Mental Health Advocate Here!

Off-Topic Chat
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I am an individual who fights an invisible battle everyday. I battle against mental illness, and the lies that swim around in my head. I battle against the individuals who tell me it’s just my " imagination" because they can’t physically see my illness or don’t want to accept it. A lot of people don’t understand mental health, or the fact that it is terribly common nowadays. We have names for conditions we didn’t know much about before. Chances are that either you or someone you know has mental health issues nowadays. Statistics prove that one out of four individuals suffer from some form of mental illness, whether it be due to depression, anxiety, addiction or another mental health issue. One out of four people is a high proportion, and we, as a society, aren’t doing our part to include mentally ill people in our daily meetups or events, and we either ignore them or ridicule them when we do. I’ve so much as heard someone even going so far as to label someone as an "addict " and “homeless person” when they saw a unkempt man mumbling g to himself on the side of the road. In fact, he turned out to be homeless, but also bipolar, not an addict. If that were me , I’d be pissed by being unfairly judged another person unfairly and without any information prior to their judgment.
I’m here to defend the individuals in our society, and to raise awareness of the current issues with mental health today. It is a problem. Suicide is becoming so much more prevalent these days and people should take an individual I sl threatening to take their life we very seriously.

If you are struggling, I would love to hear about it. If you know someone with mental health issues, I want this to also be a safe place to ask questions and to vent about your observations as a loved one and what you go through. What do you see that would help?
I am bipolar1 and understand depression when it gets suicidally rated, get the scenarios where everyone is mad at me and i have no clue how i lost control, and the dirty looks I get from strangers who judge what they don’t understand.
I hope you will feel safe here and be a part of contributing to get solutions and educate others in the topic of mental health.
Thanks for stopping by!

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A nice well written post, thank you for talking about this :hugs:

I suffer from depression and anxiety which also stems into OCD when it gets extreme. My mum also suffers from bipolar which doctors have said depression can be inherited if it’s been in the family as it’s a chemical imbalance in the brain which proves this isn’t just a mood you can snap out of unlike what many believe, and that’s a key point to take into account when so many people these days throw self diagnosing and words around without truly understanding it’s cause and effects.

I do believe we all need greater understanding towards these things even if it means teaching it at school as part of their curriculum. Kids are just as prone to suffer from mental illness too and more likely to go undiagnosed until they’re adults.

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@SandySjnn @AJSTAR very well said. Well done for talking openly about this issue.

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So fantastic to hear you talking openly. Society and to some extent the medical profession fear what they do not understand and unfortunately mental issues are not well understood or easy to categorise in a healthcare pathway.

We just don’t really understand the brain, whether it is from illness, or injury. As you say what appears invisible is so often maligned or overlooked.

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I too suffer from depression and anxiety, and just for good measure I also have autism, a rare chromosome 22q13.33 micro deletion syndrome, dyspraxia, learning disabilities. So my head is constantly f**ked up all these conditions have so many symptoms and when there put together :exploding_head::exploding_head: there pulling me in sorts of directions. All I want to do is just scream. Some days are bad but there are some good days. I was only diagnosed with autism and the chromosome deletion in 2017. For so many years I just knew that there was something wrong with me, my hubby has been so amazing, he’s been rock for years and especially through the diagnosis. Now I’ve got the answers I know how to cope with it better. People not understanding autism grate’s on me the most, just makes me so angry. And there both genetic so I’ve passed them on to my daughter, which I hate myself for. I hate the way I am, I do cry on him and wish I wasn’t like this. But he says to me “this is who I fell in love, this person here, the love of my life. And I wouldn’t change you for the world” I’ve just got to learn how to live with it and accept it.

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Living with depression, anxiety and PTSD here! I welcome awareness raising, but I often can’t engage with discussions to protect my own stability

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Aw, this made me smile @Dirty-Wife :smiling_face_with_three_hearts::smiling_face_with_three_hearts::smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I’m so lucky to have him, I say him everyday. Cos it is a lot to put up with, I say to him I wish I wasn’t like this, why can’t it go away. And that’s when he’ll tell me that :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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What a great discussion, having just become a mental health ambassador at work (so useful in every day life as well), the training helped me to realise that even I have some issues and in the present situation we all find ourselves in a lot more people have faced a lot of different issues, and we need to talk and help each other.

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Well said, cannot disagree with a word you have said! I especially hate it when people use the phrase ‘snap out of it’… so cruel and unhelpful.

Unfortunately as a society, we play down mental health, so in some ways, while it is sad that so many have succumbed to it during the pandemic, it has certainly raised the awareness of mental health like never before! People are talking about it which is great.

