When someone asks me how important mental health conversations are, my answer is simple. My recovery has been possible because of conversations.
These conversations, while never easy, happened with family and with friends, who, with a simple ‘What’s going on?’ gave me the opportunity I desperately needed to start talking about how I was feeling. One of the most important conversations happened with a wonderful doctor, who, after many failed attempts with other doctors, listened as I broke down in her office.
I was exhausted with the constant battles in my brain. She passed me a tissue and we had a conversation about the help that I could receive and the way forward for me. Now, conversations are one of the most powerful tools in my mental health toolkit, it’s one I use most days. I feel blessed that I have a support network that discusses mental health as frequently and easily as physical health. A day where I struggle more with my anxiety or my obsessive thoughts is treated in the same way as a physical symptom. In my house, a ‘I’m having a bad head day’ is greeted by a ‘Anything I can do? Do you want a chat?’ Much the same as a ‘I have a headache’ is met with the response of a ‘Aw no, why don’t you have a lie down, I’ll get you a paracetamol’.
I would love for conversations like these to be the norm in every household, friend group and workplace. For me, Time to Talk Day is the perfect opportunity to have the conversation around mental health. Through open and honest conversations, we can share, educate and break the barriers and stigma around mental health.
To do my part in making this possible, I talk openly about my mental health with anyone who asks. I have meaningful conversations with people who want to learn about mental health, my experiences and how they can help those around them. These conversations, the more positive ones and the more difficult ones, are always worth having. It’s wonderful to note that the overwhelming majority of these conversations are positive. Yes, there are the odd conversations where OCD is dismissed with a ‘Oh I’m so OCD too’. I do tire of explaining that OCD is not about being tidy or liking things to be in order. There is the odd comment that people should ‘get a grip’, which never fails to be hurtful. However, these are becoming less and less, and I do leave these conversations with the hope that what I’ve said has planted a seed that may change attitudes over time.
The COVID-19 pandemic has and will, continue to impact our mental health for some time to come. If you are struggling, my advice would be to reach out, start that conversation. You are not alone; you are never a burden and there is support out there for you. That first conversation, although it won’t be easy, can start the process of healing and you can come through this. I’ve been there. I know.
If you think someone close to you is suffering, please don’t be scared to ask. A simple, ‘How are you?’ can help more than you know. That small statement could start a conversation that may even save a life.
