If you don't already know, today is #MentalHealthDay, I've seen so many people posting their inspiring stories and advice all over the internet and it reminded me that not everyone has the strength and confidence to be able to openly say they're suffering with a mental health issue. That presses the question of why?
Mental health issues have been put under a shadow for a long time, it's a place where many fear to be and unfortunately many people are but they're too scared/worried to speak to someone. In this day and age you would think that with people being widely open to things like the LGBT community and striving for the end of racism, that accepting something as normal, yes normal, as a mental health problem would be easily done. I say normal because 1 in 4 people this year will experience a mental health problem, compare that to 1 in 2 people that are likely to develop a form on cancer in their lifetime and then ask yourself why are we so accepting and supportive of those suffering with one but not the other? Being ill mentally is of no lesser importance than being ill physcially, both require help, care, and understanding.
Mental health problems affects people of all ages, but there has been a dramatic increase in the number of younger people being affected;1 in 10 children and young people between the ages of 5 and 16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health problem. Between being maybe the age of 13-16 years old I was really active on Tumblr, for those of you that ever stumbled upon Tumblr you'll know that it's a place where a lot of people go to vent and use imagery/words/quotes to portray how they're feeling, many do this anonymously. It's also a very dangerous place to be for young people that are of course, extremely susceptible. Looking back now I can see how 'glamorised' having a mental health problem was made out to be. This was only reinforced by programmes such as Skins with the key character of Cassie; Cassie was a recovering anorexic with mental health issues, the show portrayed her to be a delicate girl with a fairylike-esque aura, she was mysterious, pretty and had the guy she wanted to be with, pining after her. It started to be an image that young girls strove for, because of this, the whole question of attention seeking arose. Obviously this isn't where the stigma of mental health started but this is where I encountered it and where it was of a key point in my growing up. A lot of people brand mental health issues as an attention seeking cause, they don't believe it if they don't see it, which causes a knock on effect to those who genuinely are struggling and need that help. People become scared to talk to someone because of the response they will receive and so instead, they suffer in silence.
Growing up I was never the most comfortable in my own skin, from primary school age I was very aware I didn't like how I looked. This continued throughout secondary school, it was a deeply ingrained issue for a long stint of time, it wasn't physical, it was mental. You would never have noticed from the outside at the time, this is such a key thing to remember when thinking about mental health problems. After leaving school the same feelings remained, at this point I was in a relationship and my outlook on myself began taking a serious toll on the relationship, and on my body. About a year on I developed an anxiety disorder, at first I had no idea what was going on, I felt constantly on edge and worried, but I was worried about nothing. For anyone who has dealt with anxiety, they'll know exactly what I mean when I say that, but to try and explain that feeling to someone that hasn't ever dealt with it, is extremely difficult. I'm sure a lot of you have seen those articles about 'what to not say to someone who has got anxiety/depression', things like, "just stop worrying" or "can't you smile and be happy, just try!". It's the most frustrating thing in the world to hear because if you could just stop feeling the way you do, you'd would be the first to do it, you wouldn't need anyone else to tell you to. It's like telling someone who lost the ability to walk, to just walk, or someone who's having an asthma attack, to just breathe. You can't just do, you don't have control over a mental health problem, just as much as you don't have control over physical problems, I cannot stress that enough. I was lucky enough to have other family members that had dealt with anxiety and so I had that support system, I was comfortable to talk about it and so I was able get the help I needed to deal with it. But it's not always that easy, dealing with a mental health problem can leave you feeling completely isolated, even if you're surrounded by a group of friends or family, you feel completely shut out, and so you shut yourself out.
I spoke to Maddie Bruce, Maddie is a UK based Youtuber who has recently started filming a series of videos about mental health problems and her own experiences, I asked her a few questions about her own experience with mental health problems and how to deal with it..
What was your first experience of mental health problems?
My first experience was actually when my auntie got really ill. I didn't know fully what was wrong with her but the word depression was chucked around a lot by my family.
How old were you when you first realised you had a mental health problem and did you feel as though you couldn't speak to someone about it?
