Beth felt isolated, especially during Covid-19 lockdowns. The isolation really affected her mental health. She reached out for support from deaf services but they weren’t available where she lived.
Beth is 24 years old. She grew up in Northern Ireland. She has experienced mental health issues throughout her life.
“My journey with mental health has been up and down. I have had issues with anxiety. My anxiety started with issues at school but it got worse during the Covid lockdowns.”
During the lockdowns, Beth was isolated and didn’t have access to her support network.
“I felt very isolated. During the second lockdown, my sisters moved away. It was just me and my parents. My parents are lovely, of course! But they’re at a different stage to me.”
Beth yearned for the opportunity to connect with other deaf young people.
“I was going through a lot of stuff that year and I had no one to offload to. I had no one to talk to about how I was feeling.”
She tried to connect with her friends remotely but it wasn’t the same.
“I was talking to friends online and through video calls because they lived far away. It was really difficult and it affected my mental health.”
Beth knew she needed more support with her mental health so she reached out to her GP to explain her thoughts and feelings and to ask for their help. The GP agreed she needed some counselling. They provided her with a hearing therapist.
“They said the therapist would be hearing. I said no! I need someone deaf with shared experience of our culture and language!”
The GP understood and then offered a therapist with a Level 3 in British Sign Language (BSL).
“I thought it would have been too clunky to have that kind of conversation with someone who wasn’t fluent. I was worried about the lack of understanding of deaf culture and community.”
Beth knew about SignHealth. She requested that her GP get in touch with SignHealth to get her the support that she needed. But, at the time, SignHealth didn’t have funding to deliver services in Northern Ireland.
“I appealed a few times with no luck. So I just tried to get on with things.”
Beth was left without the support she needed and had to cope with her mental health alone. That changed when she moved to London and was able to reach out for support through SignHealth.
“I asked my London GP to refer me to SignHealth for support. They agreed and I was put on the waiting list. The waiting list was a nine month wait. It was hard, I felt deflated and it was really tough coping with my ongoing thoughts while I waited.”
Working with SignHealth really improved Beth’s mental health.
“When I finally got the counselling, it felt so good to be able to share! It really helped me a lot.”
Beth is not alone. Deaf young people are twice as likely to have a mental health issue. They should not need to cope with these issues alone.
That is why SignHealth are increasing our services to reach deaf children and young people.
But we cannot deliver this work without your support.
Could you donate today to support deaf young people like Beth?
Being deaf does not cause depression and anxiety.
Facing barriers every day does.
Deaf young people are twice as likely to experience mental health issues. Meet the real young people behind the statistic.
Lucy struggled with her mental health at university.
Charis had anxiety and wished she had support from a deaf professional.
Harriet’s hearing therapist assumed that being deaf was the problem.
