In honour of Bell's Lets Talk campaign I thought it appropriate to take a moment to remember why talking about mental health and more specifically mental illness is important.
I grew up with almost no exposure to mental illness in so far as understanding it; the same went for most of my peers. "Depressed" meant that you were feeling crappy or upset that day and "OCD" meant you liked having your pencil case perfectly sorted. Ergo, when I spent years angry and sad and perpetually low, I thought I was "just being a teenager" like everyone said. It wasn't till I was 16 and well into self-harm when my friends made me go see a doctor that I learned what depression really was and that I'd developed it when I was about 11.
Not only was I totally unaware of what was happening to me but nobody around me could see any of the signs until I was already in a very dark place. I spent years trying to figure out how to accept depression and anxiety as a part of me. In that time the number of people comfortable talking to me about it was minimal and though my family did their best their knowledge was limited.
After I was diagnosed I started noticing how often my friends and peers actually used the term "depressed" for completely inappropriate situations. But how would they know? I certainly wasn't going to correct them. In grade 11 all I wanted was to fit in, not stand out more. I was already having a rough time trying to fake happiness in front of my classmates so the concept of telling them I was clinically depressed seemed like a death sentence. It wasn't until grade 12 that I was comfortable enough with myself to begin talking about it.
We were never taught what mental illnesses were, what they actually looked like, how to respond to one appropriately or what language was appropriate to use in reference to it. The same goes for the generation above me but we are changing. Mental illnesses are beginning to get some more publicity. 1/5 of Canadians (1/4 Americans) will experience personal struggles with a mental illness in their lifetime. So think about a handful of the closest people to you, someone in that group is likely to deal with these issues. Are you informed?
Still have questions about it? Check out:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Canada)
National Alliance on Mental Illness (United States)
Mental Health Foundation (UK)
Bell Lets Talk
Or send me an email at the_war_paint_blog@yahoo.com
I grew up with almost no exposure to mental illness in so far as understanding it; the same went for most of my peers. "Depressed" meant that you were feeling crappy or upset that day and "OCD" meant you liked having your pencil case perfectly sorted. Ergo, when I spent years angry and sad and perpetually low, I thought I was "just being a teenager" like everyone said. It wasn't till I was 16 and well into self-harm when my friends made me go see a doctor that I learned what depression really was and that I'd developed it when I was about 11.
Not only was I totally unaware of what was happening to me but nobody around me could see any of the signs until I was already in a very dark place. I spent years trying to figure out how to accept depression and anxiety as a part of me. In that time the number of people comfortable talking to me about it was minimal and though my family did their best their knowledge was limited.
After I was diagnosed I started noticing how often my friends and peers actually used the term "depressed" for completely inappropriate situations. But how would they know? I certainly wasn't going to correct them. In grade 11 all I wanted was to fit in, not stand out more. I was already having a rough time trying to fake happiness in front of my classmates so the concept of telling them I was clinically depressed seemed like a death sentence. It wasn't until grade 12 that I was comfortable enough with myself to begin talking about it.
We were never taught what mental illnesses were, what they actually looked like, how to respond to one appropriately or what language was appropriate to use in reference to it. The same goes for the generation above me but we are changing. Mental illnesses are beginning to get some more publicity. 1/5 of Canadians (1/4 Americans) will experience personal struggles with a mental illness in their lifetime. So think about a handful of the closest people to you, someone in that group is likely to deal with these issues. Are you informed?
Still have questions about it? Check out:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Canada)
National Alliance on Mental Illness (United States)
Mental Health Foundation (UK)
Bell Lets Talk
Or send me an email at the_war_paint_blog@yahoo.com
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