When it is time to get help with your mental health

Let’s say you fall and hurt your leg – you go to the doctors, right? You know when you’re in pain because you can physically see it. The same can’t always be said for what’s going on up there. You can’t always see pain, especially mental or emotional pain, so it can be hard to tell when it’s time to get help.

Mental health is something that can be a very taboo subject. Many people, even today, feel like they truly cannot open up to others about how they really feel in their own head. With 75% of all suicides in the UK being men, the stigma around mental health is still as prevalent as ever. So, to reduce this, it’s important to talk about understanding when it’s the right time to go and get help. This is something I’m currently on the journey on, so I’ll be sharing my experiences with opening up and understanding when you need support.

What I’ve noticed, more than ever, is that the first step to recovery is acceptance. Now, I know that’s a lot easier said than done, but I think that’s the first sign of knowing that you need support. It’s so easy to try and pass the blame on to other things – it gives you mental justification. For example, giving a physical thing to blame your anxiety on, puts you at ease – I’m definitely guilty of this. For years, I blamed my worries on other things so I didn’t have to deal with the fact that I might, in fact, have anxiety. I guess the stigma reinforced to me that, I couldn’t open up – the worst thing you can do, in my opinion.

It can be so hard to actually understand that something’s wrong. Whilst that’s ok, it can definitely hinder the recovery process because you have to accept something’s wrong before anything can be done. It’s hard, trust me. It’s taken me a while to begin to understand my problems, but it’s been a massive weight off my shoulders because it’s meant that I can talk to people and they can start to recommend strategies of wellbeing.

There are so many different types of help, with something out there for everyone. No issue is too small to get sorted, and neither is a problem too big to assist with. Everyone’s problems can be solved, as hard as it might seem to believe. But, nothing can be done if you don’t accept what’s wrong in the first place.

I know this has been a bit of a rant, a vomit of thoughts. But, I hope this may help you. Accepting my problem was the best thing I ever did, and I’m reaping the benefits as a result.

If you think you need help for your mental health, check out the following:

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