For many of our service users, so many aspects of daily life are decided for them. What cities or towns they are sent to, what kind of accommodation, how many times they'll be moved, what kind of food they'll have access to (in hotel accommodation especially), and what kind of support they'll have access to is really out of their control. Add on top of that having no control over whether or not their asylum cases will be approved or rejected, or how many years they will have to wait to find out, and the sense of agency and control gets even lower. This lack of control causes a lot of anxiety and stress about the present and the future, and it has a profound impact on the mental health of our service users.

 

Additionally, mental health services so often do not understand the needs of asylum seekers (the need for financial assistance to attend appointments, the need for childcare support to attend appointments, the need for flexibility in attending appointments, etc), and it is truly difficult for service users to actually access mental health support at all. 

 

This year's Mental Health Awareness theme is take ACTION. But how can you take action when you have so little control over so many of your choices? How can you take action when so much of your personal agency is taken away from you on the *big* things?

 

A good first step is in reminding ourselves of the relationship between thoughts, behaviours, and feelings. All three of these influence each other, and when we're looking to gain back some agency and want to improve our mental health, understanding this relationship is a good place to start.

 

For example, if I am *feeling* sad and overwhelmed, I am more likely to have *thoughts* such as "Noone understands me" or "I am completely alone" or "I will never feel better". The more I have these thoughts, these thoughts will begin to influence my *behaviours*, and I may start isolating myself from activities that I once enjoyed, or people that I used to spend time with.

 

Knowing that all three influence and impact on each other, means that we can begin to focus on one of them to try to improve our mental health.

 

For example, I could decide that I feel a bit overwhelmed by my feelings and thoughts, so I may start to change a behaviour first. Maybe I decide to go for a walk first thing each morning for 30 minutes for one week. If I commit to that *behaviour*, and do it for 7 days, I am likely to notice a shift in another area - maybe I notice my *thoughts* have shifted slightly. Maybe I notice my thoughts have shifted to "walking makes me have more energy to get through the day" or "I should try this for another week" or "I noticed how beautiful the park that I walked in was". With this shift in thoughts, I may notice my *feelings* have slightly shifted as well - maybe I feel hopeful, or maybe I feel relaxed during that walk, or maybe I still feel sad, but a bit less overwhelmed.

 

A change in one area can produce changes in the other areas, and this is where we can take ACTION and see what we can do to improve our mental health.

 

When so many aspects of daily life are determined for us, the little things that we do have control over become even more important. Each one is an opportunity to try to take back the agency and control we do have.

 

So many of the women we support are referred into mental health services that are not designed for them. They are offered basic, low level CBT which isn't appropriate or trauma informed, or they are offered only six sessions and expected to discuss traumatic events before they are ready to, or before trust is truly established. So many women are expected to look back at the past, or look towards the future, when the present should be the focus. How do we manage the symptoms we are feeling that are causing us distress as we navigate this incredibly traumatic asylum process? How do we engage in mental health support when we have no credit, no childcare, no privacy, no money for travel, and are regularly called for last minute appointments by solicitors, Home Office, or other agencies that hold authority or power over us?

 

Taking action in small ways is in our hands. Whether it's going for a daily walk, attending a drop-in where you can access activities and not be socially isolated, asking for 1:1 support, learning English so you feel more comfortable in your new city or town...whatever it is you can do to take back some of that personal agency is a good place to start.

 

And for mental health professionals and services out there, we can also take ACTION. We can all look at the barriers our service users face and really have a look at what our services and support are doing to either prop up these barriers, or alleviate these barriers. How can we be more flexible? How can we become trauma-informed? How can we allow service users to lead on service design and delivery? What therapeutic models work for the needs of this client population? What new models or support can we offer that is maybe more appropriate? What are other organisations doing to design best practice guidance for this client group? There is so much we can all do to reach people who we know will otherwise not likely be able to access the support we need.

 

This month, whether you're a service user looking to improve your own mental health, or a professional looking to understand and provide the best support possible, let us all commit to taking ACTION and support Mental Health Awareness Week. Please find resources and further information here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week  

 

Let us know how you are taking action and we can't wait to show you how some of our staff and service users are taking action themselves.