“I wish people could understand that the brain is the most important organ of our body. Just because you can’t see mental illness like you could see a broken bone, doesn’t mean it’s not as detrimental or devastating to a family or an individual.”…. Demi Lovato
I personally always try to keep in mind, try to help, try to understand the problems faced by those who are fighting with mental health issues. l, myself, dealing with anxiety, panic attacks and depression so I can say that I understand these conditions better than other mental health issues.
I’m not debating here or exaggerating the fact which is worse mental health issues or physical health issues, but the ground reality, we all know that , stigma related to physical health issues is less than that related to mental illnesses.
Its my personal observation, experience and perspective that mostly family and friends avoid those who are dealing with mental illness, reason is ‘coz of stigma attached to it , that such people are always in negative zone and funny part is they think mental illness is contagious too. If they keep in touch with such people during their low levels, they get infected too, by negativity and toxicity.
Nobody wants that, though its not practically possible for anyone to be in zone full of positivity and optimism, but ‘coz being positive, optimistic are so much overrated concepts these days and yes, its part of social status too, the ‘in thing’ to talk/show in so called intellectual lobbies of society. But,everyone of YOU, who avoid us don’t know that ” We, who suffer from mental illness are stronger than you think. We fight to go to work, care for our families, be there for our friends and act ‘normal’ while battling unimaginable pain”.
Even in cases, where we are being neglected, leave us alone…most of us, are there for people around us ,’coz we believe that everyone is fighting their own battles, we respect it even if we are not able to understand it and above all, we know better than others that whether its being asked or not, we all need someone by our side. We believe its not okay to leave someone alone in their negative phase of life just ‘coz we want to safeguard our so called positivity!!
We don’t need much from you, What we need is your little understanding and acceptance that people dealing with mental health issues are not faking it, we have no intentions to drag you in our negativity or toxicity zone , we just need you by our side during our low phase, sometimes a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on, hands who hold ours to give warmth, love, feeling and assurance that we are not alone. What we need is your empathy and not sympathy.
And in case, if you can’t do this much, its a humble request that, please leave from our lives, it will be less painful than the dealing with situations where you stay with us during positive times and vanish during low phases…. pratyaya singh #mental health issues # stigmas #love #Acceptance #help