I never identified with issues surrounding mental health. I never associated myself with it. If I'm honest I always thought anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, narcissism, phobias, paranoia, narcissism were problems that other people had. These I came across so many friends that held thoughts about themselves, tortured themselves with feelings of low worth and perceptions that they felt others placed on them. I was lucky because someone very close and very special to me always kept my head above water, taught me from a young age about positive thinking and affirmations and this allowed me to be optimistic about my personal state, about myself and who I was in relation to other people to the point where I felt secure and worthy. For that I am so so grateful. However when I came to The University of York it was eye-opening. I met a range of people with such varying socio-economic backgrounds and over the last three years everyone I know and myself included has been battling with identity, self-esteem and motivation. To some it sounds trivial. To some it's about picking yourself up from a bad situation - building a bridge and getting over it. But for others it's not. 

For others it's a struggle every single day. We've lived in an age of ignorance for so long where the right thing to do is to "put on a brave face and don't talk about it." "Don't stare!" "Don't point" "Don't look because God forbid you make anyone uncomfortable." But actually the more we try to hide these things or simply not address them the more people struggle. The more tension is built up, the more acting out there is and the more irrational decisions are made that the outside world can't understand. The charity Mind aims to remove these stigmas. It campaigns and puts money in getting people back into work, creating more support groups and free counselling, they have a friendship scheme which allows sufferers to meet new people and to do something creative and to begin to feel comfortable in social situations again. They promote the notion that mental health is something to be talked about. It must be normalised and approached with empathy and the understanding that we all have mental conflicts, some have learnt how to cope and others aren't yet ready.

Someone very close to me suffered severe hair loss due to stress, depression and tension. By not acknowledging what she was going through and constantly suppressing anger, upset, guilt and emotional pain it took years for them her come to terms with it and to understand that her problems are just as important as anyone else's. Poor claustrophobic relationship, lack of friends, very low confidence and not achieving her goals  brought this on and although she is now getting help, her confidence is not yet fully restored. Not enough to go out into the street without a hat, wig, extensions or headscarf. 

Hair for men and women is a massive part of self-esteem. It's what you look like, it's people's first impression. It makes men masculine and women feminine..."obviously." 

I'm going bald for York Mind. I have a lovely head of thick, soft afro hair and I love it. It makes me unique, it's a part of my personality and it makes me who I am. With my hair I feel pretty, I feel feminine, cool and I can do so much with it. It's so defining. I don't want that anymore. I want to raise the awareness that society, media and the boom in social media puts these meanings on us and makes us feel as though we have to pertain to these aesthetics. This is wrong.

If I can raise £500 by 18th May I will shave my whole head. The 'fro's gonna go. If everyone on my Fb profile donated £1 I'd raise £1000 for York Mind. 
If all human beings had access to counselling, self-reflection and understanding it would be a much better place.