Tell us about yourself.
I’m Anem, a 19-year-old with a strong passion for advocating children’s mental health. I was first involved with CAMHS at the age of 15.
I’m confident in my ability to stand up for what’s important, ensuring that children’s voices are heard, and their mental health is treated as a priority. My goal is to build a career in a child mental health setting, where I can actively contribute to improving services and creating a more supportive environment for young people. I’m committed to making a real difference in the lives of children and shaping the future of mental health care for them.
What have you learnt about yourself through your CAMHS journey that has helped you the most with your recovery?
Through my CAMHS journey, I have learned and accepted that it is more than okay to ask for help. This was very easy for me after having an amazing psychologist who always supported me at my best and as well as my worse moments – she always provided me reassurance that I needed and validated my feelings every single time without fail.
I was very used to bottling my feelings up but through CAMHS I learned talking helps, even writing your feelings down and then giving it to your psychologist when feeling too vulnerable to talk was very helpful for me.
I also learned to accept new experiences, I thought I would be very shy starting the DBT (dialectic behaviour therapy) group but turned out it was the thing I needed to help shape my life and I am very grateful for the opportunity to take part in it.
What’s been your biggest challenge and how have you overcome it?
My biggest challenge I faced was accepting how I felt – mainly because I was always made to seem like I was ‘dramatic’ or ‘overthinking’ but with the DBT programme it really helped me to process how I felt and understand how I felt was valid and totally acceptable.
As a young person, I know this skill made me more confident within myself as well as being able to provide reassurance to others when facing difficult times. I would definitely encourage other young people to participate in the DBT group as it definitely has areas which can shape life in a positive and rewarding way as well as impacting life in a hopeful way.
Do you have any advice for young people on how they can build their resilience?
Building up your resilience can be hard, but it is always important to get back up when you fall back down. A relapse does not have to mean the end of the journey – when there’s someone in recovery there is bound to be urges which may end up leading to a relapse, however just because there was a relapse in your mental health journey doesn’t mean it is a reason to give up on yourself and how far you have come still matters – try, try and try till you reach your full potential and recover. Acknowledge your progress, acknowledge what is going right and acknowledge your strengths.
Do you have any tips for young people about how support each other with their mental health?
My biggest tips about how young people can support each other is by validating each other’s feelings and being by each other’s sides during the difficult times as well as the easier times.
It is important to accept how someone is feeling even if you cannot understand why that is. By doing this you are encouraging others to process feelings as well as experiencing emotions and learning how to face them without the fear of judgment. This will have a positive impact on their future development.
One thing I took away from DBT therapy is understanding my feelings are valid, but so is someone else’s even if the overall opinion on the topic is different.
What are the looking forward to the most about your future?
I look forward to the future as my goal is to heal young people, I acknowledge it is never easy but being in that patient setting and having that lived experience I feel makes me stronger for the role.
My future goal is to empower and heal, guiding young people to realise their full potential and view life through a positive lens. I aim to inspire them to overcome challenges, embrace their strengths, and navigate life with resilience and hope.
By offering support, encouragement, and practical tools for personal growth, I want to help create a generation that not only believes in their worth but also uses that belief to create meaningful, impactful lives.
Ultimately, my goal is to be a source of light, helping young people transform their mindset and approach to the world, paving the way for them to succeed and thrive.
Find out more about CAMHS
