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Mental Health Support

In a society that demands a perfect body and a perfect mind, it is no surprise to understand why it's hard to accept a diagnosis of a mental disorder. The lack of knowledge people have about mental health leads to minimal support for those struggling with a mental health condition. This is a challenge for many young adults who receive a diagnosis in which they know little to nothing about. The stigma of mental illness and the treatment for mental health conditions are two main reasons why it's hard to accept a diagnosis of a mental disorder.
Healthy friendships have a positive effect on a person's mental health and understanding how to help a friend with depression are beneficial for both individuals. When a person struggles with depression, friends take a backseat during these low periods. Friends play an important role in our lives, and there are a variety of ways to help (Depression Poem for a Friend). It shows that depression not only affects the person struggling but those around them as well. This is why understanding a friend with depression and knowing how to help is important to maintaining a healthy friendship. The first step is learning what depression is and how it affects someone.
Body shaming, seen daily on social media, has a heavy impact on mental health. In modern day society, it seems nearly impossible to avoid society's version of the ideal body. Body shaming consists of criticizing our own bodies and/or criticizing the bodies of others. In the magazines, on television, and on social media, people who do not fit the idea of the perfect body face scrutiny and abuse. Social media often impacts mental health through body shaming.
Most young people at one time or another, have lost self-esteem over the perfect body image. It's easy to see why, when the people they look up to in the media are portrayed as flawless, thin, tanned women on the covers of magazines, and pictures of tall, muscled men. It can be hard for those struggling with society's perfect body image and their own weight issues and can contribute to many mental health issues.
It's common to hear people describe the way they're feeling in a stressful or nervous situation as anxious. We often find ourselves snowed under with the daily pressures of life, and that can make us feel a certain level of anxiety. What I do believe however, is that the word anxiety is regularly taken out of context. People need to understand the difference between suffering from the condition of anxiety and feeling stressed.
There's no doubt social media consumes many of our lives these days, but there is a dark side to social media that affects our young people. All you need to do is look at the outraged expression on the face of someone who finds out their friend doesn't have a Facebook profile. It's everywhere, and young people are especially caught up in their so called Internet lives. They almost stop living in the real world and it's hard to go five minutes without checking their phones. Young people often compare what they see others doing on social media to what they're doing with their lives, and it makes me question -- can social media affect young people's self-esteem, confidence and feeling of self worth? Is there a dark side to social media that affects young people?
Antidepressants can help people going through a variety of mental health challenges and illnesses and you can come off antidepressants safely and without fear. Some people can remain on them for months and sometimes years. In some cases, the antidepressant medication can be temporary. Once feeling well and strong again, it's up to the individual to decide when, and if, they want to stop taking the medication. However, although the individual can be well enough, it can become too daunting to stop the medication just in case he or she slips back into the headspace they were in when starting it (My Depression Feels Unreal). This is certainly the case with me. In this video I express my thoughts and fears about antidepressants and how I want to come off antidepressants safely and without fear, eventually.
I used to be a people pleaser but now I've learned to put myself first. When I was younger, I used to be the kind of person that people could take advantage of easily. When you display that as a young person, it's hard to change as an adult -- but it is possible to put yourself first and stop being a people pleaser.
Fewer things in this life are worse than suffering from mental illness for a prolonged period, but you can enjoy a happy life after a mental illness diagnosis. In the blink of an eye, life can change and all of a sudden you’re not the person you once were. It’s been eight months exactly since I recovered from a serious episode of depression and anxiety and gained my life back (Recovering From Mental Illness: A Self-Help Guide). In this blog and video, I want to share how my life has improved and become rich again. (And I don't mean rich in the financial sense). I believe there’s no greater gift than giving back, so I hope my experience inspires you to realize that you can enjoy a happy life even after a mental illness diagnosis.
When mental health issues strike, it's common for some people to notice changes in themselves from who they once were, but you can improve your mental health by contributing. You may have been a social butterfly before, the life of the party, or you may have always gone out of your way to help others. One thing is for sure -- when you fall into a deep depression or find yourself anxious all the time, not only can you change as a person, but it's almost impossible to take the focus off yourself and how bad you feel. What can you do to take some of your control back? What I want to share in this video could potentially be the starting point for pulling yourself out of your anxiety and/or depression. Here I talk about contributing to help improve your mental health.