June's story

My name is June, I'm 75 years old and like so many others of my age, I often wonder how I got here so quickly!

A few years ago, when updating my Will, I decided to include a legacy to SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health).

The whole process of including SAMH in my Will was very straightforward to do.

My family – sister, nephews and their families – are so important to me, as are my group of friends. I adore all animals (especially my cat!) and love watching birds and squirrels visiting my back garden. Although I have a few charities and causes that I support, I decided to include SAMH in my Will after being diagnosed with clinical depression in the early 1990s.

My case was not as severe as many, but it was a relief to get the diagnosis – it explained why I had been feeling so low for so long. Although not a solution for everyone, I was prescribed antidepressants and, after some trial and error, found one that suited me without any side effects. I was fortunate as my doctor was easy to talk to, as were those close friends I eventually confided in (although this bit took a bit longer, because it felt like confessing a ‘secret’).

I realise others are not always so lucky – finding it difficult to talk about their mental health, or not having anyone close they feel they can open up to, or even just realising that something is wrong.

At that time in the early 1990s, people were just starting to talk about mental health more openly. I remember being surprised at close colleagues I confided in sharing their own similar experiences. And of course, there were other times when responses were not so sympathetic – like one of my colleagues who said, ‘Well, we all get a bit down sometimes’, during a general chat about mental health at work.

After that, I would read articles and stories with both positive and negative outcomes, about people who went undiagnosed for years and the toll it took on them and their families.

One statistic stayed with me more than most – the high suicide rate among young adult men (I was thinking about my two adult nephews here). More than anything, that made me determined to support mental health charities.

The whole process of including SAMH in my Will was very straightforward to do. I hope it will help SAMH in its campaigning to raise awareness of mental illness. Talking about mental health and trying to identify all the reasons for mental illness is such a big and tremendously important task, but it is the first step to helping more people.