When there’s something wrong with your body, as in a broken bone or physical ailment, it’s usually easy to pinpoint. Where does it hurt? Does it hurt when I do this? What pain are you feeling? Scale of 1 to 10? See that dark line there? That’s the break. We’ll fix you right up!
But when there is something wrong mentally – it’s a little harder to talk about. No wonder there’s a stigma against mental illness. How do you explain something you can’t see or feel physically? How do you articulate what is wrong when the thing that is responsible for articulating is broken?
It’s easy to separate yourself from your body. You can say, “I have a bad back, but it’s not who I am.” It becomes a little more clouded and foggy when you have to say, “I have a broken mind, but it’s not who I am.” It is who I am. My mind is every bit of who I am.
What am I without the thoughts that go on in here? A body. Nothing more.
You begin to question your sanity almost immediately when you realize you have a mental illness. You wonder if anything you think is rational or has ever been rational. When was the last time I felt normal? Oh my, have I ever felt normal? It’s a scary place to be.
My emotions are real to me. But if they are a product of a chemical imbalance in the brain … are they even real? Or am I just psychotic?
Are the things I care about really that insignificant? The things that make my world cave in and crumble all around me – are they nothing to a “normal” person?
And if I’ve always been this way, at least to a degree – will I still be me if the problem is fixed? Or will I be like a car crash victim who suffered brain damage – completely different than the person I used to be before we decided my brain was broken. Before we decided that I need help.
If you have even found yourself asking these questions about mental illness, here are five reasons to seek help from a professional now.
Your brain is an organ, a physical part of your body. While it might be hard to separate yourself from it, I assure you that fixing whatever problem there may be will not change who you are. People with various mental illnesses live full lives. Whether it is through family support, therapy, medication, or all three, or even more, it is possible to live healthy without losing who you are.
There are trained professionals who know how to talk to you about your mental health. They know what questions to ask; they know what you are going through; and they are not scary. Start with your family doctor or another medical professional that you trust, and go from there.
Knowledge is power. If you have never spoken to a professional about your mental health, how do you know what the problem is? Mental illness can be very cloudy, especially for the person living it. It may seem impossible to sort through all of the thoughts and feelings you have about it. But the only way to find a solution is to first know the problem.
Someone loves you. No matter who you are or where you are, there is someone who cares an awful lot about your mental health. They may struggle to understand what is going on in your brain, and at times, it may feel like they are never going to "get it." And even if they don't ever understand, that doesn't mean they don't deeply care about your well being.
You are worth it. You deserve to be happy. You deserve a full life that isn't hindered by a chemical imbalance in your brain. It is one of the many health problems that has a solution. Yes, it may be a tough road ahead, and it won't get better overnight, but a better day is in your future if only you have the courage to pursue it.
