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Scarlett Moffatt: ‘I want people to know my experiences with mental illness and understand that they’re not alone’

Scarlett Moffatt
As Guest Entertainment Editor, I want to speak openly about trolling (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

Being part of Metro.co.uk’s Mental Health Awareness Week is me coming full circle. 

I’m 30 now but I first realised I was suffering with mental health issues when I was around 19. 

I didn’t actually speak up though until I was about 24, because I felt that I was the only person feeling this way. 

By then, I had to really force myself to go outside the house. I’d get butterflies when I went to the front door. I remember watching This Morning, with Holly and Phil talking about mental health and this woman was saying sometimes she felt like she was having out of body experiences and she got really down about things. 

That’s when I realised maybe I’m not the only person going through this – and I’m so glad I’ve been given a platform to help others. 

As Guest Entertainment Editor, I want to speak openly about trolling – not only the impact it has, but how we can help those who do it. 

I also want people to know my experiences with mental health and illness and understand that they’re not alone. 

Zoom meeting with Scarlett and the entertainment team
Scarlett discusses her ideas with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

On top of that, I’ve had a lovely chat with Drag Race’s Cheryl Hole about the importance of allyship, and I’ve even done a piece sharing my top five watches to lift your mood.

I’m also really proud to say that I’ve just become an ambassador for mental health charity Samaritans, who have been a huge help to me over the years. When I found out, I burst into tears!

They’re such an amazing charity. As well as the phone lines, they now even have an app that manages how you feel so you can see what certain things affect you and ways to help that. 

Covid has meant we’ve all been in the house for such a long time, and a lot of people are struggling or have new mental health illnesses that they didn’t realise before. 

We need to talk about social media, ft Scarlett Moffatt

People are feeling more anxious than normal and don’t know how to go out in the real world again. 

Hopefully, we can put things in place so people feel safe and happy to go out in the world again and be their best selves. 

And that’s what I mean about things coming full circle for me, as I’m now in such a fortunate position to help people just like me. 

Scarlett is taking part in Samaritans virtual fundraising marathon Samarathon, click here to find out more.

MORE : Scarlett Moffatt was driven to looking up nose jobs online for an entire day after people made fun of her face: ‘I had this new thing to hate about myself’

MORE : Scarlett Moffatt turned to Samaritans ‘at her lowest point’ as she struggled with cruel social media trolling over her weight

Metro.co.uk MHAW Takeover

This year, to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Metro.co.uk has invited eight well-known mental health advocates to take over our site.

With a brilliant team that includes Alex Beresford, Russell Kane, Frankie Bridge, Anton Ferdinand, Sam Thompson, Scarlett Moffatt, Katie Piper and Joe Tracini, each of our guest editors have worked closely with us to share their own stories, and also educate, support and engage with our readers.

If you need help or advice for any mental health matter, here are just some of the organisations that were vital in helping us put together our MHAW Takeover:

To contact any of the charities mentioned in the Metro.co.uk MHAW Takeover click here