Tears & Fears
Mental health problems can be a killer... literally.
Anger, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, hypomania, loneliness, OCD, phobias, stress, there's an antonym for most letters of the alphabet. There's probably medication and therapy for the vast majority of the A-Z spectrum too.
If you had to describe mental heath illness as an affliction of the senses, how would you do it?
A throat-ripping scream, reminiscent of a Munch painting of the same name?
A searing pain throughout your head and body that rendered you immobile?
A cacophony that left you disorientated and frightened, flinching at any and everything?
An all-consuming darkness or deep scoring across a surface?
The ripeness of purification?
Mental heath illness affects people in many different ways. It can be caused by any number of factors, and what affects you may seem trivial to someone else. Never, ever, utter the words "pull yourself together" or "you'll be OK" to someone who is affected. You're not living their personal hell, so how could you presume to know what they're going through or how they can overcome it.
There's a growing trend of corporate care, a public fanfare of stigma shedding, honest conversations and support. Some will genuinely execute their duty of care to their employees, and excellent stories emerge that help those with to cope, and those without to understand.
Others don't. As David Brent could say "The point is you talk the talk, but do not walk the walk, vis-a-vis you've not yet passed your mental health and wellbeing test."
Talking is important. Not only must we remove any remaining stigma of mental health - as many as 10% of England's population will experience depression in their lifetime - we need to provide a lifeline to the people who need it.
Learn about the symptoms of mental health illnesses, so you can recognise them. Be ready to ask someone if they're OK and actually listen to what they're saying and what their body language is showing you.
The ramifications of someone suffering silently are staggering. The only thing more exhausting than having a mental illness is pretending you don't. Some days, we need to be loved a little louder.
Anger, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, hypomania, loneliness, OCD, phobias, stress, there's an antonym for most letters of the alphabet. There's probably medication and therapy for the vast majority of the A-Z spectrum too.
If you had to describe mental heath illness as an affliction of the senses, how would you do it?
A throat-ripping scream, reminiscent of a Munch painting of the same name?
A searing pain throughout your head and body that rendered you immobile?
A cacophony that left you disorientated and frightened, flinching at any and everything?
An all-consuming darkness or deep scoring across a surface?
The ripeness of purification?
Mental heath illness affects people in many different ways. It can be caused by any number of factors, and what affects you may seem trivial to someone else. Never, ever, utter the words "pull yourself together" or "you'll be OK" to someone who is affected. You're not living their personal hell, so how could you presume to know what they're going through or how they can overcome it.
There's a growing trend of corporate care, a public fanfare of stigma shedding, honest conversations and support. Some will genuinely execute their duty of care to their employees, and excellent stories emerge that help those with to cope, and those without to understand.
Others don't. As David Brent could say "The point is you talk the talk, but do not walk the walk, vis-a-vis you've not yet passed your mental health and wellbeing test."
Talking is important. Not only must we remove any remaining stigma of mental health - as many as 10% of England's population will experience depression in their lifetime - we need to provide a lifeline to the people who need it.
Learn about the symptoms of mental health illnesses, so you can recognise them. Be ready to ask someone if they're OK and actually listen to what they're saying and what their body language is showing you.
The ramifications of someone suffering silently are staggering. The only thing more exhausting than having a mental illness is pretending you don't. Some days, we need to be loved a little louder.
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Thanks for ranting!