that that's

11:29

their job to offer these

11:32

supports, I think this is really

11:32

important. And there should

11:34

actually be a more, it should

11:34

actually be more accessible for

11:37

young people to be able to find

11:37

this information. And I'd like

11:41

to think that actually

11:41

Centerpointe does a lot to be

11:44

able to steer people in the

11:44

right direction for so why do

11:48

you think mental health is more

11:48

prevalent with young people as

11:52

opposed to their counterparts

11:52

older adults,

11:57

adults have, you know, they,

11:57

it's easier for them to go and

12:03

access support, because they

12:03

kind of sometimes know what's

12:05

going on. I'm not saying all

12:05

adults do, but they've got the

12:09

better end of the stick. I

12:09

think, when I mean, I'm just

12:13

looking back and when I was in

12:13

school, you know, you're finding

12:16

yourself you're you're kind of

12:16

lost, you don't know who what

12:19

you identify as who you identify

12:19

as you want to belong in the

12:21

group you want to blend in, you

12:21

don't want to stand out, you

12:25

literally want to blend in, you

12:25

want to be accepted, you don't

12:27

really know what you want to be

12:27

accepted into even you're

12:30

figuring all of that out, that's

12:30

going to bring some nervousness,

12:33

anxiety anyways, and then you

12:33

have some instability at home,

12:35

let's say in, you know, other

12:35

aspects of your life that makes

12:39

that even harder and does make

12:39

you more susceptible to other

12:41

mental health issues. And if you

12:41

don't have people looking over

12:45

you and helping you out and

12:45

being patient with you, and

12:48

helping you figure it out and

12:48

guiding you into, you know,

12:50

feeling better, do I think these

12:50

things can just kind of get

12:55

worse, they can just kind of

12:55

snowball, until you become an

12:58

adult. And then you're like, Oh,

12:58

I get it all. I get everything

13:02

that happened to me when I was younger? Oh, absolutely. And then throw

13:03

in being homeless as well. And

13:07

the young person, you know, the

13:07

I think the stats of the

13:12

disparities between young people

13:12

who are homeless suffering from

13:16

mental health compared to, you

13:16

know, non homeless young people

13:20

is about 20%. So that's quite a

13:20

lot. So, you know, so tell us

13:26

about some of the ways that that

13:26

you've that you sought support,

13:32

and how easy was it to access

13:32

the support you.

13:37

So I've access support for you.

13:37

So when I used to live in Santa

13:41

Fe, about six years ago, I was

13:41

able to have psychotherapy after

13:45

leaving the hospital, which was

13:45

really helpful like it helps.

