Mental Health Week

So Buzzfeed is absolutely killing Mental Health Week. I am beyond grateful to all the people choosing to talk about their mental illness, and am beyond happy about the way mental illness is becoming less and less stigmatized.

After years of being physically sick, and after being diagnosed with adult ADHD just about a year ago, I thought the struggles with my overall personal health were finally over. But I suppose that life rarely works out the way you expect it to. Thankfully, I am lucky enough to have a strong support system, with friends and family who can see past the "happy face" that I wear all too often. 

Today, after feeling especially inspired by this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eV1o86_DB8), I finally gathered up enough courage to start the antidepressants I was prescribed over two weeks ago.

Mental health is a tricky thing. Before all of this hit the fan, I had two preconceived notions that I needed to come to terms with before I could be able to get better. 

1. The first is the idea that I don't deserved to be depressed. What do I have to be sad about? I'm taken care of, I'm going to a good college, I have plenty of friends and family surrounding me, yet I'm still not happy. How ungrateful must I be? Another video that was released this week by a favorite comedian of mine articulated the feeling perfectly (https://youtu.be/f8BzpU7Xfok). Anna asks why we are made to feel ungrateful by being depressed, and follows it up by explaining that society suggests "external factors are the keys to happiness and you have those right now so be happy," which is such a dumb way think! Depression can often be attributed to a chemical imbalance in the brain. No amount of external happiness is going to change that, not in my case anyway. No one deserves or doesn't deserve to be depressed, and we sure as hell shouldn't be made to feel ashamed about it.
2. The second notion I needed to get over was that mental illness only happens to "weak people." I had close friends and family that have dealt with mental health issues, and I ended up developing this weird impression that such things only happen to other people. I was merely an observer, that somehow my mind was impervious to such struggles. I thought I was too strong for anything like that to happen to me, but it doesn't matter how objectively strong or weak you are. As much as I believe in mind over matter, I think there is an extent to how much it works.

I'm sorry for writing this book, but thank you for reading. If you are struggling, please, please, please don't ignore those feelings! Don't bury them like I did! It will only make your future recovery that much harder. Get therapy, start medication. Like Buzzfeed's video said, "When you're not feeling physically well you go to a doctor, so if your brain isn't feeling well you go to a doctor, right? Wrong. Only one-third of people with a mental illness seek any form of treatment."

Hold on to those you love, don't hide from them. You'd be surprised how much they notice, how much they already know. I mean, to hell with it, you can even post about it on the internet if you want. Just do something, anything that will get started with this uphill battle.

And to those who are healthy, please don't dismiss mental illness as just "asking for attention" or something reserved for weak people. I was you once, I know how it looks from the outside. But also keep in mind that whatever happens, it's not your fault. Mental illness is personal and it's probably not something you can fix. You can support and be there for your loved ones, but ultimately it is the individual's choice to make a change, to become better.

Happy Mental Health Week, you guys. Thanks for taking a peak.