A Mental Health Pandemic

Mental health is one if the most neglected aspects of our lives. It can only help to learn the warning signs and the healthy ways to address them, but the taboo nature of mental health introduces an unnecessary sphere of discomfort around the topic.

People are masters of ignoring things that make them uncomfortable. Instead of patching up the small cracks as they pop up, we wait until our mental health dam bursts – releasing the flood of inner turmoil; drowning us deep under the chasms of despair.

The fear of mental illness has led to a mental health pandemic.

Masking mental illness symptoms has taken priority to addressing them. Nearly everyone I meet is suffering from some sort of mental illness, but those considered ‘mentaly ill’ are already at their breaking point. What we consider to be ‘mentally ill’ should really be considered ‘a mental crisis’. It shouldn’t take a catastrophe to get help.

In society’s willful ignorance to mental illness, we have decided symptoms of mental illness are just character flaws.

|They’re lazy; pessimistic; unambitious; immature; irresponsible; disrespectful; a waste of time|

But they’re not.

They’re people who have been neglected at some point. Neglect spawned the seed of mental illness in them. Rather than recognizing the consequences of our neglect, we ostracize the neglected. We blame the neglected for their mental illness, when we should blame society for planting the seed and letting it grow.

We’re starting to become more understanding and accepting of mental illness, but I can’t wait for when seeking therapy/counseling becomes the norm rather than an embarrassing exception. The world needs to know that mental illness isn’t a weakness, just another challenge that we must face head-on so that we don’t fall into the trap of delusion.