Mental Health Awareness

[Treeglow Flicker 14,069]

 

Mental Health Awareness

 

Beyond The Awareness Month

A chance to share your stories and help promote the importance of mental health.

 

Although Mental Health Awareness Month is traditionally held every May each year, we are setting up this thread for beyond that month. Because why not? After all, mental health is an ongoing thing for each and everyone of us throughout the entirety of our lives. Our minds are a constant companion. Our minds are there when we wake up and when we sleep. They are there when we work and also when we play. Also, our minds are there when we are with others and when we are alone. Our minds are always with us. And each and every mind is unique and individual with its own myriad of experiences. Hence why it is absolutely important that we look after our mental health and the mental health of others.

Everybody who lives, has their inner demons. Internal conflicts brought about by bad experiences or circumstances that have shaped their lives in one way or another. These internal struggles can exist as echoes of the past in our memories from things like trauma and other bad experiences. Exist in the present moment as we navigate the stresses of ongoing ordeals be it through everyday living or disability. And even in the future, in the form of worries and fears of what that future might hold. There are things in our minds that can take us to dark places and make us contemplate decisions that one would not be able to return from. Or make us make terrible mistakes through lashing out because of emotional pain that one cannot shake off. It can be a personal hell. A room you want out of, but with no door or window in sight.

With those mental struggles, we can find ourselves alone - even when surrounded by those we hold dear to us. There are often times where it can be frustrating when one speaks up about their mental and emotional struggles and finds that their words aren't reaching out in the way they desperately need them to be heard. Often unintentionally misinterpreted by those who are well meaning... Or generalized by those who half listen... Or dismissed with general social niceties expressing sorrow and no further thought beyond that... Then from more evil places, there are those who are maliciously mocked for their suffering... Or flat out not believed by those pathologically driven by ideologies to the point of persecution.

Poor mental health can affect anyone and at any point in time. Brought about through uninvited circumstances and ordeals. Some of us in this life having been born with such ordeals through disability. It can be extremely lonely and suffocating.

And this is where our own awareness can make all the difference.

There is no one size fits all cure. But understanding and support goes a very long way towards helping those who are struggling mentally. It is important not to just stand on the sidelines, expecting those suffering in the darkness to crawl towards the light. But to step into the darkness ourselves and sit with those who are suffering in that darkness and being there with them through their pain. To not simply listen and say "I'm sorry" but to listen and say "How can I help? Show me how to understand."

This has been a bit of a lecture on my part. But now, it is over to all those who are reading this.

Whatever you are going through mentally or have been through. Be it through depression or some form of mental disability, this thread is for you to share your stories about your own mental health. From the general everyday stresses that you face, to those of you who are fighting far longer and severe battles. A chance to sit in the darkness together and share your experiences so that those around you can listen in the hope that they can come to understand. To become aware. Maybe to even help heal.

It is also a chance to share stories about how you have overcome mental illness or such related struggles. A chance to share experiences that may also passively serve as advice for those who are suffering what you escaped from. Or even still keep at bay.

And beyond this thread. I invite everyone to check in on your friends and acquaintances. To make sure that they are doing okay and to be there if they are going through hard times. Even if it's to lend an ear to listen or just give them some silent company to sit together to take away any loneliness they might be experiencing.

Although a heavy topic. I sincerely hope that it brings out a lot of good, and promotes awareness of the importance of maintaining mental health and helping those who are suffering due to mental illness.

Your minds are forever a companion. Love them and look after them.

 

[Ganondorf8 11,487]

So... Am I allowed to say what kind of mental disability I have in this thread?

If so, I'm all for it as I don't hide the fact that I do have difficulties.

[Treeglow Flicker 14,069]

8 minutes ago, Ganondorf8 said:

So... Am I allowed to say what kind of mental disability I have in this thread?

If so, I'm all for it as I don't hide the fact that I do have difficulties.

If you are comfortable with doing so, then most certainly!

