Talking it through...

I finished my exams and then came home. At home, new anxieties arose as to what to do with my life. I pulled out of a training course due to start in autumn and started to ruminate, thinking my life was going to fail.Thankfully, I began a course of CBT, and my therapist has really helped me wade through the last month and take charge of my life. The anxious thoughts had been niggling away at me, but I wasn’t keeping my parents in the loop. My therapist encouraged me to sit down and talk my problems through with my parents. I did so last week and it was a major breakthrough. I told them that I was having a tough time, but eventually I would come to a decision about what to do with my future. I also underlined that I was going to be OK and that we all needed to worry less. 

Talking with my parents rationally helped both me and them. I realised that they are there to support me and will stand by me, and I realised that I actually had more control over the situation than I thought I did. Keeping your family and friends updated on what you’re going through is so important. A few years ago, I overheard the saying ‘Anxiety spreads through the herd’. I think this can be said for depression as well. Mental illness has knock on affects for all of those that care about you, whether you know it or not. It will calm down the people down around you if they know exactly what problems you are facing, as they will not have to guess what’s going on. Even if you have to mince your words, things will only get better if you open up about your thoughts and help people help you.

Mental health problems can be very isolating, and it’s very common for people to feel that they are the only ones to think the way they do. The reality of the matter is that many people have mental health problems, and I have been surprised on a number of occasions when I have been told about friends or family members who have mental health problems. It goes to show that people are good at concealing mental anguish. This is probably because we still live in a society in which talking about mental illness is still frowned upon. In my opinion, we need to encourage an atmosphere where people can stand up and not worry about being negatively judged for having a mental health problem. Friends and family just want to see you at your best, so make the most of their kind and loving support.