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This year, Mental Health Awareness Week is focussed on anxiety – what it is, how it affects us and what we can do about it.

The last few years have been really scary for everyone. Living in a global pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, combined with attacks on our communities from all directions, it would be strange if we weren’t all feeling a bit worried. Cuts to support services and the ongoing decimation of our NHS, create additional harms and the mental health burden of waiting lists cannot be overstated.

I am always happy to talk about my professional experience supporting others around their mental health or the wellbeing resources and training I’ve created for practitioners working with survivors of abuse. I have also had my own personal mental health challenges, and somehow that feels like something less easy or comfortable to share. Like so many people, for me managing chronic anxiety is an everyday reality. As is so often the case, I know what I encourage others to do to look after themselves, what I should be doing, but actually doing it is a different matter.

So I wanted to share the things I try to do to keep well, in case they help anyone else and also, let’s be honest, as a reminder to myself!

Physical manifestations/impacts of our mental health are physical health conditions – the two things aren’t separate, they all happen in our one body. If you look after one and you look after the other. Annoyingly all those well-being articles are right, a bit of movement, getting enough sleep and eating properly really can make you feel better in body and mind!

This will pass. Our mental health is not static and however hard it is to believe when you are in them, bad times won’t last.

There is so much help out there, wonderful services offering help to all of us. You deserve support, reach out for it when you need it. Check out our well-being resources page for members who can help you.

When I forget everything else, and my anxiety is spiralling, the one thing I can always come back to is to sit comfortably, with my feet on the ground, close my eyes and take 5 deep breaths. Then keep moving forward.

Briony Williamson (she/her), Head of Membership and Engagement

 

Mental health, like for most people, is a non-linear journey. Mental Health Awareness Week is an important time to acknowledge this and recognise that all our tools for coping look different.

My own journey has been bumpy and confusing at times, but I have learned valuable tools along the way. For myself, running has been great as an output for lots of feelings. I started running in my first year of university when my mental health was deteriorating. It was a transformative experience to find an activity I enjoyed, which also provided an escape from my thoughts and allowed me to appreciate the beauty of nature in my local park. While running has been impactful for me, I have learned (the hard way) not to rely solely on one tool, especially when it is closely tied to performance and body image.

Other coping mechanisms I use include having a break from seeing friends, spending hours scrolling as a distraction and just lying on my floor (and doing some deep breathing if I remember). Are there any tools that are perfect? Absolutely not and it’s not about judging what we need to do to get by. Daily activities like taking a walk or cooking may not always be feasible. Mental health and how we cope shouldn’t be another thing we feel guilty about when we don’t do it ‘right’.

Through working for Consortium and the Equity Fund, I have met numerous groups that support mental health in our communities. Various activities such as crafting classes, guided walks, climbing, strength training, peer support, and social events, both in person and online have been incredible to learn about. Their impact on community health is outstanding- huge shout out to all the amazing LGBTQIA+ groups out there supporting our communities every day!

During this week, it is enough to do what you need to do for yourself. Whether it’s resting, enjoying some sunshine, or any other activity, it’s all valid.

Leyla Helvaci (she/they), Equity Fund Project Officer

Trans Day of Visibility turns 14 years old this year! This awareness day was started back in 2009 by American trans activist, Rachel Crandall, to counteract and balance the grief and mourning around Transgender Day of Remembrance with representations of trans joy and trans life.

Much has changed for trans and gender diverse people in the last 14 years due to the work of activists like Rachel who have made it possible for organisations like Consortium to recognise and celebrate transness today and every day.

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“As TDOV rolls around, I am left feeling a little bittersweet. In my seven years of being out and a decade of actively exploring my identity, we are more visible than ever – but it doesn’t feel quite feel like the celebratory occasion younger me hoped it would be. However, in a conversation where I was seeking TDOV activity ideas for a queer youth group, a colleague mentioned how often this day is aimed at cis people and puts the weight on us to humanise ourselves in their eyes. Instead, visibility could be defined as what affirms you, makes you feel seen, and held. I’ve been reflecting on this a lot, thinking about the preconceived idea of visibility I held which wasn’t fit for purpose (with a focus on the visibility to and acceptance of cis people, and not around the comfort, protection, and celebration of trans people. ALL trans people.) So, for the rest of my contribution to this blog, I will be speaking about occasions where I have felt affirmed and recommending some artists whose works make me feel seen and held.

