Student launches York mental health campaign after struggling through her teenage years

A student who spent most of her teenage years in and out of hospital has helped launch a campaign helping businesses and individuals support people around them with mental health problems.

Laura Grove, 22, has teamed up with York Mind on their ‘Mind Your Mates’ campaign.

With 2 in 3 people reporting having experienced a mental health problem in their lifetime, the campaign aims to educate more people in the community about how to support people experiencing problems with their mental health, particularly within the workplace.

You can find out more about ‘Mind Your Mates’ here.

Laura, a second year English language and linguistics student at York St John University, said:

• I’ve struggled with my mental health for the last ten years, spending the majority of my teenage years in and out of hospital, and as a result I have faced a lot of stigma.

  Now that I am at university, I am motivated by my experiences to try and help others better understand mental health, the signs and symptoms and different ways you can support someone you know who may be struggling.

  Just like we look after our physical health, it’s important we do the same with our mental health.
  

How to help

Every week from the campaign launch on World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September) until World Mental Health Day (10 October), participants will be provided with an email information pack.

This includes first-hand accounts, practical advice on how to spot the signs of mental ill-health, tips for what to say, and information on what to do to help someone who may be struggling.

Laura has undertaken a summer internship at York Mind to research and manage the campaign. She hopes to become a counselling psychologist.

Holly Bilton from York Mind has been supervising Laura during her internship. She said:

• We are so grateful to York St John for supporting Laura’s internship at York Mind. Laura’s experiences with mental ill-health and her skills in language and linguistics have made her the perfect person to run this campaign, it has been a pleasure to have her in the team.

  We are really excited to share the campaign with anyone who would like to learn more about how to help others around them.
  

“Laura is an example of the extremely positive effect one person can have on a large group of people – simply by listening, sharing experiences and talking about ways in which mental health can be improved,” said Rachel Wicaksono, head of school for languages and linguistics at York St John University.