On anxiety

Mental health is an issue that has been a part of my life since a loved family member of mine was diagnosed when I was about 18. Suicide attempts, decisions about moving in and out of psych wards, phone calls to psychologists and psychiatrists, all became somewhat “normal” for my parents. (Hmm... Perhaps normal is not the right word. Perhaps common would be better. I’m not sure mental illness ever really feels normal, even to the person experiencing it.] 

I must admit, I was pretty sheltered from most of it at that stage of my life. But I knew what was going on. I knew what shock therapy treatment was (after all, I’d watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at school). I learned what a mental illness could do to a person, to a family.

From a short distance, I watched and hoped that things would get back to normal again one day. 

(Photo borrowed from: https://www.twenty20.com/photos/1ed2159b-862e-4d48-8e38-25c338f5b518)

But I think what resulted from those earlier experiences within my wider family, was that when it happened to me, I didn’t recognise it. I didn’t understand the depression and the anxiety I was experiencing was the same thing as what my loved one had. It didn’t look like how I thought it was supposed to look. It was years later, around the time I was preparing for the birth of my first child, that I realised that I’d suffered depression for the first few years of my marriage and was in danger of PND. So I started to look for the signs.

So why am I telling you about this? 

I think sometimes we think mental health issues will look a particular way. Maybe because, like me, you knew someone who had depression, or you’ve read some things on Pinterest, or read extensively a variety of articles; whatever your experience, it can mean we put mental health in a box. But it can look like so many different things to different people.

For example, I know a few people with BiPolar, and it looks completely different for all three people.

So when thinking about mental health, or if you meet someone with a mental health condition, stay open-minded.

And, if you’re concerned for yourself or someone you love, go to a doctor and talk to them. Just like you would with any other health issue, mental health can be treated and needs to be, the sooner the better. 

I'm not sure who took this photo of me and some of my work budd-ios at work on RUOK day. Someone else who works in my office, no doubt. Whoever you are, mystery person, thanks! I hope you're OK with a, somewhat partial, acknowledgement.

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