Greetings and Blessings!!!
I hope you all are doing well! I hope you all had a great and blessed weekend! It has been raining here on and off since Friday. But I thank God for the rain because I feel that he is washing away old things and new fresh starts and new beginnings are coming upon us. In this post, I wanted to share with you all some of the stigma pertaining to mental illness. Yes, there are a number of things that is currently going on within the world today. And in no way am I dismissing or diminishing what is currently going on. My prayer daily is for this world to come together and be followers of Christ. Because Jesus is coming back for his people. But I felt compelled to write about how many people are suffering in silence. Whether they are battling depression, anxiety, an eating disorder, etc. it may be hard for them to truly open up and talk about what it is that they are currently going through. Or they may play it off so well and have the people that are close to them think that they are fine and everything is good but in reality they are battling and dealing with so much.
In my brief bio, I have stated that I have a BA in Psychology and that I am currently in school online obtaining my Master's degree in Professional Counseling. With my degree, I do plan taking the state licensure exam in order to become an Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). The field of Psychology is very personal to me. I love this field and it entails so much then what people may think or know. When it comes to mental illness there is so much stigma that surrounds it. I feel as though that this is do to lack of education or individuals having a negative perception about the topic of mental illness. When it comes to thinking of going to therapy and talking to a total and complete stranger and expressing oneself about anything that is currently going on it is mostly looked down upon in many different cultural backgrounds. That saying of what goes on in this house, stays in this house or if you want to talk to someone you can talk to an elder within the family is pretty evident in many different cultural backgrounds. So if this continues to happen then families or individuals within these families continue to suffer in silence. The way to break this vicious and dangerous cycle is to seek help or seek someone that you trust to help you. Another stigma concerning mental illness, is that individuals will never be able to succeed at certain challenges or that they can't improve their situation.
We can't be consumed with what other people may think or say when it comes to seeking therapy and getting help. Yes, it is important to have a relationship with God but there is nothing wrong with going to counseling and seeking help from a person who's role in therapy is to remain objective. Truth be told, if I wasn't in this field I would go and seek therapy because I get to be open and express myself to someone who isn't there to judge me or look at me strange because of what I've been through. There is so many things that are currently happening within the world today. Many people are going through things that we can only imagine. It is important that we reach out to our loved ones and ask them honestly, how are they really doing.
I am still learning in how to educate myself about the topic of mental illness. I feel that it is important continue to speak and educate ourselves about mental illness. There is a lot of positive things about mental illness but it tends to get overshadowed by the negativity. You never know what someone is going through, it is important to speak out and be of encouragement to others who are facing similar challenges and be a blessing to others. Because it is NOT about us, it is about being used as a vessel by God to help others. When we bless others we are blessing ourselves as well.
Be Blessed
Christina
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