This article is personal. I am sparring details and speaking broadly about the importance and value of mental illness education. This affects the girl sitting next to you in history, your family member who makes jokes at Thanksgiving, your childhood best friend, and the stranger you accidently bumped into on your way to class. This is common. This is a culture that has to revolve around care. This is a conversation worth having.
Disclaimer: These statistics and claims are not that of my own observations, but those acquired from research. This is not a cry for help. This is not an announcement. This is me- talking about things that matter. This continues my "disclaimer December" challenge. I struggled on whether or not to ever publish this is. I never wanted people to make assumptions about me based on what I care about, but then I realized, that's the whole point: to show the world who I am, what I care about, and what I want the world to read.
Although mental illness affects one in five adults, we don't discuss it. We don't chat about the challenges of ADHD or bipolar disorder. We don't have small talk about treatments for depression and anxiety. It's a taboo. We live in a world where if you break your arm, everyone shows up to your hospital room with balloons and runs in line to sign your cast. However, we also live in a world where mental illness are not treated with the same dignity and respect as physical ones. No one sprints to sign the "stop being sad" get-well-soon card. It's different. It's not as big of a priority, as big of a concern, or as big of a deal. That's the stigma. We, as a society, are completely accepting of any other part of our bodies breaking down, but when it's our brains, it's "dramatic". It's "for attention". It's "just a bad day". It's an illness.
Why We Need to Talk.
More than just being an overdue conversation in our culture, we need to understand each other. We need to take a step back and realize it's so much deeper than just us. Being vulnerable and open about what you're dealing with allows others to not only be supportive of you, but they can relate. Your story could be the one that inspires the 13 year old girl to tell her parents something isn't okay. Your subtle comment about treatment could encourage someone to seek it themselves. We are dependent beings. We rely heavily on the experiences and opinions of others, so by allowing yourself to be open with the world, everyone else gets to be more comfortable with laying their cards on the table and quitting playing pretend. Don't just do it for yourself, do it for what could follow.
What Treatment Looks Like
Imagine you're driving. Your car breaks down. Usually a mechanic would come, you would waste hours upon hours waiting for it to be fixed and all better again like nothing even happened- good as new. But instead of a mechanic coming, you have to stay on the phone and seek guidance.. You have to do the best job you can to explain the issue so that the mechanic understands the problem enough to help. Then, the mechanic talks you through how to work on the problem. Your car might break down 2 minutes after you think you fixed it, or it will have issues years later when it has been running smoothly. There isn't a quick fix, and no one can do it for you. It's seeking professionals who understand solutions and help you reach them.. It's a journey. It looks different for everyone and comes in different forms, but all work to improve the lives of those with mental illness is worth the effort.
What to Notice
Look out for your friends. Notice when they shift between eating way to much and barely consuming anything at all. Watch for subtle comments they don't realize they make. Ask how they're doing when they sleep for days on end with no motivation to get out of bed or go night after night living as insomniacs. Ask how they are feeling. In the same way you would check on a diabetic when they insulin levels aren't right, check on your friends when their serotonin levels aren't balanced. Both are organs of the body producing essential hormones. Notice emotional health the same way you would physical: look for symptoms, keep track of changes in behavior, and follow up often. Just be there.
Why it Matters
Share your stories. Tell the whole truth. If people wanted you to speak highly of them, they would have behaved better. You own your story, and you have a right to tell it. You have the ability to make someone in a position you once were in feel like they aren't the only ones. Feelings are valid. They're accepted and real and deserved to be treated as such. If we all bottle it up, we won't ever understand that we're never alone. And that's worth hearing over and over again.
