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Mental Health Awarness
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Mental Health Awarness
Mental Health Awarness Month
In honor of May, mental health awarness month, here's a thread to open up about your mind, and maybe learn some new things.
Here you can post stuff about
-Your experiances
-Asking for help/advice
-coping methods
-Ask questions!! Whatever you're curious about, to help everyone understand more about mental illnesses.
-poetry/writing or art that you might have made that portrays whatevers going on inside your head.
-music
-Things you like about yourself, about others, things that make you happy
-things that don't make you happy or bother you. Fears, words, anything. Open up. It's ok.
It's important to know that you are not alone. 1 in 4 will experance a mental dissorder sometime in their lives. But many don't get help because of stigma. Less then 46% of americans will get help for their mental dissorders because of stigma. But you can make a difference, with something as simple as spreading awarness or talking about it. Even just asking someone if they're ok or doing better can make a huge difference.
The green ribbon symbolizes mental health. Wear on your clothes or backpack, so people know that you care. That you support them.
Remember that it's ok to not be ok. Everyone has their ups and downs. But also remember that there will always be people here for you, people that love you, people who support you. You don't have to go through any of this alone. <3
#Breakthestigma
submitted by Claaws, Going crazy whats new?
(May 11, 2019 - 2:23 pm)
(May 11, 2019 - 2:23 pm)
Stigma- “Stigma refers to attitudes and beliefs that lead people to reject, avoid, or fear those they perceive as being different. Stigma is a Greek word that in its origins referred to a kind of mark that was cut or burned into the skin. It identified people as criminals, slaves, or traitors to be shunned.”
There are three major categories of mental health related stigma: Public Stigma, Institutional Stigma, and Self Stigma.
Public stigma- “refers to the attitudes and beliefs of the general public towards persons with mental health challenges or their family members. For example, the public may assume that people with psychiatric conditions are violent and dangerous.”
Institutional stigma- “refers to an organization’s policies or culture of negative attitudes and beliefs. For example, stigma is often reflected in the use of clinical terms, such as a ‘schizophrenic.’ It is preferable to use ‘people first’ language, such as ‘a person experiencing schizophrenia.’”
Self stigma- “occurs when an individual buys into society’s misconceptions about mental health. By internalizing negative beliefs, individuals or groups may experience feelings of shame, anger, hopelessness, or despair that keep them from seeking social support, employment, or treatment for their mental health conditions.”
Stigma is an attitude or belief that often leads to discriminatory behaviors. ~quotes from DRC, or the Disability Rights of California.
I also used to think that I was just super shy, then I went to the doctor and next thing you know I’ve been diagnosed with severe anxiety-caused depression and bipolar. It is important to talk to professionals about your concerns, as none of us here are doctors. But we can provide emotional support.
Do you have annual check ups with your doctor? I believe at the age of 13 they begin to provide a mental health assessment for you to fill out, on paper, your parents will not see it. It is important that you fill it out truthfully, and the doctors will try and help you be a better you. This might include therapy sessions or medication, and remember that neither are a sign of weakness. It takes courage to ask for help.
I know this can be very scary to ask someone for help, but it is not a sign of weakness and you will not get scolded for it. In the end, it will improve your value of life greatly. This is the first step. If they don’t give you a written assessment then you might have to ask your doctors about it. Ask your parents to leave the room then simply tell the doctors you think you might be depressed/have anxiety and that you need help. They will help you. They might ask you verbally about it and if you don’t feel comfortable telling them physically, ask for paper and write your answers down. Or ask for a paper assessment. But again, they’ll probably give you the written one just as part of the regular check-up and you won’t have to talk about it at all.
Im glad you felt comfortable sharing with us here and I hope everything works out <3
(June 26, 2019 - 1:09 pm)
July is Minority mental health awareness month, dedicated to bringing to light the unique struggles of minorities. I know this subject is not often open to discussion, even if only for the soul purpose of education, but I suggest to look this subject up and educate yourself on the unique struggles every person has, nobody’s story is the same, and it’s important to empathize and not assume.
