Are You Really Just “Fine”?

Over the weekend if anyone strolled onto and social media platform the hype of the day, Mental Health Awareness. Great. It’s a subject that needs to be spoken about, but I still call bullshit. One day or even a whole month (May, Awareness Month) to bring awareness to the second leading cause of death of people between the ages of fifteen and forty-four? It’s just not enough. Mental Health Awareness should be spoken about all the time openly in conversation. To ask someone for example “How are you doing? And accept the answer, “I’m fine” is to miss the opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s mental health and is just how many people choose to go about life in a manicured reality. Nobody is ever really just “fine”.

The truth is, and facts are, that your mood and mental condition affect your ability to function optimally. Anyone can easily (try) to hide their mental condition behind getting things done, or not. One’s mental health plays a very active role in whether and how one goes about achieving a goal, big or small, that’s just the way it is.

Let’s Talk Openly About Depression

Depression is one of the most common mental health illnesses and the leading cause of suicide, and we don’t talk about it enough. Depression is common all over the world, and global statistics share that 1 in 6 people suffer from depression in their lifetime. There are numerous factors that can cause depression such as, brain chemistry, life events, medical conditions, medications, or sometimes even genetics. Up until a few years ago I honestly didn’t know that brain chemical dis-balances can lead to depression, did you? And if you have a relative with depression you may be more likely to become depressed? If you easily get overwhelmed and constantly feeling stressed that you can end up depressed? According to the American Institute of Stress, the major causes of stress causing depression are the death of a loved one, moving, having a major illness, or experiencing a job loss. Stress can because by anything and everything around you, I don’t have to tell you that. Stress leads to depression which affects your emotions, mind, and body. It’s not just about feeling sad or hopeless, but it can also be getting annoyed quickly, having trouble remembering things, or not enjoying the things you use to enjoy doing. The worst feeling of all is thinking about hurting or killing yourself. Now, everyone can feel down every once in a while. But if you have felt blue, sad for longer than three weeks, chances are you may be clinically depressed. I encourage anyone feeling this way or recognizing any signs of depression to know that first, depression is treatable and is a process. Look it this way, it’s the way you drive, not where you are going. It can be very serious and steer you off course, but treatable and can improve over time. Find a person who you can trust to share how your feeling that can counsel you to address the issues causing you to feel this way. If you recognize anything written above that resonates, that I only say to you, give yourself credit for how far you have come. There is this stigma when a person openly comes out and says. I deal with mental illness. And it is oftentimes therefore why mental health and its consequences often go without being spoken off. If you suspect yourself or someone you know may be suffering from mental illness reach out and dig a little deeper. You never know you just could be saving a life.