Sometimes people are either in denial or oblivion to the things that are happening around them. They are insensitive and they block out the things that they do not want to hear. But when you share your story, you force them to listen. Through “Bare Feet”, we are looking to speak to the people whose voices are unheard and underrepresented. We look to explore their pain, life, and loss while walking in their shoes and listening to their story. We do not challenge ourselves when we should. We prefer ourselves consistently to take a simpler course as opposed to a hard one. When we walk bare feet, we feel each rock, each divot, each surface. Just like what reality is, we will run over things that block our direction, or interfere with our way. We can eitherstroll over it and endure a little torment that encourages us to develop or take the simple course and stroll around it. Once in a while, the path gets hard that you can't face it. That is the point at which you go slow and search for an answer to the problem you are going through. Of course, a short time later your feet hurt, however that is the point at which you ask yourself. "Do you have any regrets?"Speaking and being open about our lives and the struggles we have faced is not something to be ashamed of. When we use our voice for a purpose, it becomes its own version of perfection. Our stories are our strengths, our scars are our weapons and our pain is our power. There is something funny about these three things, they give us a separate identity but at the same time, they connect us together. In all our episodes, we can assure our listeners that there will be something you can relate to. It might be anincident or an emotion, but there is going to be something that will force you to feel that you are connected to that person through an invisible bond of humanity and empathy.Through Barefeet we plan to spread awareness about the silent battles people fight, the stories they hold behind them, the resilience with which they have stood firm through all that life had for them. These podcasts are to be hosted by Mahnoor Shakir, who will be narrating the stories of the people while maintaining complete confidentiality. For a few episodes, we plan to hold recorded interviews with some people where they are either comfortable disclosing their identities or not. The project has robust safeguarding and a risk assessment place and consent forms have been obtained from the people whowish to share their stories.
For mental health awareness week, we wanted to bring a story of a strong man, who opened up about his journey with depression and wants to let others know that there indeed is a light at the end of the tunnel.
In England, around one in eight men have a common mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Psychologists know that men are far less likely than women to seek help not only for all mental-health problems, but depression in particular.
Awareness is the only key to prevention because depression is a vicious cycle that without help is impossible to break!
Disclaimer: The names used in this podcast have been changed to protect the identities.
