Thousands of people in the United States have mental illnesses. Many more go undiagnosed. Mental illness and the stigma behind it is a huge problem that plagues our population and is very prevalent in young adults. So many people spend so much of their lives keeping it a secret so as to not be judged for it, this means even fewer people seek out the help that is available to them. Here are a few things people with mental illnesses wish other people understood.
Mental illnesses are just that - illnesses.
Mental illnesses are disorders that have a medical basis. They are not made up by hypochondriacs to explain their feelings.
No, they cannot just get over it.
It is not a temporary state. Especially with things like depression, the people suffering are often asked why they can't just "get over it" and move on. Society acts like it is a decision to have mental illnesses and that the sufferer can choose not to have their illness anymore.
You don't need to fix them.
Far too often it is perceived that if someone has a person that is loving and supportive, that it will fix their mental illness. This is not the case. Love them because they are a person and because they deserve love, not because you think they need to be fixed. You cannot make their illness go away.
They need you to support them.
One thing that they really need is the love, support and understanding from the people that they love. Mental illnesses can be overwhelming and it can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. When someone with a mental illness is having a particularly rough time, just be there for them, listen to them.
They know how crazy they can sound.
When suffering from a mental illness it is quite normal to be worried about things way more than it seems like they should. People with anxiety can feel anxious about absolutely anything, sometimes things other people think are absolutely ridiculous. It is really hard when people disregard things that upset you so much. When something that you don't understand is making them upset, it doesn't matter that you don't understand it, it is real to them.
Diagnosed or not, they're real.
Many people do not want to get diagnosed for fear of being judged or simply because they don't want it to be real. Just because someone is not on medication or seeing a therapist or they don't even have a diagnosis does not mean they do not suffer from a mental illness.
There are so many people living with mental illnesses all over the world. Never judge someones life, you don't know how many demons they may be fighting just to get out of bed each day.
