World Mental Health Day - 10/10

World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health day. With the topic being quite similar to our last blog post which was about Suicide Prevention Month, I thought to give this one a bit more of a personal touch as the last one was more of a general self-help type of deal. Mental health is a tremendously important topic but there is still an unfortunate amount of stigma around it, which is why I would like to open this post with a little introduction about myself:

Hello, my name is Amanda and I am mentally ill — I was diagnosed with severe depression just some months ago but depression is something I have dealt for years. Some people could say I am brave for coming forth with something as personal as this, but to me it takes no more courage than telling others I have GORD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) or carpal tunnel syndrome. I have no shame in telling others that I have seen a therapist since that should not be anything more shameful than seeing your GP.

I didn’t feel like this a couple years ago — I felt weak and was ashamed of feeling “not normal” and I thought I would be better off suffering in silence without telling others about the issues I was facing daily. My pain was mental and I didn’t take that as seriously as I would have taken a physical pain. Surely, a logical person would argue that if you had been in pain for most of your days for years, you would have gone to see a doctor. Why is it any different with mental pain? It is still just as real even if it is “only in your head”. This stigma prevented me and still prevents many others from getting help.

Mental pain can start small and snowball into something much worse through months or years. Maybe you do not even notice how your thoughts have gotten more depressive or how you have started detaching from reality. It is rather important to think whether or not the thoughts in your head are healthy especially during stressful times as they can trigger lifelong mental health problems. Also, it can be helpful to tell others about how you feel since that helps to vent and find solutions to anything you might struggle with. Mental health issues are more common than some might think, and finding others that face similar problems and that can offer peer support can be relieving.

Of course, there are other mental health problems than depression and anxiety which are the two most often talked about mental health issues. I have included a list of

It is also important to note that mental well-being is not the absence of negative or unusual thoughts, it is about coping with whatever mental condition you have and making the most of your life as is. Keeping up with your physical health such as eating and sleeping well is a big part of this as well as physical and mental health are not completely separate entities.

With that being said, please have a nice day and take time to do things you enjoy!

Here are some useful resources:

About mental health problems in general: what they are and how they can be treated

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/mental-health-problems-introduction/about-mental-health-problems/

List of common mental health issues with descriptions

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/

The Mental Health Foundation has useful resources such as physical publications about mental health as well as online information

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/world-mental-health-day

List of mental health charities in the UK

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/