'There's a taboo around showing weakness'

Patsy Wright said her cat was "wonderful for wellbeing", adding "they give you a reason to get up in the morning"

A woman who has struggled with her mental health said the perceived image of the "strong black woman" was a "barrier" to her receiving treatment sooner.

Patsy Wright, 56, from Northampton, has lived with severe depression and anxiety for most of her life, but was not diagnosed until a hospital stay in her mid-20s.

However, she said the stay was the "best thing that happened to me" and she has since become a crisis support worker for Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Outside of work, she said becoming a burlesque performer had also made a big difference to her state of mind – as well as looking after her cat.

'The world is your oyster'

Ms Wright said she had lived with mental health issues since childhood and, initially, was not allowed to get the help she needed.

"Even when I was unwell, and I didn't know this at the time, my dad stopped me from going to the hospital at first," she said, speaking of her father who has passed away.

"I don't think he was ashamed of me personally, just that someone from his family was going to be in a mental hospital."

She believed her father's attitude was not unusual.

"There's always been a bit of a barrier to talking about mental health issues within the black community," she said.

"There's this image of the 'strong black woman', and there's this sort of taboo around showing any signs of weakness or vulnerability."

Patsy Wright is a mental health champion and a burlesque performer in her spare time

Ms Wright said receiving hospital treatment as a young woman "literally saved my life".

"I still use medication now. I don't suffer with my mental health; I say I live with it. I worked on myself a lot, on my assertiveness."

Through her experiences, she was determined to help other people with their mental health and trained as a peer support worker.

"It just gives me such a sense of satisfaction to be able to sit with someone talking to you about what they're going through, and you can say, 'Yes, I understand,' and that's the most powerful thing someone can hear.

"Living with mental health challenges doesn't have to stop you from doing anything. The world is your oyster.

"As well as my amateur dramatics, I also do burlesque dancing, and I love it. It's so good for not just your physical health, but also your mental health.

"We laugh, we get things wrong, we shimmy and shake, and we just enjoy the feeling."