World Mental Health Day 2016 and a whole year of blogging

Today (10th October 2016) is World Mental Health Day. It is also exactly a year since I started this blog.

I’ve had the busiest weekend so my brain isn’t cooperating to create a decent post that’s worthy of WMHD. Instead I just wanted to thank everybody that’s read / shared my blog. I’ve had so many messages about it over the year that make it 100% worth writing.

I have had some messages from people who have admitted that they never had any time for people with mental illness; that they never took it seriously, until it happened to them. It is one of those things that, if you’ve never been affected by it, can be easy to dismiss as something that happens to other people. But the fact that 1 in 4 people will suffer from mental illness within a year shows that it’s closer to home than you might think.

You don’t have to ‘get it’ to be kind. You don’t have to understand it to be able to help. You don’t have to talk about it in whispers, just ask someone how they are, how they really are, and listen to them. It’s basic life etiquette really – don’t be an asshole.

Just take a minute today to think about mental health. Think about any friends or family or neighbours or colleagues if they are struggling. Think about how you’d react if your best friend told you they were depressed, or had an anxiety disorder, or bipolar. Think about how your friends and family would react if you told them you were finding things difficult. Think about your attitude to mental health, because we all have a brain and nobody is immune to mental illness. Think about all of the people who have lost loved ones because of mental illness. Think about your own mental health; are you getting enough sleep? Do you find time to do things you enjoy? Do you see your friends enough? Are you coping okay? Is work really stressful?

It’s okay if you’re not okay. It’s good to ask for help. Mental illness isn’t a weakness, or a reflection of you, or a choice. Even if you’re just feeling a little bit anxious every now and then, or finding it hard to get out of bed sometimes, talk to somebody and make some changes. Catch it before it escalates and take care of yourself.

And because this post doesn’t really say anything useful because I can’t think straight today, listen to these and FUCK MENTAL ILLNESS. Fuck the stupid fucking thing and even if things are tremendously shit, go put some music on that makes you forget everything. Then go look at some rubyetc. drawings and laugh at the shitness of everything. Fuck anxiety, it’s fucking shit!! I dare you not to be cheered up by at least one of these… I’m having a little 1st birthday party for ‘I’m Fine Thanks’, it’s me and these songs and a cup of tea. xx

 


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