Mental. Health. Matters.
I have told anyone who will listen to me over the years how much mental health matters. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and I usually try to raise awareness of it one way or another, and it’s May, so here I am.
You take care of your organs. You take care of your lungs if you get cancer and you take care of your liver if you have a weird reaction to a medication and it expands to twice its normal size and you end up at the hospital (been there, done that). Your brain is an organ, and you need to take care of it, too. And if mental health disorders stem from the brain, why aren’t we taking better care of them?
A few years ago, one of my best friends and I were in Chicago when we had a scary experience at a rooftop bar. This is my social media post from September 24th, 2019:
“It’s no secret that Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention are two causes that are very, very important to me. Yesterday, while at a rooftop bar on the 22nd floor of a hotel in Chicago, we witnessed a young woman, all alone, clearly in the middle of a psychotic break. After several minutes of screaming, she climbed up and sat on top of the ledge, talking about being suicidal. At the same time, there was a man laughing and videotaping her. It was yet another reminder how important mental health awareness is. Watching her throw her things off the roof is not funny. Watching her fight with the staff about getting off the ledge is not funny. Watching her get off the ledge and wondering if she will have access to the help that she needs is not funny. Yet another reminder that MENTAL.HEALTH.MATTERS. Please, please pay attention to your loved ones. Check in with them. Be there for them. And please, do not laugh at someone who is clearly going through something that you just don’t understand. Sending love to those who need it tonight.”
That’s a day that I will never forget. I remember where we were sitting compared to where she was. I remember where the guy videotaping her was. I remember watching her purse launch over the edge of the building. And you know what? Remembering it sucks, but it’s a good reminder that mental.health.matters.
For fear of sounding a little preachy, this is something I really want people to understand. Depression is a disease. Anxiety is a disease. Don’t even try to fight me on that because I’ll take off my earrings, roll up my sleeves and fight you on any day of the week, and I can be a scrappy bitch so you really don’t want to do that. And let’s not forget that depression and anxiety are just the most common ones people think about. There’s also Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder, to name a few.
As I really sat down to think about this blog post, I wanted to do a little research on exactly how big of an impact mental health and everything that goes along with it has. Historically I’ve argued that this topic effects more than just healthcare and candidly, was looking for validation and oh boy was I validated. It effects the economy, our criminal justice system AND our healthcare system. Here are just a few stats directly from the National Alliance for Mental Illness, try to wrap your brain around these bad boys:
In 2020, 21% of people (1 in 5) experienced mental illness – 52.9 million people.
Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity each year.
About 2 million times each year, people with serious mental illness are booked into jails.
11% of U.S. adults with mental illness had no medical coverage in 2020.
How do you like them apples?
I’ve seen two therapists over the years and it has changed my life. Both of them have helped me with coping skills when I feel like I’m going off the rails and work with me when my anxiety is so bad that I spend all day, every day, nauseous. I’m fidgety, cranky, restless and make some seriously questionable decisions. Most wouldn’t know it just by the way I present myself most of the time, primarily because I like to bamboozle people, but on the inside, I can be a real hot mess who struggles with impulse control. My vices? Food, booze, shopping.
It’s okay to see a therapist. It’s okay to take medication to help you stabilize your moods. These things are (usually) not intended to change who you are as a person, but rather help you get to the root of who you are without the distractions of a disease. You will still be who you are. Who you’re supposed to be. You’ll just be a little bit better. Less of a Space Mountain-esque roller coaster, more of a Dumbo-esque one.
Make sure you check in on your people, even the extroverts and the ones you think are “fine.” And always, always reach out if you’re struggling. You are absolutely not alone and there is help out there for you. Mental.Health.Matters.
Okay, reluctantly getting off my soapbox. Now go check on your people.
