Mental illness are like a virus. They infect you and you don’t realize it, so you can’t find out how or where you got it. You can’t remember all the things you did to get sick. You can’t remember all the people you were with. You can’t remember the exact moment you woke up and realized you were sick. Mental illness don’t just plague the mind.
Mental health are more like a virus that affects the body and the mind. They are a form of insanity that you can’t remember having it, but you know it, and it’s like a deep dark bruise on your brain. You can’t see where it began, but you know it started somewhere and you know you are infected. It might be a bruise, but it can also be a memory, a feeling, or a dream.
Mental illness are more like an old-fashioned disease than anything else, and they affect anyone. This is not to say that you can’t treat it, but treating it won’t get you much closer to cure. As with any disease, treatment requires a medical professional. A psychiatrist (or other mental health professional) can help you to understand your symptoms, look for triggers, and treat any underlying medical issues you might have (including addiction).
Mental illness aren’t just for the elderly, young adults, or the insane. Mental illness can affect anyone, including young children and infants. The American Psychiatric Association reports that 6.6 million American children have a diagnosis of depression, and 1.9 million kids under the age of 18 have a diagnosis of anxiety. It’s hard to know what to do with this information.
The first step: be aware of your mental health. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but you can take steps that you can be confident will be effective.
Depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder all have the potential to be a lifelong condition that can be difficult to manage. Depression can be particularly difficult because it’s hard to recognize. While you might think that you’re feeling sad, you may not realize that you’re actually feeling guilty. You might feel like you’re going through a bad breakup or that you should be more grateful for the good times you’ve had.
I think the issue here is that people tend to think that people with these conditions are people who don’t care about their mental health. I have had many friends and family members think that way. This is especially true if the person has depression or anxiety. I think it is important to show that these things are part of you, and that you can manage them. The same goes for bipolar disorder.
Mental Health Awareness Month is a time to talk about mental health and show how people with these conditions are just like everyone else and that you can learn to live with them. To show it I had the pleasure of speaking to a very intelligent person who is a mental health advocate. He’s also the President of a mental health advocacy group in the state of Utah.
I think you can learn to live with mental health disorders. A few weeks ago my son made me a mental health app that allowed me to see if any of my symptoms were really there. To take a closer look I spoke to a mental health advocate who said that the best way to tell if someone has a mental health disorder is to ask them about their mood swings.