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A Message from a Youth Perspective with current events and topics related to Youth Trends and Mental Health tips
A Message from a Youth Perspective with current events and topics related to Youth Trends and Mental Health tips
Mental Health Awareness
Mental Health Awareness
In the year 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month had been established in the United States. It was created to raise awareness towards the importance of mental health, help eliminate stigmas toward those who suffer from mental illness and provide resources that would aid in improving our mental wellbeing. It is a month that supports positive growth in everyone, even if someone is not directly subject to mental illness. It also pushed further discussion around the topic, allowing rapid research to be done to produce effective solutions to this commonplace issue. I and many other people believe that this month is something of extreme importance, especially in comparison to what tactics were used to “solve” this phenomenon in the past.
In the year 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month had been established in the United States. It was created to raise awareness towards the importance of mental health, help eliminate stigmas toward those who suffer from mental illness and provide resources that would aid in improving our mental wellbeing. It is a month that supports positive growth in everyone, even if someone is not directly subject to mental illness. It also pushed further discussion around the topic, allowing rapid research to be done to produce effective solutions to this commonplace issue. I and many other people believe that this month is something of extreme importance, especially in comparison to what tactics were used to “solve” this phenomenon in the past.
For example, during the 1800’s, mental illness was hardly understood. Methods that were used to “solve” this issue would revolve around placing people in asylums. In these asylums, doctors typically sat their patients on a rotating chair and continuously spun them in circles until they grew nauseated and vomited. For more extreme cases of mental illnesses like panic attacks, patients were forced to wear straightjackets while being wrapped in chains. In addition to this, they were kept in small cages for hours. Once calm, doctors would release these people from their cages and set them free. I can confidentially say that this would not help at all. This would only make things worse for those who do suffer from mental illnesses. Not only would they be hurt from being forced to vomit or being trapped in a tiny cage, but it would be traumatizing.
For example, during the 1800’s, mental illness was hardly understood. Methods that were used to “solve” this issue would revolve around placing people in asylums. In these asylums, doctors typically sat their patients on a rotating chair and continuously spun them in circles until they grew nauseated and vomited. For more extreme cases of mental illnesses like panic attacks, patients were forced to wear straightjackets while being wrapped in chains. In addition to this, they were kept in small cages for hours. Once calm, doctors would release these people from their cages and set them free. I can confidentially say that this would not help at all. This would only make things worse for those who do suffer from mental illnesses. Not only would they be hurt from being forced to vomit or being trapped in a tiny cage, but it would be traumatizing.
Imagine your only source of “help” for something like depression would be going to a prison-like environment where your arms and legs are chained while being trapped in a tiny cage. I and many other people would find that horrifying while also extremely demoralizing. This is why I find this month to be especially important. The culmination of this month prevented situations like this from ever happening again. It allowed us to have many resources catered to solving our mental issues in the most humane way possible. This is why I encourage everyone to raise awareness regarding mental health, so that these resources that help us can be further improved in the future.
Imagine your only source of “help” for something like depression would be going to a prison-like environment where your arms and legs are chained while being trapped in a tiny cage. I and many other people would find that horrifying while also extremely demoralizing. This is why I find this month to be especially important. The culmination of this month prevented situations like this from ever happening again. It allowed us to have many resources catered to solving our mental issues in the most humane way possible. This is why I encourage everyone to raise awareness regarding mental health, so that these resources that help us can be further improved in the future.
Communication is an amazing method that spreads awareness for mental health. Simply speaking out to others about your experiences with mental health related issues is a wonderful way to get others to open out about their issues as well. This is something that especially hits home for me. When I was growing up, there was a prominent stigma floating around that boys should not cry, let alone men. It was stated to be a sign of weakness, and it seemed like everyone would look down on you for the rest of your life if you were caught with a single tear in your eye. This led to me bottling up my emotions for a major part of my childhood. I feared the days where I was upset in school since I did not want to cry in class. It seemed like it would be the end of the world if that were to happen. Even when I did cry to myself against my wishes, I felt horrible after the process. I kept beating myself up about it since it was not cool for a boy to be crying. However, these ideas of mine changed on the day I looked up Rocky Lockridge.
Communication is an amazing method that spreads awareness for mental health. Simply speaking out to others about your experiences with mental health related issues is a wonderful way to get others to open out about their issues as well. This is something that especially hits home for me. When I was growing up, there was a prominent stigma floating around that boys should not cry, let alone men. It was stated to be a sign of weakness, and it seemed like everyone would look down on you for the rest of your life if you were caught with a single tear in your eye. This led to me bottling up my emotions for a major part of my childhood. I feared the days where I was upset in school since I did not want to cry in class. It seemed like it would be the end of the world if that were to happen. Even when I did cry to myself against my wishes, I felt horrible after the process. I kept beating myself up about it since it was not cool for a boy to be crying. However, these ideas of mine changed on the day I looked up Rocky Lockridge.
There is an old video on YouTube titled “Best Cry Ever” with nearly 100 million views today. This video shows Rocky crying his heart out in a humorous fashion. Millions of people across the internet, including me, did not understand the context of this video and simply laughed at it and moved on. Years later, this video was recommended to me again. Instead of taking it at face value, I decided to research a bit about Rocky’s backstory. Long story short, Rocky Lockridge was an extremely successful boxer who gave Roger Mayweather his first ever defeat. However, he went down the path of substance abuse, destroying his body, ending up homeless, and tarnishing relationships between friends in family. Years after his boxing career had finished while at the lowest point of his life, his son reached out to him and said “I still love you” which broke Rocky to tears.
There is an old video on YouTube titled “Best Cry Ever” with nearly 100 million views today. This video shows Rocky crying his heart out in a humorous fashion. Millions of people across the internet, including me, did not understand the context of this video and simply laughed at it and moved on. Years later, this video was recommended to me again. Instead of taking it at face value, I decided to research a bit about Rocky’s backstory. Long story short, Rocky Lockridge was an extremely successful boxer who gave Roger Mayweather his first ever defeat. However, he went down the path of substance abuse, destroying his body, ending up homeless, and tarnishing relationships between friends in family. Years after his boxing career had finished while at the lowest point of his life, his son reached out to him and said “I still love you” which broke Rocky to tears.
This was the moment I realized that stigma was false. It made me realize that everyone needs to cry. It showed me I was harming myself by bottling up everything that made me upset daily. It showed me that releasing your emotions to the world helps far more than harms you. And all this took was for a former boxer to cry on national television.
This was the moment I realized that stigma was false. It made me realize that everyone needs to cry. It showed me I was harming myself by bottling up everything that made me upset daily. It showed me that releasing your emotions to the world helps far more than harms you. And all this took was for a former boxer to cry on national television.
Written by Matthew Garrett
YHELP! Intern Blogger
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