September 27th – Mental Health

Since I have been sharing a ‘piece of my mind’ on various topics this month, I thought this would be a good time to share my thoughts on mental health.

I have always believed that mental health was every bit as important to one’s wellbeing as physical health. I strongly urge anyone, who is struggling with any aspect of their mental health to seek professional help – and I do hope that such help is available to anyone who needs it.

I am not a health professional – physical or mental. My thoughts on this subject are mine and mine alone. For what they are worth, here they are.

1. Let’s talk about it – By all means, if one is having issues with their mental well-being ‘Talk About It‘. Talk to a family member, friend, confidant or professional. Talk to Oprah or Dr. Phil or whoever – but talk about your issues, what you have done to cope, how you struggle to cope, what helps, what doesn’t. What doesn’t help is going on national television or running around anywhere and everywhere, talking about who caused your mental issues, how they caused them, or why they should be publicly flogged.

2. Deal with it! – In this day and age this is frowned upon – especially in regards to mental health but just like physical exercise, mental exercise is not a bad thing. Everyone struggles mentally/emotionally at times. It is okay, and it is okay to work one’s self through these times. The strongest, happiest, most well adjusted people I have known are people who had been through hell and back, mentally and emotionally – over and over! They learned to overcome. The weakest people I have ever known were either coddled through life or simply plodded through life, never trying to overcome their issues. Whether it is seeking out the help and guidance of professionals, reading self help books, physical activity, taking a break, or meditation – just do something. No one should have to live with depression or stress or anxiety or anger issues or any other debilitating mental health issue without at least trying to deal with it.

3. Covid and mental health – First off, not everyone has struggled mentally and/or emotionally through this pandemic. For some people it has been an opportunity to reset their lifestyle, their priorities, and heal from all of the stress and anxiety of their typical day to day life. The media, politicians, and ubiquitous ‘experts’ have beaten this Covid mental health thing like a drum for the past two years. If one is seriously struggling they know by now, if their children are struggling they know by now, if their pets are struggling they know by now. Make literature and resources available to those who need it. But quit with the depressing ‘everyone is struggling mantra’. Quit trying to make anyone feel guilty and miserable for being happy, peaceful, and content. It does not make any of us less caring and compassionate. Maybe the world needs those who are happy, peaceful and content to keep hope alive for those who are struggling.

4. There is no excuse – There are many who suffer from mental/emotional health issues. I believe we all do at different points in our lives. Attention has been given to making it okay to seek help and to speak out about our mental health. That is all well and good, but recently I have seen more and more people who use mental health issues as an excuse for bad behaviour or avoiding responsibility. I am not judging anyone specifically. But I see it a lot and what I particularly dislike is when people use self-diagnosed mental health disorders (like OCD) to bully others. First off, it is totally disrespectful to anyone who actually suffers from such disorders. Secondly, people with OCD do not go around using it to get everything they want, when they want it, done exactly as they want it. If it is not yours, leave it alone. If you do not like how someone else does something, keep quiet or do it yourself. No excuses.

That is it for today and my thoughts on mental health. As always, thank you for listening and feel free to comment.

Take care and have a great day! 💞