Over the last couple of days on our social media pages, we have been discussing the idea that there is no one way to identify that someone is struggling with their mental health. What might identify one person, may also not be the same for another.
For example, maybe someone is quiet, doesn’t get involved with others, and might seem visibly upset a lot of the time. You might usually associate such behaviour to be that of someone who is struggling with their mental health.
Whilst, if someone was very outgoing, smiley and making jokes a lot of the time, would you normally think someone like that is struggling? Most commonly, the answer to that question would be no, which is completely reasonable. If someone seems fine, more often it seems appropriate to presume that in their case they are fine.
However, for a lot of people, this could be that they are struggling with their mental health and for whatever reason are deciding to keep that hidden. This could be due to…
- The many stigmas surrounding mental health
- Not feeling comfortable talking to people about what they are experiencing
- Fear of being a burden on others
- Denial about their feelings
- Perfectionism
It is important to know that mental health won’t just go away, you aren’t going to wake up one day just suddenly feeling better. If you do not seek support when you are struggling instead you are at risk of how you are feeling only worsening and emotions becoming bottled up. Just like with most things, you can only take so much before it becomes too much. Depression and other mental health problems can often lead to dangerous thoughts, and without support in place to help you through times like that, you can be at a high risk.
This is why if you are reading this, and feel any resonation or familiarity with what is being said, please do reach out for support. There is never anything wrong with reaching out and asking for help! It is something that most people do almost every day, even if it’s just help with something like getting something off a shelf. You are not a burden for doing so, at Burton and District Mind we want to help as many people as we can and thanks to our wide variety of services we can do so!
So today, even if you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to those around you yet, at least take that first step and have a look at who we are and the support that we have available. You can do so through our website here -> https://www.burtonmind.co.uk/
Or even if you feel ready to do so get in touch today -> https://www.burtonmind.co.uk/contact-us
For those who are unsure if the people around you are struggling or may need support the best thing you can do is make sure that they know should they need to talk you’ll be there for them. Or even just a simple check-in question of “Are you doing okay?” now and again.
Together we can support one another!
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