WARNING: THIS POST DISCUSSES MENTAL HEALTH RELATED TOPICS SUCH AS DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE. IF THIS IS SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE AROUND PLEASE DO NOT READ! ALSO SORRY FOR THE LONG POST ;-;
Hello there Charlie! Just like many of my fellow 2ndes this is my first ever post on this blog and I’ll be kicking it off with everyone’s favourite subject: Mental Health! *cue the cheers and confetti*
So a little bit a of a “fun” fact (which is actually very concerning):
That’s 240 000 000 people between the ages of 10-19 who can have mental issues impacting their day to day life. Two hundred and forty MILLION. For comparison, this is nearly four times the population of France, twice the population of Japan, and more people than the fifth most populated country in the world, Pakistan.
For those unaware, mental health issues can mean anything from social anxiety to severe depression or schizophrenia. PTSD, autism and even eating disorders all fall into mental health problems. No matter the condition though, it should not be taken lightly as even ADHD can cause so much stress that it drives a person to the edge, and sometimes it is too late to help them from going over.
The main problem with this isn’t necessarily the amount of people with these mental disorders, but that they are not getting the attention and help they need. This is caused by two different factors.
The first point is the lack of recognition that these disorders get. Most mental disorders are not considered a disability by officials, even though there is a very good chance they disable the person in some way. Anxiety can prevent your ability to have basic social functions, depression can eradicate your happiness and motivation for any activity, PTSD can cause severe mental trauma and changes the way you see certain things. Mental health has only quite recently been looked more deeply into, and because of this a large percentage of the population still lives vastly unaware of the disastrous effects mental issues can have on a person.
As a direct effect of the lack of recognition, the other main issue is lack of education on this subject. Mental health can still be considered a taboo subject, and because of this many countries do not educate students on this topic, leading to a involuntary suppression of any who may be suffering from mental disorders. The person then either doesn’t understand what is happening to them, (why they seem to have such difficulty with certain tasks compared to others for example), or they have some idea but don't believe they should discuss it with any adults. “since no one else talks about it maybe it’s just in my head”
THIS IS NOT A NORMAL THING!
We need to teach people that mental health is a part of being human. There is not a single person who doesn’t come in contact with it at some point in their life, whether it be personal or in someone they know. The fact that there is still such a lack of discussion on mental health is horrifying. There are people dying and yet some people still have the audacity to tell someone it’s not a problem, it's all in their head, that they shouldn’t use it as an excuse. If someone ever tells you or another person that, please please please slap them on my behalf. (Or don’t since violence isn’t the best reaction, but at least tell them to (pardon my french but) shut their damn mouth).
If you disagree with the fact that mental disorders are not a taboo subject, and that you can discuss it very easily, then I congratulate you, because there are so many people to which that doesn’t work. Ask yourself this: If you sat down with your parents and told them you believe you suffer from a certain mental disorder, what would their reaction be? We need to be conscious of the fact that different people have different levels of support.
And finally, if after all this you still don’t believe that this can really be considered a bad thing, or that they don’t have impact, or that it is barely found in people, then let me tell you something. I suffer from ADHD, severe anxiety and have quite a few autistic traits. School is a nightmare for me, since it combines everything I have heavy difficulty with: concentration, social interactions, and dear god the noise drives me insane. So yes, mental health issues exist, and they absolutely suck, but that doesn’t mean that they should be seen as a negative thing that changes the person completely. I wanted to post this to spread awareness and to show that you are not alone <3
If you ever need to talk or have some mental health questions, I am not a professional therapist but my ears are open. If you do truly believe that you are suffering from a mental disorder then I highly advice that you visit a therapist. Finally, I must tell you to never ever self diagnose. Always get a professional to confirm, as not doing so will cause more problems.
I hope this gave you some information and that now you understand the difficulties that some of us face.
Thank you and remember!
Wow your article is so ... true !
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the fact that mental disorders should be more talked about : it’s quite a common thing especially during teenage but people consider it taboo so they don’t talk about it and sometimes because of that it becomes worse ...
This is a very interesting topic, Elvire. Thank you for bringing it up and I definitely agree it shouldn't be as taboo as it can be for some people and in some contexts. You are also right to point out the danger of self-diagnosis. If you're suffering, do not keep it all bottled up, do not hesitate to speak about it with the people who care (friends, family,teachers...)Diaries, art and creativity in all forms as well as pets can also help you find comfort and be great outlets. But if it is a lot to bear, before it becomes too much, the best way is to seek out professional help. Take care.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very interesting. Good job! i also think it is really important to raise awareness around that subject.
ReplyDeleteYeah! That topic is avoided way too much! I hope you'll survive with all that's happening (I have the same problem with the noise, so i advise you just to put headphones on your head. People will be less inclined to talk to you and it muffles the noise a bit. Even though the school supervisors don't really like it, it's not against the rules)
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll get better and the message will be able to spread more and more :3
we should always seek professionals, if your body doesn't feel well you go see a doctor, so why don't we also say that if your mind is feeling unwell, you go see a psychiatrist.
Very interesing article, if you're interested in the subject you can possibly study mental health in Anthropology class in Canada, which is what I did in Premiere with the exchange Mrs Choffrut organises ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting and different from the other posts ! Thanks for your post, I learned something today ;)
ReplyDeleteWow, it such a serious and important topic and you managed to bring it in a entertaining way so well done ☺️. I kind of understand a bit of what you said as I developed athsma because of stress and anxiety, added to the fact I am a perfectionist person (best combo ever!!😻💘🌈🌈🌈). A really good article in my opinion 👍.
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ReplyDeleteHi Caleb, thank you for writing an article about mental health. It's soo good! Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeletehello, i think your article is very interesting and true, you put a lot of your time I think to post this, and the topic is really interesting, and few people talk about it. It should be more talked about because its important to raise awarness. People need to realise mental health is even as important as physical health, and they need to learn to talk about it, as soon as possible
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