There’s an old Bee Gees song with the line “It’s only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away.”

Words are the main way that we connect with each other, try to understand each other, so they are hugely important in helping others  understand how we are feeling. But it can be very difficult to find the right words and make sure that we’re not misunderstood. That’s where bibliotherapy comes in – there’s such a rich source of songs, poetry and prose out there that can say it like it is, express what we’re struggling to say ourselves.

This World Mental Health day there will be a lot of words written to inspire, soothe and sympathise; every one of them are important because we cannot know what will reach into the very depths of another person.

I use the poetry of Nikita Gill a lot in my work, especially on wards where people may often feel despairing and lost. Her words always seem to speak to the part that feels broken and sometimes that is all we need, to know that others have felt and survived this too. So I’m going to share one of her poems that I love because it offers the hope we all need but, in the last line, also acknowledges that there will most likely be other times when we’ll need to find that hope again. 

World’s End by Nikita Gill

This world has gone dark
more times than you
or your mother
or her mother
can remember.

And every hurricane
that was meant to be
the end of it all
has instead ended
in sunshine
again.

So believe me
when I say:

You will survive this.
And the next one too. 

Learn more about World Mental Health 2023 Day from Mind