Support & The Mental Health Community

When you walk around mental health issues on a regular basis, there are some things you're going to see. And a lot of those aren't nice. While usually I encourage supporting mental health warriors, there are some warnings to be had too. Because in my time with mental health struggles—in my time supporting others through their own—I've seen some things.

I've seen friends become taken over by their eating disorders.

I've seen people in a downward spiral, seemingly losing to their depression.

I've been defined by my disorders.

I've had to fight for respect.

I've had people turn to me for help when I can't handle helping them and I had to turn them down.

I've had people have panic attacks because they don't know what to do with me; they didn't know how to help. They thought they were going to lose me.

I've lost someone to suicide. I never got to say goodbye.

The truth is, the mental health community is scary and unpredictable. While support is always a good thing in my opinion, it can also be more than anyone can handle.

That's okay.

If you need to take a step back, take a step back. If you need to think through things before you jump right in, do so. Do what you need to do.

But the reason behind my saying this is, I want to point out that not every depressed person is suicidal, not every anxious person has panic attacks, and not everyone loses their identity to an eating disorder. You can't stereotype people based on what's happened to others. Everyone's mental health journey is different.

This is simply a warning that things might get harder than you expected, and I want you to be warned before that happens to you, just in case it does.

Mental health issues always go deeper than we may think they do. The person with anxiety isn't always anxious for no reason, they just might not want to admit why they're anxious. The person with depression could suicidal but doesn't want to worry you because the truth is, they're scared too. The person with ADHD might not want to say they have ADHD because of all the stereotypes about it.

Mental health is hard. It's hard to struggle with, it's hard to support people through, and it's hard to witness on the sidelines. I'm not going to pretend it's not. I've seen things I wish I never had to see; I've experienced things I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. But does that mean that I don't believe mental health warriors are worth supporting? Of course not.

We don't choose our mental health issues, but we choose how we deal with them. Though sometimes we don't get a choice, we can always remember that we are warriors. And true warriors try their hardest, even when times get tough.

Yet, even the best warriors need someone to protect them every once in a while. They need someone to protect them from the attacks from behind. They need support when they're starting to grow tired and weak from the battle.

Mental health warriors are the same. Warriors not in name only, but warriors through and through.

It's up to you whether or not you stand beside them.

(Remember, sometimes everyone needs to take a step back in battle, but you can always press forward again <3)