The Do's - Helpful

The Do's release their new single Helpful as a digital download on 17th March. All the proceeds are going to the mental health charity MIND. We; nor the band will be taking a penny from it.

Heres Elliot from the band to explain: 

 

The whole reason for us doing this I strongly believe that there is serious lack of funding regarding mental health. Waiting lists for counselling are extremely long. Sometimes the hardest thing that anyone has to do is admit to them self and someone else that they need help with some aspect of their life and for this person to then be placed on a waiting list for weeks even months just isn't right. If you have neck ache, a chest infection or have trouble taking a dump you're at the doctors and told to take some tablets and voila you're ok! You go and say you're having trouble with a mental health issue and you're placed on a waiting list and told to hang on for god knows how long. I know that solving these issues are nowhere near as easy as the everyday things listed above but there must be more that governments/we as people can do to make things a little better for people struggling in these situations.

I personally was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) a few years ago. Now many people think that everyone who suffers with OCD has to wash their hands all day or something like that but this is not the case. I don't have to flick the light switches on and off 17 times or some other stereotype. My condition is thought based and consists of me having to relieve the anxiety of intrusive thoughts by neutralizing that anxiety, i.e. by saying to myself " I didn't do this or that " or "you wouldn't do this or that" and ending up in thought cycles for hours/days and it can be debilitating. Through counselling I have learned about cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Counsellors use this method to treat different types of phobias and anxiety disorders. It enables people who suffer with these conditions to try to see things in a different light.

There needs to be more mental health awareness within society because it's most likely that you know someone who suffers in some way. It’s not the 1950s anymore and things have come a long way since then regarding knowledge of mental health but stigma still exists. Charities such as MIND not only try to help people who suffer with mental health problems but by simply been there, end the stigma surrounding them. 

There are a few people we'd like to thank:

Rob Dee at Philophobia Music

James Brown at Top5 studios for recording

Ash Scott for filming the video

Laura Thompson for all her help with the artwork

and anyone who's ever bought our Slide EP because you basically paid for us to be able to release this single.

Thanks for taking the time to read this

Elliot

The Do's

The single will be available at all digital and streaming sites. You can also enjoy the video below.