13:49

The talking therapy helped me to

13:49

deal with the anxiety and

13:51

depression that I was

13:51

experiencing, and helped me to

13:54

become more resilient in dealing

13:54

with work and university. Also,

14:01

I feel like the NHS has been

14:01

helpful. However, I feel like

14:04

there's a lot of pressure and a

14:04

lot of long waiting times in the

14:06

NHS. So I feel like a lot of

14:06

young people are not able to get

14:10

the support they need. And I'm not sure what exactly

14:11

needs to be done. My personal

14:14

experience at the age of 13 was

14:14

when I started to notice

14:20

something was wrong. I noticed

14:20

younger as well. But I was

14:25

afraid of mental health

14:25

services, specifically social

14:28

services because from an Asian

14:28

household, particularly my Asian

14:33

household, they were sort of

14:33

demonised. They were antagonise,

14:36

they were the enemy. If I would

14:36

talk to them, they would take me

14:40

away. And because I had no idea

14:40

what being taken away meant, I

14:44

sort of had this weird, childish

14:44

cartoon book sort of idea of a

14:49

man of a rucksack or bag of

14:49

money running away from a bank

14:53

and Stripe anyway. A Hamburglar

14:53

anyway, so I was afraid to

14:58

contact Social Services or to

14:58

contact any mental health stuff,

15:02

I did eventually talk to a

15:02

teacher who referred me to a

15:06

counsellor. And the counsellor

15:06

led me to the camp service. And

15:11

then the camp service led me to

15:11

inpatient admission for about

15:16

two and a half years at the age

15:16

of 15. So I left my home. And

15:22

that was hard, but not as hard

15:22

as I thought it was going to be,

15:27

weirdly enough, I felt at home

15:27

for the first time, which is

15:33

something I guess it was one of

15:33

the later questions as far as

15:37

well, that's really interesting,

15:37

I can relate to some degree

15:40

about, you know, the family

15:40

aspect, I grew up in a Ghanaian

15:44

household, and I remember my

15:44

auntie saying, oh, you know, you

15:47

don't, don't go and report, you

15:47

know, we kept the one rule was

15:51

that you keep your what happens

15:51

at home private. So it meant

15:55

that I couldn't speak to the

15:55

counsellors about what I was

15:57

going through, I also didn't

15:57

really even know the terms of

16:01

what I was going through,

16:01

because was like depression and

16:03

anxiety. To be very honest, I've

16:03

only just discovered that what

16:08

I've been feeling all this time

16:08

for my teenage years is anxiety,

16:12

you know, and I'm, like, however

16:12

old now. So these words were not

16:16

in our household, and nor were

16:16

we encouraged to even seek

16:21

support. So it wasn't until I

16:21

was actually at Centerpoint,

16:24

that I raised some of these

16:24

points with my caseworker and

16:31

got referred and learn and work

16:31

certain words and reading up on

16:35

them. And realising that it's

16:35

not just me, for the longest

16:38

time, I've just thought it was

16:38

me because no one in my house

16:40

spoke about it. And I don't

16:40

think that my family meant it in

16:44

in a bad way. It's just when you

16:44

are a minority, you probably

16:49

have a bit harder. And I think

16:49

for them, especially the older

16:54

generation, they just wanted me

16:54

to, to not be not, not fail. And

17:00

so their way of protecting me, I

17:00

suppose, was to just be like,

17:03

you know, chin up and get on

17:03

with it. And be strong. I

17:06

remember my aunt always say, Be

17:06

strong, be strong, and sometimes

17:11

you can't be strong. And the

17:11

best support I the best thing I

17:14

could have done for myself is

17:14

actually seek help, particularly

17:17

when I'm not feeling very

17:17

strong. Oh, sorry. Oh,

17:20

it's a point out the the wedding

17:20

strong vibe, I actually relate

17:24

to that quite a lot. So I'm

17:24

Filipino. And every time I've

17:29

been in an any department, I

17:29

will find fellow Filipinos.

17:32

Sometimes the staff, sometimes there's other people coming through, and they will notice

17:34

that I'm Filipino. And they will

17:37

always say the sort of sentence

17:37

Filipino strong, because it's

17:42

sort of we need to be strong for

17:42

some reason. And it's, I think

17:48

it's to its encouraging and what

17:48

they would want to hear maybe,

17:52

and that's why they use that

17:52

language for us. But maybe it's

17:56

not what we need at that time. I think also, you know, we have

17:58

a responsibility for ourselves

18:01

to take the information and use

18:01

it to what we can. If we If it's

18:05

good, if we find that it's

18:05

empowering, then take it if we

18:08

find that actually, I understand

18:08

what you're trying to do. But

18:10

actually right now, I don't need

18:10

that, then we just sort of have

18:13

to let it fly away, you know?

18:13

Yeah, but thank you for sharing

18:17

that. So Right. So you know,

18:17

we're going through quite a

18:20

difficult time in society. And

18:20

the cost of living is really

18:23

affecting Well, everyone across

18:23

the UK, but probably more so.

18:29

And not probably more so

18:29

actually more so young people,

18:32

young homeless people. How do

18:32

you let's start with how you

18:36

feel that this is affecting

18:36

young people.