“Over the last year, I have been affirmed more than I ever have previously. Whether that be the person who asked me for the time as we’re sat on the train saying, “Thanks, man,” or being told by my speech therapist that my voice is noticeably getting stronger and deeper. There is one experience which tops all of these for me though. I’m sure many people are aware of the term ‘gender envy’ but for those who don’t, it’s a term trans people will use when someone looks how they want to look. I had multiple people tell me I gave them gender envy, and that I’m their transition goals – and that experience truly floored me. We can put so much value into the opinion of cis people, however I felt not just affirmed in that moment but seen with an appreciation for my journey that only trans siblings can have.

“Carrying on with this theme of disconnecting visibility from the acceptance of cis people, I wanted to share a few artists whose work makes me feel seen and held, art that is loudly and unapologetically trans.

@abprallenuk
@transmonstera
@sweatermuppet3.0
@slvrfshmetalwlf *NSFW content

“There are so many more artists whose work I could share but I’ve already gone on quite the extensive tangent so I will leave it here. I hope you have a lovely TDOV doing whatever makes you feel affirmed, seen, and safe.”

Damien Da Silva (he/him), TRANSforming Futures Grants Officer

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“For this Trans Day of Visibility, I am reminded of the Rocky Horror Picture Show chorus where Dr Frank-N-Furter performs seductively on a theatre stage in front of a radio tower and then jumps into a pool in full drag. Singing about being brought to tears by wanting to look like a Hollywood actress of a bygone era (Fay Wray), Dr Frank-N-Furter commands the audience to give in to the pleasure of embracing oneself and sings “don’t dream it, be it”. At the time of my first viewing of Rocky Horror, I was a young queer person living in a rural farming community in the US and dipping my toe into the high school theatre community. Thus, I was not only thrilled by the imperative of “don’t dream it, be it” but shocked to see people on screen engaging in such radical, silly, gender-bending fun– satirizing the stiffness of suburban cis-heteronormativity.

“While achieving ‘visibility’ is as meaningful to some as it is vague and empty to others, it has undoubtedly meant that more people are able to see trans, nonbinary, and other gender diverse folks living their lives and think, ‘oh, you can do that?’ By simply existing as your uniquely radical self, you are quietly (or loudly!) communicating to all who see and know you that another way is possible. It is no wonder that trans joy and trans LIFE is so threatening to those who benefit from, and choose to maintain, systems of oppression. Despite the many reasons to be critical of awareness/visibility days, my message to anyone reading this is that your moments of relaxation, your loving relationships, and your enjoyment of life are all forms of activism in a society that seeks to diminish your light. You inspire me.”

Violet Fox (she/her), Trans Organisations Engagement Officer

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“For this Trans Day of Visibility, I’d like to reflect on a significant thing that made me feel “visible” at the start of my journey and a memory that I made as recently as last year. I came out as trans in October 2019 and back then the internet was my safe space (plus the years before this); it was an incredible resource that I would use to watch videos of trans and non-binary people speak about themselves on YouTube and find any information I could on transitioning. One content creator who helped me massively was Alex Bertie, a YouTuber whose content centred around LGBTQ+ issues and his experiences of transitioning as a trans man. In 2017, Alex Bertie published a book called ‘Transmission: My Quest to a Beard’ and I can’t even explain how monumental it was in helping me to come to terms with being trans and feeling like I wasn’t alone in the world.

“I was attending university at the time, and I was still in a very complicated relationship with myself over my identity; I was only out to my friends at university and not to anyone else as I was so afraid of what was happening. I remember walking into my university town with the intent of going into my local Waterstones to see if they had the book and to my delight they did. I was so nervous picking it up off the shelf, afraid that the shopkeeper would say something. They didn’t, and I walked back to my student house with the book in my backpack feeling elated. I read that book cover-to-cover. I read it so many times that the pages were crinkled in places, I stuck little post-it notes in pages that I wanted to come back to, and I wrote in the margins in pencil about the sections that meant the most to me. Most of all that book made me feel seen and gave me the courage to accept that I was trans although I wouldn’t come out until two years later but that was due to several personal circumstances during that time.

