Mental Illness Awareness Week

In support of Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 6th-12th) as the Well-Being HUB's Mental Health and Wellness Navigator, I would like to share a very brief snippet of my own experiences with mental illness. There is still, unfortunately, a lot of work to be done in breaking down stigmas towards mental health and mental illness. 

It is much easier to give someone grace for catching a cold than it is to give grace for someone experiencing severe anxiety, where they cannot keep up with their commitments.  

Oftentimes, it is easier to look for solutions externally rather than taking a person-first approach. “They caught a cold because they work in health care,”  whereas “They have been dealing with an overwhelming amount of stress and anxiety, which weakened their immune system”  is a more complex view of a bigger situation.

Growing up, I struggled greatly with anxiety and depression. I did not grow up with tools to emotionally regulate and had a very hard time sitting with feelings of stress and worry. It always felt like things just kept getting worse. I remember as a young child getting stomach aches; I didn't know how to articulate what I was feeling, other than pain. This progressed in my teenage years, and eventually, I was put on medication for a stomach ulcer.  I knew where the pain was coming from physically, but I never understood where the root of that pain was. 

Internalizing stress, compounding trauma and lacking coping and communication skills.

I could only see my illness as physical. I could not uncover the underlying stressors that would have helped me have compassion for myself. When we fall and break a bone, the understanding is that we visit someone who can help us put that bone in the right place to heal, then we wait, we heal, and we grow stronger. 

How can we give a similar approach to our mental health?

As we grow as children, when we are given the tools, strategies, and attention to get to know our big feelings, we can shape our inner landscape to deal with stressors more easily. Things like movement, having supportive people in our lives and being loved for all of who we are creates a toolkit to better handle stress, traumatic situations and changing circumstances. 

Adults presenting with mental illness deserve the same attention, love, and care suited to their needs. When we view the whole person, give grace in place of judgment and hold space for realities different from our own, we reduce the stigma mental illness is often seen with. 

Mental illness is not something “someone else has”; we all have varying degrees of mental health, and that looks different every day.

If you're interested to learn more, sign up for our Mental Health Ambassador program, or reach out to one of our Navigators.