Why Our Progress With Mental Health Is Only the Minimum

We need to change our everyday conversation. Here is why.

Image from The Irish Times

Our progress with mental health is only the minimum because of one thing we are doing wrong. We have one problem.

As a society we do not live in sync. In other words, we contradict ourselves.

When in conversation, I tend to share my current feelings and emotions. If I am feeling anxious, upset, happy — I share it. For me, it is a pretty simple concept, or at least it was. However, the problem starts, when I share my feelings of anxiety or unhappiness. There is always one person in the group that will never fail to tell me that I am making it “awkward” or “sharing too much.” The same people who constantly raise awareness on the stigma surrounding mental health all over their social media, are telling me that my conversation is making them feel uncomfortable.

Our problem is we contradict ourselves.

We say one thing and do the complete opposite. We address the importance of opening up about mental health. The necessity of sharing our emotions and not judging others for it. But the minute a person starts to tell us about their bad morning, or their extreme anxiety before an interview, we automatically make…