So I'm doing what any sane woman would: spending as many hours as possible in bed and thinking about Mental Health.
Laptop - check.
Puppy Chow (American snack) to crunch on - check.
Things to keep me entertained online - check. (Isn't there always!)
Cup of tea - not yet, but getting there.
Depression.
Not something most people want to talk about. But hey I'm writing a month long agenda of things on my mind, and depression/ mental health happens to be.
- A side note: I have been depressed in the past. Right now my mental health is stable. I am not depressed. -
Okay now that notes out of the way, we can get on with it!
I found someone on Facebook today, in a regular group I post in, who wrote something that came across as being Suicidal.
Naturally I worried, I messaged them an suggested they get help. I suggested they message me and talk it through - or not, completely up to them. They then posted a message saying they were "going offline for a while and may be back" it was all very vague. And worrying.
It's normal to feel the ups and downs in life. I like to think of it like a roller coaster: we love the feeling of swooping and that feeling of being up so high just before the fall. The bottom isn't so fun, grinding along. Plodding along. But you do what needs to be done, to get back up to that high again.
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There are so many people in this world who are hurting. I don't think it's a 'first world problem" or something that should be shameful, insensitive, unemotional, or hidden. It shouldn't be Taboo.
But in so many cultures mental health *is* taboo. It's unspoken of. To ask for help shows 'weakness'. Well I say that is wrong! Asking for help shows one thing: Strength.
Strength to admit you need the help, strength to make a change (for yourself), and strength to work through it all.
But in so many cultures mental health *is* taboo. It's unspoken of. To ask for help shows 'weakness'. Well I say that is wrong! Asking for help shows one thing: Strength.
Strength to admit you need the help, strength to make a change (for yourself), and strength to work through it all.
A couple of news articles I found today when I was reading the news:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/9119441/Men-just-as-likely-to-be-depressed-as-women A recent study shows that men are as likely as women to get depression.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9127120/Babys-father-blames-hospital A story which hits home regarding Post Natal Depression, and the lengths people will go to, to get help. *Trigger warning*.
Mental Health effects people in different ways, some people take to aggression.
Some hide it and bottle it up. - It's explosive by the way. (I've been there.)
Some just don't admit it's real. They say others are lying about them. About their life, their state of mind. (I've been there too.)
Some ask for help - and then chicken out before it's completed. That's okay. Keep trying. You'll get there.
Some don't ask for help: and need it badly.
Some seek out help from medications. Some don't.
Some talk to friends, counsellors, family. Some choose to write about it (diary, online blog)...
Some don't ask for help: and need it badly.
Some seek out help from medications. Some don't.
Some talk to friends, counsellors, family. Some choose to write about it (diary, online blog)...
There are a lot of help organisations around the world:
In my neck of the woods (New Zealand) there's these guys:
In my neck of the woods (New Zealand) there's these guys:
www.mothersmatter.co.nz (post natal depression help)
www.pnd.org.nz/ (post natal depression help)
www.depression.org.nz (all forms of depression help)
Or call the depression helpline freephone on 0800 111 757.
In the USA: 1.800.273.TALK (8255)
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