The elephant in the room – Mental health issues

Image credit

Today I’m going to talk about something that our society doesn’t like to talk about. Mental health.

In our predominantly Christian society, mental health issues are often seen as a weakness. A sign of lack of faith. A sign of sin or a burden that God has asked you to bear. If you struggle with mental issues, then, clearly, you just aren’t praying hard enough.

This is a crock of bull.

Mental health issues are just like any other health issues. They are disorders, diseases, etc. They require and deserve treatment from medical professionals and respect from others.

Depression and anxiety are SWEEPING through America right now. This article from NBC presents some of the data from a study recently conducted. The data demonstrates that depression is on the rise, and it is a study that is quite limited in scope. It only accounts for folks who are insured with Blue Cross Blue Shield and were diagnosed with major depressive disorder. This means that it misses those of us who are diagnosed with postpartum depression or anxiety, general anxiety disorder, ANY OTHER mental health diagnosis, and anyone who is not insured by this particular company. That’s a lot of data that’s unaccounted.

Despite the fact that more of us are struggling with mental health issues, we’re not talking about it a ton. Sure, there are pockets of us who discuss it and share our experiences. But there’s still a lot of stigma around admitting to mental health issues, seeking medical treatment or counseling, or talking openly about it. I think, I hope, that this is changing.

And I’m going to be part of that change.

In the next couple of days, I’m going to write about my own experiences with postpartum depression. I’ll talk about my diagnosis, my treatment plan, and how it’s impacted my life. I’ll talk about my process to wean off of my antidepressant. I’ll talk about alternative coping measures I’m using. Be on the lookout.