“To the person in the bell jar…the world itself is the bad dream.” – Syliva Plath, The Bell Jar
Unless you personally suffer from mental health issues, it may be hard for you to fully understand what someone who is affected goes through. However, educating yourself is easy to do so that you can assist a family member or friend with their battle. You probably know someone who suffers from mental health issues, considering 20% of all Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime. That feeling when you lean too far back in a chair, or those days where you simply don’t have the energy to be positive, is an everyday struggle/battle/reality for someone who suffers from severe anxiety or depression.
Some common misconceptions of mental health are that people are just lazy, looking for attention, or need to get over themselves. In reality, a mental health problem is just as serious as a physical health problem, if not more so. Those who suffer from mental health issues suffer from battling their own mind each week, knowing that their problem or the weight of their illness will never truly dissolve but only lighten temporarily until they are trapped under their bell jar once again. Then, they start over the battle.
While mental illness may appear to be scary or difficult to deal with, each disorder is treatable. The best thing you can do as a bystander is encourage positivity and simply be a friend. Remember that you do not have to take it upon yourself to make sure that someone gets better; that will only put strain on your personal relationship. “Mental illnesses are just like any other illness: everyone deserves care, help, and support.” The best way to support is by doing your research on the specific disorder so you better understand the fundamentals of what is happening inside their brain and why they act or react in certain ways. My suggestion is to go to the Canadian Mental Health Association website, where you can find all that you need to know on mental health.