“I still have that book to this day, amongst other incredible trans and non-binary authors who line and fill my shelves with their impactful words that I have collected over the years. Since then, the people who have made me feel most visible is the trans and non-binary community. It’s a community where I made friends, got support and advice when I felt lost, somewhere I could rant about the injustices that our community faces and somewhere I could reach out too when I felt that everything was hopeless. The most recent memory I have of feeling that sense of visibility was at Trans Pride 2022 in Brighton, a day that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

“I’d been to a Trans Pride a couple of years ago in Cardiff which had about 50 people in attendance, but Trans Pride Brighton was a whole other level… 20,000 people were in attendance! I remember the feeling of walking in that march with my hand in my partner’s surrounded by my community draped in flags, carrying signs, faces full of happiness and joy. During these difficult times where we are constantly subject to negativity wherever we go, whether you’re out or not and whatever your circumstances maybe, I just want you to remember that you are a part of a beautiful community who will be there waiting with open arms should you need it.”

Leo Kirkpatrick (he/they), Communications Officer

It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week!

This week is “a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. It aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, and organisations with the opportunity to recognise the many talents and advantages of being neurodivergent, while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual” neurodiversityweek.com

We asked some of our neurodiverse team members about what being neurodivergent means to them…

“I love that it is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, as that is exactly how I view my own ADHD—I celebrate it. As I grew up, I always struggled with being distracted and things constantly jumbling around in my head, but it wasn’t until I suffered some bad mental health issues and receive some incredible support that I was then diagnosed with ADHD.

“Suddenly, everything slotted into place across a whole host of things up to that point. I was able to start seeing how the way I functioned helped me be more creative, more innovative in my approach and able to maintain excitement and enthusiasm for complex pieces of work, when previously these things could conversely help drag me down.

“I don’t tend to talk about my ADHD much as I don’t need to, but I recognise that it is there. I use it to help me think differently and have put in place a range of simple mechanisms to help keep me focused, to remember to go back to tasks I get distracted from, and to not letting myself get too carried away with exciting new ideas!

“Well…sometimes I do let myself get a bit too excited about a new idea, but only when I get that gut feel I have unlocked something that has the potential to create a bit of transformation. So here is a big hurrah to celebrating neurodiversity! It makes me who I am…even if it does mean the team have to put up with me humming in meetings sometimes when there is silence to contend with!”

Paul Roberts, he/him, CEO

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This poem is an exploration of my own neurodiversity and things that take place within my own mental health: focusing specifically on ADHD & Maladaptive Daydreaming. I come from a ND family, and a lot of things were normalised in my household as a child.

As I’ve gotten older and come to understand more about my own mental health and other impairments that I live with, I feel like I can finally frame my life experiences and step away from the concept of feeling “broken”. Even still, with the knowledge I’ve gained, this poem explores that ongoing struggle of living within a world that wasn’t made for us – and how stepping into the unknown can impact people who struggle with change or processing.

Nothing typical about me

stillness has never come easy to me
nothing feels like those frantic
shallow
breaths
my erratic heart
beating
out-of-time
overtime
sweaty limbs
tangled in-between bed sheets
where I never sleep
just sink deeper into my insecurities

I don’t know how to be “normal”
I have never been “normal”

pretending

playing make believe
stories that you wish were true

reality doesn’t feel real so I create my own
worlds to get lost in

versions of me
that are more than I could ever be
an elevated self
lost in translation
somewhere between the daydream and the present
I don’t always know which is which

happiness unsettles me
it’s like I don’t know how to feel the word
the stillness amongst the chaos
the chaos that has turned into comfort

nothing ties me here
holds me here
and yet my feet don’t tread bravely
they don’t move at all

quaking at the thought of the unknown

even if this step brings everything I’ve asked for
begged for
prayed for

will I be ready
and more importantly
will it be enough?

Nikita (she/they) is a writer, published poet and social commentator who advocates for an intersectional lens and approach to be utilised – she is committed to spotlighting the ‘other’, those who are chronically unheard and underrepresented within society. Nikita is particularly interested in the power of creativity, and how it intersects with disability and identity. 

Nikita Chadha, she/they, Racial Justice Engagement Officer

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“Happy Neurodiversity Celebration Week! I really love that the focus of this week is the celebration aspect of being neurodiverse which is something I struggled with for the longest time but now feel towards being an autistic person.