18:40

I grew up in foster care. So I

18:40

didn't realise until last year

18:47

that I have a lot of financial

18:47

Sure. I didn't know that was

18:49

even a thing. It took me a while

18:49

to realise I was like, I think

18:52

you're traumatised and also by

18:52

money. I don't really understand

18:54

how that works. And it took me a

18:54

lot of research to figure out

18:57

oh, I understand what's going

18:57

on. Because now that I'm living

19:01

independently, I've noticed I'm

19:01

I would bulk buy things as if

19:05

like, I'm preparing for an

19:05

apocalypse. And I'm like, why am

19:08

I doing this so interesting. And

19:08

this was before COVID. Like the

19:12

way he people lived in COVID is

19:12

how I live my life. Like why why

19:16

are you buying full shampoos is

19:16

actually Okay, so I kept doing

19:20

these things. And I would say to

19:20

myself, because what if one day

19:23

you don't have money to cover

19:23

you have to pay rent for this

19:26

place and you're stocking up

19:26

with so much stuff, you're gonna

19:29

be like it's not logical. And

19:29

I'm trying to find the logic and

19:32

I never did, but that's just how

19:32

I've lived my life. And it was

19:38

the financial trauma that I had

19:38

in foster care. And that I had

19:41

when I moved out and you know,

19:41

the lack of support that I had

19:44

when I moved down to supported

19:44

accommodation for university and

19:47

then being homeless about I was

19:47

living with my best friend's

19:50

family, but technically homeless

19:50

all this time. All I ever

19:55

worried about the most was Oh my

19:55

God, these bills and you know,

19:59

I'm going to need money for my

19:59

future. I can't live like this.

20:02

Even when I was in university, I

20:02

knew you've only got this place

20:05

for like, two, three years, what

20:05

are you going to do then? So

20:07

it's like, it never ends. And

20:07

now that I'm living

20:10

independently with my sister, I

20:10

was like, Okay, you finally

20:15

figured it out, you've made,

20:15

you've got a budget, all your

20:18

bills come under this amount of

20:18

money, you're gonna be fine. And

20:22

then the bills go up. And I

20:22

said, I can't do this. I can't

20:25

even just use that band Exactly.

20:25

Just when I thought I had it all

20:30

figured out for just a bit. Like

20:30

I said, okay, just for the next

20:34

two years, I'm gonna be fine.

20:34

And I can, like, you know, have

20:37

my new job. And that can be the

20:37

most, you know, unstable thing,

20:42

I guess that can be the thing

20:42

you can focus and figure out

20:45

now, I felt like I had to do it

20:45

all over again. So almost feels

20:48

like how I was in first year

20:48

university is how I am in my

20:51

first year of my job, when now I

20:51

need to budget all over again.

20:54

And I'm a true, I'm a believer

20:54

of like, your wage can go up,

20:58

but your cost of living

20:58

shouldn't like try your best to

21:01

keep it to a minimum. And I'm

21:01

like, Well, now it's not in my

21:04

control. My bill is saying pay

21:04

80 pounds more for something

21:08

like I don't want my going to do now does that causes any stress on

21:10

you?

21:12

Oh, 100%. Like, of course I, I

21:12

experience extreme anxiety over

21:18

these things. And I'm the kind

21:18

of person that I'm thinking

21:21

about it all the time. I think

21:21

it's very hard as someone who

21:25

has anxiety to remember that

21:25

some things are not in your

21:28

control. So I'll be trying to

21:28

sleep, I'll be eating and I'm

21:32

hoping I'll be with friends

21:32

having a good time. And I'm not

21:34

spending any money right now.

21:34

But it's like, I'm losing money.

21:37

I keep feeling this, I keep

21:37

feeling like I'm always losing

21:40

money. And it makes me feel

21:40

literally sick. I just I then

21:46

I'm like, Oh, I just want to

21:46

sleep. I want to sleep this off.

21:49

But I can't, I literally can't

21:49

sleep because all I'm thinking

21:53

about is oh my god, like, you

21:53

don't have enough money for

21:56

rent, or, especially during this

21:56

time. I mean, was my last year

21:59

of university, I had to make the

21:59

big decision of being like,

22:03

gotta let go of your part time

22:03

job. You've got to focus on your

22:07

dissertation, you've got to

22:07

finish that up. And that was so

22:09

difficult for me. And it's

22:09

almost like I had to choose my

22:12

mental health. And ironically,

22:12

my mental health and my

22:16

education over paying my bills

22:16

and worrying about that I had to

22:21

live off my savings. But now

22:21

that I've lived off my savings,

22:24

and yeah, that was it was okay.

22:24

Now I have this terrible guilt.

22:28

That How could you do that? For

22:28

the girl who always stocked up

22:31

everything and you know, save

22:31

that much money, you've spent it

22:33

all? And I'm like, I'm living

22:33

lavish.