After all, this is about awareness. A chance for others to learn what it is that you and others are going through so that they can come to understand it more. 

[Ice Princess Silky <3 16,127]

Whoa! Well done, Treeglow! Thank you so much for this thread! You rock!! Mental health is VERY important and it is always good to check in with friends. 

34 minutes ago, Ganondorf8 said:

So... Am I allowed to say what kind of mental disability I have in this thread?

If so, I'm all for it as I don't hide the fact that I do have difficulties.

Sure! Whatever you are comfortable with sharing, we are here for you, Ganondorf8. 

[Snoopy Fan 5,230]

I have Aspergers, but I know that you won’t judge me for it.

[Lnx1ynight16 1,486]

I have an anxiety disorder, and it’s especially bad this month because of regents exams coming up.

[IridescentEdge 77]

Are we just revealing to everyone our mental disorders?

[Lnx1ynight16 1,486]

Moments ago, IridescentEdge said:

Are we just revealing to everyone our mental disorders?

It’s only if you’re comfortable 

[IridescentEdge 77]

Well, I do have ADHD and ASD...

[Ganondorf8 11,487]

4 hours ago, Treeglow Flicker said:

If you are comfortable with doing so, then most certainly!

After all, this is about awareness. A chance for others to learn what it is that you and others are going through so that they can come to understand it more. 

I won't go into the truly personal details, but I can openly talk about things.

Back in 1998 when I was sixteen, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Compared with a lot of other people, I was a late bloomer in this regard as usually one would get diagnosed at a much younger age. After this, I've had to deal with problems which aren't just related to my mental disorder. In 2004/2005, I began suffering age issues which have been plaguing me ever since. I don't like getting older and I do have a legitimate fear of dying. It's gotten so bad that I have to take medication to keep myself from going insane. Somehow, I've managed maintain my sanity so I must be doing something right.

[Florana 270]

What a beautiful post, Treeglow. It is very comforting to see mental health being considered even beyond its usual month. 
Conveniently, it is also something I thought about bringing up on a profile update, but I'll share my experience here instead.

The body has been going through different tests these last few months, and recently, we received our diagnosis of level 1 autism. I know it won't change how our true friends see us as, but it was still nice to, finally, have a formal closure to a doubt we've had since our teenage years.

[Raskolnikov 680]

I used to have selective mutism and severe anxiety as a child. Other people's responses to it were in many ways worse than the mutism by itself, and a relatively recent counsellor suspected it was trauma related. It also contributed to my lacking skills for maintaining conversations or socialising in general, when you can't talk back people tend to stop engaging with you so much*. I overcame it when I left home and my family of origin but unfortunately I still have a large gap where socialisation skills should be and of course the way people acted about it stay with you long after the condition is gone.

Also have complex PTSD and am also grieving so if you see me particularly bloodthirsty or veeeery depressive I'm probably having a moment. It's, well, complex so I'll leave it at that.

*edit to clarify: unless someone with selective mutism writes to you about or expresses otherwise about this, do not stop talking to them because you think they are shy: it feels dehumanising to be talked about but not included in the same conversation when you are present. Unless the person genuinely wishes to be left alone, it's reaffirming to still be included and treated as any other person than to be treated as defective. Some may still communicate with head and hand gestures and feel comfortable communicating through text, I was. (I was so happy when I watched We Bare Bears and noticed Ice Bear never talked as a child and no one in society questioned him nor treated him differently - I wish this show had been around when I was growing up, it'd have been nice to see people don't have to be jerks about this! Instead I internalised defectiveness and a feeling of not being fully human but a disease, and that causes disturbances with your sense of self. Ahhh, the "childhood selective mutism to adult complex PTSD" pipeline is so real lol)

Edited 15 hours ago by Raskolnikov

[Samurai Equine 53,719]

I have ADD. Though, by today's standards, I would probably be diagnosed with ADHD (even though I don't have the hyperactivity).
And while I still have a few symptoms of it from time to time (these things never fully go away), I have learned to manage it and be functional without the need for any medication. So if having ADD/ADHD is a spectrum, I am probably on the lighter side. I don't expect anyone else to live up to the level of self discipline I've had to exercise; everyone has their own journey in life. Still, I think there is something to be said about the strength of pure will power. 

