It can happen to anyone.

Lived mental health experience.

It's the end of mental health awareness week here in the UK and the mid way point of mental health awareness month elsewhere.

Mental health is a funny topic I find, if I were to have a physical health issue no one would think twice of asking how I was doing, because mental health can't be seen it's often not spoken of.

Despite this, mental health is as important as physical health, arguably more so, as mental health impacts physical health in a knock on effect. Yet mental health is skirted around, alluded to but not confronted head on.

I, personally have had mental health issues in my life, I'm not ashamed nor am I hiding it, I don't shy away from the truth of it.

In my early twenties ( twenty years next year) I had what can only be described as an absolute screaming breakdown, I scared the hell out of friends and family, I was irrational and definitely on a different planet.

The diagnosis was drug induced psychosis (so keep that in mind everyone having a smoke of “harmless” cannabis) I would argue there was more to it than just the drugs however, as a twenty something year old bloke, my coping strategy was smoking dope, not the best method but it was what I knew.

I spent six weeks in the local psychiatric hospital, until I was judged safe to be at home when they had worked out the correct cocktail of medications to keep the crazy under control, I then spent a year and a half reassembling my psyche and mental capability.

During this time my main solace was to gently reacquaint myself with the local woodland I had played in as a child, there wasn't the anxiety inducing phone ringing where I couldn't face answering it, no knocks on the door from strangers.

The woods were neutral, they didn't care if I was anxious, didn't judge if I was in a foul mood or twitchy because of something that had made me uncomfortable. I could be myself without fear that what I did would be considered “weird” or “mental” or because “he's crazy”. I could sit quietly with a tree or in a sunny patch without worrying about others perception or opinions.

Shortly after my breakdown, I rediscovered the skills of bushcraft, as it was now termed, which I had always known as backwoods skills from my scout days.

These offered me a focus past going for a bimble (bimble- a British term for going for a walk) and enabled me to deepen my connection to the woods, instead of it being merely a “nice place to go” yet still be a part from the woods, through bushcraft skills I found I was moving beyond the green wall and becoming a part of the woods.

I could cover my basic essential needs of food, water, shelter and comfort. As well as this I was also able to boost my self confidence, no longer was I Sam the psychiatric patient, I was Sam, capable of looking after himself, in fact many people often told me “oh I couldn't do that” and my self worth was boosted by this. Learning that the skills I had were skills not everyone had meant I felt more confident in myself.

I have chosen to speak openly about my mental health challenges not to score points or to get a well done, but to open the dialogue, remove some of the stigma of mental health and to show that mental health issues are not the be all and end all, nor the defining point of an individual.

Nowadays I use my experiences to offer support to others, to share that the woods can be a source of solace, sanctuary and restoration.

Further writings will cover the lessons I earnt through learning woodscraft skills again, how they have benefited my mental wellbeing and how they can benefit others.

Until then, please, check on your friends and loved ones, they might be struggling or experiencing issues that they do not want to bother others with.