Why We Need To Keep Talking About Mental Illness

Thankfully mental health has become something that people now talk about more openly. There is now dedicated awareness days, policies in the workplace, many campaigns, and a culture where people feel more comfortable in saying they are struggling. However, while this is all good progress, it can’t end there, and it is something that needs to continue to be talking about. Just like physical illness can be spoken about in general conversation, people will say if they have a sore foot or suffering from a cold, the same needs to happen for your mind and here’s why it’s so important. 

It Affects So Many People

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five adults in the United States lives with a mental health disorder, and only 44 percent of them receive treatment. With that many people suffering, how can it be a taboo subject? People only don’t talk about it because they don’t feel they can, but if every single one of those people spoke about how they were feeling, then more and more people would realize what a serious problem and what a real problem it is. People would also understand mental illness a lot more and wouldn’t feel nervous about addressing it with someone who is suffering. 

It’s Invisible

As an invisible illness, talking about it is the only way to get mental illness noticed. You can’t see it like you can see a broken leg. However, you can see some signs, and because of this it’s important to ask people how they are feeling and check if they’re okay and if there’s anything you can do to help them

It Can Kill

Mental illness isn’t just about someone feeling sad for a few days, suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and in 2017 it was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of over 47,000 people. Struggling mentally is dangerous, and not something that should be dismissed. The more people who talk about this, the more people who will understand it. 

It Can Lead To Other Health Issues

According to a depression treatment center, many people don’t realize it, but mental illness is the leading cause of developing a dependence on drugs or alcohol. Depression is a mental illness that has a wide range of symptoms that makes it difficult to live a good life. From a lack of motivation and happiness to feelings of hopelessness and numbness, it can be debilitating.

You Are Not Alone

The more people talk about how they are feeling, the more people realize that they are not the only one, and they are not alone. Whiles social media gets a huge amount of criticism these days and also a lot of the blame for mental illness, social media platforms are, however, great for finding out how other people feel. There are hundreds of personal accounts about what people are going through; people are normalizing their feelings, thus helping to normalize the topic of mental health. 

Awareness Is Necessary For Recovery And Growth

It’s not just talking about your feelings which will help you feel better but generally people aware of what you’re going through, you being aware of what others are going through, knowing you’re not alone and finding out what worked for others are all essential in helping you to recover if you are struggling.