It’s been interesting watching how this pandemic has been playing out.
I feel like I took a seat in the back row and have just been observing because I didn’t know what to think.. honestly, I still don’t.
At the beginning of it all, I genuinely thought this would help bring people together. A shared experience of humanity could do that.
Maybe in some ways it has?
But in many ways it hasn’t.
Somehow a pandemic has become incredibly political and divisive.
But I’m not here to talk about the politics of it all, I’m here to talk about a simple observation I’ve made.
No one is talking about mental health.
It’s all about numbers and cases.
No one is talking about the huge increase in suicides that have taken place in the last few months.
It’s all about precautions, our freedom, our choices.
No one is talking about the rate of relapse and the lack of support available.
It’s all about the president, the election, and political parties.
No one is talking about how isolation can increase your depression or even onset it.
It’s all about making sure the “other side” is viewed as inhumane and horrible.. and “your side” is the caring, loving one.
And no one is talking about the repercussions this pandemic will have on our future mental health, either.
In general, mental health is often left out of the conversation.
It just is.
Showing that it is still viewed as “less important” or “more taboo” than other factors in our culture and in our media.
It drives me a bit crazy, though. If I’m honest, I can’t believe it isn’t a huge topic of conversation.
Mental illness and addiction kill people.
A lot of people.
And it absolutely does not discriminate.
It doesn’t care what political party, social class, gender, religion or anything else you are a part of.
It’s a HUGE problem.
This isn’t just people being “sad” or “scared”.
It’s people living in their own hell, stuck in their mind.
As a culture, we need to be thinking about those who aren’t just affected physically during this, but mentally and emotionally.
My honest opinion is that the mental health crisis happening in our culture is as big of a problem as anything else, if not bigger.
But I fear we will keep pushing it to the side because it’s not a “sexy” and “provoking” enough topic to really be discussed on main stream media.
Mental illness will continue to be one of the biggest problems in our society until we make it important enough to bring out of the dark.
Please, when you think of your opinions of how everything should be “going” right now and what you think is the “right” answer...
Try to think of these people, too.
The ones who aren’t getting any coverage.
The ones who don’t have the news and celebrities speaking out for them.
Maybe, just maybe.. we can.
To those of you who are struggling deeply right now..
I want you to know that there are people who really do care about you.
There really is help for you.
I know it might not seem like it, but what you are going through matters and you shouldn’t be sitting with it alone.
I am praying that you will feel the strength to seek help you need, and that you will be met with empathetic and understanding ears.
You matter.
You are loved.
~Kelli Bachara, The Unraveling Blog