I know how easily mental health can snowball
Yasmine, who has emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), reveals how Mind helped her when she felt there was nowhere else to turn.
I’ll start with a little bit about me. I’m Yasmine – forensic psychology student and a proud cat lady (I have 2 beautiful cats who I absolutely adore). I write poetry, am a rock fan, and I love to get out and about in nature. Oh yeah… and I have a few mental health problems, too.
That’s why I’m putting my voice behind Mind’s Christmas appeal this year. I know what it’s like when mental health snowballs and it feels like you’re losing control.
My mental health problems don’t make me who I am, but they do contribute to how I live my life and look after myself.
Understanding my mental health
In 2020, I was diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder (which you might have heard referred to as borderline personality disorder) and I also live with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
When I was first diagnosed, I found it really hard. It felt like being labelled, and it exacerbated some of the things I was already experiencing and struggling with on a daily basis, such as relating to the people around me, feeling detached and disconnected, like my hands weren’t even mine at times.
"Reaching out for and accepting support, from the people around me and charities like Mind, has helped me live better alongside my mental health problems."
As I learned more about the things I was going through, I came to accept my diagnoses not as labels but as tools I could use to understand how to take better care of myself day to day.
I’ll always struggle with mental health at times, but reaching out for and accepting support, from the people around me and charities like Mind, has helped me live better alongside my mental health problems long-term. And that can happen for others too if people continue to support Mind’s work.
The beginning of the snowball
Looking back now, I realise that my mental health had started to snowball in my childhood. I felt a lot of anger that I struggled to understand or control, and couldn’t relate to my peers in the ways they seemed to be able to do.
When I was a teenager I was taken into care, and that’s when things really started to unravel. It took until I was 21 to receive any kind of diagnosis. And that’s far too long.
Snowballing can happen over a lifetime, but it’s also something we can experience at different times in our lives. For me, it tends to start with a low mood or a bit of anxiety out of nowhere, then everyday pressures like studying and spending time with family become too much, and everything piles up.
Managing mental health problems is a constant juggling act, and it’s easy for our wellbeing to slip through the cracks.
Stopping the snowball
Mind’s services are there for all of us struggling with our mental health, particularly when we feel there’s nowhere else to turn.
I regularly use their online community, Side by Side and have called their support line a few times too. And I’ve used a number of services at the local Mind closest to where I live.
It was such a validating experience finding Mind and everything they have to offer, and I don’t think I’d felt much of that validation before when it came to mental health support.
"By supporting Mind, we can all be there for someone before it snowballs. We can be the reason that a person doesn’t end up in a crisis situation."
My turning point
Finding support has been a turning point for me – having that small intervention when you’re struggling can be so powerful and help you when things are getting on top of you or you feel out of control.
That’s why I’m proud to be part of Mind’s Christmas appeal this year. Together, by supporting Mind and everything they do, we can all be there for someone, before it snowballs.
We can be the reason that a person doesn’t end up in a crisis situation. We can help turn someone’s life around. Just like Mind and the amazing people who support them, did for me.
Stop the snowball this Christmas
At Christmas, there are so many additional pressures and expectations on us. That can cause our mental health to snowball.
Help us be there for someone like Yasmine.
Information and support
When you’re living with a mental health problem, or supporting someone who is, having access to the right information - about a condition, treatment options, or practical issues - is vital. Visit our information pages to find out more.
Share your story with others
Blogs and stories can show that people with mental health problems are cared about, understood and listened to. We can use it to challenge the status quo and change attitudes.
