Mental health is a pertinent part of overall health that can be overlooked at times. The mental aspect of health is just as important as the physical aspect. The connotation behind the words used when describing mental health can impact it quite a bit and could both negatively or positively impact your health. There is a stigma that can be attached to mental health which can be interpreted as negative, there is a particular view that could make it seem like talking about mental health and what you feel is a weakness or something that is not encouraged. According to the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, “Mental health conditions are often used negatively as adjectives, which is problematic.” Mental health conditions affect students in communities all over Indiana and are a growing issue throughout our communities.
Mind and body are typically separated when talking about health, however, they are inversely connected. Mental health can affect a person’s physical health just as physical health can affect one’s mental health. The importance of talking about mental health is often overlooked. According to the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, “ Nearly 20% of Americans will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. However, fewer than half of those who experience a mental illness will seek treatment.” Considering so many people struggle with mental health issues one would think the talk around mental health would be pretty extensive.
The words that surround mental health impact how people with mental health see any conditions or how open they are to talking about it or treating it. According to the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, “Language matters in mental health. The words we use shape how we see the world–and ourselves. The words we choose and the meanings we attach to them influence our decisions, beliefs, and well-being.” This exemplifies the need to talk respectfully and use the proper language when talking about mental health is critical. When trying to support those in your life who need support for mental health, it is important to know how to best support them. When talking to Lewis Cass’s Mental Health Coordinator, Lindsey Adams, she said, “Be supportive and open to hearing hard conversations to help others in our life get through things. We need to be willing to listen because sometimes the things that they say will be hard to hear.” When talking to those you love who may be struggling, sometimes having someone to listen to you and talk to can do the most for them.
When talking about mental health and how it affects both sides of our overall physical and mental conditions. Mrs. Adams said, “If you were sick you’d go to the doctor, so think about it as your mind being sick so you have to treat that too, or it will get worse just like physical health. So we have to have good mental and physical health.” When put that way it is definitely easier to understand why mental health is pushed so much during teens’ lives especially recently.
The communities surrounding Cass County at this time have been encouraging mental health conversations more recently due to recent tragedies or accidents that have impacted teens in our communities. The overall message that needs to come from this is if you get nothing else at all out of this- check on your friends, check on those you love, be there for them, listen to them, talk to them.
