How I turned a week-long panic attack into positive change
Advertising can be a brutal game, especially as a creative, explains Ben Smith, executive creative director at Edge. We put ourselves into every idea, we bare our soul daily and then invite the world to pick apart the things that came from our own brains.
At every keystroke, the voice in my head is muttering, ‘Why would anyone care about your feelings, Ben?’, but that’s the point. As a creative industry I think we should be more open about our mental health, so screw you, voice-in-my-noggin.
It’s essential we make mental health a priority, because as leaders in the advertising industry, we need to remove the lingering stigma around speaking up and reinforce that it’s not a weakness to be open, it’s a strength.
I’m telling my story to help normalise the discussion around mental health, because we should be able to share how we feel without fear of judgement.
Nice one Ben! Not enough people are willing to talk about their troubles. We all have them in different ways. Talking about them is an opp to grow stronger than we were at the start.
A very courageous piece to write Ben. There are so many of us who are or have experienced exactly these feelings and to hear you are not alone is powerful & reassuring. When you are in the midst of it you don’t feel it will ever stop but with enough support it can be possible. Some of us are lucky enough to have loving, supportive friends and family who can act as a safety net but we need as a society to become more aware of the signs and keep the discussions current – hopefully others may feel able to open up & seek help,
A thoughtful and insightful piece of writing about the unseen world of depression. Too often mental problems are dismissed – oh he’ll get over it! But it’s not that easy or that simple. Ben shines a light into what can be a dark and lonely place. It’s an illuminating piece of writing.
Ben this is absolutely incredible! Thank you for sharing. I too faced the scary panic attack for the first time in December last year, and had no idea what it was. But a visit to the doctor, a couple chats with my EAP provider, self-education, learning coping techniques etc and now I can manage them too. And I live a daily lifestyle which aims to be preventative… To anyone out there – don’t ignore those heart palpitations!! Go see someone!
Ben has been extremely open and inspiring, but we need to take the concept to another level as there is a significant percentage of the population who suffer but have not been addressed. And regretfully no one is listening. David