This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week. It is such a hugely
important week: in the course of one year, one in four people will
experience some kind of mental health problem. And yet, so much of
mental health remains unspoken. We are so quick to sympathise with
someone who has broken a bone, or has a headache, or suffers from some
other physical ailment. So why, when it comes to mental health, do
attitudes change so wildly? It is no different.
The stigma
surrounding mental health surrounds us constantly. It is in the way we
ask each other 'how are you?', yet never expect anyone to give a
truthful answer. It is in the way that those who are struggling are
mocked, are seen to be less worthy because of something out of their
control. It is in the way we find it acceptable to use phrases such as
'you're so bipolar' and 'I just want to kill myself'. It's not
acceptable to say 'you're so cancer' or 'I just want to have a heart
attack'. Again, it is no different.
This year's Mental Health
Awareness Week has a focus on anxiety. This is something I really relate
to. My struggle with anxiety is ongoing. It is not an easy battle: my
anxiety has evolved, and grown, just as I have. There have been times
when I have felt like it was taking me, when whatever was going on in my
mind made me question everything. Everything. One of the hardest things
about mental health problems is that it feels as though your fight is
with yourself. I cannot express how impossible that is to deal with- I
can only hope that, if you don't understand, then you'll never have to.
My anxiety means that there are things other people take for granted
that for me are huge. Things that 'normal teenagers' can do, like going
to parties or talking on the phone, are things that, for me, are really
difficult.
This thing, this anxiety- it is something that a lot of
people cannot understand. They will tell us to 'snap out of it', they
will tell us 'not to stress'. Do not listen to them, for they do not
know what it's like. You are entitled to feel exactly how you feel, and
to react accordingly.
Personally, a large part of my recovery has
been through challenging those thoughts that try to shake me down. I
live by the motto that I should overcome a challenge every day.
Sometimes that is big, like going to a party or similar. Other days,
that means talking to someone unfamiliar, or getting through a
two-minute exchange and feeling it went well. Even this is part of that-
putting something out there that could attract criticism, because I'm
determined to show the world that it's absolutely okay not to be okay.
Life is a series of challenges, but I am getting there.
There are
some people for whom the visual of what I have experienced will forever
limit their view of me. The thing is, that's not going to stop me. Every
day I am slightly stronger, and I am going to prove every one of those
narrow-minded people wrong. I am so much more than my past and my
experiences and my mental health.
What's more, I am going to succeed
for those who haven't been narrow-minded: this is for those who care,
those who have stuck with me, those who love me when I cannot love
myself. This is for those who actually ask me if I'm okay, who
continually smile and say hello, reminding me that I matter. Watch this
space, for I am going to make you proud. I'm going to fly.
For
anyone struggling with their mental health- I consider myself to be
proof that it does get better. It is not easy. Far from it. But it is
possible. I promise you, keep going, for one day you will see the sun,
and you will smile and smile until you want to burst. For those who are
supporting someone with mental health struggles- again, it is not easy.
But whenever you wonder why you're doing it, whenever you want to give
in to sheer frustration, remember that they are still the person you
love. Their struggles do not define them, and better days are coming.
Finally, for the people I'd consider the minority, who have no
experience of mental health issues. Be kind. Do not be scared of what
you cannot understand.
And to all- mental health is terrifying, and
consuming, and shrouded in a stigma that is fuel to the fire. But
together we can hope for a day where, if mental health issues must still
exist, then the stigma that surrounds them is gone. We can hope for a
day where we can be empathetic to everyone, not just those we choose. We
can hope for a day where awareness weeks such as this are merely relics
of days when we were less aware, and not a call for openness taken by
only the select few. Help us all get to that day: refuse to use language
that could hurt others; keep an eye on those around you; don't be
scared to offer someone a hand. All you need to do is care.
It can and will get better.