I hope everyone’s doing ok. I love you all, if anyone ever needs support, I’m here. Feel free to message me on NaNo YWP, I’m always open to talk. <3
(July 17, 2019 - 12:30 am)
(July 17, 2019 - 12:43 am)
(July 17, 2019 - 1:04 am)
(July 17, 2019 - 1:30 am)
(July 17, 2019 - 1:44 am)
(July 17, 2019 - 2:22 pm)
(July 18, 2019 - 11:59 am)
I hope everyone's doing ok and feeling ok. If anyone ever needs to talk, I am always free to listen.
Admins just curious, but if I was going to talk about minority mental health awareness, what would you allow through? Just curious because rules often change fron admin to admin and whenever anyone asks you about the rules you guys are often very vague.
Each comment is evaluated individually. It's difficult to state a rule about what we will or will not post.
Admin
(July 26, 2019 - 7:59 pm)
None of the things you mention are thread topics for Chatterbox. Sorry.
Admin
(July 29, 2019 - 1:27 am)
(July 31, 2019 - 10:14 am)
*dangles feet in a pool of water* *kicks gently*
What's to do when things go better? Has anyone felt it--messing up a thousand times, and then one day doing it right? And then how much easier it becomes to do it right again. Is it just me?
(August 16, 2019 - 6:55 am)
Aw that was sweetly written Vi. With miskates come patience and practice and knowledge. People learn by doing. It’s totalky normal to mess up, and mess up and mess up, it’s all part of learning and growing up and becoming you. And then doesn’t it feel so good once you know the right thing and you can do it again and again and the thing that fusterated you so much yesterday brings you the most joy today? Everything has a purpose. Even your most traumatic memory serves some part in who you are and the knowledge you have and who you want to be. Isn’t that cool to think about? The butterfly affect. Even the seemingly smallest gesture can do something drastic, even save a life. Maybe by holding the door for the quiet kid in class, you help him realize the world isn’t so bad after all. Or if you notice how pretty the girl sitting next to you is and you tell her, that simple compliment will help her eat her dinner instead of feeding it to the dog and frowning at herself in the mirror. Live your best lives. Everyone is meant to be here on earth with your friends and loved ones. Everyone has a perpous whether you know it now or not. Your here for you. Your here to help others. Your here to just be. I love y’all and I hope everyone’s doing alright <3
(August 20, 2019 - 7:10 pm)
Here’s a friendly reminder:
A friendly reminder from someone who has suffered because of this- mental illness is a hard thing to cope with. To live with, every day, with no escape and often times little vents. It’s best to try and treat every case of ‘mental illness’ as if they’re serious, because even if they are pretending something must be wrong- who would willingly flaunt something so shunned and so taboo in this society? Who knows, maybe something is seriously wrong. I’m not saying ignore if it makes you feel uncomfortable, but this is something people must work through, and support is more helpful then fusteration or hate. Why do you think mental illness makes people uncomfortable? Is it because mental illness is so taboo and so hated on or that an individual has been diagnosed with a similar disorder and doesn’t understand how someone could just pretend to have this horrible debilitating thing? People have different coping methods. I myself started out yelling my disorders to the stars, hoping hoping it would go away or somehow people would understand and help or just stop judging me on things I can’t cobtrol. Now I try and spread as much awareness as I can, so others like me don’t feel how lost and confused I felt. Don’t judge how people deal with issues so shunned in this society, because often times they don’t know what to do. Because people don’t talk about it. And if they do, it’s something like ‘smile more’ ‘your not trying hard enough’ ‘try to lighten up your making us uncomfortable’ ‘you’re just faking it’. Do you know how hard it is to hear these things? Especially with everything else going on? Would you say the same thing about someone with cancer, or a broken bone, or a dibilitating physical disorder who’s only way to vent is by online means because their family thinks God has cursed them and none can save them? I understand certain things are hard to hear. There is such thing as second-degree trama, where something someone went through has an emotional effect on you as well. But this can help you help them by understanding them better and trying to get them to go to therapy so they can leave their bad past behind, and understanding them will ease away your discomfort. So what I’m trying to say, by understanding and treating their coping methods with support instead of with mistrust and frustration, you can help them ease down on the amount of things they talk about and the amount of confusion they sputter out and the discomfort you get. By understanding them your discomfort will go away. And you might even make a new friend!
(August 21, 2019 - 8:23 pm)
You know, Claaws, even though I haven't actually been diagnosed with any mental disorder, your.... talks, I guess, have helped me cope with my feelings, if nothing else, so thank you.
(August 22, 2019 - 8:37 am)