Stress and me: Think4Brum service user, Caitlin advocates for other young people as a trained peer support worker.
TW: MENTIONS OF EATING DISORDERS, CPTSD, SELF HARM, SUICIDAL IDEATION/ THOUGHTS, MENTAL HEALTH DIFFICULTIES
Stress is something that impacts everyone in different ways on a day-to-day basis. It is a big part of our mental health and wellbeing.
Caitlin Hoo, from Kings Norton, an expert by experience and one of our Think4Brum service users shared her top tips as a trained Peer Support Worker for coping with stress.
Caitlin, 25, has experienced stress due to various mental health diagnoses, peer pressure, societal pressure, eating issues and body image issues.
She said: “When I had my first ever inpatient admission for mental health in 2014, I knew I wanted to help people. I just didn’t know how to get there. Think4Brum supported me with this.
“I struggled with self-harm for a long time. To celebrate being one year clean, I got a floral tattoo arm piece. It was amazing to create something beautiful out of such a challenging time. Looking at it reminds me of how strong I have been.”
Think4Brum is the youth advisory group for Forward Thinking Birmingham (FTB), our 0-25s mental health service. It gives young people, especially those who have used our services, an opportunity to get directly involved in FTB, helping to shape the design and delivery of services. Service users meet regularly as a safe space for supporting young people with their mental health.
Caitlin trained on an eight-week programme earlier this year to become a peer support worker as she wanted to help young people similar to her. She also wants to raise awareness whilst speaking about her own experiences.
She said: “I am so open about my mental health battles because I want to spread more awareness so less people feel alone and feel OK to get help if they are struggling to cope. No one person is a burden. I hope my story is inspiring to people alongside my lived experience. Awareness saves lives that don’t need to be lost.
“No one person’s story is the same but hopefully people who feel they have no purpose in the world can resonate and feel seen and heard so we don’t lose any more lives prematurely.
“I want to explore the field of peer support work as self-harm needs to be treated with respect, care and kindness, not as attention seeking and superficial but an indicator of turmoil and difficulties. I feel that from my experience I would be able to support young people with this.”
Bob Maxfield, Participation and Engagement Lead for Forward Thinking Birmingham and Think4Brum said: “It’s great young people like Caitlin’s voices are heard so within the group they can support each other.
“I have learnt a lot from young people like Caitlin about managing stress and struggles with mental health. It is really important to talk about.”
Caitlin said: “I have been with Think4Brum since 2016. It is a brilliant opportunity to make change, have your voice and it’s a relaxed and chill place to meet like-minded people. I really enjoy being involved.
“As a teen a direct biproduct of stress for me was my other mental health conditions that include Anorexia, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Borderline Personality Disorder, CPTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
“Sometimes due to stress, I would comfort eat but this has a spiral effect because then I become upset with my body image and don’t feel good enough to socialise. I have felt ashamed to eat with other people because of this.”
Caitlin shared some top tips surrounding stress including to write down what you are stressed about even if it seems insignificant: “Visually seeing your stress can help you envision ways to combat it. Mind maps are also very helpful.
“It is important to talk to loved ones or trusted individuals about your stress. Even show them your list of stressors and try to come up with reasonable solutions for them.”
Younger people can have higher stress related to the pressure to succeed. Caitlin relates to this and encourages individuals to be outside in nature even for 15 minutes as this can often help to refocus.
She said: “Exercise, if you can. A short walk outside with a dog, a quick gym trip or a little swim in your local leisure centre. These are all good ways of expelling excess energy and refocusing yourself.
“Engage in hobbies, try new activities, give things a go. It will help more than you know. Allow yourself to become lost in another world for a little bit.
“It is important to always give yourself something to look forward to like holiday or a cuddle with your dog. You need to live in the moment and make the most of it.”
Caitlin had a final reminder for those struggling with stress: “Seek medical health and advice if you are unable to cope. There’s no shame in asking for help.”
To mark Stress Awareness week, Caitlin wrote a poem "What does it mean to be stressed" called to express her thoughts and feelings around stress for young people.
For more information on how to tackle stress take a look at our website.