The theme of this year’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week is ‘Why Wait?’. On average, nearly three years pass before an individual seeks help for an eating disorder. There are multiple reasons why this could be the case, but I know for sure that stigma is often one of them. There’s something oddly shameful about speaking out about when I experienced bulimia. For years I have blogged about my mental health and mental illness, disclosing some of my darkest experiences with the whole of the internet

As a Politics graduate with lived experience of mental health challenges, the opportunity to be the Policy Intern at the Mental Health Foundation was a placement that was perfect for me both personally and professionally. The Mental Health Foundation’s public mental health and prevention focus have shaped both my academic and professional interests, particularly with regards to the mental health of children and young people.

By Hannah Lewis, Policy Intern at the Mental Health Foundation and postgraduate student in Cultural and Global Perspectives in Mental Health Eating Disorders Awareness Week provides the opportunity to challenge widespread misconceptions and to acknowledge the vast health and social complexities associated with eating disorders. This year’s theme of early intervention provides a much-needed platform from which to explore new avenues to support the early identification of problems

On the 24th November 2015, I was made very angry. I was made very angry because a programme which criminalised those with a mental illness was broadcasted across the nation. Hypochondria is a very serious and debilitating anxiety disorder. Saying that, all anxiety disorders are serious and debilitating. And awful. And grim. And life-ruining.

If I had a pound for each time I heard the term ‘OCD’ used out of context, I’d be a rich woman. Amongst friends, family and even through the media, I’ve heard phrases such as: “Oh I’m so OCD, I always need to fluff my pillows before guests arrive”; “I’m sorry the house isn’t immaculate – I’m just not OCD you see” and “Oh I always need to ensure my DVDs are in alphabetical order, I’m just dead OCD me”. No, no and absolutely not.

As I’m curled up on the sofa in the clutches of depression once more, in the onesie that I haven’t got out of for three days (yes, onesies are back – spread the word (did they ever leave?!)), I got to thinking what else I would do when I felt so terrible other than become a statue in front of the television. The conclusion is nothing. I would do nothing else but watch TV all day because telly is the best.

With the likes of Farage, Gove and Johnson using scaremongering tactics to instil fear into British citizens, coupled with cries for us to make our “own laws” in a bid to preserve British sovereignty, it is easy for us to forget the many areas where shared decision-making at the EU level has a very positive impact on the quality of our lives. Let’s assess one of the areas of healthcare which has attracted unprecedented media attention over the recent years: mental health care.

The most wonderful time of the year? Is it? Not when you’re suffering from acute mental health problems. Now, don’t be fooled – the word acute has nothing to do with actual cuteness. There are no rainbows, fluffy teddies and unicorns in my periphery (although dear god – I wish there was). No.

Right don’t judge me, just hear me out… By the time Christmas comes around I’m already in a foul mood due to having my birthday two weeks prior (yes, I hate my birthday too), and I’m absolutely dreading the ultimate anti-climax of all – New Year’s Eve. Like, who even wants to go to a club that will be overcrowded and overpriced? In the middle of these two monstrosities is Christmas.

The word Dermatillomania derives from the Latin language; Derma meaning ‘skin’, tillo meaning ‘to pull’, and mania meaning ‘madness’ or, well, ‘mania’. Also known as Compulsive Skin Picking Disorder, this disorder comes under the Body Focussed Repetitive Behaviour (BFRB) category of mental health disorders. It adopts the same ‘anxiety cycle’ as OCD and other Anxiety Disorders. For this particular disorder, the anxiety in your body manifests itself by pulling or picking at your skin.

Do you know what you look like? I don’t, and I never have. I have an idea of course, but then it’s hard to distinguish which parts of my body image are factual, and which have been created by my Witch. That’s what I call the Body Dysmorphic voice in my head, because my god is she a nasty piece of work! She says the most evil and cruel things to me, and the most annoying part is that she has said these things to me so many times, and for so long, that I have been believing them for years now.

What are you doing on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th November? I’ll tell you now. You’re going to attend the Leeds Mental Health Conference which is taking place in our very own Student Union.

It’s the lead-up to World Mental Health Day 2015, which is taking place this Saturday on the 10th October. Each year, the day itself and the week leading up to it will focus on a different theme surrounding mental health issues, in a bid to raise public awareness. This year the emphasis is on ‘Dignity in mental health’, and this theme struck a chord with me as I have often felt as though my dignity has been robbed from me by my mental illnesses.

Your first year of university is one of the most exciting times of your life. However, it is also a time of great change and new experiences, where there is a risk of exacerbating pre-existing mental health conditions, as well as exposing new ones which you may not have experienced before. Below are a handful of tips and tricks to keep your mental health in the best condition that is possible during this year…

Being a 21-year-old woman in the 21st century, I, of course, consider myself to be a feminist. I want equal rights and equal pay, and body-shaming and victim-blaming infuriates me. At the same time, I have suffered from body dysmorphic disorder for around 12 years, since I was 9 years old. This brings about an interesting internal conflict, and I sometimes have to ask myself, “To what extent am I an internal misogynist?”

As I write this article, I am sat on the plane home from my year abroad and feeling very reflective whilst witnessing the southern French countryside disappear from beneath me. I think back to my flight out here at the beginning of September, and the mixture of emotions I felt then; anxious, petrified, ecstatic, unstable, hopeful and a bit fraudulent. Although there was one thing that I was 100% sure of – I was not going down without a fight.

What do Sylvia Plath, Robert Pattinson and me — a 21-year-old student from Manchester, England — all have in common? We all have suffered or are suffering from a condition known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). I suffer from the comorbidity of depression and anxiety, which are both mental illnesses widely discussed and understood. However, when I tell anyone I suffer from BDD, I’m greeted with a confused reply like, The truth is, living with BDD is so much more than that.

With it being Mental Health Awareness Week, and with the recent revelations that celebrities such as Robert Pattinson and Hayden Panettiere suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder just as I do, it seems that knowledge of BDD is becoming more widespread and I thought I’d share something of my experience with this horrible condition.

With the statistic that one in four people in the UK will suffer from mental health problems at some point now becoming common knowledge, alongside the recent high profile tragedies of Robin Williams’ suicide and the Germanwings catastrophe, it’s a wonder that only Nick Clegg managed to highlight the issue on the live party leaders’ debate which took place on Thursday 2nd April. Having investigated the manifestos of other parties, they do all, in fact, dedicate a section to mental health care –

Hannah is a down to earth, pedigree Mancunian who is currently away from her French and European Politics degree at Leeds on an Erasmus placement at the Université Paul-Valéry in Montpellier. Hannah probably should say that she takes a keen interest in current affairs but in fact she would usually rather stay in bed with a brew, go shopping for floral dresses, or watch Strictly Come Dancing. She will be using this blog to talk mainly about subjects such as feminism, mental illness, and cats.