Listen to Your Community

Most people in this community, whether they recognize it or not, think of mental health survivors as less than. They see us as less than them, less than normal, less than acceptable. For example, when we were in in-person school, if there was someone who was vocal about their struggles (and there are/were barely any people), they would be avoided, as if they have some contagious disease and shouldn't interact with "normal" people. People think that anxious people are just nervous or shy, when really it runs deeper. People think that all depression is, is sadness. They make passing comments about how "Oh I'm so depressed" regarding something trivial, when there's people all over who truly struggle to stay alive because of depression. 

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I feel like teachers and staff preach about mental health awareness but do nothing to help the situation. 

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Part of it originates with the parents, as they are the ones who show their children how to treat others by example, and they show their kids right versus wrong. But majority of these stigmas and misconceptions should be attributed to society. Society as a whole still holds the century-long belief system that people with mental illnesses are a danger to society. All that does is isolate us, ostracize us from the world, making our recovery feel so much closer to impossible. 

I've been struggling with major depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety for over five years now, and unfortunately I don't live in a supportive household so I haven't gotten professional help. I think it really got bad when I came to terms with the fact that I'm queer, knowing that many of my friends and my entire family wouldn't accept me. I forced myself to be someone I'm not which, I realizing now, is something that is really harmful. In my freshman year of high school I began self-harming, searching for an escape. In my sophomore year, things just got worse but I was able to talk to my friends and find my family in those who accepted me. Currently, I'm a senior and I can't say I've gotten loads better but I can say I've improved just a bit. As the years go on, I get better at finding some less harmful coping mechanisms and I get better at living with these illnesses. 

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I’ve struggled with stress and some complicated family issues; the school has somewhat helped, but only momentarily. Right now, I feel like no one cares. 

Media definitely negatively portrays it and most parents don't really "believe in it" either. also capitalist culture is literally your worth is based on how much work you can do and nothing else, and if you can't keep up there's a billion other people to replace you so most corporations only pretend to care at most. 

I'm a senior in high school, headed off to university next year. I struggle with depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder. The depression started about 5 or 6 years ago in middle school, when I first accepted that I'm part of the LGBTQ community (I'm a lesbian). The anxiety, though, feels like it has been part of me for so much longer, as I struggled with my body image and hating every part of myself. Unfortunately, I have been forced to endure the struggles alone over the years, and now it feels more like a blessing that I don't need to explain my scars or anything to anyone. Back in middle school I would binge eat and then skip meals and push myself to exercise, which seems alright until it snowballs into a major eating disorder. And that just further increased my anxiety. And by eighth grade when I realized my sexuality, I would punch myself all over my body, uncontrollably, in hopes of killing the fat, and once I started I couldn't stop for almost 5 minutes. I think that's where the self harm started. I gained some sort of warped satisfaction from seeing the small bruises all over my body, because being able to point that out as a source of my pain made it easier to ignore the pain inside me. Then I found surgical scissors at home, and that brought a new source of pain. This has now gone on for 6 years, and my friends know some extent of this— my teachers and family know none of it. Depression is an illness that is different for everybody. For me and many others, it has made us numb. Not that I can't laugh or cry or show emotion, but it isn't real emotion; I don't remember what happiness feels like or what joy feels like. I know what anger, frustration, loneliness, sadness feels like. I always say to people when they ask what depression is like, "Depression for me feels like over time, someone just takes my emotions and throws them away, one by one." Even though my friends know some of what I go through, I still hear comments like "I'm so depressed that I got a 45/50 on this Bio exam" and I can only just nod and comfort them, because I don't want to cause them pain or awkwardness by telling them how it affects me.

Parents, teachers, schooling in general. 

They partially come from misdiagnoses, typically by oneself to themselves, but it often stems from this notion that there’s a set of specific steps that someone can take to guarantee mental health recovery. From “be in nature” to “meditate” and the like, advice that is beneficial for general mental health maintenance can be misattributed as a cure for depression or something. 

Indian society and mistrusting medicine i guess. 

I’ve struggled with stress and some complicated family issues; the school has somewhat helped, but only momentarily. Right now, I feel like no one cares. 

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I try to go outside every now and then with my camera. Hearing the birds and taking photos keeps me grounded and brings me this calmness.

It's been extremely hard to stay "healthy" in this huge quarantine period, especially for many of us who struggle with mental illnesses. For some, yes it's easier to just stay at home and be on our own, but for me personally it was nice to be on my own and dictate my own schedule but after a while it just gets lonely. 

I absolutely don’t do enough for my own mental health. It generally involves busying myself in the day, then bombarding myself with entertainment at night until I inevitably fall asleep. 

Eat lots of food

Try to get in exercise, eat good food, try to sleep early and know when I need a break.

People who are lucky enough to not struggle with their mental health should sit down with people who have that burden, and take the time to understand just a bit what it's like to live a life constantly plagued by mental illness. 

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Student led discussions but also acknowledgement from adults; protesting negative media portrayals and pointing out where businesses and even the government could do better.