“Being autistic makes me experience the world in different ways but the thing I love most about it is being able to be focused creatively and passionately about something in particular, which is what we call hyper fixation. It’s only in recent years that I was diagnosed with autism, mainly because it had taken me so long to accept this part of myself but I’m so happy that is something that I can now celebrate.

“Growing up had its share of struggles and difficulties, I knew I was different than other people and how I experienced certain things. Learning to love and accept my autistic self has been a journey but one I’m glad that I’ve been on. It has its ups and downs, I don’t always end up in the exact destination that I expect but once you get to the end it’s beautiful.”

Leo Kirkpatrick, he/they, Communications Officer

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“It’s such a joy to have a neurodiversity celebration week. For a long time, I assumed that the way I navigated the world was just the way that everybody lived and that some parts of being a person would always feel wildly difficult or confusing.

“Learning more about the richness and variety of neurodiverse experiences and understanding the ways these can be strengths as well as challenges has helped me to learn more about myself and find mechanisms to thrive as someone with ADHD.

“Hopefully neurodiversity celebration week will offer other people the same opportunities to find joy in what makes them different and encourage everybody – neurodivergent or neurotypical – to understand neurodiversity.”

Hels Bowie, they/she, Head of Partnerships & Development

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“Though neurodiversity has been present in a lot of my life it has only been a little over two years since starting to accept myself as someone who is autistic and ADHD, and it has been a tumultuous journey.

“The existence of Neurodiversity Celebration Week is so important because societal attitudes towards neurodiversity are overwhelmingly negative and the personal battles, fuelled by stigmas and frustration at struggles caused by living in a world suited to a neurotypical way of being, make it easy to forget to celebrate our neurodivergency.

“Just some positive examples of my neurodiversity are that it makes me a creative thinker, my pattern recognition means I pick up on potential down-the-road concerns that other people don’t think about, my passion for the things I am interested in is so vivid, and my connections with other neurodivergent people is a positive experience which I cannot find the words to convey.

“Neurodivergency, though it comes with its difficulties, is such a beautiful thing and it is extremely empowering to celebrate it.”

Damien Da Silva, he/him, TRANSforming Futures Grants Officer

International Women’s Day is a day for all women. It’s a day where we celebrate that women are diverse, and complex, and interesting, and it’s also a time to shine a light on the experiences that women of all backgrounds, and identities, face each day.

Each year, to coincide with IWD, The National LGBT Partnership hosts LBT+ Women’s Health Week — a week dedicated to giving queer women a platform, and raising awareness of the health inequalities that impact LBT+ women and femmes.

In a patriarchal, hetero- and cis-normative world, to exist as a queer woman is a superpower. But sadly, all too often, that superpower is invisibility — especially in health care.

While women of all identities are less likely to be believed by medical professionals, and to have to advocate for themselves during appointments, this is amplified even further for women who are Black or Brown, disabled, fat, or queer.

Often, to be a LGBTQIA+ woman is to not only be deprioritised due to your gender (I’m sure that many of us have been told that agonising pain is simply a normal part of our period and that we should just get on with it?), but to also have your queerness misunderstood by those you’ve turned to for help.

Accessing healthcare as a queer woman may look like the following:

• Being turned away from your cervical screening, because you’re not having sex with cis men, so you’re (incorrectly) told you’re not at risk.
• Attending a pregnancy-related appointment, and your wife being referred to as your “friend” or “birthing partner”.
• Your doctor not knowing how to perform a prostate exam on a post-op trans woman, leaving you worried that you could have a serious condition left unfound.
• Attending a sexual health check-up and only being given advice for having safe sex with cis men, despite being a polyamorous bisexual woman.
• Spending months worrying about a transvaginal scan, due to dysphoria, only to be misgendered when eventually attending the appointment.
• Being made to take a pregnancy test at the majority of your healthcare appointments, despite never having a sexual experience with someone who produces sperm.

 

These are just a handful of experiences that have been shared with us over the years of hosting LBT+ Women’s Health Week. Accessing your basic human right of healthcare can feel like wading through treacle — something off-putting enough that many LBT+ women simply stop attending vital appointments.

LBT+ Women’s Health Week is first and foremost for the women who feel ignored, misunderstood and humiliated as a result of their gender and queer identity. It’s a place to be heard, to meet others who have had experiences similar to your own, to come together as a community.

It is too for the healthcare professionals who know they should be doing better. Who desperately want to provide an equal quality of service to those in their care. It’s a space for learning, for being corrected, and for making a vow to do better.

