It’s World Mental Health Day… but what exactly is mental health? A quick search on Google would tell you that it’s “a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being”
Did you also know that 1 in 4 of us are affected by mental health?
That means that if you’re reading this blog then it’s pretty likely you’ve been affected one way or another, whether it be yourself or maybe a close friend or relative. What’s worrying is that 2 in 3 people suffer in silence.
There is SO much help out there for those suffering, it could be anxiety, depression, PTSD, stress, anorexia, bulimia, worry, withdrawal… the list could go on and on because there’s so many conditions and also so many people out there that can help.
It doesn’t even have to be a professional, it could be opening up to a friend. Talking about it is the first step. But I’m going to be completely honest in this blog post with regards to myself and I feel almost unworthy to write this blog saying how important it is to get help when I’ve never looked for any help myself when I have suffered.
When people talk about having a child they talk about the joy it brings, how much closer it will bring you as a family and how your life will be complete. But that’s not the case, in fact, it’s very rarely the case.
Having a baby can cause a huge deal of stress, tension between you and your partner, it’s a constant worry that you’re doing everything you should do and a constant comparison between other parents and children, you have to learn to juggle your whole life and to do that while keeping your mind in a good place is really pretty difficult!
When my daughter was born I actually did ok and was really happy, we had my second very close after and when he came prematurely my daughter had to stay away from us during the week and come home at weekends so I could spend my time in the hospital with my son.
That was TOUGH, during this I found out I had thyroid issues which effects all your hormones and THEN my son was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Looking back, I don’t know how I managed to keep the appearance of being completely ok when I really wasn’t. I so wish I had opened up and spoke to someone but there’s still this need for showing the rest of the world that you’re ok!
You feel like a failure when things go wrong and no one likes to admit that they aren’t coping.
This is why having a day to raise awareness for mental health worldwide is SO important. We need to open up. Everyone has bad days but when those bad days don’t seem to get any better – then talk to someone.
Make an appointment with your GP, they won’t think you’re being silly (as I had previously thought!) If you feel like you can’t do that then talk to a friend, open up. No one will think any less of you and the quicker you can speak about how you’re feeling then the quicker you can make the steps to getting better again.
Don’t be ashamed of your story, it may even inspire others to seek help when they need it.