Mental Health Awareness
So yesterday was Mental Health Awareness day, and someone caused this to happen…
To their credit, they have since removed the posts that caused so much offence and pain for so many people, but whilst I thoroughly disagreed with the misguided sentiments they shared about Mental Health – implying people only have themselves to blame and that it is up to them to choose to get better – it did make me rethink some things.
There’s still no excusing their post, even though they believe that “despite upsetting many people it may make one person take action”. In fact it almost did cause one person to take action, but far from the action intended. Thankfully they did not harm themselves too much and are in a better place today.
Mental Health is not ‘one size fits all’. It covers a huge spectrum of challenges and disorders, that continue to have an unhealthy stigma associated with them. 1 in 4 people suffer from Mental Health problems, many silently. There is an increasing awareness, and an increasing array of support available, but there is still so much more that could be done.
Like most forms of disability – and it can be truly disabling – the issue lies not in the medical condition or label itself, but in society. Most notably, the attitudes of others. It’s the fear of being judged that holds many people back from achieving their potential.
Several years ago my GP said he thought I had a personal anxiety disorder. I didn’t ask what he meant by that, but – genuinely – worried about what it really meant. Of course, the irony isn’t lost on me and I’ll make jokes about it now, but the label was no help at all. It’s the same with physical conditions, and the reason I pulled away from a lot of the campaigning and support work I was once doing. Frankly, I don’t care what label a medical professional has given someone. What I care about is what I can do to help ensure they can still do all that they want to, achieve their potential, live a happy life, feel positive,…
Some people will hide behind those labels – physical or mental – and if I’m honest I probably have at times. Sometimes it gives some security, but sometimes it can be an excuse. It may at times give identity, or help create a sense of belonging or comradery. It should never detract from the person, the potential, the purpose.
