Mental health isn't just about mental illness....

One of the ways that people use discussions about mental illness as a way to pin it ‘out there’ and ‘not about me’ is to focus on defining mental illness by the more severe end of the spectrum.  Of course that exists.  Maxine was an example.  She was severely and chronically mentally ill.  You could see it.  Sometimes I am more severely mentally ill.  In my case, because I use medication, it probably isn’t  as severe and chronic as it might otherwise be. But there is a whole other end of the spectrum.  And that is where I would like to focus today.  People have difficulty seeing that.  They don’t believe they can relate.  Maybe no one in the family is a drug abuser or alcoholic.  Nobody officially has depression or another diagnosis.  So, they are convinced that mental health discussions have nothing to do with their life.

In the article that I’m going to discuss today, a psychologist talks about how mental health issues are part of life for all of us.  I thought that it was an interesting thought because I see it as bringing the issue home for many who do not think they identify.  A psychologist from Lakeland, Florida by the name of Dr. Berger talks about the impact that mental health has on our daily activities and ability to cope.  He focuses on times that people feel overwhelmed.  I would like to add that people have to be concerned with mental health and coping at other times.  For example, when we are making life changes such as moving or marrying/divorcing. At times of change, we are prone to experience difficulties emotionally.  Or how about when we are coping with the loss of a loved one through death?  We frequently talk about how psychiatry makes normal events in life pathological.  But there is some basis in fact for that view.  When grief overwhelms your ability to cope, you can fall into a deep depression. Even when you are normally a mentally healthy kind of person.

How does re-examining our attitudes towards mental health help?  Well, for one thing, it enables people to recognize that there is no shame in seeking help when you feel your mental health is not optimum.  Just like when you go to the doctor because you have a cold that turns into something else.  Caring for your mental health is just as important as caring for your physical health.  It can impact every facet of your life.  Recognizing our common humanity when we are talking about mental health will also help in another way.  If we recognize the fact that mental illness is a disease, maybe we will be more compassionate when people are more severely mentally ill.

I think that people who talk about mental health issues as being ‘out there’ are simply in denial.  It’s part of being human.  Somewhat like when we deal with physical illness, it really is a part of life.  You may be one of the lucky few who never have to deal with it, but chances are that you have or will eventually.  If you  don’t want to own that, you are probably in denial.  If that wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t have self-help books.  We wouldn’t visit therapists and life coaches. And how about Oprah?  Today, I invite you to look at how YOU relate to this conversation.  As always, I would love to hear from you if you learn something new about your life.

Here is the link to the article:  http://bit.ly/13USThQ