Thursday 10th October is World Mental Health Day. A day dedicated to spread awareness of mental health and the impact it has on thousands of lives. This is a subject I am extremely passionate about and will continue to talk about all year round not just today.
Like many people, I have struggled with my mental health for a long time, about 6/7 years. From battling an eating disorder, suffering with anxiety, depression & self-harm I’m no stranger to how much the mind can be your own worst enemy at times. I’ve been in and out of therapy more often than I can count, sometimes reaping the benefits, others feeling worse than when I began. The point is I have never stopped trying, and I never will.
I’ve overcome so many struggles to do with anxiety, my biggest one being learning to drive, something I put off for years. This is a massive thing for me, at one point I struggled to do anything because I was so anxious. I still struggle quite a bit with overthinking and worrying about every little thing. I also have an annoying habit over obsessively checking up on my loved ones constantly, and I'm convinced I could find something to worry about in an empty room - but I'm getting there. I’ll happily walk around in a bikini on holiday, whereas at one point the idea of this alone made me paralysed with fear. I couldn’t even look in a mirror, and I was extremely unwell physically and mentally due to an eating disorder. My body was covered in self-harm because I hated every single part of myself, but now the few scars I have remind me what I have overcome and where I want to be. Nobody knew the extent of my problems and it just wasn’t talked about, but I think if we share our stories someone like myself would have felt less alone and scared.
I think as a society at the minute, it feels like pretty much everyone is struggling in some way with their mental health – at least that’s what I’m seeing with a lot of people in their 20’s. I believe a part of this for people my age is down to social media, I‘m not saying social media is the devil, it’s a massive part of my life, my job and my education, but unfortunately it has its downsides. Thanks to Instagram culture, no one is ever satisfied. We’re always comparing ourselves to ‘perfect’ looking people with the ‘perfect’ looking lives, jobs, relationships, everything. I’m guilty of this too, even though I know it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. Nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors, that person you obsess over might cry themselves to sleep at night not feeling good enough. Recently I went on a massive unfollowing spree, I got rid of anyone from my social media who when I scrolled past their posts made me feel less than, or not good enough, or compare myself. I replaced this with people who empower me and make me want to succeed from a point of ambition and motivation, not jealousy or unhappiness. I’d suggest everyone do the same, it’s done wonders for my self-esteem.
Unfortunately, I think in many ways mental health is still a taboo subject. While yes, people are more accepting and more open to discussing their struggles, I do think its very closed minded in some ways. So, for example, we have days like today and my social media feeds have been bombarded with motivational, positive, pretty quotes about mental health. While this is great, what about actively doing something? It’s great to show your support of course, but what about checking up on your friends, what about actually talking about this and fighting for change all year? Personally, I feel like it’s ‘acceptable’ to be open about things like anxiety and depression, and people are supportive and willing to be there for people when it’s about those issues. But what about the people who struggle with those on an extreme scale, when they can’t get out of bed for days, or they constantly cancel plans due to anxiety, or they’re suicidal? How about the people suffering with schizophrenia, BPD, Bipolar, OCD etc.? All mental illnesses have ugly sides to them and bring out the worst in people, but when people show the severe symptoms people run a mile. This has to stop.
I think it’s great that there are so many conversations being had about mental health today and everyone is posting #MentalHealthAwareness etc, but we can’t stop at one day. Please check on your friends and family, and really make the effort to be consistent and genuinely care about their response. Pay attention to what is going on in politics, and with the government surrounding mental health funding and cuts, the waiting lists are a joke when it comes to someone actually receiving any sort of initial assessment let alone treatment. Someone dies every 40 seconds due to suicide. If that makes you uncomfortable or scared, then good. It should, we need to take mental health just as seriously as physical health to show our support to those who need it. You never know what someone is going through, it really doesn’t cost anything to be kind and not shame people for how they feel.
Thankfully now I’m done with many of the issues I used to have, but it’s a continual journey and every day I’m grateful I’m not where I used to be thanks to my amazing support system – but I still have a long way to go and I’m not yet quite where I want to be. I have a lot more to say on the topic of mental health but for today I’ll leave it there. I’d encourage people to keep the conversation going and keep sharing your own experiences with mental health. Here are some helpful websites and resources to have a look at if you need some support.
