April 16, 2024

Welcome to my musings! The goal of this blog is to provide a peer perspective on some of the topics in counseling. I’m reflecting on what I would like the world to know about mental health. Here are some of my thoughts. 

When someone stubs their toe, a common reaction is to ask if they need help or how they are. It is easy to empathize with a person in a situation like this. Many of us have been there and we know how it feels. It is an outward condition that is easy to respond to and understand. Mental health, however, is a bit trickier. Mental illnesses are invisible. It is sometimes hard to understand why someone is acting unwell when there’s not a visible cause. As a result of this difficulty, stigma arises. The stigma behind mental health treatment is why many people do not seek help when they are feeling unwell. When I first began struggling with my mental health, I hid it from a lot of my family and friends out of embarrassment. That led to a lot of pain and isolation that could have been avoided had my experience been normalized. 

It is time to decrease the stigma around mental health challenges. We all face them, to some degree or another. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you’re struggling. It is better to ask for help than let things escalate. Struggling is normal, it’s okay to feel unwell sometimes. The most important factor here is how we deal with it. 

There are many ways to help improve our mental health. One of which is harnessing the power of coping skills. A coping skill can be as simple as just doing something to distract momentarily from the problem. Some people read, knit, play video games or paint. Exercise is also a good distraction skill. People also reach out to friends and family to hear what is going on in their lives instead of focusing on their own situation. I have found that to be helpful personally. Connecting with people helps you feel less alone, which can help with the pain that you might be feeling.

It is also a good idea to reach out to a therapist. Therapists can help us work through our concerns and struggles in a way that friends cannot. They have an objective outside perspective. Therapists can often see what the root of the problem is and help address it. In the beginning of my struggles, I feared going to therapy. It ended up being one of the best things I ever did. 

So what would I like the world to know about mental health? That it’s okay to struggle. It’s okay to be in pain. Just don’t let fear stop you from getting help. Working on your mental health is one of the best things you can do for yourself. 

Best Wishes.

Marilyn Rose