Two in Ten
According to this article from NPR today, 20% of Americans suffer from a single health issue.
It's mental illness. Does that number seem high to you? In the EU, that number is around 40% according to other stories I've heard recently. But even at twenty percent, that means that at an average party of fifty people, ten of them have mental illness of some kind.
And yet we don't talk about it. We're ashamed. We feel alone. We worry that it may affect our careers and make other people think that we're weak, that we're crazy. We self-medicate rather than seeking treatment. In many cases, even among those insured, treatment is covered minimally, if at all. We may find that others don't understand--they don't know that they know many people with mental illnesses, they don't know what to think, or what to say. They might think that if we just kept busy, or weren't so self-centered, everything would be ok. They're wrong.
I have suffered from depression. I am lucky that mine was an acute, rather than chronic illness. It was triggered by fertility woes. I was drowning in my own pain. I was suicidal. Fortunately, I had a great deal of support and I got help quickly and eventually I did get pregnant and I got better. But I think that depression is a door that once opened, can never be shut tightly. Especially this fall, as I've been struggling with back pain, I've also noticed myself having episodes of depression again.
There are many kinds of mental illnesses. Maybe you have one of them. I'm sorry to hear that and I hope that you get the treatment you need. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But if you do, you can talk to me. We need to talk about it. We need to know that it's happening, to many of the people around us. We are not alone.
This entry was originally posted at http://lillibet.dreamwidth.org/590463.html. You can comment either place! There are
comments over there now.
It's mental illness. Does that number seem high to you? In the EU, that number is around 40% according to other stories I've heard recently. But even at twenty percent, that means that at an average party of fifty people, ten of them have mental illness of some kind.
And yet we don't talk about it. We're ashamed. We feel alone. We worry that it may affect our careers and make other people think that we're weak, that we're crazy. We self-medicate rather than seeking treatment. In many cases, even among those insured, treatment is covered minimally, if at all. We may find that others don't understand--they don't know that they know many people with mental illnesses, they don't know what to think, or what to say. They might think that if we just kept busy, or weren't so self-centered, everything would be ok. They're wrong.
I have suffered from depression. I am lucky that mine was an acute, rather than chronic illness. It was triggered by fertility woes. I was drowning in my own pain. I was suicidal. Fortunately, I had a great deal of support and I got help quickly and eventually I did get pregnant and I got better. But I think that depression is a door that once opened, can never be shut tightly. Especially this fall, as I've been struggling with back pain, I've also noticed myself having episodes of depression again.
There are many kinds of mental illnesses. Maybe you have one of them. I'm sorry to hear that and I hope that you get the treatment you need. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But if you do, you can talk to me. We need to talk about it. We need to know that it's happening, to many of the people around us. We are not alone.
This entry was originally posted at http://lillibet.dreamwidth.org/590463.html. You can comment either place! There are
comments over there now.