I got mental health first aiders introduced in my previous employer and I am told they have been very busy over the last 18months. So pleased it was there for people.

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Openness is definitely the way forwards in creating a society of understanding :relieved:

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Hi @SandySjnn, thanks for putting this up, and for sharing your post.
I think mental health affects everybody at some point in their life, whether as a diagnosed condition, self-diagnosed, or ‘minor’ things people just learn to accept and live with.
I’m a recovering addict myself, and I can honestly say I am very grateful for being so, it has given me a chance to truly look at myself. People that use the word addict as a label in the way you mentioned really don’t have any education around what addiction is, or take 5 seconds to consider that person that may be homeless and have an addiction may have had experiences we could not even begin to imagine (of course not to say only addicts can have awful experiences).
Unfortunately the generation we are in does seem very judgmental, and self-seeking.
Even when people are informed they can be equally, if not more so, judgmental. There are a lot more people that do understand mental health better now, but there is a long long way to go.

I also have a physical condition, a progressive neurological impairment that affects my mobility.
It’s amazing the amount of people that think because I use a wheelchair they have to talk slowly to me. I can use my legs so when it happens I stand up and ask if they find that a more comfortable experience. In a lot of cases, people generally think they’re doing the right thing - they just do not have the experience of dealing with mental or physical health issues.
Social media really needs to be regulated, as although there is good put there, it’s a big shield for a lot of scum bags to create false accounts and push a lot of people over the edge.

In terms of mental health, my head wants to operate as all or nothing. 150mph or flat out reverse, eyes closed. It doesn’t want to coast at a safe speed of 30 or 50mph. I have that inner voice, the chatterbox, I could never shut it up (I personally think everyone has this inner voice, similar I guess to the lies in your head you mentioned, all to varying degrees).
Mine was quite evil, it hated me, and in turn I hated myself.

Living in recovery has helped massively, although it has took a lot of work to get the tools needed to calm things down. Mindfulness and meditation are a huge help for me. Years ago I dismissed it - quiet time with myself? I’d have rather stuck needles in my eyes!
However, it turns out I’m a fairly decent fellow, and I am starting to like myself. I’m far from perfect, and that just means I can carry on growing.

Anyways, I think I said I wasn’t going to go on for ages, so I’ll stop here.
Will book mark this thread as it’s a topic close to my heart also. If anyone wanted to talk around either addiction or physical impairments side, feel free to tag me in a post - always happy to share my own experience if it can be of any help.
Thanks again for post!

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Thank you

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I struggle with anxiety of a daily basis and i have days where it is crippling. I’m the sort of person to put on a smile when actually I just want to talk to someone.

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I applaud you for coming out and saying your diagnosis. I want this to be a forum where you CAN talk about mental health issues, hopefully, with understanding individuals. We need to have an outlet. For me, it is writing and the arts. Best wishes and hope to see you more on here!

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You’re very welcome. Feel free to post your mental.health struggles and possible solutions on ways to cope!

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Congrats on your sobriety and in speaking out about mental illness and how it’s affected you! I, too, am a recovering addict, and yes, it does force you to look at yourself if you truly want to learn new ways to cope. I had horrific experiences early on too, and turned to what I knew and what was modeled to me, but sooner or later, I had to learn better ways to cope. I now am learning how to be a better member of society and to give back.

Thank you so much for your post! What you said about how people with physical disabilities are usually treated is so true in our society , and yes, normally people do want to help, but are at a loss as to how. If we educate children more on disabilities, including mental illness, we can teach positive ways of helping disabled individuals, and also educate them on what is REALLY going on with the challenged individual. To understand is to have compassion, and to have compassion is to find a way to fill a need out of caring and love.

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Help for those suffering with mental illness is definitely a positive, but we cannot wait for these people to come to places of help. We need to learn how to have compassion and how to interact with those who have mental illness in ways that are productive and healthy for both. Thank you for your post!

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Yes!!! You would be an asset to have on this forum!
One out of four individuals suffer from some form of mental illness. The number one illness is depression. Chances are, we either are an individual with mental health issues or we know someone who is.

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I want this forum to be one where others feel safe to discuss challenges with having mental illness, and to be a place that offers possible solutions and ways to cope with mental illness.
We all have to get as much info on mental health issues as we can, and seek medical help as well for our conditions. Combining knowledge with our symptoms and treatment plan outlined by a doctor, we can make better decisions for our mental health. Each person is different. All factors nust be taken into consideration for treatment and no one ever should judge another on what works for them.
Thank you for posting here and best wishes!

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