Whilst it's true that in the course of our lifetime, not everyone will experience or struggle with a mental illness, everyone will struggle or have challenges with their mental health, in the same way we may have challenges from time to time with our physical health.
Experiences contribute to mental health issues
The sad reality is we don't stop to consciously question our thinking. Instead we subconsciously accept our experiences, and those become the catalyst for our mental health issues. This is the reason why we struggle with mental health.
If you can identify with anything from the list below, perhaps its time to consciously think about your feelings and why you feel what you feel.
Mental health issues can manifest themselves in the following symptoms:
A mental health disorder
A mental health disorder may appear as something physical such as stomach ache, a headache, back pain or other unexplained aches and pains. There are different degrees of health but our health will always come and go depending on our issues.
We may start with good health, then deal with average to poor health, moving on to illness and then back to health again, but it is up to each of us to take control of our health.
Becoming proactive
It is important we become proactive in our life and not wait for something to happen before we do something about it, because by then we may not have time.
*Always ask for help if you're struggling with mental health issues.*
'YES' to all of the above. I have been dealing with mental health issues for as long as I can remember and chose not to deal with them when I was younger, since I didn't want to be anything like either of my parents and they would have complained about how much it cost.
What kind of parents make their kids feel badly about asking for help? I realized I was seriously out of luck after my Dad asked 'why did you do it?' after my first suicide attempt and it should have been as obvious as the nose on his face.
Following your blog has helped me tremendously in being more proactive in my life. There is a lot of work I still need to do, but I finally feel like it can be done and I can get on with my life.
Thanks Randy. Yes, it wasn't up to you to sort out your own mental health issues, in the same way it wasn't up to me either. We were both children. It was up to our parents to do what they could for us.
I'm sorry to hear your father's comments. His comment says a lot about him. It shows your father was either in denial about your issues, or he simply chose to ignore your issues.
But this isn't about you. It never was. It is about your father's inability to accept that you needed help and to get you that help. I have learned to my own cost also, but it's important you move on from your past.
I am pleased you following my blog has helped you and that you're feeling more confident. My blogs help me understand my life and my experiences and puts those into context. It helps me to know they also help you too.
Thankfully, I have not suffered from debilitating mental health issues, but I am pleased that we are slowly chipping away at the stigma that surrounds mental health.
That should mean no one should face a mental health problem alone and people may seek help sooner.
Thanks. You're lucky, I wouldn't wish anxiety on anyone. But I agree it's important we take away the stigma, not just on mental health, but disability and sexuality too.