22:37

It's almost like you've got to

22:37

purse, you've got to Pisa ones,

22:41

like, you know, the one that

22:41

stocked up in the ones like give

22:43

yourself a break. What you were

22:43

healing? Exactly. You're

22:48

healing. I think there's so much guilt with

22:49

that. But also

22:51

hope you're not too hard on

22:51

yourself. Working on it working

22:54

on it is a process. So I feel like the cost of living has

22:56

had a negative impact on me,

22:59

because I've had to deal with

22:59

the increase in rent, food,

23:05

everything. And it's like my

23:05

wages have not increased. So how

23:09

am I gonna manage with these,

23:09

this cost of living that has

23:11

changed, you know, and it's

23:11

like, it creates a vicious cycle

23:16

for young people that are not

23:16

working, though on Universal

23:19

Credit, it creates a vicious

23:19

cycle of mental health issues

23:22

that constantly keeps returning

23:22

because of the low income. I

23:26

mean, many homeless young people

23:26

are experiencing mental health

23:29

issues because of the fact that

23:29

they cannot afford food and

23:33

their rent bills and their

23:33

service charge. So it's like it

23:37

causes it causes more issues

23:37

than not,

23:40

I think it's not just a problem

23:40

with the cost of living. It's

23:43

the cost of surviving it. They

23:43

come up slowly, these small

23:51

things that increase in price,

23:51

so travel increases a small

23:55

amount and you think, okay,

23:55

that's a bit weird, but okay,

23:57

I'll be fine. And it starts to

23:57

accumulate day after day after

24:00

day after day. Your basic

24:00

necessities when you're trying

24:04

to become healthy and getting

24:04

the right foods and stuff. Okay,

24:08

yeah, I can't afford this gluten

24:08

free thing, but I can afford

24:11

this thing, but it seems to have

24:11

doubled in price already. For

24:16

me, it was pasture because

24:16

pasture is my home food. It's my

24:20

favourite food, I can use

24:20

anything with it. But I have to

24:24

rely on a lot more processed

24:24

foods and things have not been

24:27

healthy. And everything is just

24:27

going up and up and up. And it's

24:33

it's not even living anymore.

24:33

It's trying to get through it

24:35

all. Almost like a zombie like

24:35

fashion of sort of going from

24:40

one thing to the next and I 100%

24:40

agree with the I just want to

24:44

sleep it off. I hope I close my

24:44

eyes and this is all just a

24:48

weird dream. Maybe tap my shoes

24:48

three times and say oh, no place

24:53

like home. We're still

24:53

struggling

24:56

but you know the sleeping thing

24:56

just to come back to that so you

25:00

I had a bit of an anxiety

25:00

attack, and I had to social

25:04

engagements to go to. And I

25:04

really was not in the mood to go

25:08

out there. But in my line of

25:08

work, you kind of have to show

25:11

your face otherwise you almost

25:11

forgotten. And I just had to put

25:14

on my mask and smile. But there

25:14

is a magic about sleeping things

25:19

off this morning, I woke up and

25:19

I was actually feeling like,

25:23

first slate, we started knew

25:23

what happened yesterday

25:26

happened. Let's try and shake it

25:26

off. Obviously, it's not always

25:29

that easy, because I also spent

25:29

three months in bed over the

25:32

summer, so I know myself as

25:32

well. But when I do have the

25:36

energy to lift myself up, I just

25:36

run with it.

25:40

It's weird. There's this

25:40

expectation that we're going to

25:42

be fine. You know, oh, we were

25:42

young once it was completely

25:45

fine that we were young, so it's

25:45

completely fine for them. They

25:48

don't understand that if we

25:48

can't maintain our mental health

25:54

or physical health for any sort

25:54

of health and relationships and

25:57

everything, then we can't feed

25:57

back into this society.