I also learned in recent years (might have been earlier this year) that ADD / ADHD is a type of neurodivergence. That was an interesting find.  Again, I must be on the lighter side of the spectrum, because most people wouldn't even know I have it until I tell them.

Last of all, for many years in my youth leading up to my young adult years, I was secretly battling with depression. Against all odds, I did overcome it. I no longer have those feelings, but I don't want anyone to shrug it off as if it wasn't that serious, because it was. My depression at times tempted me to consider... "unaliving" myself. I am thankful to have overcome those feelings.  I really don't want anyone to focus on this. In fact, I don't even want anyone to think of this when they think of me. But I have to talk about this openly. Because if I continue to hide it or act like it never happened, then I haven't truly healed or improved after all.

[Tao 8,567]

7 hours ago, IridescentEdge said:

Are we just revealing to everyone our mental disorders?

Only if you know the handshake.....

 

I have anxiety and PTSD.  I do suffer from childhood turma and I know a lot of other ppl do in their own right.  I also have panic attacks at times, but I have learned to control them. Later, once some things are settled, I plan to get into counseling this year.

[Raskolnikov 680]

44 minutes ago, Tao said:

I do suffer from childhood turma and I know a lot of other ppl do in their own right.

Yes, I have noticed this in a lot of people who may otherwise not register their recurrent depressions, psychosomatic symptoms with no identifiable cause or chronic anxiety as signs of childhood trauma because our cultures don't take emotional abuse/neglect as seriously as physical forms of abuse, even though the emotional maltreatment can leave the longest lasting scars. Awareness is slowly changing that which is a positive.

Edited 15 hours ago by Raskolnikov

[Iforgotmybrain 6,186]

I’ve been dealing with anxiety and depression since I was about 12. Honestly I don’t really have a specific reason for why I am the way I am. Well, mostly. I know why I have social anxiety but that’s complicated. For other forms of anxiety and for depression, I just am this way. I didn’t have a bad upbringing or anything. I didn’t suffer any significant trauma. My brain is just physically predisposed to self destruction I guess.

That said I am in a good spot and have been for the past year or so. I mainly have antidepressants to thank for that because I genuinely could not function without them. Therapy and lifestyle changes can only go so far for me. I don’t have any big trauma to work through, I don’t have anything specifically in my life that makes me feel this way. Like one of my favorite Elliott Smith songs goes: “I always feel like shit. I don’t why, I guess that I just do.”

(I might add more to this later, idk).

[Raskolnikov 680]

41 minutes ago, Iforgotmybrain said:

I’ve been dealing with anxiety and depression since I was about 12. Honestly I don’t really have a specific reason for why I am the way I am. Well, mostly. I know why I have social anxiety but that’s complicated. For other forms of anxiety and for depression, I just am this way. I didn’t have a bad upbringing or anything. I didn’t suffer any significant trauma. My brain is just physically predisposed to self destruction I guess.

Not saying this is necessarily true for you, but as a general comment since you used the expression, I think people define 'bad upbringing' in many different ways: parents who never raise their voice or beat, and who otherwise materially provide for their children, but are emotionally absent/emotionally neglectful, still harm their child - but because of more extreme cases of neglect and abuse, their upbringing seems normal. I remember reading Pete Walker's Complex PTSD book and he felt regretful for not commenting more on more invisible forms of neglect in his previous book, because he noticed a lot of his clients had clear complex PTSD from neglect and not being emotionally seen when they were children but they minimised their hurt and could not trace the roots of their suffering because 'others had it worse'. So for some people things may seem fine but there is more to it under the surface that is harder to trace.

tl;dr shit can be misleading and sometimes we are unreliable judges of our childhoods

Edited 14 hours ago by Raskolnikov

[Cash In 22,790]

Wonderful thread. 

