Time to Talk

What do you think of when you hear the word mental illness? Crazy people, people shaving their hair off like Britney, people in 'mental homes' banging down the doors. The word mental illness can conjure up many strange thoughts in peoples minds and the majority of it isn't true. It's a fact that mental illness has been gradually rising over the last few years and the truth is, you can be walking past someone in the street that looks normal, exactly like you and they can be suffering. According to Mental Health Statistics UK 'One in four people suffer from a mental illness' and 'Women are more likely to be treated for a mental health issue than men'. Today is 'Time to Talk day' which spreads awareness of mental health and I thought that it was a subject too close to my heart to ignore.

Talking about mental health is important, but we live in a place that is still seems very much like a taboo subject. Granted, more people are opening up each day, but there is still a stigma surrounding the discussion of mental health. Mental health is something that I'm really happy to talk about and think that people should be more open. My auntie who died last year was bipolar and I had suffered from depression for quite some time when I was younger. Depression is often hard to talk about as everyone has their own opinion on what is right or wrong to be depressed about. The common statements are, 'why are you depressed, you have such a normal life?' or 'get over it'. Sometimes it is hard to get over it and sometimes, you don't even know why you are depressed, it's a state of mind and it is difficult to shift. I'm lucky that I have now found the support network to help pretty much clear me from depression and although I had 'down' days, it's not the type of down days what I used to suffer from. 

To help anyone with mental health, it's important to let you know you are there for them and let them know that you wont judge them. Don't try too hard to pull information from them, let them approach you in their own time, but let them know you will be there whenever you need them.