26:01

I think it's also something Ben

26:01

said about health, about well,

26:05

specifically about picking

26:05

certain foods. I think the cost

26:10

of living issue can really mess

26:10

up people's habits. So for me,

26:14

for example, I'm like, I

26:14

remember in university people

26:17

were like, You're rich. I'm

26:17

like, No, I just I just didn't

26:20

really know how to budget my

26:20

money and buy the right healthy

26:22

foods. And I could afford to do

26:22

that at that time. But now Now

26:26

you're not going to catch me

26:26

buying strawberries. Why are

26:28

they so expensive, it's so

26:28

ridiculous. And then I don't

26:33

want to buy fruits, right. And

26:33

if I'm going to make a meal, if

26:36

I'm going to cook my dinner,

26:36

let's say you have to buy five

26:39

ingredients, 10 ingredients,

26:39

whatever it is, I'm so guilty

26:43

buying them because they're,

26:43

they've all gone up a little. So

26:47

then I'm just frustrated. I'm

26:47

like, I don't want to buy this a

26:50

while I'll figure it out. I go

26:50

home and I'm upset. And I don't

26:55

even allow myself to be fully

26:55

upset about it. I don't truly

26:59

acknowledge as much I'd like, I

26:59

think since the cost of living

27:02

has gone up, I've been quite in

27:02

denial. But then I'm gonna order

27:05

take away because I need to eat

27:05

and it is more expensive. But

27:09

then again, it's like enough

27:09

portion of a food. Let's say

27:13

that I'm going to eat it, let's

27:13

say for two days. And I'm not

27:16

going to worry for two days kind

27:16

of a thing. I'm like, now I've

27:18

got food in the fridge. But if I

27:18

have to buy ingredients and

27:21

cook, I feel like that all that

27:21

time I'm doing it. I'm just

27:23

thinking about how much money

27:23

I've lost instead of actually

27:26

providing myself with, well,

27:26

it's a necessity, you know, and

27:30

enjoying my food. I remember a

27:30

time in my life where my whole

27:33

diet kind of was. It was all

27:33

about accommodating my mental

27:38

health. Like till this day, I

27:38

will religiously have

27:42

blueberries because they helped

27:42

me with my anxiety. So

27:46

blueberries are expensive,

27:46

expensive portion, we would

27:51

justify getting the takeaway,

27:51

you know, that's why I think

27:55

blueberries are definitely encouraged the

27:56

healthy eating is so helpful.

28:00

Like if you're experiencing

28:00

depression or anxiety, having

28:03

likes on like pineapple, some

28:03

oranges, some vitamin C will

28:06

help you it's just hard. And I

28:06

love you to your body. Having

28:10

that helps me stay afloat. Yeah,

28:10

having that budgeting, support

28:15

and actually implementing

28:15

budgeting for yourself. It's

28:18

like it will change your life

28:18

and it will improve and saving

28:22

up for the future will help you

28:22

when you actually move out from

28:25

centre point so that you can

28:25

afford housing because the cost

28:28

of housing has increased. It's like you taking care of

28:29

yourself and those those are usually the

28:31

first steps to feeling better.

28:35

All those little good things you

28:35

do for yourself amount to that

28:38

day where you wake up and you're

28:38

like I'm feeling stronger. A lot

28:41

of the times it's been just like

28:42

one cooking session I've done

28:44

alone for dinner, let's say in

28:44

my house and after that I'm such

28:49

a different person and I'm

28:49

literally after asleep and then

28:53

I'm a new person tomorrow I feel

28:53

so much better. But if I can't

28:56

do that because of these living

28:56

costs, I'm late it's going to be

28:59

a cycle. I am meant to get better when do you want to add to that

29:02

become so creative recently with

29:02

mules wishes great in a weirdly

29:09

bad way. I am mixing foods

29:09

together that this is in my

29:13

cupboard visit my cupboard let's

29:13

try this out and then it's it's

29:17

horrible but I had to eat it because yeah

29:18

waste not want not because

29:22

he's not wanting to i i have

29:22

also been stockpiling before the

29:25

pandemic as well. I always have

29:25

canned foods on me. So that's

29:30

beans, tomatoes, anything

29:30

anything you can put in the can.

29:34

Filipinos love spam which I'm

29:34

not sure if it's a wartime food

29:39

but we love it for some reason.

29:39

My family in particular loves

29:42

just fry that stuff put on some

29:42

rice that's a meal anyway. And

29:48

yeah, also I do have a drawer in

29:48

my room, which is just full of

29:54

ramen. Which which is great,

29:57

because ya know, it's beautiful. You chop a spring on it on

29:58

there. stuff like saving for the apocalypse or

30:01

something. I need to I need to say

30:05

something. I've somehow made it

30:09

the healthiest thing of all. Give us the healthy version.

