Lesley Murray graduated in 2021 with a BN in Mental Health Nursing. She came to Edinburgh Napier as a mature student, having spent many years considering a new career before taking the plunge.
She is currently a Community Mental Health Nurse in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) outpatient service – a Tier 3 outpatient service for young people under the age of 18. However, Lesley has recently accepted a job offer with the Borders Crisis Team. This new role will mark a move back to adult mental health services; however, the team works with people of all ages who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Lesley undertook her management placement within the Borders Crisis Team and is thrilled to be returning.
What do you enjoy most about being a mental health nurse?
“The best part of my role is the face-to-face partnership work I do with young people and their families. I always appreciate their courage in coming into what can be an intimidating setting, sitting in front of a stranger and sharing some of their very darkest thoughts and feelings. I am in awe of how hard they work and consider it an honour to be part of their recovery journey.”
What advice would you give to someone to help them improve their mental wellbeing?
“One of the things that happens when our mental health deteriorates is we lose our enjoyment in life, and the activities that used to give meaning to life are either impossible to engage in, or we lose interest in them altogether. What follows is a vicious cycle of being unable to engage in these activities, then life loses meaning and our mood continues to deteriorate.
"I would suggest that people who want to improve their mental health think back to the activities that used to bring meaning and enjoyment to their lives, and then push through the resistance they have to participate in one of those activities daily. In small steps. For me, that would be being outdoors, either by going for a run, a hike, a cycle or even just sitting on a beach watching the waves ebb and flow. For others, it might be arts and crafts, baking, gardening, meeting friends, beauty treatments or going swimming. It is hard to push through resistance, but it does break that negative cycle of depression.
“However, there are other things you can do if that feels too challenging a place to start. Just smiling can change you. Even when experiencing strong feelings of anxiety, anger or distress, just smiling can release endorphins (the feel-good chemicals our brain release that stimulate pleasure and can reduce pain) and trick you into feeling better. We call that using the “opposite action”. It can both disrupt the difficult and overwhelming emotions we are feeling, thus giving us a bit of space and time to act and think differently, and support creating new behaviours or re-introducing new helpful ones. Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan marathon runner who broke the 2-hour marathon time barrier in 2019, uses smiling when he is in physical pain to trick his brain and body into pushing through it to the finish marathon finish line. The same can apply for emotional and mental pain.
"And finally, I’d say that if you have people in your life that you can trust to support you, then let them in. Withdrawing from people when we feel unwell can feel natural, but it is more harmful in the long run. That may not be possible for everyone, as some people do not have safe, trustworthy people in their lives. That can be where professionals like me can step in and help. However we know that people recover within the context of relationships and I would always be looking for ways to widen people’s circle of support where possible.”
What advice would you give to someone wishing to embark on a career as a mental health nurse?
“If you want to be a mental health nurse, the chances are you are a caring person who already has the personal attributes to help people at their most vulnerable. I’d start looking at university programmes and reaching out to the faculty with any questions you might have. Go to open days. Speak to anyone in the profession if you’re able to. Find out what experience you need to get in and then just go for it.
“Think about all the times you have supported those around you. What skills and qualities did you use in those interactions? What values motivate you to reach out to others? These will help you to not only know yourself and your motives to be a mental health nurse, but also help you explain them at university and future job interviews. You will be asked to reflect on them throughout the course and your career.
“But also, don’t forget to care for yourself. It’s a challenging course, balancing studying, employment, family/social life and moving from academic learning to clinical practice several times a year. And those challenges continue once qualified. It is a rewarding, but often very demanding, career path. It’s important to be able to prioritise self-care and find time and ways to recharge your mind and body batteries.
“Someone once told me that in a flight emergency we are instructed to put on our own oxygen mask first before attempting to help anyone else, and we should apply the same analogy to our helping roles.”