If you don’t believe in mental illnesses or even mental health please watch this video.
This is a comment I got recently, I’ve blurred the persons name out as I don’t want this
person being attacked or anything negative happening towards this person.
They commented on one of my anxiety videos saying ‘why do you have anxiety, you have
a family and friends that love you dearly, what are you stressed about, you’re a father
too’
Comments and statements like these are so dangerous on many different levels
someone who is struggling with any mental illnesses, I’m going to use anxiety for
my example because this person directly spoke about anxiety,
someone who is struggling with anxiety and their anxiety is slowly taking over their
life, they might not be able to socialise anymore, they might be struggling to cope
with how anxiety is affecting them, they know they need to seek help but they have never
told anyone before
Then they start reading or seeing comments like this online or even hearing someone say
them in person
That’s going to turn them away from seeking help, they are seeing how others are being
ridiculed and not believed when they talk about their struggles with mental health,
they don’t want that for themselves, they are already going through enough trying to
deal with their anxiety let alone deal with others not believing them.
ANY mental illness anxiety, depression it doesn’t matter what mental illness, doesn’t
need a reason to exist.
Mental illness doesn’t care if your rich or poor, if you live in the ghettos or live
in a 10 million dollar house
Mental illness doesn’t care if you have a family, if you’re married, if you’re
single, if you have brothers or sisters, if you have parents or not
Mental illness doesn’t care who you are or what you are.
Mental illness doesn’t care if you’re young or old, 14 years old or 89 years old.
Mental illness doesn’t care if you’ve never struggled with it before
Mental illness doesn’t need a reason to exist.
Being anxious about a situation like flying on a plane is pretty normal, most people get
anxious before they fly but that doesn’t mean everyone who is anxious struggles with
an anxiety disorder, being anxious is not the same as having anxiety disorder.
Being sad about a situation like a close family member passing unexpectedly is pretty normal,
most people would be sad about that but that doesn’t mean everyone who lost someone in
their lives is depressed, being sad is not the same as being depressed.
I was diagnosed with a anxiety disorder and depression when I was 14 years old, I have
lived for 12 years with these mental illnesses, looking at me now on camera you probably think
I look fine?
I look like a normal happy person but what you don’t see is what’s going on after
the camera turns off or what’s going through my mind right now.
You don’t see me throwing up randomly because of my anxiety, you don’t see me uncontrollably
cry for no reason because I’m severely depressed, you don’t see me feeling so worthless and
crap about myself that I don’t want to live anymore.
Yes I have a family, yes I have a daughter, yes I have friends so what?
That means I can’t struggle with mental illnesses?
It doesn’t make a difference, it doesn’t change anything that’s going on inside my
mind, I can’t help it?
Everyone in the world who struggles with a mental illness do you think they CHOOSE or
WANT to feel or be his way no?
That’s like saying someone who has been diagnosed with cancer wants to have cancer
and chooses to have it.
Regardless if you believe in mental illnesses or not please understand millions of people
around the world struggle every single day with a wide range of them.
Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and a long list of other mental illnesses.
If you don’t understand please just ask, don’t jump to conclusions yourself thinking
mental illnesses need a reason to exist, don’t look at someone who looks happy and automatically
assume they are not struggling.
Please don’t make judgment or comment on things you don’t understand or have experienced
yourself, if you have no idea about what it’s like struggling with anxiety then don’t
make comments like why do you have anxiety you have so and so, that’s only adding to
the stigma we are already trying so hard to remove.
Whilst there is still people making judgement and cristising people with mental illnesses
then millions of people around the world are suffering alone, scared and without help.
Would you leave someone with cancer to suffer alone, be scared and not get help so they
can hopefully get better and live a happy life?
No you wouldn’t
Please don’t do the same with people who are struggling with mental illnesses.
If you know anyone who is judgemental towards mental illnesses, someone who doesn’t understand
mental illnesses, someone who doesn’t believe in them or someone who is critical towards
them please send them this video.
Let’s end the stigma towards mental illnesses together.
I want everyone who is watching this video who has been diagnosed or struggles with a
mental illnesses to comment which mental illnesses in the comments section down below to show
others around the world and others in this community that they are not alone!