Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional, and this post was written for informational use only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Every disability faces some kind of stigma because the media often wrongly portrays the disabled community and promotes things that are not true, which makes things even worse. Invisible disabilities, such as mental health struggles, sometimes face even more stigma because your struggles are not always visible, and people don’t think they are real. People struggling with mental illnesses need just as much support as someone with a visible disability, but often don’t get as much and sometimes feel alone, which can contribute to your mental illness getting worse. Disabled people are more likely to struggle with depression than non-disabled people, but not everyone with a disability will struggle with their mental health, and only some people do. I am a strong believer that support is so important for helping a disabled person cope with their disability, because it’s when you don’t have support that you feel like life has no purpose. People with mental illness are sometimes hesitant to get help for their mental health because some people don’t view mental illness as a real disability, and are embarrassed to admit that they are not in a good place. In this post, I am going to bust some common mental health myths that you need to stop believing.
Therapy is a sign of weakness- Therapy is one of the most common ways you can improve your mental health without taking medication but sometimes people are hesitant to get it because they have someone in their life who has said that therapy is a sign of weakness. You never know who in your life is struggling with their mental health because not everyone will tell you, and sometimes it is truly invisible. It can be incredibly dangerous to tell someone that therapy is a sign of weakness because it likely will prevent someone from seeking support. There is no shame in talking to a therapist because everyone has struggles that sometimes we can’t fix on our own and that is okay. I think everyone can benefit from talking to a therapist, and don’t necessarily think you need to have a mental illness to get benefits from therapy. Therapy is not being weak, but it’s strength because it takes a strong person to admit that they need a little help sometimes.
Depression is just sadness- People with depression are not as happy as someone without depression, and do sometimes feel a little sad, but we shouldn’t confuse depression with feeling a little sad, because depression is not sadness. Everyone has days when they aren’t feeling very happy, but if you have no desire to live and can barely get out of bed to brush your teeth, you aren’t feeling a little sad and are struggling with mental illness. Please stop saying that depression is just sadness, because it can make someone feel alone and misunderstood, which can cause someone to become even more depressed.
Everyone with depression cries endlessly– Some people with depression cry a lot, but the belief that everyone with mental illness cries endlessly is simply not true, and only some people do. Depression does not have a specific and some people may struggle to get out of bed, while others appear happy, and you may not even know they are struggling. Depression does not mean someone cries all day because not all signs of depression are obvious, and people who are ashamed of their illness might be very good at hiding it. Mental illness can sometimes be visible, but most times it’s not, and you wouldn’t know someone has depression.
Children do not struggle with depression– Kids who have love and supportive families, for the most part, are happy, and it can be difficult to diagnose mental illness in kids. People sometimes think that kids have nothing to worry about and couldn’t possibly be struggling with mental illness. Depression is not something that only happens to adults, and kids can struggle with it too, because mental illness doesn’t discriminate. There are a lot of reasons why a child may struggle with depression, and sometimes they are being bullied at school, or are disabled and feel lonely because they are being isolated from the rest of the group. Never assume that your child is completely shielded from mental illness until they are adults, because kids can struggle with it too, but often it is missed in children. If you notice your child is not as happy as they used to be, it could mean they are struggling with depression because children get depressed just like adults do.
Everyone with depression causes bodily harm- Some people with depression will cut themselves and attempt to take their life, which sometimes is successful, but the belief that everyone struggling with mental illness causes bodily harm is simply not true. Some people with depression struggle to get out of bed and sleep a lot, but don’t want to die and live life feeling unhappy. People with depression are more likely to commit suicide than someone without depression, and it’s important we look for these signs before it’s too late, but at the same time, not everyone needs to be on suicide watch. Some people with depression cause bodily harm, while others you won’t even know they have it unless they tell you. Depression is not always obvious, and it’s the people who don’t have obvious signs that are embarrassed to get help that we should be most worried about.
Mental illness is something you can snap out of- Meditation and yoga can help some people cope with their mental illness, but don’t think for a second that you can meditate your mental illness away. Some people may see a lot of improvements by meditating, but mental illness is not something you can snap out of and often requires medication and therapy to manage. There is no quick fix for mental illness, and many people struggle with depression most of their lives, if not their whole lives.
Mental illness is common, and a lot of people struggle with it, but sometimes are hesitant to seek support because they feel like they are disappointing the people in their lives. There is no shame in getting support for your mental illness because the sooner you can talk to an expert, the better off you will be. We can be doing more to support people with mental illness in our lives by suggesting they get therapy and not telling them that mental illness is something they are going to snap out of. People struggling with depression don’t want to be judged by family members and often won’t get support if they think their families won’t approve. Be careful with what you say about mental illness around your friends and family, because you never know who in your family is struggling, because not everyone will be open about it. Mental illness can sometimes be isolating because most people don’t understand and think it’s something you can snap out of. What mental health myths have you heard? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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