An innovative mental health campaign launched by a Keswick woman was brought into focus in a new BBC3 documentary featuring a chart topping singer.
Holly Horsley launched her hard-hitting mental health campaign in October 2020, while coming to terms with her 21-year-old cousin Kyle Dilks taking his own life. Along with his friend Louis Nyas — also 21 — Holly set about raising cash to fill venues and businesses across Cumbria with posters and beer mats highlighting the importance of discussing mental health.
In the documentary, Out of Our Minds, James Arthur, winner of the ninth series of the X Factor, whose hit Impossible went to number one in the charts, opened up about his struggles with mental health over the years.
He highlighted the men’s mental health crisis facing the UK and talked to men who have also struggled with mental health and how they opened up and sought help.
Holly’s campaign was chosen to be featured as it is something positive that encourages people to open up and seek the help they need.
“We filmed with James in Redcar in February,” said Holly, a former co-chairman of Sustainable Keswick.
“He is a beautiful, genuine man and the encouragement he gave us was just lovely.
“In the interview he talks to my cousin Corey Douglas, who is Kyle’s older brother, about Kyle and how his suicide impacted the family and started the campaign.”
The posters and beer mats Holly designed contained slogans such as “It’s okay to not be okay” and a QR code linked to the Samaritans (nationwide) and If U Care Share (the North East).
Kyle, who lived in Cramlington, in the North East, was her inspiration and she described him as “an absolutely incredible person”.
“This campaign is very important to me and I am very proud that it has come this far,” said Holly, who now lives in Carlisle.
“I suffered in silence a lot with my own mental health in my teenage years and early 20s following various traumas and life challenges including severe bullying at school, a car crash that left me with life changing spinal injuries and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) at 16-years-old and severe post natal depression following the birth of my daughter.
“I did not seek help when I should have and I made some very poor life decisions. Luckily, I was able to turn my life around.
“My aim now is to encourage people to not be afraid, to not see mental illness as a weakness but as an actual illness and to get the help and support they need.”
Following Kyle’s death Holly knew she had to do something.
“I do think mental health is still very taboo when it comes to men and this needs to change,” she said. “Suicide is still the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK. Using UK statistics one in four people suffer with some form of mental illness in their lifetime and this figure is set to rise given the current global situation.
“We have had lots of messages to say that seeing the words on the beer mats has helped them or a loved one reach out.”
The campaign is continuing this winter with a further 20,000 mats printed being printed this week to be distributed across Cumbria and the North East.
“I really hope the BBC3 documentary does encourage us as a country to start talking more openly about mental health, especially men’s mental health,” said Holly.
