In today's society, we are under tremendous pressure. We must live the perfect lifestyle, with bodies that look airbrushed. We are told to conform to others' standards.
While manipulating what we look like for the sake of others, our mental health can be destroyed. We need to put our mental health first.
A professional bodybuilder can have body dysmorphia. A model who's a size 0 can have anorexia. An Olympic athlete can have depression. Just because someone looks healthy on the outside, it doesn't mean that they are on the inside. We are nothing without mental health.
We need to take care of ourselves — of our souls. Being kind to yourself is the most important thing you can do. It will be an uphill battle if you are constantly at war with yourself. Mindset is the number one thing that you must master in order to have a happy life.
It's time to stop treating mental health as a taboo.
Although it is better than it was, the stigma around mental health is still strong. It clenches its claws into individuals. There is negative vocabulary associated with mental health: "disorder," "illness," "dangerous," "life-threatening," "issues," "out-of-balance." This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of how the public views mental health.
We use mental health disorders in our exaggerations. If we like things tidy or are afraid of germs, we tell people that we have OCD. If we drink a lot of coffee, we say we are caffeine addicts. If we are daydreaming, we blame it on schizophrenia. If we're moody, we call ourselves bipolar.
The point is this: we need to stop being negative about mental health.
We need to change the way we perceive mental health.
If someone has cancer, or breaks a bone, we use words of encouragement. We are there for them every step of the way. If someone has anxiety, depression, or another mental health diagnosis, we are at a loss of words. We pretend to comfort them.
This needs to change. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), "43.8 million adults in the United States experience mental illness in a given year." That is 1 in 5 adults. In the same article, a graphic states: "One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14; three-quarters by the age of 24." These numbers are alarming.
This means that mental illness is more common than we've always believed. Why do we not talk about it? Why is it not accepted? Why are we not educated correctly about mental health? We are failing to help those who need our support, and we may be failing ourselves. It is possible to have a mental disorder, but not be aware of it.
Without proper mental health, you will not be able to have physical health.
MQ Mental Health has proved this to be true. Severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression have been linked with higher rates of cardiovascular disease. "The biggest study of its kind, researchers analyzed data from 3.2 million people living with severe mental illness--finding they were at a 53% higher risk for having cardiovascular disease than those who didn't have mental illness."
In the same text, those with depression or anxiety have higher cancer mortality rates. As for depression and diabetes, they coincide hand-in-hand. "One study showed that people who have both depression and diabetes tend to have more severe symptoms than those who only have diabetes." Finally, those who have schizophrenia are more likely to develop osteoporosis and suffer from hip fractures.
Long story short: mental health is just as important as physical health.
You cannot have one without the other. We need to make mental health a normal topic of conversation. Nobody should feel ashamed that they have a mental illness. Nobody should have to hide. Those who have mental health issues didn't ask for it.
They didn't wish for it to happen to them. The best thing you can do is to become aware. Learn about mental health. Know the signs. Understand what you can do to help someone in need.
