In a world that is now being dominated by social media, you would have thought that more would be done to raise awareness about issues such as mental health. But whenever the words "mental" and "health" come together, everyone goes quiet. But why?
The truth is that it's a subject that no one wants to talk about. I guess that's because no one can see it. And anyone who suffers from mental health will hide away from it because they don't want others to know that they have it. They think that if they tell someone then they'll start judging them. But statistics show that 1 in 4 of us have some kind of mental health demon that they have to deal with. That's essentially 7 people in my history class.
I think that mental health is an unspoken issue because you can't see it. But just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. One of the main problems I have is that as soon as you break your arm and go to school, everyone runs forward because they want to be the first to sign the cast. But as soon as you tell someone you have anxiety or depression or another mental health issue, everyone runs away. I know it's not exactly everyone that will run away as some will stay by your side and help you in anyway possible. But the truth of the matter is that hardly anyone will take notice of your mental health because it doesn't affect them.
I know now that more people are willing to help because more awareness of it has been made. But it still isn't enough. Some people will be understanding of your mental health whereas others won't. I know that with me and my anxiety it's mostly been "no, you're just shy" so I haven't really said anything about it to others because I know that's exactly what I'll get.
So why am I sharing this with you? I want people to be more aware of mental health and I want there to be more voices about it. Because the more voices there are means the louder we are and the more aware people will become. I don't want my kids or grandkids or future generations to have to live in a world where they feel they can't open up to someone about their mental health without getting the feeling that they're going to get judged.
I may only be 15 but I don't want others to be afraid to talk. I want to be one of the voices of reason about what can be done to raise more awareness of the issues that face mental health sufferers today. That's one of the reasons why I started this blog so that I can be one of those voices. This is why I will blog about my anxiety, to try and tell others what I and many others go through on a day-to-day basis.
If you are a mental health sufferer and want to raise awareness then you could maybe start a blog about it because blogging is becoming bigger and bigger by the minute. By blogging you are able to talk to your readers about your issues and you can meet others through social media who also go through the same things you do.
If you don't suffer from mental health but want to help raise awareness then you can post things on any type of social media platform because every single little thing you do can go a long way. And I know as someone who suffers from mental health, any support is greatly received.
So remember: be strong, be brave and don't forget to let your voice be heard.
Love Beth xx
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