Please note that this article mostly relates to depression.
September is also known as Suicide Awareness Month which directly relates to mental health. But people shouldn't just be aware of mental health illness's for two months (since there is also a Mental Health Awareness Month) , it should be always. As long as others are suffering, we should be aware of their pain and work to help make the suffering cease.
Mental health is an issue every month, every week, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, it is constant. It is sad to realize the fact that over 264 million people across the age spectrum around the globe suffer from depression.
While tremendous work has been done in the research and understanding of mental health and illness's such as depression, there is still much work to be done. The public portrayal/perspective of mental health and illness's is something in dire of need to be worked on.
But What Is The Issue?
Many for some reason believe that for example depression is caused by one who cannot handle their own emotions... that is simply not true. Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain which leads to changes in the way people think and sometimes can cause other physical changes throughout the body.
Another part in this issue is that people are unaware of the possible damage they may be causing to someones mental health because of the lack of respect for one another and the inability to recognize those suffering from mental health issues such as depression.
So, What Can We Do?
One step that we can take is for schools to have presentations on mental health awareness. These presentations should show the truth on common misconceptions of mental health, explain mental health, how to recognize someone who may be suffering for issues such as depression, and what to do when you realize someone may be suffering from depression. Many want to help their friends in need but simply don't have the resources to do it.
If we can teach the signs of depression and how to respond when we recognize someone suffering from it, others will now be prepared to take action whether it's just giving them someone to talk to or getting them the help they need. There are many more steps we can take but this would be a good start in getting people aware of what many are going through and what they can do to assist.
