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Being Honest about Mental Health

For many people who suffer from mental health issues, one of the most daunting challenges is talking about their feelings for the first time.

By Emily WhitePublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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October 10 marked World Mental Health Day. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, mental health is something which plays a large role in my life on a day to day basis. There are many ways in which I could write this post — from my experiences of depression to how to handle a panic attack — but I would like to talk about something which I found helped me to understand, accept and ultimately combat my depression: honesty.

I was diagnosed with depression in February 2016, during my final year of sixth form. This was a huge deal for me, as I was faced with A Level examinations, university applications and moving to a new town, where I knew literally no one and would have to live on my own for the first time. To describe this as daunting would be an understatement.

Before my diagnosis (and even afterwards to an extent) I hid my illness from everyone. I was only ever able to be honest about how I was feeling with strangers on the internet, which, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, can be pretty dangerous. I have a feeling that my mother knew that I was struggling even before she let on, but luckily she was able to get me the right treatment, even when I didn’t want to accept it.

At the time of my diagnosis, only my immediate family knew about my depression. I didn’t have any close friends at school, so I shut myself away and tried to avoid talking to people, because I was too socially anxious to admit that I was unwell. Thankfully, with the help of my mother, I spoke to my head of Sixth Form (who was coincidentally my English Literature teacher) about what I was going through, and together we arranged a personalised timetable for me, which meant I could attend lessons and go home whenever I needed to.

Sometimes I wonder how my fellow school students would have reacted if I had told them that I had depression. Sometimes I feel like this would have explained a lot to them, like why I was so shy and kept myself to myself. But the reality is, most people were incredibly shocked when they found out. I remember being at my aunt’s house for a family dinner once over the summer, and overheard my mother explaining to her about my diagnosis from where I was hidden in the bathroom. My aunt honestly had no idea that I was ill. I’m sure I must have hidden it so well that no one really noticed there was something wrong.

Over the summer, I was unsure whether to withdraw my university application, or at least postpone it for a year. But in the end I decided what I needed was a fresh start. And with this, I decided that I would be honest about my mental health with the people I was to meet at university. I didn’t want to build friendships with people whilst holding back something as big as this. And I didn’t want to feel as though I was ashamed of my illness.

So when I started to get to know people at university, I didn’t hold back from talking about depression and anxiety. What I realised was that I was not the only one struggling with these problems. In fact I can confidently say that all of my closest friends have battled mental health problems at some point in their lives. The best part about being open and honest about mental health is being able to help each other through the bad times, and being able to smile and laugh together during the good. Mental health does not define you as a person, but being honest about how you feel can open up a whole range of doors that you may never thought existed. I have had countless in-depth conversations with my friends about mental health, and I feel that it has brought us closer together as friends. I feel like I know these people better, and in turn, I feel that they understand me too.

There are ways in which to talk about mental health which are appropriate; obviously, I’m not telling you to scream it from the rooftops (unless you feel that would help, in which case, scream until your heart’s content). But having a group of people around you who are willing to be honest with you about their emotions is a very healthy decision. And the best way to do this is to be honest with them too. One of the things I struggled with the most before my diagnosis was having to keep all of my unhealthy thoughts and feelings bottled up inside me, with no outlet for them. But now I have a network of people who support and care for me, and who I can offer support to as well.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or feel that you may need to talk about your mental health, you can find information online at the following websites:

Samaritans (Tel: 116 123)

Mind (Tel: 0300 123 3393)

ChildLine (Tel: 0808 11 11)

CALM(Tel: 0800 58 58 58 — Specifically helping young men under 35 suffering from depression)

Papyrus (Tel: 0800 068 41 41)

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About the Creator

Emily White

English Literature and Creative Writing Student | Writer | Procrastinator | Dreamer

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