Imagine a world where mental health day was every single day, where it was normalised or where we talked about it freely amongst the office chat.
Imagine a world where mental health was just as normal as the crappy night sleep we had or the headache that kept us off work.
Imagine.
Growing up I never really understood the term ‘mental health’, nor can I really remember it ever being mentioned. As a child, the only connection I ever made to mental health was the fact that my, sometimes excessive amount of worrying, wasn’t quite so normal. But that didn’t make it any easier for me to reach out about it, even as a child.
Now, as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realise that not only is mental health normal, but it really should be a part of our everyday conversation. How are you? How are you really? Be it at home or in the office, the conversation around mental health should & could be normalised.
The tricky thing with mental health is that it’s not always easy to know when something just isn’t quite right. Unlike a cold, or a broken ankle, mental health doesn’t physically look like anything. Yet, it can feel like absolutely everything.
This is why it’s so incredibly important to start normalising the conversation around mental health. To encourage those who hide their feelings, or brush it aside as “a bad day”, to reach out. The discussion around mental health begins with talking & listening. “I’m not feeling ok”. “Ok, well how can I help?”.
Reminder: it’s ok to have bad mental health days.
In the years to come, I want to tell my children that it’s ok to talk about their feelings, to admit when they’re not feeling ok & to reassure them that we all have days when we don’t feel quite right & that it’s normal… because it is normal.
As someone who grew up a ‘worrier’ in a time where mental health wasn’t even recognised, let alone spoken about, I know how important it is to reach out when you feel like your bottle is about to overflow. Note to self: stop bottling things up.
Be brave. Reach out. Talk about it. And just know that today isn’t world mental health day… every day is.
And if you’re encouraging a loved one to speak up, let them know that you’re there for them. Remember, it all starts with a conversation – a conversation around our mental wellbeing.
Hannah x
MIND: 0300 123 3393 (Mon – Fri 9am – 6pm) www.mind.org.uk.
Samaritans: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline). www.samaritans.org.uk
1 comment
I was really surprised to find a link between mental health and gut health. Gut is our second brain after all. I found a lot of people reducing their anxiety by limiting foods they’re allergic to.