World Mental Health Awareness Day

Hello chaps.

I'm going to be speaking to you about something quite serious and quite close to my heart. Mental health.

The term "mental illness" has a lot of negative connotations with it, and it is an umbrella term for disorders such as anxiety, depression, stress, eating disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and PTSD.

So many people get affected by this every year, at any age.

I've suffered from my dose of mental illness, and looking back I've suffered more than once. The first few times I didn't know what was happening to me. The last time (which if you've been reading this blog for a while) will know that my most recent "attack" was just over a year ago.

As a result, my grades were affected in college, I lost my relationship and I lost some of my best friends. I believe that if those who turned from me in my time of need had understood what was happening to me and why I wasn't "the girl they met in freshers" (as someone delightfully put it), I would have had the strength to get better sooner. However, this was not the case, and I spent my entire second year in college rebuilding my life.

Just as a disclaimer, I'm not saying that I was completely faultless in this example. I was a monster.

Out of my 6 closest friends, 4 of them have suffered from various mental health issues. I have tried to be there as best as I could for them, but there have been times where I didn't understand what was going on. This also shows that there are lots and lots of people out there who are suffering right now and they may not have anyone to turn to.

Mental illness isn't always a long term thing, just like a common cold isn't permanent. However, if you don't treat your cold pretty quickly it can get much worse and you get very ill. It's the same for mental illnesses. except the symptoms are different for everyone, and are quite often much more severe.

I thought I was going crazy, My friends were saying that I was going crazy. I thought it was my fault. I didn't know who to talk to because I didn't want to seem like a burden.

This is pretty common for people who suffer from mental illness, and I urge everyone out there to get as much information about different disorders and how to cope if you begin feeling these symptoms or start to notice your friends showing signs of illness.

Please, for goodness sake, don't tell them that they're going crazy. Let them know in your own little way that you're there for them. If that is climbing into bed with them at 2pm because they haven't got the strength to get up, or buying them their favourite chocolate, holding their hand while they're panicking, or even giving them the chance to get away for a few days. They will appreciate it, and it will allow them to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope this has opened your mind to the severity, the commonness and the importance of understanding mental illnesses. If this post influences one person to help another, I couldn't even explain how happy that would make me.

Also, if you feel like you are becoming overwhelmed with scary feelings, and you feel trapped, then please please speak to someone you can trust. A friend, a teacher, a parent, a sibling, a doctor, anyone, and soon, mental illness will be treated with the seriousness it deserves.

Love you all,
Harri xxx