Over the past few years I have worked with several clients who want to break free from this debilitating state of mental unwellness. Depression is like a vice, that gets stronger and stronger unless resolved.
Depression is an insidious mental disorder which I prefer to call mental unwellness due to the connotation mental health has for so many.
Depression is Real
Because it is not manifested in a visual physical many people in the general public have little empathy for those suffering.
From experience in working with many individuals who suffer depression, I understand that their greater majority of them hid their state of being to avoid ridicule or comments that make them feel worthless, I make this comment as so many of my clients have stated that they are offered very little or no support from those who are a part of their general day to day lives.
Support diminishes over a period
I believe that we accept illness if we can see it (e.g. physical injury or difference) – but we cannot see into someone else mind. When we physically see a person, who has a physical presentation e.g. broken bones, skin disorders, physical deformities our minds pick up on this and empathy is created. However, because we cannot see anything obvious, we assume that mental unwellness is all in the persons head and they should be able to resolve their own issues.
It is distressing for me to hear my clients say that the people who they need support from such as their family, partner, friends or work colleagues become dis-interested in their mental health.
Comments such as those listed below are commonly heard by those suffering depression:
“Get a grip on your life”;
“What have you got to be depressed about?”;
“What’s wrong with you?”; and
“Why don’t you get your shit together”.
As you can imagine these comments only add to the individual who is suffering depression and can cause them to have additional feelings of worthlessness and adds to their feelings of isolation, emptiness and more. It can cause further health issues by feeling separate to others and create limited thoughts such as “I don’t belong”, “I am different” , “I am not good enough” to manifest in the suffers mind.
Empathy and Understanding
As a society we need to become more aware of what it means to be physically and mentally well, and to have empathy and understanding with those individuals suffering mental unwellness.
Asking a simple question such as “How are you feeling today” allows anyone to open up and to feel comfortable about how they are truly feeling. Just by adding the word feeling to a general statement used by all can change the entire meaning of the statement.
So, please do take the time to add this additional word to your greeting, you may just save someone’s life.
Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay