Let's Talk Mental Health

 Hi everyone, 

I hope you are all looking forward to Thanksgiving, I know I am! I certainly am ready for a break from school and some refreshing time with my family! I wanted to use today’s post in light of many holidays, school, or general stressors we may all be facing right now and help engage in an open discussion about mental health. Although this is a blog and not your typical talk about mental health, I wanted to share some tips with you all on how to have traditionally difficult conversations. 

I want you all to note that you do not need to share anything with anyone that you do not want to share with. When you are comfortable with yourself and someone around you, that is when you should take advantage of the situation and get or provide the help you or a friend need. 

Talking about mental health is a tricky thing. There is a continued stigma surrounding mental health; it prevents people from being able to express themselves, unfiltered. It can be easy to allow negative thoughts to take over and it can be difficult to get them to pass. However, understanding it is okay to not be okay hosts many benefits. I think when people open up, it allows for others around you to feel much more comfortable—essentially, you have created a safe space for people. It seems like the easy option to pretend; if you are feeling anxious one day, we may try to act like it isn’t there, but why should we do that? Being honest and allowing yourself to be vulnerable has much better payoff. Through doing so, you are being truthful and being yourself. There is nothing better. Your words may allow someone else to process their feelings; you may be the reason someone else seeks the help they need. 

I think what makes mental health tricky to talk about is that unlike having a cold or flu, it can be easy to hide. Physical symptoms, while vastly present, can be bottled up, suppressed, ignored. We do this not only to hide it from those around us, but to hide it from ourselves. Allowing ourselves to accept our thoughts and feelings is the only way we can grow. Mental health can be subjective and vague; it is hard to talk about because it is hard to understand. There are many ways we can work to understand it, it just takes time and a copious amount of energy. 

Yet, the more we talk about mental health, the more we remove the stigma. Be a part of the conversation. Start the conversation. Open the path to ending the stigma. And if you need help, seek help. Do not be ashamed of how you feel. We are living through a tremendly difficult time and even if we were not, mental health never needs to be justified. The human mind is a wonderful, yet confusing thing. 

Take care, 

Sophie