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Compassion: Mental Health's Best Friend

It starts with you

By Fire Dragon LitPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Mental illness is too much of a taboo topic. Don’t talk about it. It’ll go away. Those with mental illness are scary. Mental illness only happens to criminals, murderers, and crazy people. These thoughts leave those attempting to accept and deal with their health feeling alone and unwanted. The worst part about it is that we already feel alone and unwanted. We already feel unwanted. We believe we must have been bad to be this way. None of this is true. We need compassion and understanding.

Even worse than being shunned by people who don’t understand what those who suffer from mental health issues, is the fact that even those who know what it’s like don’t communicate. We need to become more open with each other. Talk about what is happening. We need to realize that our experiences may help someone else feel accepted and be willing to get help. With communication we can overcome these negative thoughts and feelings towards mental illness. We need more compassion.

Compassion is mental illness’s best friend. This compassion needs to start among those who suffer from these issues. Showing compassion and that someone is not alone is the start to recovering. It leads to acceptance in one’s self. It leads to seeking out the help one needs whether it is just therapy or medication or a combination of them both.

Unreasonable anxiety and paranoia are inherent in so many mental health problems. Anxiety Disorder, Paranoia Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Disorder are only a few of the problems that anxiety and paranoia appear in. They both make someone feel isolated. You feel that you are the only one who suffers from these issues. That no one would be able to understand the fear you have. The constant negative communication in your head. Lack of compassion and understanding will leave these sufferers feeling even more isolated and alone. They need to know they are not alone. They need to know they are not the only ones who deal with and have dealt with these forms of thinking.

Depression is the same way. It appears by itself and it appears in numerous other illnesses. It’s just another problem that leaves a sufferer feeling alone. You feel like you're stuck in the dark with no light to find your way. This darkness is suffocating and debilitating. Not being compassionate to someone suffering from depression sends them deeper into the smothering darkness never wanting to escape.

Compassion starts with those who suffer from a mental health illness. We understand each other. We can show someone dealing with depression that they are not alone in the dark and that there is a way to the light. We can show an anxious person that it’s ok to be anxious that we’ve been there and there are things that can be done. We can show a paranoid person that no one is out to get them and that the voices can be halted. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been diagnosed with, because you are never alone. There are others who have been diagnosed the same way or there are those who are diagnosed with something else but still have the same symptoms. We know what it’s like.

If we can be compassionate with each other then we can educate those who have been lucky enough not to have dealt with mental illness that we’re not inherently bad people. That with compassion and understanding we can get help. Together we can help each other become better. Compassion is key. Compassion is the starting line to success.

Can we have an open, nonjudgmental discussion about mental health? It’ll save lives and help people cope.

coping
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About the Creator

Fire Dragon Lit

I enjoy reading and I'm constantly attempting to write. The problem is the completion. Can't seem to find it. I hope to use Vocal as a journey to completing a piece of work. Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoy.

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