May is Mental Health Month. So many people deal with various emotional/mental health challenges. It’s vitally important that we improve our understanding of what it’s like to struggle with issues such as Anxiety, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, etc. The prevalence of these disorders is widespread, and almost all of us have either dealt with a mental health issue ourselves, or had a close friend or family member impacted.
We need to bring about a change in how we respond to the whole topic of mental health. We must stop trying to hide or deny that these issues exist! We need to start talking about them, getting educated about them, and learning what types of resources are available for treating them.
It’s imperative that people struggling with mental illness find affordable resources and treatment to improve the quality of their lives! Take a couple minutes to think about what it would feel like if you had a serious mental health problem, and didn’t know where to turn for help. Wouldn’t it be frightening? What if you were caught up in psychosis and lost touch with reality? If you lived in your own distorted world, who could you trust? Where could you go to find safety from your own mind?
Having empathy for all who are impacted by serious mental health problems is as important as having empathy for those impacted by serious physical illness. Too many are struggling daily to just deal with the world, as they know it. We need to open our minds and our hearts! We need to create change in our country for all who are impacted in any way by mental illness. Let’s take the stigma away, and replace it with compassion, education, and new, greatly improved resources and treatments.
Until next time,
* For further information, check out these online resources: National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health America
Thank You!