Mental Health Awareness Month

Hi everybody! Planning, preparing, writing and publishing blog posts is proving difficult this month as I have exams in the coming weeks, so currently revision and preparing for them are my main priority. However, May is an important month for another reason. May is Mental Health Awareness month. Every year, this goes unnoticed by many, but in my opinion, it should get just as much recognition as awareness months for cancer and other illnesses.

Why is it okay for somebody with a mental disorder to not receive the same standard of care and support as somebody who is diabetic? Fair enough, they require different types of care and treatment, but there is no reason why it should be less accessible for one disease than it is another. It is vitally important that there is a push for the government to increase the budget for treatment of mental illnesses.

Many people automatically assume that a person is "crazy", "psycho" or just simply "overreacting". These are all terms used too loosely when it comes to mental illness. What a lot of people do not realise is that a person's condition does not define who they are, it's just a small part of them. Therefore, there is no reason why anybody else should judge them because of their conditions. A lot of people run in the opposite direction when mental illness rears its ugly head, and that's the sad part. It doesn't have to be that way.

In the UK, it is estimated that 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, yet why is mental illness still such a taboo topic?

I can tell you why. People are uneducated. In this day and age, people should be learning about mental illness just like they would learn about other diseases. Teachers in schools should be thoroughly taught about the subject of mental health. Managers in workplaces should be provided with information of the importance of mental wellbeing. Pupils and parents in every school should be exposed to lessons covering the crucial facts of conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. Until this happens, there will be a constant stigma attached to mental illness and those affected by it. 

So, this month, I'm making it my mission to increase the awareness of mental illness, and I'm asking all of you reading to make it yours too! A world where people can relate, empathise and understand is a happier one. Raising awareness and banishing the stigma surrounding mental health conditions can only be achieved by learning and teaching the facts. Take time to educate yourself. Knowledge is power!

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