Mental health impacts how you think, feel and act. We need to make it a priority!
Mental health. It affects all of us in some way, doesn’t it? And it's out of our control. Mental health issues can affect everyone in a variety of different ways due to many different causes. Whether it's your lifestyle, lack of sleep or simply just the way you are.
I am so glad we now live in a world where mental health can be much more freely spoken about, and we as a society, are realising how common it is within everyone. It is completely normal to have days where we just don’t feel like ourselves, actually it would be more worrying if we didn’t. No one can be happy 24/7 and that’s just what makes us human, we all have different emotions and triggers that we are trying to come to grips with, and that’s okay!
Mental health has come very far
Years ago, the term ‘self-care’ would have been faced with confusion. It is now becoming more of a concept that sometimes everyone just needs a day to themselves as more workplaces acknowledge and care about their employees mental health.
Mental health is becoming better understood on a more widespread basis. This is an encouraging acknowledgment and a healthy approach to mental illness in individuals, meaning more people are beginning to seek help.
The stigma around mental health has definitely been broken and the education on mental health is helping a huge amount of people realise what their feeling is completely normal. Television shows, podcasts, social media and open conversations have all helped shift the conversation and awareness of mental health in a positive direction. We definitely still have places to improve on, but it's comforting to see the widespread of mental health awareness.
Have we created a bigger problem with social media?
The rate of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression have steadily increased over the past eight years. Approximately 1 in 6 people aged 16 and over in England were identified as having a common mental health condition. I think an obvious cause for the increase in mental health conditions is social media. Social media has created a huge platform for everyone as it is so easy to compare yourself to others. Teenagers now don’t just have to deal with the real world, but they also have the virtual world to always be available on. You are constantly reminded of someone that may have your dream body, dream job and dream life. Immediately causing you to beat yourself up and question your own life.
Social media is a great platform for sharing memories and keeping in contact with loved ones, but we have also created a monster putting strain on everyone’s lives.
If I am honest, I don’t know the solution to the severe effects social media is having on the younger generations. All we can do now is educate, we all know people don’t show their real life on social media it is the ‘best bits’ of everyone’s life we compare ourselves too.
If everyone can try to spend a little less time every day of the endless scrolling on social media that were all guilty off, we would all feel the mental health benefits.
Your mental health matters
We all have our own journey with mental health and it is our responsibility to owe ourselves a break. Sometimes life just gets a little too much and we all cope in different ways!
Personally, I have always been known as the ‘worrier’ and ‘over thinker’ as I am always thinking the worst possibility out of every situation. And I am not alone, right? I have learnt now I just have to do things a little different to everyone else to not overload myself, and this is completely fine we are all different.
My lists, green teas and self-care days is how I deal with some situations that other people might not think twice about, and this is completely fine.
Mental health awareness is allowing us all to think about what affects us as individuals and how we can deal with this. Some there may be very little that affects them and for some even a group situation may put them on edge. It does not matter, the more we learn about ourselves and each other the better.
The next time you tell your friend to stop stressing over nothing, just take some time to listen because that may be the biggest thing in their head right now.
Take some time to be kind to yourself, and ask your loved ones how they’re really doing,
It might make just one person’s day.