Sometimes it feels silly to have ‘awareness month’ for something people are aware of. We all are aware of mental health, we know what it is, so we should actually dive deeper than just being aware. But mental health is one of the things people only recognize to avoid conversations on. If your mental health is bad, you better not let it show or you will be judged. But if you are physically sick no one tells you to not go to a doctor. No one would say “Your leg is broken? Just take a walk and get some fresh air, it’ll get better!”
Mental health has been a taboo topic forever, but struggling mentally is nothing to be ashamed of, and getting help for your mental health should be celebrated not judged. Because the thing is, if we don’t open up conversations on anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other aspects of mental health, then we have to start avoiding conversations about suicide because too often that is where the silence leads.
Most of my life the word suicide has felt like the dirtiest cuss word. Association with the topic made me feel broken and like something was wrong because it touched my life so closely. Because of the shame associated with suicide, I’ve lied for a very long time. Some people reading this may already know that when I was 13 my dad passed away. And for a long time I left out the truth for people because of the look I would get when I admitted that my dad died by suicide. Losing a loved one and talking about it is hard, but losing them because of their own mental health struggles creates a whole new level of hard. We aren’t allowed to discuss suicide because it makes people uncomfortable, because there is so much blame thrown around, because it makes people feel guilty for not doing more.
Suicide shouldn’t make us uncomfortable, it should be talked about so we can address the real issues and work to help those in need.
Suicide is the #1 cause of death in the United States. 1 death every 11 minutes.
How can we still avoid the conversation when it affects so many?
At what point do we realize that the only way to work through this is to open up the conversation?
It took me years to face reality and stop hiding my struggles. Because I thought strength was staying quiet. But true strength is admitting your faults and facing those battles. And if me sharing my struggles helps one other person admit that they need help too, I will gladly open up.
It’s important to know that whatever state your mental health is in, and whatever type of struggle you may face with that, you aren’t alone. People of all different ages, races, genders, socio economic backgrounds, religions and upbringings all are at risk of mental health issues. Recently, two beautiful and successful women in pageantry- one a former Miss USA and one just a 16 year old- lost their mental health battles. It’s not just you. You are not alone.
So this Mental Health Awareness Month, don’t just be aware of the mental health of yourself and those around you, but care for it, understand it, and accept what needs to happen to make your mental health a priority of your overall well being.
If you are in immediate need of mental health help, text ‘BRAVE’ to741741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
This picture in Africa was taken just weeks before my toughest battle mentally and always reminds me how special this life is, and how worth it I am..
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