Ladies & Gentlemen, Dudes & Dudettes, we will be having a break from Matt Burns Early Years, as the first week of 2021 has come and gone (with an additional 2 days), which for some has been a brand new start to get away from the year that was 2020 but for others, it has been a bad start.
I have one message for the ones who have had a bad start for this year so far and that is January doesn't always dictate how the whole year will be or how future years will be as well. I know for some that might not be easy to hear and it may not get better for them for the rest of this year but with time it will eventually, it will get better if it's allowed to be.
The reason why I am saying this is because during my first week of 2021 I had the unfortunate news of being informed that I have Covid-19 and also some of my family members have it too. It was possibly contracted during the Holidays, I was only informed of it within days of starting the New Year which sucked.
What makes it weirder is that we have been very cautious with making sure to follow all the rules that the government has laid out, Be it wearing Masks, Social Distancing and etc. but it still managed to happen regardless.
Now I could go around pointing my finger blame this person and that person for it happening but it's not going to make the situation any better as it's still happened. So currently we're following self-isolation rules, currently, some of us have symptoms of the virus (Myself included) but we will be making sure that it's out of our system before ending our self-isolation regardless if it takes longer than 10 days.
Now I bet you're all wondering why or how I am currently still able to have a positive attitude towards the year that is 2021? Well like I said earlier in this blog January doesn't always dictate how the whole year will be or how future years will be as well, which is one of the reasons but one of the other many reasons is because of Family & Friends who have been in touch throughout the whole situation and been massively supportive (Yes this does include my fellow broadcast partners James Irvine & John Bloor).
The communication I have had with them all can be described in Two words - Touching & Amazing. I say this because I will admit that I was beginning to struggle with my mental health at the start while I was being informed of the unfortunate news but they all managed to help me out in some way, shape, or form, be it from a phone call, message, or any form of communication that they had available to them to contact me on.
Now for others, they may not be as fortunate as me and could very well be in an even worse situation with their mental health, and I have some messages for them which are as follows: -
You don't have to Suffer in Silence.
Mental Health is just as important as Physical Health.
I am also going to provide some helplines that can be helpful (They are UK Based Helplines but I am sure there as many Helplines throughout the world that are also available): -
Samaritans - 116 123
Calm - 0800 58 58 58
YoungMinds - 0800 018 2138
Childline - 0800 1111
Anxiety UK - 03444 775 774
Changes for Health & Wellbeing - 07983 437 747
Mind - 0300 123 2292
Refuge - 0808 2000 247
Additionally, there are some Non-Profit Organisations that are only on social media, who do an amazing job at getting the message out, while helping out so many in need and it would be a disservice if they were missed off because they don't have a helpline because they do amazing work. There are so many Non-Profit Organisations that help out but I am unable to list them all otherwise it would most likely take me years to list them all but they know who they are and I hope that they keep doing what they do best while showcasing that it's not all doom and gloom.
I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone that has read this week's blog post and I would also like to encourage you to please share this out as much as possible to showcase that regardless of having a bad start it doesn't always mean it will be a bad year, that mental health is a topic that should be discussed more and to also possibly showcase that there are some amazing people in the world that are trying to help by going above and beyond
I believe this will be where I will wrap it up for this week's blog post. Thank you once again for reading it and I really do enjoy typing this out each time it's my week because I will say that since we have started this and every time it has been my turn, it has helped me out mentality in some way, shape or form.
I also ask that you please don't forget to tune into The Burning Truth Live this Sunday at 6 pm (UK Standard Time) with Myself (even though I am currently unwell at the moment but will do my very best as I don't want to miss this week) and my follow broadcast partners James Irvine & John Bloor, especially as this week's episode will be the TBT Awards
With that being said I hope that you all stay well and stay safe.
It has been emotional, chat to you again soon.
