I can’t express to you how important it is to spread awareness about Mental Health and ending the stigma surrounding it.
I got told yesterday, “Don’t be depressed” by a family member.
That I should liven up and be happy.
Another person asked to hang out. Told her I was actually physically sick.
Got the response “Ok”.
I didn’t want to go to a dinner because I was physically sick. It had nothing to do with depression. I was starting to feel early symptoms of getting a cold: my head was throbbing, my body aches, started to get a sore throat and coughing.
And no one believed me.
Without any warning, my body became tense, I was just screaming in my car from frustration and my mind just went to “Get away from here”.
It’s really hard when no one understands you.
Yes, I had to lie before.
& I had to. If I felt too anxious to go somewhere, then I would have to say that physically I didn’t feel good but in reality, I wasn’t feeling good mentally.
Which would get a better response:
“Sorry, I can’t go because I have a cold” or “Sorry, I can’t go because I’m feeling very anxious and upset and if I go, I might get an anxiety attack”.
Yes, the first one.
So now that I actually don’t feel physically good with a cold, people think that I’m lying about it now to get away from things.
It’s so frustrating.
It’s so hard to pretend that you’re okay when you’re not. Or to pretend that you’re physically ill when you’re actually not okay mentally.
It’s just so hard when people don’t understand you.
Please.
If you know someone with depression or any type of mental illness.
Please do some research on how to talk and reach out to them.
Be kind and be understanding.
-Mel
hello melmel 