Educating Ourselves On Mental Illness
I am a very passionate person. Naturally, I am passionate about things I personally deal with daily, such as social media marketing, my dog, and... mental illness. Lately, I have not been able to keep the thought of sharing my experience with mental illness out of my head! A lot of people I grew up with probably wouldn't have known that I struggled with it as much as I did. Like most others, I didn't talk about it, not really even with my family. It really is #TheInvisibleBattle.
Although I knew I was struggling, I didn't really know what I was struggling with. I knew I was sad, but didn't know why the sadness wouldn't go away. I knew what anxiety felt like, but I didn't realize it was anxiety until I moved away from the home. I started realizing things about me as I educated myself on mental illness and the important of mental health.
I realized quickly how important it was for me to understand what mental illness was. I started to surf the web for hours and found myself in a whole new world of information I was totally oblivious to. I realized that for so long, I had been part of the stigma problem. I thought that people with mental disabilities were broken and "weird". I realized rather quickly how common these illnesses were.
These are some important points I had to learn:
First off, what is mental illness?
A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines. This could be a number of things. People that suffer from depression have trouble doing simple things like getting out of bed or showering. Mental illness can stop a person from doing tasks that the average person doesn't even think to do, like eat when they're hungry, or sit comfortably with peers.
How many people suffer from mental illness?
Mental illness affects about 1 in 5 adults in the United States per year.
That is basically Oprah saying, "You get a mental illness! You get a mental illness! Every body gets a mental illness!"
Not really. But kinda...
How many cases of mental illness are there?
There are more than 200 known cases of mental health illnesses recorded. Uhh... that is a lot. Imagine the frustration someone experiencing a mental illness must feel going to the doctor knowing that there could be 200+ variations of "this is what's wrong with you."
Here are a few of the top mental illness disorders:
That is why I struggle with labels. Although I may be diagnosed with Bipolar II, depression, and an anxiety disorder, my mental illness experience is completely different than the next person who is diagnosed with the same thing.
That is why I like to think of mental illness as thumb prints. Yes, people are diagnosed, but each diagnostic is individual and unique. No one the very same. I will talk more on that in the future.
I really could go on and on with the ways I could educate you on mental illness, but I suggest you do it yourself. It is all around you. Your boss may have it, your sister may have it, your employee, teacher, or partner may have it. If 1 in 5 U.S. adults suffer from it, chances are you or someone you know has it.
Mental illness could be fleeting or something that stays with you for the rest of your life. It can be hereditary, or caused by a traumatic event. Whatever the reason though, it happens. To a lot of people.
We as a society do not educate ourselves enough on what is going on around us. Make sure you are asking the right people the right questions on mental illness! Ask questions to those you know that have been diognosed, research it, and read, read, read.
Mental illness is such an invisible battle. Most of the time, it is hidden away, deep down within someone. It can make a person feel lost, broken, and defeated. It is hard to talk about because it is so misunderstood and misrepresented.
It is time to stop the negative connotation that is associated with the words "mental illness". It is time to educate ourselves and others on what it is, who it affects, and what can be done about it. It is time to stop fearing something that you don't understand.
It is time to #StopTheStigma with #TheInvisibleBattle.
Trusted sites to visit for education:
https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/recognizing-warning-signs
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/talk/educators
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3047
Cited:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/recognizing-warning-signs
https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions
Although I knew I was struggling, I didn't really know what I was struggling with. I knew I was sad, but didn't know why the sadness wouldn't go away. I knew what anxiety felt like, but I didn't realize it was anxiety until I moved away from the home. I started realizing things about me as I educated myself on mental illness and the important of mental health.
---------------------
I realized quickly how important it was for me to understand what mental illness was. I started to surf the web for hours and found myself in a whole new world of information I was totally oblivious to. I realized that for so long, I had been part of the stigma problem. I thought that people with mental disabilities were broken and "weird". I realized rather quickly how common these illnesses were.
These are some important points I had to learn:
First off, what is mental illness?
A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines. This could be a number of things. People that suffer from depression have trouble doing simple things like getting out of bed or showering. Mental illness can stop a person from doing tasks that the average person doesn't even think to do, like eat when they're hungry, or sit comfortably with peers.
How many people suffer from mental illness?
Mental illness affects about 1 in 5 adults in the United States per year.
That is basically Oprah saying, "You get a mental illness! You get a mental illness! Every body gets a mental illness!"
Not really. But kinda...
How many cases of mental illness are there?
There are more than 200 known cases of mental health illnesses recorded. Uhh... that is a lot. Imagine the frustration someone experiencing a mental illness must feel going to the doctor knowing that there could be 200+ variations of "this is what's wrong with you."
Here are a few of the top mental illness disorders:
- ADHD
- Anxiety Disorders
- Autism
- Bipolar Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Depression
- Dissociative Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- OCD
- Schizophrenia
That is why I struggle with labels. Although I may be diagnosed with Bipolar II, depression, and an anxiety disorder, my mental illness experience is completely different than the next person who is diagnosed with the same thing.
That is why I like to think of mental illness as thumb prints. Yes, people are diagnosed, but each diagnostic is individual and unique. No one the very same. I will talk more on that in the future.
---------------------
I really could go on and on with the ways I could educate you on mental illness, but I suggest you do it yourself. It is all around you. Your boss may have it, your sister may have it, your employee, teacher, or partner may have it. If 1 in 5 U.S. adults suffer from it, chances are you or someone you know has it.
Mental illness could be fleeting or something that stays with you for the rest of your life. It can be hereditary, or caused by a traumatic event. Whatever the reason though, it happens. To a lot of people.
We as a society do not educate ourselves enough on what is going on around us. Make sure you are asking the right people the right questions on mental illness! Ask questions to those you know that have been diognosed, research it, and read, read, read.
Mental illness is such an invisible battle. Most of the time, it is hidden away, deep down within someone. It can make a person feel lost, broken, and defeated. It is hard to talk about because it is so misunderstood and misrepresented.
It is time to stop the negative connotation that is associated with the words "mental illness". It is time to educate ourselves and others on what it is, who it affects, and what can be done about it. It is time to stop fearing something that you don't understand.
It is time to #StopTheStigma with #TheInvisibleBattle.
Trusted sites to visit for education:
https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/recognizing-warning-signs
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/talk/educators
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3047
Cited:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/recognizing-warning-signs
https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions
Love this so much Ellie!! Thank you for sharing your experiences. This will help so many people.
ReplyDeleteJesse, thank you for the sweet comment. That means more to me than you know!
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