There is a difference between normalising mental health discussions and trivialising mental health problems.
If we get to the point where we normalise potentially dangerous and extremely painful behaviours, we actually do mental health a disservice. Let me use a personal example to illustrate my point.
When I had PTSD, I had flashbacks and hallucinations. What is positive is people talking about PTSD in the past tense having recovered and overcome it. What is also positive is people talking about their experience of currently living with it and discussing the symptoms so that those who are not diagnosed, know what the symptoms look like. What is also positive is talking about the more minor symptoms and the likely feelings that will come up as a result of diagnosis.
What is not helpful, is people normalising hallucinations and flashbacks to the extent that people think it is a part of the human existence! This leads to people thinking it’s a way of life and means they actually don’t reach out for help.
Anyone who has been to therapy knows that getting yourself to the first session is hard work. You will come up with every reason why you don’t need it or sometimes even, all the reasons why you don’t deserve it. Trivialising the further end of the spectrum of any disorder, leads to people not asking for help at a time when they don’t need more reasons. This puts their life at risk, especially when these severe symptoms are discussed casually. Please be conscious about this when discussing mental health online.
#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #ScarredNotScared