It’s 2013. My experience with Mental Health Awareness over
the past year and a half has shown me a few things, which I feel are worth
highlighting. This will not be pleasant for everyone reading, but this is
important for everyone. That’s Mental Health in a nut-shell.
The first thing I can point out is obvious: many, if not
most, people feel uncomfortable talking about Mental Health. Of these, a
majority will struggle to address depression or suicide openly. In Ireland, and
around the world, these topics are taboo, linked with harsh stigmas and
stereotypes. The end result is a crushing silence, like a wave of black water
crashing around the sufferers of mental illnesses; there is no hope to see nor kind
word to hear for as long as people misunderstand and refuse to listen. There is
no way out of the suffering.
Seem bleak? I’m only getting started.
It is common that people will debate the idea that any form
of mental illness will affect them in any way. This includes through other
people. As such, they believe knowing about it is of no use to them.
So let’s clarify: anyone can become subject to the effects
of mental illness, and everyone has a responsibility to be open to learning about
Mental Health. Why? Because anyone can be affected, and anyone could be needed.
Anyone. Not just a doctor, or a priest, or a qualified professional. Anyone
could find themselves having difficulty with someone who has had a month’s
worth of bad days. Anyone could find themselves helpless to watch as someone
threatens to take their own life. Literally anyone could find themselves in a
situation that, if they don’t listen, if they aren’t willing to learn, they
will not be able to manage.
Very few people know if they are depressed, if someone else
is depressed, or why someone with depression might find the flippant use of the
word ignorant and/or insulting. There is no way for anyone to understand,
without experiencing depression themselves, except that the effects of
depression are not short-term (i.e. a couple of days) or easy to express. There
is a pain to the sadness that can be brought about by depression, by the
anxiety that accompanies it, and by the desperation that clings to sufferers as
they attempt to find a way out.
Worse still, there are many who don’t know any other way out
of the suffering by suicide. This becomes even more problematic the stronger
the stigma attached to suicide is in any given society. How does someone talk
about thoughts of suicide in a society that will not listen and does not
understand? The simple answer: they don’t, because they can’t. Have you ever
wondered by the rates of suicide are so high?
What do you say to someone who is feeling suicidal? There
aren’t many people who know that to say, how to respond, what to do, or how to
temper their reactions. Yes, shock is allowed. Disgust should be reserved.
Anger should be avoided completely. Pity is acceptable, if it comes with a
willingness to listen, and without patronisation. The whole scope of human
emotion makes this a complication subject. There aren’t many who know what to
do when faced with thoughts of suicide in another person.
And finally, for now, there appears to be a gap in the
knowledge about the actual existence of Mental Health. During a talk on
awareness, I was asked a simple but significant question, ‘What is Mental
Health?’
I’m not a doctor. I’m not a counsellor. But I have studied,
and continue to study, in these areas. I care. And this year, I want to make a
difference in this area. Consider this the first public announcement of a
project that could very well change my life forever. More importantly, it could
save someone else’s.
There’s still a lot of work to be done, to make sure
everything is ready to launch later in the year. In the meantime, the first
step comes down to you: talk about Mental Health.