30:12

Oh my God isn't I cook my ramen,

30:12

whichever one is the spiciest

30:17

one you know there's like plenty

30:17

different ones make my ramen,

30:20

I've got my seaweed on the side,

30:20

I find the on offer and I hold

30:25

on to it for dear life. I get

30:25

myself I've stopped pollen

30:28

salmon in my freezer. Like my

30:28

sister really annoyed, she's

30:31

required to keep buying some of

30:31

salmon. If I find it enough,

30:33

I'll buy five packets. But

30:33

that's such a good idea because

30:36

I take it out the night before I

30:36

put it in the fridge. Next

30:40

morning, I'm gonna fry it up, I

30:40

fry up and then I put mushrooms

30:44

and some other stuff and spring

30:44

on the end and then a crispy

30:47

fried, sunny side up egg on my

30:47

ramen, and then I'm gonna be

30:52

honest, I actually never even

30:52

get to finish the ramen, I get

30:55

to eat everything else because

30:55

it's full of protein. But if I

30:58

had it all alone, it would be

30:58

really silly. So it's like ramen

31:01

is like my base and I get to eat

31:01

a little bit Oh my God, that's a

31:05

healthy meal. That sounds like a Michelin

31:05

starred packet ramen.

31:11

The ramen noodles in the pot. I

31:11

like to instead of frying the

31:16

egg putting on top. Because then

31:16

I have to clean up the pan I

31:19

like to I like to fry an egg in a

31:20

saucepan. You fill it with water, you have

31:25

the ramen cooking and at some

31:27

point you will put your just

31:27

crack an egg in there. And if

31:30

you can do it without cracking

31:30

the yolk, you'll find even if

31:34

you do hide the yolk, it's still

31:34

good. You put the lid on top for

31:36

like two minutes. And that's how I think we should definitely

31:39

have a mental health food

31:43

programme. You guys can like

31:43

share more of your

31:47

board. Because even me, like on

31:47

a day on a weekly basis. I juice

31:52

like fruit and veg for the week.

31:52

And I'm telling you it's so good

31:55

for my mental health. Like

31:55

instead of having coffee and

31:58

like fizzy drinks, it keeps me

31:58

alert during the day because

32:01

I've had a history of like low

32:01

iron. So I have an expenditure

32:04

in my juice. It's like it gets

32:04

me going it keeps me alert for

32:07

my classes. Like one month, I

32:07

didn't do it. And I saw the

32:10

difference that I was so tired,

32:10

I was going to my fizzy drinks

32:14

like and if you want to improve

32:14

your health, go for it, like

32:16

build that structure in your

32:16

lifestyle so you can get better.

32:20

Is there anything else that you

32:20

want to add to this discussion?

32:23

I feel like one thing that's

32:23

really helped with my mental

32:25

health is going to the gym. And

32:25

it's been amazing. Like if I'm

32:30

having like a down day just

32:30

going to the gym and getting

32:32

those endorphins, I'll leave

32:32

there being happy for no reason.

32:36

And it's like if you can't

32:36

afford the gym, go to the park

32:38

and have a walk like the nature

32:38

of the scenery, or lift up your

32:42

mood. For me personally what I do all by myself as art

32:43

therapy, I first sounded very

32:47

silly to me, because I just

32:47

didn't imagine myself. I love

32:52

art I enjoy so much. But I

32:52

didn't think it would be like

32:54

therapy for me. But I remember

32:54

one day when I was just really

32:57

depressed. And I just started

32:57

painting and I've never painted

33:00

in my life by the way, I just

33:00

started painting and I was like,

33:02

Wait, this is the best thing

33:02

ever. That's that's one kind of

33:05

art I had never done. So now I'm

33:05

literally obsessed with it, like

33:08

give me a paintbrush, I'll paint

33:08

or stop painting my walls

33:10

probably at this point, finding a community but you are

33:11

happy to be in sort of a

33:17

community that can help be

33:17

productive. So this is not just

33:22

maybe a group of friends, maybe

33:22

this is a social club, maybe

33:27

even Arts Club or some sort of

33:27

sports club or something,

33:30

anything where it's a community,

33:30

a group where you can talk to

33:33

people who are all different

33:33

people, but they share one thing

33:37

and they have that one link so

33:37

you can learn more, because we

33:41

don't all have to be the same. That feeds in very nicely to

33:44

perhaps our last question of one

33:48

piece of advice that you would

33:48

give to a young person, perhaps

33:52

struggling with their mental

33:52

health and they're watching this

33:55

to get some insight and to feel

33:55

to feel a hug. What would you

33:59

what advice would you give maybe

33:59

one piece that we go around?

