We've all heard it, seen it, or watched it happen: "Aw, she's so shy. How sweet." Or "I don't know why he's so sad, he has it all. If I were in his shoes, I'd be happy with what I have." The conversation never starts with "Wow, I can't imagine what it must be like to have that mental illness. I wonder if there's anyway I can help them." And sometimes, people think it's something they can completely dismiss. Let's fix that.
Many of the folks I've come to know in college would tell you I'm pretty darn outgoing: I'm in a social sorority, I'm quite involved in the scientific community on campus, and I love talking. I love talking. But something they probably won't know (or tell you, if they do know) is that I suffer from depression. It's not outwardly apparent now that I've learned how to manage it, but my (few) friends from high school will tell you that I wasn't always the social butterfly that I am today. High school brought out the worst (and scariest) aspects of my depression. My friends noticed, my family noticed, and I was frighteningly content in how I felt. I didn't need changing. I was FINE.
I'm here to tell you that there's far more to depression, self harm, and the variety of mental illnesses that people battle on a daily basis than what we see on the outside. Sure, people with mental illnesses may look perfectly "fine on the outside." But, the symptoms of depression are more than being sad, the effects of bipolar disorder are more than being moody, the long term outcome of anxiety is more than worry. The world has skewed the way we perceive mental illness, and it needs to change. And the change starts with us: the patients, the sufferers, the misunderstood.
As a generation, we can change the way mental illness is seen among us. Mental illness is not something you should be ashamed of. Mental illness is not something you should ridicule other people for. Mental illness is not a lesser illness. Mental illness deserves the same attention other illnesses do. Sure, my depression doesn't manifest itself in my body the same way something like the flu does. However, my depression was enough to push me into a debilitating cycle of self-harm and artificial promises to myself that things will change and get better. All because I thought my mental illness made a weaker person. And it pains me to think that people still suffer the same way I did before I got help.
Please—let your friends know if you need them. They won't think any less of you for admitting that you need help.
Please—reach out to someone if you notice a change in their behavior that concerns you.
Please—know about the resources available to you.
And please—do not, ever, for any reason, make anyone feel like less of a person for dealing with a mental illness.