I have ADHD, ASD and OCD. Found out about them when I was 9 or 10, but I got very little help for it until I was an adult. Being on medication has certainly been helpful on the technical side of things, but I feel that understanding + acceptance has also played a large role in making my relationship with myself healthier.

[Acinonyx 664]

(C)PTSD from a vast number of unfortunate events and I don't deal well with social situations well, I tend to dissociate around people I don't know very well. Which can also manifest in strange ways.

With terrible formative years at school and a family that only taught contempt for one another, my social skills are completely shot.

I also have severe dyslexia (and I suspect some form of ADHD but unconfirmed) and while it's not a 'mental illness' by itself being undiagnosed until I was already well into adulthood without any support or understanding has left me with a lot of unjustified self-hatred over how well I perform at certain tasks.

[Raskolnikov 680]

Hmm! Do people think it may be an interesting idea to post things that helped them recover from/cope with their mental health issues somewhere? Maybe a thread and people can chime in? I think it may be an additionally constructive way of a mental health awareness thread to be utilised :]

Edited 11 hours ago by Raskolnikov

[Ice Princess Silky <3 16,127]

1 hour ago, Acinonyx said:

(C)PTSD from a vast number of unfortunate events and I don't deal well with social situations well, I tend to dissociate around people I don't know very well. Which can also manifest in strange ways.

Same. CPTSD can be the worst. But we are in this together. 

Spoiler

Being aware of these symptoms can also be the first step to managing around them or taking other steps to navigate to a better state of mind. 

1 hour ago, Raskolnikov said:

Hmm! Do people think it may be an interesting idea to post things that helped them recover from/cope with their mental health issues somewhere? Maybe a thread and people can chime in? I think it may be an additionally constructive way of a mental health awareness thread to be utilised :]

Yes! I really like this idea! I would support you if you took the initiative to do so. 

Unless you are asking the fabulous @Treeglow Flicker  for an encore. x3 

[Bairro M Vagrant 1,119]

These Royal Announcements are all too long to read

[Raskolnikov 680]

14 minutes ago, Ice Princess Silky <3 said:

Yes! I really like this idea! I would support you if you took the initiative to do so. 

Unless you are asking the fabulous @Treeglow Flicker  for an encore. x3 

Yeah I was wondering if you guys wanted to make such a thread as an extension of this one, or any other ideas? I think it's relevant and important to suggest things that may help as well as things we struggle with so people don't feel so alone, especially if people add their own commentary on how stuff has helped them. I find generic "tick box" lists on how to recover from things online too broad and impersonal but some more personal input from members on how [x] thing helped with [y] condition(s) may be more helpful and feel more compassionate and less clinical. Or even just saying "I struggle with motivation with getting better in this time of my life", "my current situation only allows so much improvement", etc. The goal could be to encourage both community support and compassion for other's circumstances that may be obstacles to recovery and not to make people feel bad for not "doing better". Idk!! Just some thoughts.

Edited 9 hours ago by Raskolnikov

[Crypty Scribbles 5,824]

Well, I'm completely healthy and have no mental issues. That's how I thought until last year... But in fact I was traumatized by certain event in 2016. How do trauma look? All related memories cause such feelings as burning shame or panic. Some memories are locked at all. Flash backs could just pop out any moment and make me freeze with a painful grin and grind my teeth whatever I was doing. Even in the middle of the night.

Now it's hard to imagine that I just wasn't paying attention for all this things and was living like it should be this way!

@Treeglow Flicker , thank you for this post. Awareness can become a medicine itself. When you learn to listen your inner self you start healing...

9 hours ago, Raskolnikov said:

Hmm! Do people think it may be an interesting idea to post things that helped them recover from/cope with their mental health issues somewhere?

I believe sharing could really be helpful.

I was posting some milestones of my healing journey here in the blog:

https://mlpforums.com/blogs/blog/3720-lets-talk-about-mental-health/