My Descriptive writing pieces

This is not a joke, this is serious

To whoever needs to hear this,

Depression and self-harm is not a joking matter, it is not something to be taken for granted. There are many organisations to help people who find things difficult and for people who struggle to cope with everything that is going on at once. It's not fair that the older generation frowns upon it, only because they don't give the time of day to understand. There are adverts and campaigns for a reason, to spread the awareness of something that can be life-affecting and somewhat permanently damaging. Nobody is saying that it's easy to deal with, but mental health problems are on such a large spectrum and there's so many that people don't even know of. For us that are struggling and believe that there is something wrong, we don't want to have to feel that we can't talk to anyone because we're ashamed, merely because people who speak negatively about it make us feel this way. It makes us believe that we are contaminated or that there's something wrong with us. When you ask us if we're ok and we just reply bluntly with "I'm fine", in most cases we're not, we just tell you what you want to hear. Parents who have children with slight disabilities and problems shouldn't be ashamed that their children have got issues. If I myself was a parent and my child believed that their mental state wasn't as well as it should be, I'm not going to be the one to turn them away, I'll be the parent that's understanding and encouraging my child to do whatever they need to do to try and make themselves feel better. Who am I to tell them no? But unfortunately, there are parents who don't care as they believe that it's all for attention and that it's not real - that they've just made it all up for the sake of it. Because trust me, if we could make up the problems we had and make them not real then we would, nobody sets out to want to be in trouble or to find themselves struggling alone. We don't want this to be as real much as you do, but that's the way it is. If you're not happy with it then you're going to have to learn to move on or to just not talk badly about it as it's doing nobody any good in life. The media can be a helpful, supportive yet dangerous place, where people can come together and share their mental experiences with each other, yet it can be toxic as some celebrities thinking and saying "oh I'm so depressed, I ran out of my favourite makeup or favourite food or whatever" without actually thinking about what they're saying. However, there are some celebrities that are super supportive and try to spread as much awareness about mental health as possible by appearing on the adverts, making online posts about them, voluntarily doing fundraisers in order to help not just the young people who struggle but to help anyone who struggles.

So frown all you like about how "mental health problems don't exist" as it may someday be you that is in the same position as all of us who have to suffer in silence due to your idiocy and your outdated knowledge as "it didn't exist" in the time where you lived. That is where you're wrong, I'm no scientist, psychiatrist or doctor but I can make a good educated guess that the reason why parents and older generations believe it doesn't exist is because not enough people talked about it, or talked about whether they were struggling mentally as especially for men - it's going against the typical stereotypes of society which causes them to bottle up feelings which then results in everything becoming worse. You have no right to tell us that us people with mental health problems are fake when you don't give us the chance to explain and express how we feel, as everyone who criticises it makes us feel even smaller and significantly more worthless.

Another thing that prevents people from seeking help and speaking out is cultural backgrounds. In many Asian cultures, it is disrespectful towards the family name to have a mental problem and in some cases, they believe that it is not something to be resolved as it is a gift that their child has a spiritual connection with another being. People need to recognise when something is dangerously not right with their mental state and that they don't have to feel ashamed of telling their parents about how they truly feel as well as their experiences on an everyday basis with an alleged problem. There are so many people who don't go and get help due to the constant fear of their family's viewpoint. This is one of those times where you have to put yourself before your family, as your mental state is just as important as your family. If you're able to put other people first, then you are able to put yourself first for once as it could really help you in the long run - the longer you leave it, the worse it will become. I am one of those people who put everybody first as I don't like seeing anybody hurt and I want everyone to be happy, but now I'm starting to believe that if I myself am not happy, then I can't help anyone who isn't in the most effective way possible. I need to be selfish for once and look after myself for a while.

I personally believe that this is something that needs addressing and not carelessly looking over, as it is not fair that we who are encouraged to be the strongest we can be - are forced into keeping hidden from the small-minded generations that live along with us in this complex societal structure.

I want to thank everybody who read this until the end as it means the world to me. When I have enough spare time after my A level exams, I am considering starting a mental health page (somehow) where people will be able to share their experiences freely and join a lovely community about how to love ourselves as well as each other. I know that sounds incredibly cheesy but I know a lot of people who haven't opened up about their mental health and they have gone into a downwards spiral. I've found that this way I can help myself as well as others at the same time.

Thank you for listening.