Mental Health Awareness Also Means Being Aware That Mental Illness Can Be Ugly, And Trying, And Hard.

mental health awareness also means being aware that mental illness can be ugly, and trying, and hard. that it is often uncomfortable and demanding. it is rarely a perfect, quick, lifetime-movie success story. recovery is a long, difficult path.

mental health awareness also means investigating your sense of what a mental illness "looks" like; questioning how you've seen it represented. it means listening to the communities that experience it, it means making sure that you get your information from multiple sources, not just white cishet activists.

mental illness is recursive; it can return and worsen with environmental stimuli even if someone has previously "seemed fine". mental illness is pervasive; it will affect each person differently but it will affect them. even when it is inconvenient to you, even when you don't "understand" what is causing it, even when it has symptoms that are complicated or unusual.

mental illness awareness is also: just because you are "tired of hearing" about someone's illness doesn't mean they aren't tired of experiencing that illness - all you have told them is that you are not a safe person to confide in. i know, as a person with mental illness, that all people can and should have boundaries about what they can hear from their friends. it is important to know if you are in a good space for empathy. there are things that need to just-be-for-my-therapy. but there are kind, thoughtful ways to tell us that you are not able to hold space for us at the moment - we are usually terrified of being a burden. there is a way for you to not be overwhelmed and for us to feel like you support us. this is going to be different across each relationship - and mental illness awareness is being willing to work with that relationship, too.

mental illness awareness is acknowledging that there are a lot of complicated, difficult situations that arise that aren't clear cut for each person. one person might need physical contact during an anxiety attack; the other might need to remove themselves completely. it isn't always easy-to-understand; there are a lot of factors in each relationship that influences how to support that person. every person, regardless of who they are or how they act - every person you know might be hiding a mental illness.

and it is also saying - yes, it is difficult, but it is still worth doing. because you do deserve help and support. each and every one of you.