Paradox.
One day, after many difficult days, I decided to be honest with others about the challenges I was facing. And so, when asked "how was your day?", I replied with an honest "it's been a rough day". Imagine my surprise when someone told me "your life is great, you have nothing to be sad about".
This is the paradox of the life of a person with high-functioning mental health issues. All seems well, so to the outsider all must be well. So when one feebly reaches out for help, they are shut down. And in all fairness, this isn't really anyone's fault per se. If I was walking by a house that seemed to have a secure foundation, I would question you if you told me otherwise. But then again - I know nothing about strong foundations. So its really not my place to judge.
#BellLetsTalk day is coming up, a day that is a huge trigger for me. It's so great to raise awareness, to talk about mental health. But it's a trend, a fad. Once it's over we return to our problematic views on mental health. We stop talking about the complexities, we ignore the not-so-glamorous breakdowns, and return to our lives.
But for people like me, the reality of mental illness is my life. For me, its intermittent, for others it's a constant presence.
You can't judge a person's state of mental health by their appearance, by the carefully curated life they represent on social media, by the bits of their life that they're willing to share. So please, dont try. Lets be different, better than we were before.
Jayy
This is the paradox of the life of a person with high-functioning mental health issues. All seems well, so to the outsider all must be well. So when one feebly reaches out for help, they are shut down. And in all fairness, this isn't really anyone's fault per se. If I was walking by a house that seemed to have a secure foundation, I would question you if you told me otherwise. But then again - I know nothing about strong foundations. So its really not my place to judge.
#BellLetsTalk day is coming up, a day that is a huge trigger for me. It's so great to raise awareness, to talk about mental health. But it's a trend, a fad. Once it's over we return to our problematic views on mental health. We stop talking about the complexities, we ignore the not-so-glamorous breakdowns, and return to our lives.
But for people like me, the reality of mental illness is my life. For me, its intermittent, for others it's a constant presence.
You can't judge a person's state of mental health by their appearance, by the carefully curated life they represent on social media, by the bits of their life that they're willing to share. So please, dont try. Lets be different, better than we were before.
Jayy
Comments
Post a Comment