Have you ever heard of the saying 'a problem shared is a problem halved'? Surely if we all lived on that basis, everyone would be talking about their mental health problems in order to, at least, halve their problems. Yet we don't. It seems like most of us are too afraid to talk about the problems we have because we feel as if we're going to be judged. But if most of the people we meet in life have a mental health problem, then surely no one will judge us for it. And we shouldn't be judged anyway because it is something that we are going to have to live with for the rest of our lives. Even if the problem does seem to go away for a bit, it always seems to come back when you least expect it.
I guess that most of us don't talk about our mental health because we're scared that we'll be showing our weakness. No one wants to appear weak which is why none of us want to show our weaknesses. We probably think that because it's a MENTAL health problem, no one can see it. This is true but by not talking about it, it just causes more problems. It's like you're living with this thing that you, and only you, knows about and by trying to keep it away from everyone else, it just gives you more stress because you're trying to keep this massive part of your life away from everyone around you. And that's not okay because, as someone who has anxiety, it is really important that you keep your stress levels to a minimum to avoid getting over-stressed and making your mental health even worse.
It is important to understand that by talking about your mental health, you are showing absolutely no signs of weakness. You are, in fact, showing all of your strengths. Talking about mental health openly is a very difficult thing to do; so for you to go and do that is a great achievement. You should be proud of yourself for just casually bringing it up when in conversation with someone. I'm not saying that you should go around and tell everyone you meet about your mental health because you don't need to do that. If you are having a deep conversation with someone, you could maybe casually bring it up and talk about it a bit. Or if your teacher is asking you to do a presentation in front of the class and you have anxiety, at the end of the class you could talk to your teacher about it and try and agree on another way for you to do the task.
You should also always make sure that you are in complete control of your mental health. If you are in a situation that you are not completely comfortable in, remove yourself immediately. Similarly, if you are going to be in a situation that you're not completely comfortable about going to, don't bother going. People will understand that you can't make it for this reason and if they can't and are trying to force you into this situation, you might need to re-evaluate the people that are in your life. You need to understand that you're not being weak by not going to these things or having to remove yourself from a situation: it's actually a strength because not a lot of people could do that.
I'm not saying you should stay well within your comfort zone for the rest of your life because then you wouldn't do anything. What I'm saying is that you should slowly try to edge further and further out of your comfort zone and take one step at a time with it. Don't try and get straight out of your comfort zone and force yourself into situations that you don't particularly like because it will do nothing for your mental health. It will only make it worse.
Please don't be afraid to talk about your mental health and always remember that it's a sign of strength; not a sign of weakness. And don't be afraid to talk to me about any struggles you may have. All of my contact details are in the contacts tab at the top of the page.
Remember: you are a strong person who doesn't let their mental health define them.
Love Beth xx
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