Mental What?

My fight with mental health. It’s a battle but I will win. I will fight for mental health’s awareness, I will scream, whisper, cry the words that must be not only heard but understood.

Mental health is important.

So many people’s feelings of loneliness and sadness are dismissed as hormones, paranoia, teenage drama, but would it be the same for a broken arm? No doctor, teacher, parent would dismiss something so visually and outwardly painful. Too often are we left feeling like burdens and shells of emptiness by those who are supposed to protect, heal and help us; too often are we told it’s "just a phase." Well... yes! It’s a life-shaping moment in our lives, it's real, and it’s here, inside us. We all have mental health, some poorer than others, but we must care for it as we care for our hair, teeth and the rest of the physical parts of ourselves.

But where do we start? We start with acceptance. Accepting that hell yeah, we’re different! I’m a world apart from you, you’re a world apart from her over there, she’s a world apart from him across the way! We are so unique, it’s a wonder anyone can ever understand us, it’s a marvel I can even understand myself. But it takes time and it’s okay, accepting that you are who you are, that you are a here for a reason, a reason probably beyond our understanding, is the start. Accept that you have mental health, just as you have person hygiene and let’s look after it.

Okay so you’ve accepted you’ve got to keep that mental health of yours in check just like those pearly whites must be brushed and flossed every day. What’s next? Well, we can start by talking about it! Talking about mental health like we talk about getting our teeth checked by the dentist is a great way to break down the stigma surrounding it, make it normal, not a taboo. We shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about how we feel today, tomorrow, yesterday. So, talk about it to your friends, ask them how they feel, do they ever feel down because I bet they do; ask your teachers about what they know, ask your partner, do they ever think about it. Because this is how you break down those barriers.

So, now we’re talking about it. Depression, psychosis, bipolar is no longer the HUGE elephant in the room, it’s the candle on the mantel piece that needs to be lit every now and again to check in with it. So, let’s check in on our mental health, self-reflection, meditation, even poetry is an awesome way to "check-in" what words are bouncing around your head today? Are they negative, daunting, sad or positive, excited, loving? These are the little changes and quirks you need to be aware of to keep on track and check in. Because by checking in we’re keeping on top, healing the cavity before it hurts too much, killing the weed before it spreads its disease.

Well, that’s where we start, with the acceptance, the talking and the checking in; the journey may be long, the journey may be a quick skip, hop and a jump. But whatever the path you have got to take, take it, because it’s a path that no one can avoid. Let’s care for our minds like we care for our nails, beards and teeth because we gotta feel as good on the inside as we do on the outside!