Before you read this post, please read this disclaimer. I am not a trained mental health professional. I am not writing this post as any kind of professional or anyone who is claiming to know everything. I am, however, a human being. I am a human being that wakes up in the morning and straps on a suit of armor and fights a mental health battle of my own. I am a human being with a heart, and that heart cares about your heart that might also be struggling. So I am writing this from my heart to yours. And if you read this and think of another heart that might need to read it, pass it on to that heart as well. So, with that said, let's talk...
Today, October 10th, is World Mental Health Day. The overall objective of this day is to raise awareness of mental health "issues" (I put issues in quotes for a reason I will touch on later) and also to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
So, what is "mental health"? Mental health is anything involving how we think, feel, and act. It helps us interact with the world around us--that means how we interact with other people, how we deal with stress, how we make choices and decisions and how we go about our day-to-day activities. So basically, how we function as humans. Our mental health, when it's functioning as it is supposed to, allows us to have healthy relationships with other people, deal with stress productively, make choices that will benefit our lives, and get done what we need to get done during the day.
However, the struggles start to occur when those things aren't going like they're supposed to.
My objective in writing this post is to do my tiny part in helping to break the stigma. So many people are afraid to talk about mental health. It's something that's so easily brushed under the rug. It's a hush-hush subject. It's something that everyone knows exists, but no one knows how to talk about. It's such a broad subject, but so many people don't actually know anything about the little pieces. But, how is that supposed to get any better? How are we supposed to become any more comfortable with the subject if no one ever talks about it? (The answer is that it won't. It won't get better.) So, let's talk. Let's talk about it.
I've thought long and hard about how to write this post. There are so many different ways I could go about it; there are so many things I want to say. But, when it comes down to it, if you are struggling with any sort of negative thoughts/feelings in your life right now--no matter what they may be, no matter what they stem from--I want you to know these five things:
1. You are not alone. I guarantee you that someone else in your life right now is also struggling. It may not be from the exact same thing, but there is someone else in your world right now who is also having a hard time dealing with what is going on in their head. Take comfort in the fact that someone else is struggling (as bad as that may sound) because it means that you, my friend, are never the only one.
2. It is okay to get help. No matter what it is that you're going through, there is someone out there that can help you. And it doesn't make you any less of a person to find that help! It's so easy to think that what you're going through is so specifically yours that no one can possibly understand you and help you. But, the cool thing about life is that there are millions of other people out there, and someone is bound to have had the training necessary to help you through specifically what you need help getting through. Isn't that great? It will take work on your part, and it will take time, but it's worth it. You're worth it.
3. It is a process. And by it I mean life. Life is a process. Life with mental health struggles is even more of a process. You will have days when you feel like you're doing great. Whatever your specific struggle is may be may seem far far away...and then BAM, it hits you like a ton of bricks. And, that is okay. You haven't failed. You haven't lost the progress you were making. You haven't done anything wrong. If it were easy to kick something like mental health struggles from our lives, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this post because no one would have them. But it's not easy. It's not quick. It's a process. And there's beauty in a process because in a process we learn to appreciate progress.
4. You don't have "issues." Even though they're called mental health "issues," you do not have anything wrong with you. You do not have a problem. You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. You are struggling with a part of your life right now, and that's that.
5. I believe in you. If you are reading this and I know you in real life, I believe in you. If you are reading this and you have no clue who I am, I believe in you. No matter who you are, where you are, what you are struggling through, I believe in you. If you can't believe in yourself right now, I believe in you. (Insert any situation here), I believe in you.
If your heart needed to hear those five things today, I hope it heard them loud and clear. If you read them and thought of another heart that needed to hear them, please share them. You don't know the difference you could make. It's our job to continue the conversation year round--not just on World Mental Health Day, but everyday.
Thank You.
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