“Mental health is a state of well being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her own community”

— World Health Organisation

Struggling with your mental health — which can be caused by feelings of stress, grief, suicidal thoughts or anything in between — has an unwarranted stigma. Those dealing with mental health challenges are made to feel judged, isolated, “weird”, or abnormal, and those who have never been affected can feel unnerved by those who are struggling and uncertain as to how to handle the topic. Truth is: around one in four people in the UK are affected by mental ill-health in some way, so it’s incredibly important to educate everyone and destigmatize the topic of mental health in society as a whole.

Mental health issues affect the way you think, feel and behave, oftentimes resulting in an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, despair and frustration. Mental ill health can feel just as bad as physical illness, and unfortunately in many cases worse. Severely bad mental health days can result in things becoming difficult to cope with; an upsetting, confusing and frightening experience no one should have to experience, especially alone.

You don’t have to have a breakdown to ‘qualify’

Acknowledging that you do not feel right within yourself is a crucial step for anyone, regardless of their experience with mental ill-health. Many people do not talk about their concerns or feelings with someone or seek medical advice because they do not believe what they are experiencing is ‘serious enough’ to qualify as an issue worth discussing. The first lesson we should all be taught in life is that we are valid and our feelings are valid. You do not need to pass a test to be worthy of support and empathy. Everyone on this planet should feel comfortable and worthy enough to speak of their feelings to someone, and they are worthy of being cared for and treated.

It is extremely important to acknowledge that mental ill-health exists on a spectrum, and unrealistic, dramatised media representations of mental health conditions in films and TV shows can often culminate in people isolating themselves from issues they may be experiencing, and writing them off as ‘not as severe as’ the representations they’ve seen. They thus, detrimentally, disassociate their experiences from mental ill-health as a whole and do not seek the help they need, leaving them at risk of allowing the issue to manifest without treatment.

Whilst most people are aware of stereotypical portrayals of renowned mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and anorexia, they may not be aware of sub-classes of these illnesses which they may be experiencing that are equally as dangerous, but not so well known. These include, for instance, high-functioning depression, exercise bulimia, avoidant personality disorder or panic disorder. Remember: it is never too early to seek help, and nothing about how you are feeling is trivial enough to disqualify you from talking about it.

We’d like to point you to some other organisations that we think are doing amazing work. If you think they may be of help to you, please click here.