Nikki Bush in conversation with teen author and poet, Jess Robus, who shares her insights on teen mental health, and talks about her first book, A Few Slivers of Light. Published this year (2021), A Few Slivers of Light contains poignant poetry that will move you, as will this very honest 15-year-old, who will blow you away with her eloquence and insights. Jess is the youngest guest to ever appear on the Win @ Work and Life podcast.

This conversation covers:

  • Jess’s interest and experience with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
  • Insights into some of the issues that are impacting on the mental health of teens.
  • The barriers to young people being open and honest about what they are going through.
  • Advice for anyone who finds themselves depressed or mentally challenged right now – teens or adults.
  • The realities of living with mental health issues.
  • How to make yourself more supportable.
  • Why you need to know yourself well, and understand your condition and what can trigger it.
  • The importance of finding an outlet for self-expression.
  • Why Jess wrote the book, A few Slivers of Light.

You can order your copy of Slivers of Light from www.jessrobus.com and you can also connect with her there about speaking to your group.

“We were a tangled yarn of contradictions and it was only a matter of time before we unravelled”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“Her cry was not to stand out, but to fit in, because it seemed so comfortable.”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“It is as much a part of my experience as it is every teenager’s and every person’s experience. We’ve all got things about ourselves that feel different; that make us feel ostracised “

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“There’s something about the medium which really just inspires something in me; how you can express something in such a way that the emotions are so clear that others can relate to them. They can feel them and at the same time, it’s completely honest to what you’re feeling. “

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“So much about what being a teenager really is dealing with uncomfortable feelings that you probably don’t know how to address and can’t get rid of. It’s difficult when society wants you to just be this caricature of a human being with only specific traits that you can show in specific ways, when you really don’t want to do that.”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“I’ll be feeling something and I won’t really know what that feeling is. I’ll just know that there is a feeling. I can’t really label it and I’ll sit down, and I’ll write, and whatever happens from there happens “

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“It’s a catch 22. The worse you feel, the more your brain is going to start yelling, but the more your brain starts yelling at you, the worse you feel. So, it can be difficult to get out of that cycle.”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“The best thing to do is lean on other people. You know, you’ve got support systems in place; you can use them. And you’re not a burden on yourself, on society, or on your friends for leaning on them to recuperate.”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“My brain really does seem to think like that at any given time: everybody is going to dislike me, every single person in my life is going to decide that they hate me, and that I’m a bad person.”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“I’ve got a complicated relationship with social media, because obviously, there’s the downsides. I feel like mentioning the warping of the perception of self, as well as the putting out of these idealistic hopes and idealistic templates for what the perfect life and perfect person should be. Then on the other side, I think there are lots of tangible benefits to social media, like the opportunity to make real, meaningful relationships and to share information and share stories. Mental Health, and the ability to share support through social media is something which I think is a unique benefit of the digital age, which comes with its own set of harms.”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

“I want to say that mental health is a complicated issue. It’s something which so often doesn’t play by rules. And just by nature of the fact that inside of your brain it is chemical responses impacting your emotions, means it’s going to be difficult, and it’s going to be sore.”

Jess Robus, Author and Mental Health Advocate

Read my latest blog Fix Your Self Fix Your Child