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Mental Illness needs to be taken seriously--and discussed more

As a society, sometimes I feel we don’t discuss or take mental illness seriously. 

Sometimes we disclose we’re feeling anxious, and people will say, “Cut it out. Everyone has anxiety.” 

Sometimes we disclose we’re suffering from depression, and people reply, “Everyone feels sad sometimes. What do you have to be sad about?”

If a celebrity commits suicide as a result of their mental illness, people remark, ‘They had money, and they still weren’t happy? How selfish of them!”

People don’t understand that mental illness is a complicated thing, and it’s something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Anxiety can cripple you to the point where it feels debilitating; you’re filled with so much fear and distress, that it gets in the way of your everyday activities. Crowds send us into a panic and being in social situations makes us feel vastly overwhelmed. 

Depression isn’t simply feeling sad. You can either get too little or too much sleep. You’re either eating your pain away or you’re not hungry at all. You have difficulty concentrating. You don’t have the same energy you used to, and by the time it’s early afternoon, you’re ready to crawl into bed and escape from the world. The things you once enjoyed, you don’t anymore. You feel hopelessness and guilt. You wonder, “Why am I here? What’s my purpose?” And if your depression is severe enough, you start thinking suicidal thoughts.

Mental illness and suicide do not discriminate. It does not see color, sex, wealth, or age, and no one is immune to mental illness. That is why it is important to be kind to everyone every single day. You don’t know the battles a person is going through in their life. 

I’ve struggled with anxiety and major depression every single day for the last three years.  And my depression once got to the point where I was beginning to question my purpose in this world. I was slowly withdrawing myself from everyone I loved and cared about. I wasn’t sleeping, and there would be days where I wouldn’t eat at all.

As hopeless and worthless as I felt, deep down I knew that I still had so much to live for. So, I found the strength to go through my contacts and find someone that would listen. My boyfriend and I were just friends at the time, and to this day I’m still unsure why I chose him out of all the people in my contacts to divulge my demons to. But I did, and to this day, I’m very glad I did. 

As I was explaining to him how I felt, I realized that someone was taking me and the mental health conversation seriously. He validated my feelings, and in that moment, it felt like some of the heavy weight I was carrying was lifted off my shoulders. To this day, he checks in on me and asks me how I’m feeling. If I am feeling anxious or showing signs of depression, he does what he can to help. 

I’m in a much better place than I was a year ago, but there are periodic times where I lose interest in things or I severely doubt myself. Recently, I found myself detaching myself to social media, Twitter in particular, and sometimes its a struggle to write about sports. Crowds and social situations still make me overwhelmed, and I still feel irrational fear when I overthink even the smallest thing. 

However, I learned that it’s okay to not be okay. And while it’s incredibly scary battling your inner demons, it’s okay to ask for help when you feel you can no longer battle them alone. It took a while for me to realize that I was loved, adored, and cared for by those around me. Once I started thinking positively, I started viewing myself positively.

What I found I wanted most was for someone to validate my feelings by having a serious conversation about my mental health. I wanted to feel listened to, and I didn’t want to be judged. Unfortunately, not everyone is as fortunate as I am. Sometimes people are surrounded by ignorance which makes their situation worse.

If you’re struggling with mental health, it’s okay to ask for help when you need it. You’re not alone and you are so loved, even if you don’t see it in the moment. If you have a loved one with mental illness, the best you can do is listen to them and make them feel validated. Mental illness is a serious conversation we need to have, and we have to stop the stigma that discussing mental illness is taboo. 

It is a difficult talk to have, but it’s a necessary one.