Mental health...
Yeah, lets talk about it! Too many times we write off the issues that are most daunting. It is evident that most people are scared of the things they don't know. You're not quit sure what mental health means or how to recognize when someone is dealing with mental health? Well here you go...
Mental health, by definition, is a persons condition regarding their psychological and emotional well-being. It effects how we think, feel, and act. It is also how we handle stress!
For me college exams, death, unusual and unexplained experiences, and traumatic situations would bother me until no point of return. In this case, not knowing my diagnosis for almost three months but having doctors tell me there was something wrong! I may have looked perfectly fine on the outside but in my mind I had 1,000 thoughts. I fought myself to stay calm, waited until I got home to cry my eyes out and yes, of course I prayed loudly!
The one thing that was the hardest when dealing with those situations was feeling like you have no one to talk to. Yes, I could've called my family or one of my friends but I cared too much about the expectations they had for me that I practically made for myself too. I would slightly explain what I was going through and the responses I received were "Just pray about it," "Ain't nothing wrong with you girl," "What are you crying for?" or my favorite "You need Jesus!" Well guess what, like most individuals, I did pray about it, there was something wrong with me, I was crying for a good reason and I know I needed Jesus! Yet, I called you, I reached out to you and well... you made me feel worst than I did before I called! So, I battled a lot of things alone and I even isolated myself from everyone just so they wouldn't know anything was wrong with me because...well that's what happens when you have anxiety, that's just what you do. Right? WRONG!
Here's some mistakes I made that you should not!
- Not depending and trusting God.
- Worrying without praying and staying (short prayers don't heal! You have to marinate in his presence.)
- Looking to be accepted by others!
- Trying to fit in to the social media crowd.
- Comparing myself to others!
- Wanting others to love me more than I loved me.
- Being afraid of being judged and not getting help.
- Going to people I knew were unreliable and could not relate.
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the famous Netflix film 13 reasons why. Although I don't condone what she did and I felt it was very selfish, there were a few very important messages to take from it. 13 people crossed her path and in the time she was living and trying to find her purpose 13 people either ignored her, brought her down, pushed her away or completely isolated her into feeling like an outsider. She was mentally in turmoil yet, 13 people ignored the signs. Suicide has become a terrible epidemic in our world today. From children to adults, people are killing themselves for whatever reason and its a spirit, its evil and it has to go! Much like the film 13 reasons why, people are faced with adversities that cause them to kill themselves but before they do they leave signs and they have people there who can help them and don't because they miss these signs.
Here are signs that someone is dealing with some form of mental health issue from the American Psychiatric Association.
- Problems thinking
- Increased sensitivity
- Feeling disconnected
- Nervousness
- Unusual behavior
- Sleep or Appetite changes
- Mood changes
- Illogical thinking
If you or someone you know is dealing with mental health please know that it is okay to get help on top of praying! There are professionals who you can talk to and this is not the end. Please understand that God loves you (Jeremiah 29:11). You were put here on earth for a reason and he died for you because he loved you that much that he would lay down his life for you so that you wouldn't have to (Romans 4:25)! That thing that bothers you, gives you anxiety or makes you depressed is not the end of the world. You can make it through this challenge because that is all it is, as test of your faith. Keep living...as a matter of fact live on purpose!
With love,
Racquelle