1Xtra's Mim Shaikh: How I deal with having a mum with mental health problems

Mim Shaikh's mum has had mental health problems his whole life.

The parents of the new BBC Radio 1Xtra Weekend Breakfast show presenter split up when he was one. It resulted in his mother having depression, a nervous breakdown and forms of psychosis, hysteria and panic attacks.

This meant he had to rely on his nan to provide the support he needed.

If you're in a similar situation, here are his five tips on how best to cope.

"You need people who are there for you - who don't have to say they're there.

"They don't judge you for anything you've been through or said or done - they're just there. That's helped me a lot."

"Having an outlet for your feelings has really helped me. Even if you don't think you're creative, every creative person started off like that once.

"If you have something to say, use any art form - whether it's dance, music, acting, writing, whatever. Use it to express the pain you've felt and experienced to turn it into a positive thing."

That's exactly what Mim says he did over Christmas.

He wrote a poem about his relationship with his mother and turned it into a video for his YouTube channel and Facebook.

Watch Mim's video.

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"Whether that's aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents.

"I didn't have many male models in my life - but my nan was there for me. She was like my mum."

"Put yourself first. The moment you start making excuses and not looking after yourself, that's when things crumble.

"You are important. Even if your mum or dad can't look after you, don't make excuses and take strength in knowing you're getting on with life.

"Even if at the moment, everything seems bad and terrible and everything's going against you - that's meant to be your life.

"Because down the line, you might go 'Wooah, I came through that, I did it.'"

"I've read so much about mental health because I want to be aware. I've read stuff that's helped me.

"When you get into someone else's world you realise, 'This person's talking about what I'm going through right now.' There's not anything out there that hasn't been experienced by someone before."

Mim will be talking about his experiences on The Surgery with Gemma Cairney at 9pm, Radio 1 on 10 January.

If you want more information about mental health issues, you can read more at BBC Advice.

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