2. Who Has a Story to Share? (Spoiler: Almost Everyone)

When it comes to mental health, nearly everyone has a story worth telling. Whether you’ve personally lived through the symptoms of mental ill-health—or supported someone who has—your experience matters. And your story can make a difference.

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The Two Types of Storytellers

At Heart On My Sleeve, we often talk about two key groups:

• Experiencers – Those who have been personally affected by mental health symptoms, conditions, or diagnoses.
• Supporters – Those who have cared for, supported, or stood by someone going through mental ill-health.

Both of these stories are powerful. Both are valid. And both deserve to be heard.

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Mental Health Touches Us All

You don’t need a formal diagnosis to have experienced mental health challenges. Whether you’ve lived through trauma, grief, burnout, anxiety, or even just a prolonged period of feeling “off,” your mental health journey is real.

Just like physical injuries—sprained ankles, broken bones, or worn-out joints—our minds can be injured too. Stress, pressure, and life events wear us down. Sometimes it’s acute and sudden. Other times, it’s slow and invisible. But it’s all real. And it all matters.

Mental health is a part of being human. We do our best to care for it, but factors like genetics, environment, and life circumstances also play a role.

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There Is No Threshold You Need to Meet

There’s no minimum level of suffering required to qualify as “worthy” of sharing your story. You don’t need to have hit rock bottom. You don’t need to be fully recovered. You don’t need to compare your experience to anyone else’s.

Your story matters. Because your emotions, struggles, insights, and healing journey are uniquely yours—and uniquely powerful.

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The Untold Stories of Supporters

Supporters often carry a silent burden. Months or even years of walking beside someone they love, watching them suffer, feeling helpless or overwhelmed. And yet, supporters frequently minimise their own experience.

They think: “It wasn’t as bad for me.”
Or: “It’s not my story to tell.”

But here’s the truth: your life has been impacted too. Your emotional landscape has shifted. Parts of who you are—your resilience, your compassion, your wounds—have evolved because of what you’ve lived through.

You’re not telling someone else’s story. You’re telling your own.

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Your Story Is Yours to Own

It’s important to respect privacy, especially when others are involved. But sharing your lived experience—what you felt, what changed in you, what you learned—is always yours to claim. You don’t need permission to tell your truth.

Because when you do, you give others permission too. To feel less alone. To reflect. To heal.