Bell Canada is donating 5 cents for every text message and long distance call made from a Bell phone to mental health programs. This is unbelievable. It is long overdue for a company to raise money and awareness about mental health. Mental health is just as crippling as other illnesses and disease. Millions of people struggled with it everyday. Not a lot of people look at mental health issues as a disease because you often cannot physically see the effects it has on people. Those struggling with depression are living everyday of their lives in agony, but more times than not, they put on their game face and get through their day without anyone knowing anything is wrong.
There are thousands of suicides around the world each day because of various mental health issues. I firmly believe that if we had more awareness and more help for these people that those suicide rates would fall. Each and every person and community should educate themselves on the mental health issues that affect so many people. Just because someone doesn't look sick, does not mean they aren't sick.
I know a lot of people that bitch and complain about their co-workers going on leave when "they didn't look sick, there's nothing wrong with them." You couldn't be more wrong. As someone who has battled depression, anxiety and (still battling) a crippling phobia, I know that the effects of mental illness can prove to be much worse than other more physical illnesses. If you have never struggled with mental health issues I can understand how it would be hard to comprehend the struggle we face each day. But imagine how it feels to not be able to get out of bed in the morning because you truly feel the world would be better off with you not in it.
Mental illness is not something that can be prevented. Sometimes, it is something that cannot even be cured. Yes, we have psychologists and doctors that can medicate us so we can function, and often times with the proper therapy, we can beat our depression and continue living our lives. However, there are just as many cases of people who simply cannot beat it. Most other illnesses can be cured through medication, surgery or other professional avenues. Can you imagine having something like depression, OCD, schizophrenia, or other mental illness and knowing that it won't ever go away. Instead of getting cured and moving on with your life the way you always did, you must learn to live life in a whole new way. You have to learn different coping skills just to get through each day. Can you imagine how hard it would be to have to completely re-learn how to live -- just to survive? I know first hand, it is a long hard road. But for those who are suffering, I can assure you that with the proper treatment, things will get better. Will they be exactly like they were before? Probably not. But if anything, you will come out of it a different yet stronger person.
So let's raise more awareness! Talk to your government and fight for more treatment options (especially for those who can't afford it). Canada has universal health care, which saves hundreds of thousands of lives each year. Yet, when someone (like myself) requires a psychologist or other mental health professional, we have to pay $150+ an hour. We need to convince our government to fund more mental health treatment options.
Let me know what your community is doing to raise awareness about mental health! If we band together, we can make a difference!
-Drea
