Mental Illness is More Than Depression and Anxiety

For many people, as soon as the term ‘mental health’ is brought up, what comes to mind is depression and anxiety. In no way in this post am I trying to say that depression and anxiety aren’t important, they can be crippling and severe. The problem here is that so much emphasis is put on these conditions, but we must be speaking up about all mental health issues

There are conditions out there that are seen as less palatable and not as relatable. Personality disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder to name just a few. The general public can relate to depression and anxiety as they are more common and chances are, they themselves or someone they’re close to has suffered from these conditions. It’s easy to forget about a disorder when you have no real life experience of it.

When I’ve brought up the subject of mental illness and my struggles either with bipolar disorder or psychosis with people their first response is usually along the lines of,

“I get anxious/depressed sometimes.” That’s great that they can feel honest and open with me, but that wasn’t the point of the conversation. People will often turn a conversation around into something they can relate to. Talking about psychosis makes people uncomfortable and often they don’t know how to respond.

These less talked about conditions are also more stigmatised. With a personality disorder you’re seen as manipulative and attention seeking, with psychosis you’re seen as crazy and could snap and murder someone at any moment. Continuing to not pay these conditions any attention leaves sufferers feeling incredibly isolated and alone.

We need to raise awareness of all conditions under the mental illness umbrella. Ignoring conditions because the conversation is harder to start will only further alienate sufferers. Allow people to share their story. Their experiences are valid and important.