By Sara Scheeres and Alex Cimpeanu
If nothing else, the Covid pandemic and its resultant restrictions and isolation have further opened up the conversation about mental health. Amara Howe was a speaker at London Metropolitan University’s panel discussion ‘Student Mental Health: Will we bounce back after Covid?’
A graduate of London Metropolitan University’s BA Fashion and Marketing Journalism course, she now works as a mental health specialist recruiter and consultant.
“I speak to people daily helping them get into jobs and I speak to managers as well helping them find people for vacancies- I help charities like Our Mind, The Advocacy project, Rethink find passionate people,” she says. “When I speak to mental health advocates, I really want to know what they are overseeing and key-working with.”
Howe has always been passionate about mental health, as she herself has struggled with anxiety and depression, which she thinks is very common amongst university students.
“I’m a really confident person and I like to be able to talk about my feelings,“ she said.
“I think it’s taken a pandemic to get people talking about mental health more – people that didn’t think they’re struggling,” she adds.
During the panel discussion, she spoke about how skin conditions can affect mental health. It is something she knows from first-hand experience.
Howe herself is very vocal about her journey with eczema and the impact her skin condition has on her mental health, receiving gratitude from other Instagram users with the same condition who find courage through her transparency.
Thanks to a “miracle drug”, her eczema is now in control. But it took years to get that way, including a time when she suffered greatly with TSW or Topical Steroid Withdrawal, which resulted in burning red skin as she struggled to come off steroid creams.
“Back in university, I had severe eczema. A common misconception with eczema is, ‘oh it’s just a little skin condition,’ but for me, it was more mentally [difficult] than it was physically, though it was very painful,” she says.
On the impact of social media, Amara highlights the advantages of being open.
“Talk about it; talking is a powerful tool. Join a Facebook group, don’t keep it to yourself – having discussions is beautiful,” she says.
She goes on: “People are doing this thing at the moment on Tik Tok called taking a stupid walk for my stupid mental health, where they just walk really fast in the country side. It’s just a joke, but it’s not a joke.”
These kinds of humorous social media trends are a cryptic message with a light-hearted tone that we’re all dealing with something, and they’re a good outlet.
The important thing is keeping the conversation going, breaking the silent suffering, and connecting with others who can understand our mental health issues, however we do it and whatever they are.
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