Mental health is something that affects every single person, whether it is through watching someone else struggle, or struggling yourself, it is an underestimated and terrible disease. 

I can say that I am someone that has been through depression and anxiety, and I continue to live with this on a daily basis. However, I am one of the lucky ones because I have the most amazing support system around me making it easier to live normally everyday. However, for those who don’t have that, it seems that celebrities, and influencers, as much as they are trying to help, reach out when they themselves are unobtainable. 

I understand that these people we all follow on Instagram, who live these glamorous lives, who have ridiculous bodies, and who sell this dream with their #ad. However, it appears that more and more they are also tapping into this rising conversation about mental health. They have different sides to their life, I am not disputing that, but it is hard for someone who isn’t in that privileged position, who doesn’t have that support system, and who frankly is at their lowest, to relate to these people. Don’t get me wrong, I know that any conversation about mental health is a positive step to reducing the stigma that comes with it, but I feel that society sometimes needs to take a minute  and really think about how this delicate topic should be approached. 

For me, actions do really speak louder than words. I am no saint, and I could definitely do more to help people, but an Instagram post from an influencer is not something that I consider to be helpful for this topic. However, if they were to show their support by doing a fundraiser, or perhaps volunteering, then maybe it would start to feel more like a community rather than this opinion that the people who have thousands of followers must be the voice of reason. 

My point is, I just really don’t want people to start to think that mental health is this glamorous way of life, or to think because they have had one stressful day that they have chronic anxiety. It is still a serious illness that can’t just be spoken about on mental health day, but on every day. I don’t claim to be an expert on this topic, and I certainly don’t believe that I am, but the more I learn from my own experiences, and the experiences of those around me, the more I realise how this is a problem that is more relatable than so many people may think. 

“Mental health is not real”, “it’s in your head”, “why do you get so stressed?”. Now for anyone with mental health, these statements can be the most demoralising, frustrating and ignorant things to hear. If it isn’t real then why is there medication for the illness, why are there numerous studies! I once had a prep interview with a recruiter who asked me what made me resilient. I responded with the best answer I could think of. During my third year of university, I struggled with depression, bullying, and anxiety, but I continued to push through and I obtained my goal of a 2:1. This is my proudest achievement and yet her response was that this wouldn’t be a good answer because the employers would be put off by the mention of depression. I think is just a small example of a much bigger problem. We can all say that the stigma is decreasing but the problem is still so detrimental to so many people. 

I just think that if everyone was a little kinder, a little more inquisitive with their friends, and a little more open to all possibilities, then the littles would add up to a massive help. This includes me, I need to ask my friends if they are ok more often and not just take fine as an answer, I need to call my family more and make sure they are doing ok, and I need to make more of an effort to start to work with my depression and anxiety. The absolute worst thing I could do, or anyone could do, is to let this illness define who you are, and what you want to be. Because of my support system, and the strength of those around me, I have tried to not let the anxiety prevent me from living my life. I know it’s easier said than done, and I know that it is not a step that can be taken lightly because others struggle far worse than I do. But it is something to think about. 

The reason I wanted to talk about this is to break down this barrier of what mental health is made out to be. It is not a trend, or something to tweet about on one day of the year, but something that every single person can do more to help with. I am sure that some people look at these long posts from celebrities and find comfort that someone so fortunate can struggle as well. And I get that. But for me it is about looking closer to home, about making sure it is not something that is aspired to but something that we can educate people on more and more as the conversation gets wider. We are all affected in some way, so lets be kind, spread some hugs (ok I know everyone doesn’t like hugs but I am a hugger) and be happy!