Date: 5/19/2022
Tags: Health
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” - Glenn Close
“Mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain and you feel the rain, but you are not the rain.” - Matt Haig
I remember a time when discussing the issue of mental health was almost a taboo subject. Those who sought or needed mental health assistance were looked at in a negative light, they were stigmatized by others in society and their ability to acquire the help they needed was made more difficult by a lack of available resources.
Today, while we have a more open minded attitude regarding mental health issues, and more services are available, there is still a need to facilitate a culture of support for those seeking mental health assistance. What we still fail to understand, is when you have a health issue, you seek help from a professional who specializes in that field of medicine. Why then, do we not always recognize the need to deal with mental health issues, especially when it is an issue that impacts the overall health of our families, our community and our economy. The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) reports that only one-half of the one in five adults and one in six U.S. youth who have a mental health condition receive treatment, and we need to ask ourselves why so many go without the assistance they need.
In order to address that discrepancy, we need to be more cognizant of those with mental health issues, and we need to have services within our communities that provide the assistance that individuals need in order to cope with their illness and to receive on-going support in order to maintain a level quality of life. As the quote reads, “mental health issues don’t define who you are,” and it is time that we respect and acknowledge those in our community for their contributions to our community, regardless of their mental and or physical health.
I am sure that we are all aware of an individual, possibly even one of our friends who is experiencing mental health issues. Our role should be to encourage them, and support them to seek services; we should never hesitate to have that conversation.