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0 By Lauren Victoria
Every year, without fail, I come across a sea of posts in aid of mental health awareness week. This year, I decided not to participate.
Why?
I have done a lot of thinking recently as I have had possibly too much time on my hands. Why is it we only talk and put our stories on the line for one week out of the 52 we have in a year? Why is it we only talk about it when another celebrity is lost to suicide? And why is it a case of “I’m here for you if you need me” and no follow up from then on?
Imagine
No, I don’t need a cup of tea and I don’t need an open-door policy. I need to know that there are people I can count on 365 days of the year, not just for one week. Ordinarily, every year without fail I share some sort of snippet from my lengthy journey fighting to be mentally well. Not this time.
I also thought to myself, imagine what we could do with the level of activism people display for mental health awareness week, displayed every day of the year. Imagine if we were as passionate about trying to make a stand for services to be improved, as we are about posting green love hearts and a hashtag screaming “I support mental health awareness”. Imagine what could be achieved.
Negative Energy?
When someone is chronically, mentally unwell, we don’t need reams and reams of postings with suicide hotline numbers. I, personally, am well versed in them. We might not even need a face to face chat or a cup of tea. We just need a message or nice note to say, “I’m bloody rooting for you”, “I’m sorry you’re having a bad time”, “do you need anything?”. Since my last post, don’t wish you could help, I have a friend that has taken note of this, and it’s wonderfully helpful.
Why is there so much stigma when sharing our mental health experiences? Why is it that when you DO share, it makes people uncomfortable? You lose people, to this illness. Just as you lose people when you are physically, chronically unwell (let’s not pretend it doesn’t happen). Why is it that when you share such experiences, you’re labelled as an individual with “negative energy?”
365 Days a Year, Not 7
I’m pro-active to the best of my ability. Yes, I do succumb to the negative feelings at times but wouldn’t anyone? Why is it that even I, an open book with my mental health, carry so much shame and embarrassment regarding my health and my symptoms? Why is it when an individual (such as my 17-year-old former self) attempts suicide, they lose friends? They’re abandoned amid it all. Why is it I would still rather call in sick to work feigning a chest infection or diarrhoea and sickness than admit that mentally, I feel quite delicate.
I feel we should make a stand. Not 1 week out of 52, but all 52 weeks, 365 days a year. Make voices heard, abolish some of the stigma that we very much face. Try ensuring that action is taken to improve services and improve our wellbeing. Yes, mental health services have a degree of responsibility but guess what? So do support networks outside of the services.
UNITED STATES
UNITED KINGDOM
