Mental Health & Unwanted Outside Opinions

Everywhere you look it seems you can always find people posting about mental health. Whether it’s the hashtag #mentalhealthmatters or simply someone posting that they are feeling down. Then there are the posts that pop up about ‘5 ways to reduce stress’ or ’10 ways to boost your mood’. It seems that we can never get away from it, so why are there so many people uneducated or unwilling to accept that depression is a real illness and that sometimes people require medical help. Whether it be counselling or medication we should never judge someone for getting the treatment that they need.

Depression & The Non-Believers

Depression is all around us whether we choose to accept it or not. It is lurking around every corner. Maybe it’s you that is struggling, maybe it’s that coworker that seems awfully giggly and giddy or the neighbour across the street that you never see come outside. Depression bubbles out of people in different shapes and forms. A lot of the time those suffering from depression spend all their energy on making someone else happy. We do this because maybe, just maybe, they feel just as sad and lonely and scared as we do. We try to erase the sadness with our smiles, our laughter, our helping hand, but it never truly erases it, does it?

There are still people out there that don’t believe that depression is a real illness, just because they can’t physically see it and they have been lucky enough to never experience it themselves. These non-believers make people feel like garbage for no reason other than the fact they don’t understand, and if they don’t understand then it must not be real. They think that we are faking it or seeking attention.

Most of us are not attention seekers, we are simply just trying to make it through. Day by day, bit by bit. Focusing on composing our masks that have become our faces. If anything we are trying to hide, hiding behind phrases, behind work and school, behind the white walls that we seem inclined to stare at for hours on end, or is that just me?

I’d argue that depression is something you can see. Sometimes it’s easy to spot, while other times it can be damn near impossible. I worry about those that have gotten so good at painting on their fake smile and going about their lives as if everything is good, but really there is a giant black, painful hole deep inside their chest.

That black hole can feel like it’s ripping you apart. It can feel like the world doesn’t understand. Most of all it leaves you feeling alone and the feeling of being alone is a very dangerous feeling. As people, we crave human interaction, whether it’s talking or simply sitting and watching a movie together. People feed off of each other’s energy, to come out of a dark place, we have to find a light.

So for all of you that are suffering out there and there are quite a few, a lot more than will ever read this post. I ask you to believe in yourself. Believe unlike those that so wrongly put us down, just because they don’t understand or feel the darkness that encroaches on our happiness.

Your depression is real and you do not have to justify it to anyone. You don’t have to explain that you don’t understand why you are sad, because sometimes I have no clue why I’m sad and I’m certain that I’m not alone in this.

Medication Is NOT A Bad Thing

What works for one person may not work for someone else. Some people can be treated by medication while others may not be able to be. It’s important that we do not make people feel less when they take medication. I’ve personally experienced the ‘anti-medication’ people. They can be rude and at times it can even make someone spiral into what I call the darkness. The worst part is they have no idea how deep their words truly hit.

Medication is NOT a bad thing. It is perfectly acceptable and anyone who thinks that medication is a bad thing doesn’t fully understand the ranges of depression. It could be the only thing keeping a person standing on their feet. Never criticize someone for taking medication. Just because meditation and diet restrictions work for some people, it doesn’t mean it will work for someone else. We are all different, inside and out.

Every case of depression is different. Every state of mental health is different. We have to accept that we are all in different places, becoming our own individual selves.

Some days the medication doesn’t work its magic, and a lot of the time it takes more than just medication. In my personal experience medication has helped me a lot. I have also benefitted from therapy, meditation, routine, diet, exercise and various other methods, which I plan to dive into in a future post.

I’d like to hear from you if you have or know anyone that has a different method or something that they’ve found that helps with their mental health. Mental health is important to me and I love hearing other people’s stories and learning new ways to live with my depression.

Reach Out, I Am Here

So I ask this of you, if you are reading this and you ever need someone to talk to. Reach out. Reach out to me, a friend, family, a complete stranger, just please reach out.

I’ll also ask that if someone reaches out to you, please don’t turn them away. You may never know how much lending a listening ear can help. It can mean the absolute world to someone. You could save their life just by listening to them, even when they aren’t talking, just knowing that someone is there is helpful in ways you may never fully understand.

Feel free to leave a comment or to message me personally, I promise I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. You can reach me by email at chantelle@mcnaughtwriting.com