34:02

Okay, so I would say one thing

34:02

is to just love yourself, like

34:08

be there for yourself and be

34:08

patient with yourself and

34:10

whatever you look for to help

34:10

your mental health. So if you'd

34:13

like to exercise Healthy Eating

34:13

Psychology, you need to be

34:17

patient you need to love and

34:17

patience is a route of being

34:19

loving yourself, being kind to

34:19

yourself by just going for and

34:23

also meditation. Meditation is

34:23

helpful to deal with like

34:27

anxiety, depression, it helps to

34:27

like just being a friend to

34:31

yourself being your own best

34:31

friend like and just being just

34:35

being kind because it's tough to be your own best friend when

34:36

you're feeling at your lowest.

34:39

But um, also just to touch on

34:39

when you said meditation I

34:42

recently was told that

34:42

meditation isn't just sitting

34:45

there going. Meditation has been

34:45

present definitely could even be

34:49

you lying in bed and yes, you're

34:49

low, but also just letting

34:53

thoughts leave your mind and be

34:53

present as you are in bed and

34:58

the moment and low that's Fine,

34:58

but just acknowledge that

35:01

feeling because it won't last

35:01

forever. And so that's the type

35:05

of advertisement and meditation

35:05

could even be just making, but

35:08

could be cooking. You know, that's another type of meditation, I think if we can

35:10

break those stigmas of what

35:13

meditation is it gives us so

35:13

much freedom. And like we've

35:17

discovered something about

35:17

ourselves, because that's what

35:20

we do. A lot of us do meditate. Yeah, that's, that kind of ties

35:21

into mindfulness, which is

35:26

another thing, which I think is

35:26

becoming more popular at the

35:28

moment. And it's, it's amazing.

35:28

It is a form of meditation in a

35:32

way it's about doing your

35:32

everyday things and thinking

35:35

about them, but not overthinking

35:35

about them sort of having the

35:39

thoughts just kind of skate by,

35:39

because this might be a quote

35:45

somewhere, but I probably going

35:45

to get it wrong. My advice, in

35:49

general is just in time, this

35:49

shall pass something along those

35:54

sorts of lines. So things come

35:54

things go. And this feeling of

36:01

sadness, or depression or

36:01

anything, this feeling will

36:05

pass. Now, will it get better,

36:05

it might not. But it will pass

36:12

and it will continue to come and

36:12

go. And when you're able to get

36:17

to that stage where you can ask

36:17

for help. And I encourage you to

36:21

do so no matter what stage

36:21

you're in, when you're able to

36:24

have the confidence, build that

36:24

foundation, so that you're able

36:29

to lift yourself up easier. From

36:29

the forms.

