December 1, 2020 So here goes, my first ‘blog’ aka me talking about a whole load of things that perhaps no one reads (your very first insight into how my own mind works). For my first post I thought I would talk about what mental health means to me. For many, the words ‘mental health’ strike up almost all of the time, negative connotations. People always think that mental health means you have BAD mental health and that is just not true. First and foremost everyone has mental heath, FACT! Whether that be ‘good’ mental health or ‘bad’ mental health. I say ‘good’ and ‘bad’ because there is no one definition as to what constitutes either, everyone has a different experience and opinion of what makes their mental health ‘good’ and what makes it ‘bad’. Therefore that makes everyone’s mental health unique and individualised.
If everyone has it then why is it so hard to talk about?…
From my personal experience of working with people with mental health issues during placements at university and knowing people with mental health issues in my personal life, the common denominator is always ‘because you can’t see it people don’t think it’s there’. Sadly this is the case for many, where mental health is not treated the same as physical health. We’ve all heard this time and time again, but imagine what it must feel like to be suffering from poor mental health and have people doubting, scrutinising and belittling your illness, all because they can’t physically see it in front of them. Don’t be one of those people. Instead, take the time to let that person open up to you, they aren’t always looking for you to solve all their problems, nor are they looking for sympathy, they just want someone to listen and simply say I hear you and I’m here. Yes it might be scary or uncomfortable for you as you might be worried you say the wrong thing but trust me, the person opening up to you is a thousand times more apprehensive than you are.
I haven’t needed a pandemic to realise how serious an issue mental health is, however for many it has and that’s okay. There will be people out there whose mental health has worsened due to COVID and there will be people out there who never thought they would ever be affected by mental health and find themselves struggling with a range of emotions and feelings they have never experienced before. It is because of this I feel that now is a crucial time to encourage an open conversation about mental health and make it an integral part of our daily lives, just as we do when looking after our physical health.
I’ll go into more depth about some of these issues in later posts, but for now that’s all from me.
Thanks again for reading and keep an eye on my Instagram account for the release of future posts.
The Mind Matters x
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