Anneliese’s story

We’re two weeks into this year’s Ops Fundraising Challenge and colleagues up and down the country have been busy putting their ideas into action to raise as much money as possible for Action for Children’s internationally acclaimed mental health initiative, the Blues Programme.

The Ops Challenge is your opportunity to raise both awareness of mental health issues affecting young people and money to enable children across the UK get the support they need.

Anneliese was diagnosed with alopecia when she was 14-years-old. The Blues Programme provided her with the support she needed to deal with all the negative thoughts she experienced while her hair grew back. Watch the video above to find out more.

When Anneliese noticed her hair was falling out, she was left with thoughts and feelings that she had never felt or dealt with before. ‘I didn’t know how to comprehend what was happening,’ she said. ‘After my diagnosis I had to start getting wigs. I remember, nobody ever asked me how I was feeling. It was more about my hair. I obviously didn’t feel that happy with the way I looked and the way things were going. But I never got the chance to talk about what was happening. Action for Children’s Blues Programme gave me the means to deal with everything.’

After losing her hair, Action for Children visited Anneliese’s school to provide a talk about the Blues Programme to her year group. At the end of the talk everybody was invited to take part in a questionnaire, after which Anneliese was invited to participate in the course. 

Although she was feeling down about the loss of her hair, Anneliese didn’t necessarily feel like she was developing any kind of mental health problem and she was initially unsure about the course.

‘I wasn’t depressed but I was concerned that my head of year believed I was,’ she said. ‘I did have a lot of negative thoughts though. I thought my hair set me across as different to everyone else at my school. It changed the way I looked at things. I wasn’t myself.’

Going through the trauma of losing her hair at such a young age, Anneliese naturally felt negative about what was happening. It affected her friendships and eventually her schoolwork. But as she took part in the Blues Programme, she found ways to deal with her negative thoughts by using her mood-tracking diary and by doing the activities recommended by her Blues Programme practitioner. 

‘I didn’t want to go out as much with my friends but the Blues Programme really helped me pick myself back up again. Now I feel happier and more comfortable with saying how I feel. I’m more confident and more involved with school and my grades have even gone up.’

After having completed the course in January 2019, Annaliese is an advocate for early intervention and believes the programme should be opened up to more people. ‘I think people my age really need to get more involved in tackling negative mental health. Courses like the Blues Programme ultimately save lives.’

Remember, without your support, the Blues Programme would not be possible. Every penny you raise will be directly invested into the course, making a huge difference to the mental health of young people across the UK.

To get involved in the 2019 Ops Challenge and learn more about fundraising ideas for you and your colleagues visit myroyalmail.com/opschallenge. You can also click here to sign up to raise money through a Free Space challenge event.