36:32

I really felt that got a shiver,

36:35

I think with manifesting and

36:35

mindfulness and sorry, not

36:38

manifesting what was mindfulness

36:38

and meditation, sorry, but I

36:41

think all of all of it ties into

36:41

the same element that's about

36:50

being present. And I think

36:50

that's the problem with mental

36:52

health issues with the having

36:52

anxiety, you're never present,

36:56

you're always thinking about 10

36:56

Other things, but the thing in

36:59

front of you. And you're trying

36:59

to multitask, because you think

37:02

if you're doing five things in

37:02

your head, it's going to make

37:04

your life easier, but you make

37:04

that present moment. 10 times

37:07

harder. So I think all of is all

37:07

about and even spirituality is

37:11

all about grounding yourself. I

37:11

think that those are the common

37:13

elements. And sometimes I mean,

37:13

I've been meditating since I was

37:18

15. And I can tell you, I would

37:18

say I actually started

37:22

meditating this year, I think

37:22

it's taken me years to actually

37:26

be present when I'm meditating,

37:26

because I am doing that thing

37:29

where I'm just sitting and I'm

37:29

like, okay, the lightbulb

37:31

moments gonna happen now. And I

37:31

think when it comes to advice,

37:36

this one was a shock to me, as

37:36

well. But I think the best thing

37:40

that I do for myself now, when I

37:40

want to feel that hug, kind of a

37:43

feeling, it's that no matter how

37:43

bad my life is, I just need to

37:48

be like, Okay, you're this old

37:48

right now, think about if your

37:51

five year old version of you was

37:51

here. And I'm so happy, because

37:57

it's like, you really

37:57

underestimate how far you've

38:01

come a lot of the time, the

38:01

smallest of things. I mean, when

38:03

I was younger, I would watch

38:03

movies and see, like, these,

38:06

like teenage girls having

38:06

sleepovers or like a girl having

38:09

her own house and walking in

38:09

baking cookies. And I was like,

38:11

oh, on that one day, and I'm

38:11

like, wait, I do that, like

38:14

every other month, that is

38:14

literally me. So it's, it's a

38:18

really good feeling to like get,

38:18

you get your fantasy basically.

38:22

And I will also say like to

38:22

someone that's struggling with

38:25

mental health is like get help

38:25

speak to a friend, or if you

38:28

don't have a friend. And there's

38:28

mental health support lines that

38:32

you can refer to there's the

38:32

Samaritans, there's the NHS, you

38:37

can speak to professionals that

38:37

will be able to provide you the

38:40

support that you need for your mental health, family, friends, professionals,

38:42

I think it's about also

38:46

acknowledging the responsibility

38:46

of that person in your life. So

38:51

if this is a sibling, or a

38:51

parental figure, or someone in

38:56

your life, who is supposed to be

38:56

taking care of you, or has that

38:59

sort of duty of care, then you

38:59

might feel a pressure to have to

39:03

open up to them and tell them

39:03

obviously a professional, it

39:06

would be good for the situation.

39:06

But not everyone can access that

39:10

on. Quite unfortunately. Also,

39:10

we have to remember that we are

39:15

not a burden. And sometimes when

39:15

we tell a friend, we've known

39:20

for a couple of months that

39:20

we're going through a very

39:22

serious depression and they

39:22

don't respond in the same way

39:25

that we would hope maybe another

39:25

professional response. We don't

39:29

know what to do. Because that

39:29

person maybe has an attached

39:33

that sort of situation or is not

39:33

mentally prepared. Because I

39:37

find myself if I want to open up

39:37

even to a professional, I will

39:40

sort of ask them. Are you ready

39:40

to hear this? Because I think

39:46

both people have to be ready in

39:46

that conversation as well. So

39:48

yeah. Wow. Well, we made a lot of

39:50

points. Point made. I just want

39:56

to thank you guys. So I want to

39:56

thank you all So much for

40:00

creating this safe space to, to

40:00

open up. I mean, we could have

40:04

spoken for even longer as such,

40:04

mental health is just one of

40:08

those topics that unfortunately,

40:08

because there hasn't been many

40:12

safe spaces, a lot of things

40:12

have probably been kept inside

40:16

that when we do open up, you

40:16

know, we want to just keep going

40:18

on and on. But I hope that this

40:18

is a lot of food for thought for

40:22

anyone watching but also for us

40:22

as well, to understand that we

40:25

do have a support system. And I

40:25

know that when we are first

40:28

going through these issues,

40:28

obviously it's hard to remember

40:32

that we do have a support

40:32

system, but hopefully we'll also

40:34

remember this conversation had

40:34

and look back at the video and

40:39

and write down some pointers

40:39

that we've discussed. And yeah,

40:43

thank you so much to our

40:43

listeners and viewers. This has

40:46

been our first point made in

40:46

person recording. And thank you

40:50

very much to our panellists for

40:50

sharing so much insight of their

40:54

lived experience on the mental

40:54

health topic.

40:58

Thank you for having me. If you want more information,

41:03

then visit our blog at

41:07

www.centerpointe.org/blog. Don't

41:07

forget centre point offers free

41:14

advice via the centerpoint

41:14

helpline to anyone aged 16 to

41:19

25. who is homeless or at risk

41:19

of homelessness. Call us free on

41:26

Oh 808-800-0661 We're open

41:26

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm you

41:36

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41:36

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41:40

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41:40

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41:51

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41:51

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