Be Aware…….
Not just of your own Mental Health but of others…
I’ve left it very late in the week for writing this article, simply because I knew it was going to be hard to write and also because my Mental Health has been extremely fragile (even more than usual) lately.
I find, in life, that I come across two types of people.
The first, people who in some capacity have suffered through or are suffering some kind of Mental Health Problem. I find them understanding, easy to talk to and very forgiving people.
The second type of people I have come across are very different. They appear to have no understanding of mental health problems. They almost rubbish it away. They believe it’s all easy fixed and that we should just get on with it.
This article today is based on my experience, as someone who has continually suffered mental health problems and Disorders throughout their life. Both second and first hand.
I find day-to-day life extremely hard. I find interacting even harder. Managing my emotions? That’s nigh on impossible. It’s not because I’m too sensitive, it’s not because I’m lazy and it’s certainly not because I like misery.
Up until I got pregnant with my son I was on 4 tablets a day. I was also taking Diazepam and Temazepam when needed. I was a complete shell of the person I believed I was naturally. I almost found this more difficult to deal with. I couldn’t feel happy, excitement or joy for that matter. On the flip side I couldn’t feel devastated. Whilst a lot of people would deem that a positive, I didn’t see it that way. I felt I needed my emotions as they made me who I am. Obviously having gotten pregnant, I had to stop all the above medications and I was offered substitutes, instead I went Cold Turkey. I would not recommend this to anyone whatsoever…. it resulted in myself and my husband visiting the hospital and trying to cope with my nervous breakdown. Not one of my finest hours.
However, with help and support I started to cope with daily life. I started to learn and work out triggers for my mood swings. I worked on interacting with people and I worked on trying to have some sort of stable lifestyle.
In some ways I have succeeded.
I am still living relatively medication free, although lately I have had to accept that for certain aspects of my mental health problems I may always need some kind of medicinal help. That, I can deal with. Well, I’m learning to. It’s such a hard thing to do, ask or reach out for help – but we have to. It’s a long struggle we face and we cannot do it alone.
What I still have problems dealing with however is the complete lack of knowledge, understanding or compassion for those who have mental health problems. People forget. Sometimes I find myself having to justify the fact I’m having an off day to others just so that they can understand a little of what goes on in my mind. It’s a very hard thing to deal with, never feeling like yourself. I’m sure other people who suffer with depression in any form will know exactly what I’m talking about when I say that every day, we put on some kind of mask. We try to sound enthusiastic, upbeat and generally ok. The chances are we’re probably feeling like we’re in the depths of despair. Sometimes there may be a reason, other times, that’s just the way our minds’ work. I know quite a few people now, thanks to social networking, who struggle with the same kind of problems I do and it’s easy to spot the signs if you know what you’re looking for.
Basically today’s article wasn’t to tell you about all my ups and downs, it wasn’t to tell you how rough I have it (for others have it worse) it was simply to ask you all, whatever group of people you fall into…. Brush up on your mental health knowledge, be a little more understanding, why not have a little compassion?
The next time you see someone having a really bad day? REACH OUT…. for there may be something running deeper than you can imagine.
