”Yeah, what’s up, talk to me”, I said. She hesitated for a while and suddenly blurted out ”My sister has mental health!”. If I was to consider her display of worry and anxiety as an act, I would have placed her just above Joaquin Phoenix playing joker but it was real and I had to deal with her as such. The girl was that intense.
I knew exactly what she wanted to communicate but my brains would not allow me to think past that.
”and I don’t know what to do. Would really want to help her but I don’t know where to start”. I just stared. I let my pettiness win. ”Why are you crying about your sister having mental health? You have it too and it’s perfectly fine” I know it messed up her mind, you should have seen the look on her face, priceless.
I eventually made her understand what I meant and we moved on to deal with her sister’s issues.
READ ALSO:Blogmas Day 8. Life Update; Mental health Journey.
EVERYBODY HAS MENTAL HEALTH.
According to W.H.O., it is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”.
Just like you don’t cry for having physical health, you do not have to cry for having mental health. It’s a state of being everyone assumes. It’s when there are factors hindering the quality that we have to worry about. They are normally referred to as mental health issues or illness.
If the concept is difficult to grasp, just think of your physical health. That is the same with mental health. Just as you exercise your body to keep being healthy, you exercise your mind to keep being healthy mentally.
Next time you want to communicate that someone has issues with his or her mental health, please don’t say the person has gotten “mental health” . Please say that the person is having a mental health issue or illness.
I hope you understand. Next time your friend comes crying that they have mental health, smile and say aawww, me too?.
Happy Monday. Enjoy your week.