If you’re an LBT+ woman or healthcare professional, we still have some free events this week that you can sign up to: www.consortium.lgbt/nationallgbtpartnership/lbt-womens-health-week/the-national-lgbt-partnership-lbt-womens-health-week-2023-events

You can also read through our previous year’s resources here: www.consortium.lgbt/nationallgbtpartnership/lbt-womens-health-week and keep an eye on our Twitter (@lgbtpartnership) for our new resource, a survey of over 550 women and femme’s experiences, being published in April.

This International Women’s Day, we will be seen.

Laura Clarke (she/they), National LGBT+ Partnership Coordinator

On 7 February it was time for the quarterly meetup for organisations, groups and projects that support LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers, migrants and refugees. Together with our wonderful member and co-organiser, Micro Rainbow, we welcomed nine different organisations to an evening of networking and discussing LGBTQIA+ experiences of immigration detention.

Dr. Laura Harvey walked us through some of the findings from her pilot study with our member Rainbow Migration, and answered many questions from attendees. The key takeaways from Dr. Harvey’s talk were among other:

• Immigration detention remains extremely dangerous for LGBTQIA+ people and LGBTQIA+ people should not be detained.
• The government must stop locking LGBTQIA+ people in detention centres where they face violence and abuse based on their sexual orientation and or gender identity.
• Many LGBTQIA+ people held in immigration detention are scared to be their true selves in fear of abuse and violence, and many hide their true selves because of this. If you want to learn more you can read more about it here, and check out Rainbow Migration’s campaign No Pride in Detention.

We were also joined by Laila who told us about the Migrant Advice and Support Fund, which funds frontline organisations providing specialist advice and or holistic support to migrant Londoners (incl. asylum seekers, refugees, undocumented people and those with otherwise insecure immigration status). Please note that applications close 27 February.

This meetup is a supportive space wherein volunteers and staff in groups, projects and organisations who support LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers, migrants and refugees can connect, share challenges and build collaborations. If you are interested in joining our LGBTQIA+ migration meetups, feel welcome to email [email protected] to sign up on the mailing list, or keep an eye out on our Events page.

Some thoughts from Nikita Chadha (she/they), Consortium’s Racial Justice Engagement Officer:

Race Equality Week is starting across the UK today.

With any awareness week, there can be an increase in visibility or asks for extra capacity.

With that in mind, we want to start the week with a reminder to all of those who are supporting people that are working within racial justice.

– Be mindful of people’s capacity this week.
– Racial justice work happens all year round and shouldn’t solely be confined to one week of the year.
– People that have experienced racism may need extra time and breathing space this week.
– Actions are important but so are conversations: are there any spaces for people to speak freely and give feedback about their experiences within your organisation?

Any kind of work that focuses on someone’s lived experience can be difficult at best, and should be treated carefully.

If that is you – please look after yourselves this week!

Make sure you carve out time for yourself this week. Get out in the sun (if you can), make some time for joy/play, or create meaningful space for yourself with meditation.

Understanding that there is a problem with racial equality is the best place to start with enacting and impacting change. Especially for those people with other intersections to their identity, like gender or sexuality diversity.

This is the reality of being a racialised queer person in the UK:

– Half of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT+ people (51 per cent) have experienced discrimination or poor treatment from others in their local LGBT+ community because of their ethnicity. This number rises to three in five Black LGBT+ people (61 per cent)*

– Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT+ people are more likely than white LGBT people to experience domestic abuse from a partner,
17 per cent compared to 11 per cent*

– Half of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT+ people (51 per cent) have experienced discrimination or poor treatment because of their ethnicity from others in their local LGBT+ community. This number rises to three in five Black LGBT+ people (61 per cent)*

*stats taken from Stonewall’s LGBT in Britain Home and Communities Report

Last year, we worked with an external consultant to speak to our members who engage in racial justice work around what is needed within the sector or what needs to change.

This week we have released an initial report with a summary of findings, the full report and subsequent EDI goals will be released later in the Spring: Summary Racial Justice Report Findings

We’ll be working on some sector wide resources and recommendations to feature alongside it, so watch this space.

#ItsEveryonesBusiness #RaceEqualityWeek2023 #ActionDrivesChange #REW23

Get in touch with Nikita