10 Reasons Why I Talk About Mental Health



1.      Because reading about other people’s experiences has helped me so much.

2.      Because writing about my own experience has helped me so much (and continues to help me).

3.      Because there are still certain aspects of mental health and mental illnesses that people don’t talk about.

4.      Because there is still stigma surrounding mental health and talking about mental health. Stigma leads to discrimination and shame and talking about mental health and educating others about mental health and illnesses is a central way in which we can tackle this stigma which is more damaging than anyone could imagine.

5.      Because there is so much misinformation and lack of understanding. And a lot of the time the people who spread this incorrect information and ignorance actually have good intentions but because they don’t have first-hand experience with that particular mental illness, they’re always going to be a bit lacking in that area.

Every experience of mental illness is different. No two people experience the same mental illness in the same way because the mind is so unique, and each person is also unique. This is why sharing your own experience can be so beneficial for everyone involved.

6.      Because it gives other’s the opportunity to share their stories with me. So many people have approached me, either online or in person, to tell me about their story or connection to mental illness. Through sharing my story and talking about mental health I have found that most people are actually very eager to talk about mental health, they just don’t know how to start the conversation.

7.      Because everyone has mental health.

8.      Because everyone either has a mental illness or knows someone who does. 1 in 4 people in the UK has a mental illness. If you know 3 people you probably know someone with a mental illness.

Blogging has made me hyper aware of this fact because so many people have confided in me about their own mental illnesses who I never would have expected to be struggling with their mental health. That was my own stigma at play and with each post, message and comment I am growing in more ways than one. I am becoming stronger and healthier, yes, but I am also becoming more understanding.

9.      Because a lot of the time mental health isn’t considered as important as physical health.
Obviously physical health and mental health influence each other and both are extremely important, but the truth is:

1. Most people would feel more comfortable saying that they are taking a day off work because they have the flu than because they are struggling with their mental health.

2. The Daily Mail recently had the headline “A Nation Hooked on Happy Pills”. This shows that mental illnesses aren’t taken as seriously. Reporting on mental health problems by blaming prescriptions is apparently fine but we would never blame inhalers for a rise of asthma diagnoses.

Talking about mental health is key to challenging this dangerous view.

10.  Because it starts a chain reaction. When you talk about mental health it encourages someone else to talk about it which encourages another person to talk about it and each time different people are hearing what they have to say, resulting in them learning, or feeling reassured in some way. That makes it all worth it.

Sometimes I worry that my blog posts will annoy people. That they’ll think I’m an attention seeker and wish I would just take a seat and keep quiet. Then I remember that those are not the people that I am writing for.

Or maybe they are, but not yet. Maybe in a year or two they’ll be forced to confront their own mental health or be forced to address the issue of mental illness in a way they never really had to before and they’ll think about something I wrote which they rolled their eyes at before, and it will help them in some way.

And that will make it all worth it.

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Comments

  1. I feel the stigma against mental health is fading away slowly because of people sharing their stories. Thank you so much for this post! You're helping people to feel a little less alone.

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