Mental Health Awareness is Killing Us

It’s 2022 and we no longer need to raise awareness about mental health.

I say this as someone who:

•Has faced discrimination over being honest in the past at jobs over my “mental health.”

•Worked in the addiction field and therefore spoke about mental health with clients for 40 hours a week.

•Lost a friend to suicide.

But most importantly, I say this as someone who became extremely physically ill due to a wrong diagnosis — of a depression instead of a life-threatening physical health problem.

Turns out, you’re in a pretty crappy mood when:

• You aren’t getting enough oxygen.
• Your doctor fails to diagnose you with asthma & sleep apnea.
• Every health practitioner rushes to diagnose you with “depression” and hand out meds because it’s easy and trendy.

“Mental Health” Isn’t Always The Answer

We’ve become hyper-aware of it to our detriment.

We need to become more aware that not everything is “mental health.” My lack of treatment for asthma and sleep apnea landed me in the hospital for Covid. It also spiked my liver enzymes to unhealthy levels.

Mental health awareness has led to everyone suddenly becoming an expert in it.

But We Can’t Put Everything In The Grab-Bag of “Mental Health”

My friend who took his life worked with me in the addiction field.

He had enough practical knowledge to save his own life. But he didn’t. That was September 2020.

Of course people weren’t doing well then as society collapsed under mask mandates and other restrictions as well as a lack of activity and social opportunity.

Maybe The Real Issue is What Society Has Become

In much the same way you’d not feel very mentally well if your body were physically ill, you’re not going to feel OK as society piles on its ills.

High inflation, a poor healthcare system, a weak educational system, and a crumbling society are major problems we shouldn’t be turning away from. Working to solve those will vastly improve all our “mental health.”

Calling everything a “mental health problem” takes away from real issues.

Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog