While mental health is an important factor in everyday life, we take this month to highlight and bring awareness to it. For years, people have found it difficult to talk about mental health and suicide. While we are making slow progress, there is still so much to learn and be done to break the stigma around it. It’s my mission as an advocate, to help educate people on the facts about mental health and help them have a better understanding of a once ‘taboo’ topic.
One thing people don’t often realize is that mental health is just as equally important as physical health. Yes, it’s true! The biggest difference in the two is mental health is invisible and physical health isn’t. We take ourselves to the doctor when we are sick, we get crutches when we break our leg, we get a cast when we break our arm, we wear a heart monitor when we have cardiovascular problems but we can’t actually see when a person is having a hard time with their mental health. This making it even harder for people to understand because on the outside, they appear to be just fine. Truth is, on the inside, we have no idea what is going on.
Mental health isn’t just schizophrenia and bi-polar disorders. Mental health is also; anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ADD, ADHD, postpartum, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), borderline personality disorder and so much more.
I always preach to be kind to people because we never know what someone is going through. We all have our own lives going on but having more awareness around mental health could make or break someone. Always choose kindness, even when you aren’t feeling very kind. Our words and actions impact others in ways you wouldn’t imagine and sometimes, all people need is someone to be kind to them.
Another thing you have to remember is living with a mental illness is not a choice. People don’t just wake up and say, ‘I think I’m going to have PTSD today’ or ‘it looks like I’ll be having some depression today’. Mental illnesses occur because of our brain. Whether it’s a chemical imbalance, wires crossed, receptors not firing properly or a traumatic life event; mental illness is not a choice. People living with a mental illness cannot just ‘shake it off’, they can’t just ‘think positive’, or ‘push through it’. They have no choice. Yes, they can do things to help their disorder but toxic positivity isn’t going to help them. The language we use can make all the difference.
Here are some helpful tips on what to say instead:
Say this: She lives with bi-polar disorder; he lives with schizophrenia, my friend lives with OCD. Not this: She’s bi-polar, he’s schizophrenic, my OCD friend
Say this: Your feelings are valid, I’m here to listen. Not this: Good vibes only! Why don’t you focus on the positive.
Say this: What you’re going through is difficult. I’m here for you. Not this: It could be worse. You could try harder to get over it.
Say this: This weather has been unpredictable. Not this: This weather is so bipolar.
Say this: He died by suicide or he ended his life; it was an attempted suicide. Not this: He committed suicide; it was an unsuccessful suicide
It truly is all in the verbiage we choose to use. Making these small tweaks to our vocabulary can make a world of difference.
We have to change the stigma around mental health. We have to end the cycle. We have to break the silence. Change can start with you.
The more we learn and know about mental health and suicide, the better we can help those around us and help ourselves. I’ll be sharing all month long on ways to improve communication around hard topics, I’ll be providing resources and even things you can do to help regulate your own mental health. Be kind to your mind!
Remember, we can’t be everything to everyone. If we don’t take care of our own mental health, we won’t be able to be there for our loved ones. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
Mental health MATTERS and I’m here to help you try and navigate through that. What will you do for yourself today?
Resource credit: National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI)
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