A Way to Help Someone With Mental Health Issues

TRIGGER WARNING: ableist slurs, mental illness, eating disorders

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Look, I ain’t perfect. According to Jay Z, nobody walking this Earth’s surface is.

A lot of people are more educated than me in many subjects. Hell, thousands of people are more educated than me in *my* subjects, the ones I know a lot about and that I pour my heart and soul into. There’s so much to learn, I’m eager to continue learning and growing all my life.

Mental health stigma

That’s what I’m talking, writing, about today.

Here’s to hoping my message comes across the way I intended it to, and at least one person reflects on their behavior and helps make the world a better, safer, nicer magical place. Or something like that.

No digressions, rants, going on a tangent ahead. I’ll keep it simple and sweet.

We need to stop.

Stop glamorizing and romanticizing mental health disorders.
Not getting out of bed for days.
Not eating.
Anxiety.
Suicidal thoughts.

It’s not ~cool~, edgy, and if you’re really hearing voices, you need help.

Stop jokingly saying you are, or telling others they are, schizophrenic/bipolar/anorexic/psycho/in need of getting into a psychiatric ward.

That’s a literal expression in Albania. That sucks, especially considering inpatient isn’t the terrible, life-scarring experience the public thinks it as or mainstream media makes it to be.

If anything, hospitalization saves the lives of people with suicidal tendencies or ED-s.

Straight up, I don’t understand this trend of captioning your photos with self-deprecating humor*, or all kinds of fucked up shit, when you’re actually perfectly sane and neurotypical. 

If you really have more issues than VOGUE- 2883, last time I checked- you should talk to somebody.

Most people don’t mean any harm, I know. They simply believe words don’t hold power, something I strongly disagree with. These phrases and patterns of thinking, especially when expressed so loudly and proudly in everyday conversations and/or social media, stop people with actual issues from seeking the help they need.

If you’re wondering when’s the right time to reach out (friends, family, online resources are helpful), thinking you need help usually means you do. You don’t have to be delusional, have a certain number of thoughts throughout the day or a certain weight (in your ED journey) or anything.

To the people with mental health issues, I love you. Stay strong. Get help. There’s not one thing wrong with you. Medication, therapy, reality testing, journaling, learning to live, and thrive, with your intrusive thoughts,** there’s so much that can be done! So much for you to experience. We’re all rooting for you.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend.

*Some people use humor as a coping mechanism, I’m not referring to them.
**Did you know that everyone has them? Yeah, everyone. Nothing to be ashamed of.