DISCLAIMER & TRIGGER WARNING; Discussion of mental health and mental illness.
For the past 3 years, I have chosen working out as one of my coping strategies for when it comes to dealing with my mental health struggles.
It has worked tremendously and I’ve written more about it in this post where I shared how Fitness Saved My Mental Health. But recently, I had a bit of a drop in motivation when it came to going to the gym. This can happen from time to time and especially around this time of year as it gets colder and darker, but this time it was more prominent.
A slight injury had me feeling low and some intrusive thoughts meant that, in my mind, ‘I couldn’t possibly go to the gym’. I thought that everyone was watching, commenting, judging what I was doing. But spoiler alert; they obviously weren’t and aren’t, but my mind led me to believe they were.
Then after a while, I trained at a friend’s gym, posted a little video on my fitness Instagram and received a comment that said that, in a nutshell, mental health was a ‘choice’.
I’m sorry, but I’m not having it.
If feeling the way I sometimes do was a choice, I guarantee you that I wouldn’t choose it.
I can’t imagine anyone would opt-in for depression or check a tick box for anxiety, and any other mental illness for that matter.
When somebody breaks their leg, they didn’t choose to do so. When somebody comes down with a cold, they didn’t ask to catch it. Mental health is something that we all have and it can flourish and it can fall from time to time.
To say that mental health is a ‘choice’ can be damaging. Especially for someone like me who places a lot of blame on myself. If I wasn’t as aware of my own mental health state as I am, it could send me into spiral thinking that everything that happens was my fault because I ‘chose’ to be like this.
I’ve heard people say before that happiness and positivity is a choice and to some extent, I agree. There are certain things that you can put into place and practice to live a happier lifestyle.
But I’ve never known someone to ‘choose’ a mental illness or to struggle with their mental health. To put their hand up and say ‘pick me, I want to suffer’.
I really do think that this comes down to a complete lack of understanding of mental illness and mental health issues. But that still doesn’t make it ok to deem it as something that somebody can ‘choose’ to take on.
There has been enough going on in the world, especially this year, to show how very real mental health is. More people than I can imagine, have most likely struggled, given the situation, where they hadn’t beforehand.
This just goes to show that mental health and mental illness can have an impact on anyone and any given time. Whether this manifests in a personality disorder, an eating disorder or something else, it doesn’t just prey on a particular type of person.
Remember that mental illness doesn’t discriminate.
It doesn’t care about your gender, sexual preference or your ethnicity. It isn’t bothered whether you’re rich, poor or follow any specific religion.
Mental illness can affect anyone, and it does.
There are some people who will experience mental illness symptoms and have the strength to fight it on their own. They can bring themselves forward and already have the tools needed to come through it.
Then there are others, like me, who will have to battle and work with their mental health to go about their everyday lives. When you have dealt with something for so long, it can become second nature in knowing how to cope.
If you are struggling with your mental health and wellbeing, there are plenty of places you can turn for help. Opening up about my struggles was the best thing that I ever did. It doesn’t only help me deal with it, but my loved ones also.
Don’t suffer in silence and don’t ever be fooled into thinking you chose this. Your mental health can flourish again.
Anxiety UK – 03444 775 774
CALM – 0800 58 58 58
Mind – 0300 123 3393
OCD UK – 0333 212 7890
PAPYRUS – 0800 068 4141
Rethink Mental Illness – 0300 5000 927
Samaritans – 116 123
View plenty more here.