World Mental Health Day

 "Real depression isn't being sad when something in your life goes wrong, real depression is being sad when everything in your life is going right." - Kevin Breel 

Today is World Mental Health Day. What does that mean exactly? Well, it's a day dedicated to talking openly and honestly about mental health issues in an effort to raise awareness and educate people around the globe which in turn will help decrease (and eventually eliminate) the stigma associated with mental illnesses so people will feel more comfortable asking for and receiving the help they desperately need and deserve. 

It is important to realize that everyone experiences mental health issues differently. Just because I deal with depression doesn't mean I can relate to everything that another depressed person is dealing with. You can't make generalizations about mental illnesses because how one person suffers is individual to them. We all have unique brain chemistry which causes us each to act and react to things in our own way. There are certainly common traits among individuals which makes it easier for those of us suffering to understand each other, but you are the only person who truly knows what it feels like to be you. Because of this, talking about mental health is very complex, there is no simple explanation and no 'one size fits all' solution. But only by engaging in a dialogue on the subject can we come to understand mental health illnesses better. The only way to learn is through people's experiences and the only way to get people to tell their stories is by making sure they feel comfortable enough to do so. 

When you're depressed, one of the hardest things to do is to admit it. That's why it's so important for us to talk openly and honestly about depression and eliminate the stigma attached to it because when someone is brave enough to come forward and talk about their suffering, when they reach out for help, there needs to be a community who is willing to stand by them and support them, not one that will silence them and look the other way. 

Like Kevin Breel said:

"...unfortunately, we live in a world where if you break your arm, everyone runs over to sign your cast, but if you tell people you're depressed, everyone runs the other way. That's the stigma. We are so, so, so accepting of any body part breaking down other than our brains. And that's ignorance. That's pure ignorance, and that ignorance has created a world that doesn't understand depression, that doesn't understand mental health."

Kevin Breel is an absolutely beautiful soul. Like many of us dealing with a mental health issue, you wouldn't know it to look at him. On the outside he appears to be a strong, confident and intelligent individual. But on the inside he is suffering. I urge you to please, please, please watch his TEDtalk! It's short, only 11 minutes, yet it is so profound, so powerful and he really hits the nail right on the head. I promise you that watching this talk will give you incredible insight, it'll change your view of depression and it may even change your life.