Mental health day. What does it mean for you?!

[NowPermOutsideUK]

Yesterday was mental health day and as northern lad pointed out not much activity happening on this forum

so maybe I can ask fellow it contractors and perm what this sensitive sometimes wushu washy subject means for you ?

specifically did you suffer from depression or anxiety and if so how did you differentiate between having a bad few weeks / months to real depression and at what age did it happen toy and finally how you overcame it!

for me at 39 I ve only started to take it seriously. Previously I would have told people who bought up work related depression anxiety to snap out of it and give yourself a good shake to wake up. In the last year I have become a bit wiser and started to realise it is a serious area

wish you nice weekend

[northernladuk]

Your postings make me glum. Does that help?

[ladymuck]

Yesterday was also 'egg day' or some such.

I think having a day for things, much like it also being black history month, is both trivialising and a way of raising awareness at the same time.

Mental health issues aren't like a Christmas puppy, they're long lasting, so I struggle to understand what one day can achieve. However, if the day reminds people to take the time to check in on someone or prompts a person to get the help they need then it'll have served a good purpose.

[courtg9000]

Dosen't mean much to me to be fair.
Some people here are aware that I have suffered heavily with my physical health for a number of years and yes, that has impacted very heavily on my mental health a lot too.
However, a day and some flag waving is not going to change anything.
Things will still be the same the day after.

[OwlHoot]

Yesterday was mental health day and as northern lad pointed out not much activity happening on this forum

so maybe I can ask fellow it contractors and perm what this sensitive sometimes wushu washy subject means for you ? ..

They let me out for the day!

[SueEllen]

They let me out for the day!

Who is they?

The mental hospital I went to school near would let a good deal of their patients out in the day unless they were on specific wards.

[jayn200]

specifically did you suffer from depression or anxiety and if so how did you differentiate between having a bad few weeks / months to real depression and at what age did it happen toy and finally how you overcame it!

for me at 39 I ve only started to take it seriously. Previously I would have told people who bought up work related depression anxiety to snap out of it and give yourself a good shake to wake up. In the last year I have become a bit wiser and started to realise it is a serious area

I do see this a lot from people (and even myself) who have never suffered any mental health issues. Depression and Anxiety are not just having a stressful day, sad day, anxious day, or week or months or even years and especially not in response to any type of event that warrants those feelings.

Real clinical depression, anxiety and other mental health issues usually manifest themselves with physical symptoms, they are usually chronic conditions and they might onset during a particular traumatic period or stressful times but they will persist even after the stressor is removed. Someone with clinical anxiety or depression will have symptoms of their mental illness even when things are going well in their life. There is quite often a real physical/neurological cause of the conditions (although severe traumatic event(s) can definitely trigger on their own in a physically healthy individual).

You can't just tell them to snap out of it, if they are able to snap out of it or if they are no longer sad after whatever is making them sad is removed... well then they aren't having a mental health problem they are just having a normal human emotion.

[vetran]

World Mental Health Day and my windows have never tasted as nice....

[cannon999]

Yesterday was mental health day and as northern lad pointed out not much activity happening on this forum

so maybe I can ask fellow it contractors and perm what this sensitive sometimes wushu washy subject means for you ?

specifically did you suffer from depression or anxiety and if so how did you differentiate between having a bad few weeks / months to real depression and at what age did it happen toy and finally how you overcame it!

for me at 39 I ve only started to take it seriously. Previously I would have told people who bought up work related depression anxiety to snap out of it and give yourself a good shake to wake up. In the last year I have become a bit wiser and started to realise it is a serious area

wish you nice weekend

Yeah I used to think that until anxiety hit me like a train. I suffered with it for roughly a year until I finally admitted to myself that it was what it was and started taking medication (and changed some of my lifestyle). Let me tell you the physical symptoms of anxiety are very real and debilitating. I was in A/E multiple times and had to take some time off work. A year later - I am pretty much back to normal. I get very rare episodes but they are mostly brought on by consuming certain foods that are anxiety triggers (too much chocolate/cofffee etc). The irony is that I deal with stress very well and don't get anxious about much (or so I thought) and didn't believe that anxiety could manifest itself in a purely physical form.. I was wrong. Since then I have a very different look on mental health problems. (I am 30)

[northernladuk]

You can't just tell them to snap out of it, if they are able to snap out of it or if they are no longer sad after whatever is making them sad is removed... well then they aren't having a mental health problem they are just having a normal human emotion.

It's a difficult topic to discuss but I agree. Where is the line between just being down in the dumps because of something that will go away very soon and a mental health episode that needs attention. Bit of money problems, lack of sleep, just a bit down in the dumps. Totally agree that could be classed as mental health technically but it's so far down the spectrum. I know quite a few people around me go on about mental health when a good sleep and pull your socks up is all that is needed but it worries people around them and they have it in their heads its OK to be like that and wallow because it's a mental health problem. It's a bit like saying you've got flu when you've got a cold.

In some cases I don't think jumping on the mental health bandwagon is useful as it needs a whole different approach to remedy. Don't get me wrong, I don't treat them any differently and ask what's up and all that but then you see them beaming from ear to ear a few days later it's difficult to take the third, fouth time seriosuly if you get me.

That said when people say I'm having a bad week, I'll be fine you do have to make sure, particularly in men, they aren't covering up something more serious.

It's just a difficult discussion when you bring the term normal human emotion in to it. What's normal? It was normal not to worry about peoples mental health 10 plus years ago for example. Shyness is another one, people are just shy, they change in time but it's now it's linked to Social Anxiety Disorder. So someone that would have just be shy back in the day is now suferring for SAD. Is being shy still normal?