Andy Horner (a.k.a. Anxious Andy) campaigns in the United Kingdom on behalf of all those suffering with mental health issues for better access to treatment. He has been leading peaceful protests across the UK for years, acquiring a huge following. Andy is hosting an event next year in his hometown of Huddersfield West Yorkshire to raise awareness about people who have been suffering in isolation throughout the Covid 19 pandemic due to a serious lack of support from services.
Andy Horner says that people battling with mental health issues are in desperate need of help. Adequate services are currently unavailable, and things are starting to get out of control. People need to be helped before they reach a crisis. Andy, speaking about his own experience says, “I have battled with my mental health since childhood and have been on and off with services for the past 30 years. I have never known it to be this bad, especially amongst the younger generation with the huge sacrifices they and everyone else have had to make throughout the pandemic.”
Without the appropriate treatment, the ramifications for those suffering and for society at large are huge. When a mental health issue like anxiety, which is so prevalent amongst today’s youth, goes untreated it can lead to depression, damaged relationships, alcohol and/or drug abuse, eating disorders, physical illness and/or disability, unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, and even suicide. This may sound extreme, but it’s the reality. At the very least, when you’re suffering from mental health issues without the help you need, you lead a poor quality of life, often in isolation. Society should not be ignoring the problem.
People living with untreated anxiety or depression have a higher risk of self-harm. And we all know where this can lead. There is no doubt that untreated clinical anxiety or major depression are very serious problems. They not only affect the sufferer, but everyone else around them as well, friends, family, coworkers, and their community.
Those with severe panic attacks or a major depressive disorder cannot just “snap out of it” as so many would like to believe. They cannot pull themselves together just by willing it so. Without the appropriate treatment, which would likely include psychotherapy and antidepressants, these conditions can go on for years or even a lifetime. However, with the proper treatment most sufferers can be helped significantly.
And, we’re not even talking about those living with more severe forms of mental illness, like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, which also do not receive the amount of attention they deserve. The stresses that have been inflicted on everyone as a result of Covid-19 have taken their toll and the health services have been stretched to the limit. However, the lack of available services for people suffering with mental health issues has gone on for much longer here in the U.K. and it’s time that we the people rise up and demand better of our government.
Please join me in my campaign to raise awareness among our lawmakers, so that we can bring about changes in the health services that are sorely needed, which is more help for those struggling with their mental health.
