This May is Mental Health Month Life With a Mental Illness Theme Highlights The Importance of Speaking Up, Sharing What #mentalillnessfeelslike
• If we want to break down discrimination and stigma surrounding mental illnesses we need to start talking about mental health before Stage 4 and sharing how it feels to live with a mental illness.
• Having healthy relationships and getting on a path to good mental health begins with being able to talk about how you feel.
• Telling people how life with a mental illness feels helps build support from friends and family, reduces stigma and discrimination, and is crucial to recovery. Whether you are in Stage 1 and just learning about those early symptoms, or are dealing with what it means to be in Stage 4, sharing how it feels can be part of your recovery.
• People experience the symptoms of mental illnesses differently, and sharing how it really feels—throughout all the Stages of an illness—can help others to understand if what they are going through may be a symptom of a mental health problem.
• Mental illnesses are common and treatable, and help is available. We need to speak up early—before Stage 4— and in real, relatable terms so that people do not feel isolated and alone. Life with a Mental Illness is meant to help remove the shame and stigma of speaking out, so that more people can be comfortable coming out of the shadows and seeking the help they need.
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