I was about 14. Yeah definitely, I didn't really know what was happening to me so I wouldn't have even been able to describe it to someone else.
If society's outlook on mental health was different at the time, do you think the time in which and how you dealt with it would've been different?
Oh my goodness SO different. I didn't even know that self harm etc were symptoms of mental illness so some education on it would have made the world of difference. And having someone I could go to talk to without feeling like I'd be judged.
If you were sitting face to face with yourself back then what would you say to yourself?
Maddie, you're depressed. But it's okay, you can get help to get better. Just explain to your parents what's going on and they will be able to help you take the next step.
How can people reach out to loved ones and friends to talk about it?
I find literally just saying "mum/dad/whoever, can I talk to you about something?" And then explaining how you feel can be the simplest and easiest starting point.
What organisations would you recommend to those who need support?
Essentially the best person to recommend an organisation near you is your GP. But SANE are an amazing charity who have lots of stuff on their website! Mind and Young Minds are also good.
What is the one sentence or quote that has helped you to stay positive?
"Don't let the sadness of your past and the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present"
I spoke to Maddie Bruce, Maddie is a UK based Youtuber who has recently started filming a series of videos about mental health problems and her own experiences, I asked her a few questions about her own experience with mental health problems and how to deal with it..
What was your first experience of mental health problems?
My first experience was actually when my auntie got really ill. I didn't know fully what was wrong with her but the word depression was chucked around a lot by my family.
How old were you when you first realised you had a mental health problem and did you feel as though you couldn't speak to someone about it?
I was about 14. Yeah definitely, I didn't really know what was happening to me so I wouldn't have even been able to describe it to someone else.
If society's outlook on mental health was different at the time, do you think the time in which and how you dealt with it would've been different?
Oh my goodness SO different. I didn't even know that self harm etc were symptoms of mental illness so some education on it would have made the world of difference. And having someone I could go to talk to without feeling like I'd be judged.
If you were sitting face to face with yourself back then what would you say to yourself?
Maddie, you're depressed. But it's okay, you can get help to get better. Just explain to your parents what's going on and they will be able to help you take the next step.
How can people reach out to loved ones and friends to talk about it?
I find literally just saying "mum/dad/whoever, can I talk to you about something?" And then explaining how you feel can be the simplest and easiest starting point.
What organisations would you recommend to those who need support?
Essentially the best person to recommend an organisation near you is your GP. But SANE are an amazing charity who have lots of stuff on their website! Mind and Young Minds are also good.
What is the one sentence or quote that has helped you to stay positive?
"Don't let the sadness of your past and the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present"
As a society we need to change our views on mental health problems drastically, so that the people that are suffering can ask for the help they need without feeling as though they're being judged or having negative opinions shunned their way. We need to understand or at the very least accept, and be willing to be there. To be there for someone doesn't mean to be at their beck and call, to be ringing every hour to make sure they're okay, it just means to be there if they need you and to genuinely mean it. Just to know I had someone to turn to if I needed them, made the world of difference, because then you're not alone.
I've seen more people speak out about this today than ever before, which just proves how many people there are who have and still are dealing with mental health problems day to day. It also prompts the wondering of how many who are suffering in silence, let's smash this stigma together and make it okay to speak about over morning coffee or an afternoon brunch, lets make it okay for people to confide in each other just like they do about everything else. It doesn't take much to be there for someone when they need it, what if it was you?
I've seen more people speak out about this today than ever before, which just proves how many people there are who have and still are dealing with mental health problems day to day. It also prompts the wondering of how many who are suffering in silence, let's smash this stigma together and make it okay to speak about over morning coffee or an afternoon brunch, lets make it okay for people to confide in each other just like they do about everything else. It doesn't take much to be there for someone when they need it, what if it was you?
- "Instead of saying, I'm damaged, I'm broken, say I'm healing, I'm rediscovering myself, I'm starting over." -
- "It's exhausting to fight a war inside your head every single day."-
- "Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear."-
- "The worst thing you can do to a person with an invisible illness is make them feel like they need to prove how sick they are." -
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