3 Reasons Why You Should Seek Mental Health Support

3 Reasons Why You Should Seek Mental Health Support

By Aid

None of this is intended to be legal, medical, or psychiatric advice. 

    Your car starts making a weird noise that you can’t explain, so you go to a mechanic. The wifi connection in your home keeps cutting out, so you call tech support. Your old landlord refuses to give you back your deposit, so you speak to a lawyer. Your pet stops eating its favorite food, so you talk to a vet. Your tooth hurts, so you see a dentist. Your ass hurts, so you see a doctor. With the Covid pandemic still raging and mental health issues on the rise, with many individuals struggling to cope with the weight of isolation, personal loss, fear of the virus, fear of not being able to pay rent or make ends meet, and other constantly challenging circumstances, why is it that so many of us choose not to seek professional help when we begin to experience the strain of mental health issues? 

Let’s pretend for a minute that everyone has the time, money (or health insurance), access to providers, and the support of friends and family, necessary to even set foot in a therapist’s or psychiatrist’s office. With all of those first-world problems solved, the truth is: there are very real and pressing reasons why people still would choose not to seek help when their mental wellness is at stake, and just being aware of some of these details can actually contribute to an environment in which people are better able to seek and receive help. If you are not thinking of seeking help for any mental health concerns, and even if you consider yourself completely mentally healthy, you should keep reading.

When you were a kid, and you fell over, or got hurt, what was the first thing adults were quick to tell you? Even today, when you are angry, or upset, and you are in public, how do people react? Don’t Cry! Don’t Raise your Voice! Don’t make a scene! From a very early age, we are taught, and it is continuously reinforced, that we must keep our negative feelings to ourselves, and we are only allowed to share positive feelings with others, and even then— only in moderation, or someone will think you are weird, or crazy, or there is something wrong with you. We are taught that expressing negative feelings, or even acknowledging them will result in shame and embarrassment, and these are things to be avoided. Things to be feared. Unless, everyone else feels the same way, like at a funeral, or after a national tragedy. 

People who are thinking about seeking mental health support are not just fighting against the influence of deeply engrained socialization. They have heard horror stories. Well, not quite horror stories, because “horror stories” implies that the dangers are fictitious, or imaginary. God forbid a person goes to get help, and becomes diagnosed with a mental health illness or disorder. There are some legal protections for those labelled “mentally ill,” but not nearly enough to protect them from all the consequences of the stigma surrounding it. And, just because one is legally protected from something, that does not mean something bad will not happen. People are afraid of losing their jobs, losing access to their kids, or even being detained against their will, among a litany of other things. For someone thinking about seeking help, it can literally seem as though they will be punished if they manage to get that help. 

So the question is not: Why don’t people get mental health help? The question is: How do some people find the immense strength to get help when the odds are so against them? Here are a few things to remember:

1) You are not alone, but it is on YOU to lead the way. 

    Many people do successfully seek and receive mental health treatment and support. Mental health troubles are far more common than most people will admit to, and the field of psychiatric medicine has come along way since it consisted of a few Austrian men listening to people’s dreams and then prescribing their patients cocaine. Chances are, there is someone who has experienced very similar mental health concerns to you, who has sought help, and now lives a better life because of that. At the same time, we would not be able to say any of that if no one had ever stepped forward, and admitted to needing help. We benefit from their example, and we benefit from the lessons learned by psychiatrists and other providers who helped treat those patients who stepped forward. In the same way that we owe it to ourselves to be our best advocates, we owe it to future generations to get help so that they have more examples of people who faced the monster of stigma, and did something to take control of their health and lives.

2) Upstream Spending: 

    This is a concept from business and economics. Basically, you can choose to ignore a problem in its infancy, and then spend a lot of money and resources later trying to fix the problem, or address the problem early on, when it is less costly, and easier to deal with. For example, a car manufacturer can build thousands of cars, sell them, and then later find out that there is a problem with the design of the breaks and have to spend a fortune on recalling all the sold vehicles, or it could invest in hiring a team to inspect the breaks and other safety features during the manufacturing process, and avoid the costly recall. If you are experiencing concerns about your mental health, or are experiencing psychological symptoms that make your day to day life harder or less enjoyable, it pays to be proactive, especially if you have access to support. Again, we bring our cars, our pets and our physical bodies for check-ups; we should bring our minds for check-ups! Finally, keep in mind…

3) Everyone can benefit from trying therapy once in their lives: 

    Even if you are not experiencing anything you might consider to be a mental health problem, there are still advantages to taking part in therapy. Firstly, you can gain a better understanding of what therapy involves and does not involve. That way, later in life, if you are experiencing any troubling symptoms, getting help will not seem as intimidating. You won’t have to dispel any myths that stand between you and receiving help. Secondly, it can teach you tools that you can use to handle stresses and other problems that have not occurred yet, and may result in mental health trouble if unchecked. Lastly, the more people who take advantage of mental health resources, the less stigma there will be around it. You are not just helping yourself, you are helping everyone, including those who need help the most.