Almost all cultures around the world seem to have a stigma that comes with mental health. An illusion that mental health issues are not a REAL illness, that it is shameful to acknowledge you have a mental health illness or my personal favorite, the mental health illness is “ALL IN YOUR HEAD.” Now I’m not a social worker or any sort or a mental health counselor but I have my shares of mental health distress between depression, post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety that I see a therapist for and getting treatment on. Mental Health Illness occurs ALL AROUND THE WORLD but it’s how each culture perceives it that helps the person with the illness get better. It’s NOT shameful to have the illness but it is sad. Just like having cancer or any other physical disease is not necessary shameful but it’s sad and devastating. What do we do in those cases? We seek all the medical treatment we can get so that our bodies can get better. The same should be done for mental health illness. Why do we always call or check up on those that have had heart attacks recently but not check in with those that have suffered from anxiety attacks? The perception that mental health illness is not REAL, must be eliminated. If we said that about cancer, those people that have made it to remission would not have made it there in the first place. My blogs will be the roller coaster of events that I have dealt with in the past as well as my current adventures. There are many people out there that may not realize they are going through mental health related issues or are aware but haven’t made that first move yet to seek the help that is needed. I hope by reading these blogs you are positively influenced and know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! In short, I have been (and continue to be) bullied and verbally abused to the point where I have a very hard time believing in myself, questioning whether what I do is wrong or right, and fully embracing myself.
