Mental Health in Today's Day and Age
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), in any given year, 43.8 million adult Americans experience mental health struggles. Furthermore, 90% of the people who commit suicide have a hidden mental illness (NAMI). If mental illness is so prevalent in America, why is there a stigma associated with it? The mental health stigma pushes people to hide their mental health struggles out of fear of what their peers might think or say.
This inner struggle manifests itself from the social norm that society is not open about mental health. It also comes from what people say and think once they hear a friend or a loved one suffers from mental illness. I have heard statements such as, "Well, can't you just get over it?" and "I am sure it's nothing. It will pass." When it comes to mental health, it is not that easy.
I, myself have struggled with mental health. To be more specific, I have struggled with anxiety. It is something that I deal with on a daily basis but some days are better than others. This anxiety feels sort of like something is off or wrong; even if nothing is wrong. I worry about things that might happen which brings on more things to overthink about; creating more anxiety. I know exactly where the problem comes from; overthinking situations and living inside my mind listening to the little voice inside my head.
We all have that little voice inside our heads. The problem comes when you start listening to that little voice too much; tricking you with scenarios and nonsense. If you are reading this and you suffer from a mental health issue, trust me, I know that overcoming it is easier said than done.
In today's day and age, we should view mental health with an open mind. As a society, we can accomplish this by normalizing mental health through the realization that we all struggle with problems of our own. When I think about my own struggles with anxiety; I think about a great quote from one of Tom Petty's songs. He wisely said, "Most things I worry about, never happen anyway." I also try to tackle each day on its own, taking it day by day and living in the present.
Random fact of the day: The first alarm clock could only ring at 4 a.m.
This inner struggle manifests itself from the social norm that society is not open about mental health. It also comes from what people say and think once they hear a friend or a loved one suffers from mental illness. I have heard statements such as, "Well, can't you just get over it?" and "I am sure it's nothing. It will pass." When it comes to mental health, it is not that easy.
I, myself have struggled with mental health. To be more specific, I have struggled with anxiety. It is something that I deal with on a daily basis but some days are better than others. This anxiety feels sort of like something is off or wrong; even if nothing is wrong. I worry about things that might happen which brings on more things to overthink about; creating more anxiety. I know exactly where the problem comes from; overthinking situations and living inside my mind listening to the little voice inside my head.
We all have that little voice inside our heads. The problem comes when you start listening to that little voice too much; tricking you with scenarios and nonsense. If you are reading this and you suffer from a mental health issue, trust me, I know that overcoming it is easier said than done.
In today's day and age, we should view mental health with an open mind. As a society, we can accomplish this by normalizing mental health through the realization that we all struggle with problems of our own. When I think about my own struggles with anxiety; I think about a great quote from one of Tom Petty's songs. He wisely said, "Most things I worry about, never happen anyway." I also try to tackle each day on its own, taking it day by day and living in the present.
Random fact of the day: The first alarm clock could only ring at 4 a.m.
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