I feel this week, it’s obvious that mental health awareness needs to be a major topic of discussion. Following on from Caroline Flack’s tragic passing, it’s on all of us to be better at taking others into consideration. We have no idea what someone’s been through and therefore we have no right to judge. Be kind – it seems to simple. So why isn’t it? Let me explain…

Whilst I’ve discussed mental health in the context of The Luke Bright Series, my other two WIPs also follow the topic – namely my newest one: The Snowflake Trap. From my own experiences of writing from that point of view, it’s made me realise how difficult it is for the public to understand why people act they way they do when they have mental health issues. When I read from the point of view of the character with depression and anxiety, I find him frustrating to read and annoying at times. You almost want to shake him and tell him to snap out of it. Again, in An Undercover Dream, when Luke is depressed, he turns nasty and the reader almost loses the ability to empathise with the character they’ve been seeing the story through. So, is that how people see others who have mental health conditions? Annoying, unlikeable, weird and frustrating? You know what, I think so.

And I think that’s what’s most important to raise awareness about. Not that people have mental health problems, but how that really feels. How it makes them act and why, because honestly, sometimes it doesn’t make sense. Someone may dismiss what a person has done and try to make an excuse because they can’t put themselves in that person’s shoes. It’s understandable because the brain does weird, unexplainable things that make perfect sense at the time to someone who has a mental health condition, but not to someone who can’t think that way.

I’ve recently discovered the musical ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and have become a little obsessed with the story – because it feels like something I would write (and I wish I had!) To me, I can completely empathise and relate to what the lead character did and honestly, I have probably done similar things. However, when I asked other people if they would, they said no. They think the character was wrong and selfish, and they wouldn’t even consider that as an option. Something I understand but can see as a completely justified course of action. So maybe that’s why it takes so long for people to empathise with mental health problems – because their brains just don’t work in a way that can allows them to understand the why.

That’s why I think it’s so important for me to write from the point of view of people with mental illnesses. Even in A Long Lost Time, some of the things Luke does and says may not make sense to outside readers (and I know my editor has struggled with this), but that’s the whole point. It doesn’t have to, because it’s completely in character with him. So sure, it doesn’t matter if it makes the characters come across as rude or aloof or mean, because that’s the reality of how the world makes people with mental health act. And, if one other person can relate to that – see that someone is writing a character that is doing the same stuff as they do, just like I have with Evan Hansen, it can help them understand they’re not weird, they’re not alone – there are options that they can access to get help.

So, this week and from now on, I do ask – be kind. Because, I don’t think it’s reasonable to ask people to be understanding because they won’t understand. But kindness, just being nice and fair, no matter what the reason, doesn’t take a lot. It’s something we must all do so we can try to help those in need who really deserve it.

Atlantic Split, At Liberty To Live and An Undercover Dream, the first three books in The Luke Bright Series are available to purchase NOW! The final book of the series A Long Lost Time will be released in 2020!

Please follow me on my blog and social media links below, and use the links on my website to purchase a copy of each if you have not done so. Don’t forget to leave a review! Thank you once again for taking the time to read this blog post.

N.A.K