Yes, we still need to talk about mental health

Yes, we still need to talk about mental health

Over the last few years, there’s been massive progress in the way we talk about mental health.

It’s become increasingly okay to admit that actually, you’re not okay. Anxiety, depression, and OCD are all things people are starting to know about. Brands and publications are mis-using terms and encouraging stereotypes less frequently – and when they do, they get called out for it.

That’s brilliant. But as a result, there’s started to be a bit of backlash.

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Giles Coren recently suggested that we’ve reached ‘peak bonkers’. I’ve seen people tweeting about how ‘everyone has a mental illness these days’, and spotted people rolling their eyes and sighing about noticing another article on anxiety.




Now that it’s Mental Health Awareness Week, I get why I’ve overheard a few people wondering aloud about why we need another week to increase awareness around mental health, when it feels like all we’re bloody talking about these days is mental illness.

I get it, because compared to a few years ago, we are talking about mental health a lot.

But a massive bit of progress doesn’t mean we’re done.

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(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

We still need to be talking about mental health. We absolutely do need days, weeks, months dedicated to making people more aware of mental illness – yes, even more aware than we collectively are right now.

We need to talk about mental health because there’s still f*** all funding to provide adequate mental health care to those who need it – and staying quiet and accepting this nonsense means we won’t change it. We need to keep shouting, complaining, and asking for something better, because long waiting lists and limited access to therapy truly is a life and death issue.

We need to talk about mental health because while engaging in stereotypes and spreading misinformation about mental illness isn’t as accepted as it used to be, it still happens.

I still see people on dating shows describing themselves as ‘so bipolar’ because they’re indecisive, or ‘a bit OCD’ because they like to iron their pants.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

I’m still getting told that going for a run will cure my depression, that I just need to think more positively, that pills aren’t the right way to do things.

I still hear people describing their exes as ‘total schizos’, dismissing self harm as ‘trying to get attention’, and wishing aloud that they had anorexia so they could be slim.

The people talking about mental illness in this way are aware of conditions’ existence, clearly. Otherwise they wouldn’t reference them.

But they’re not aware of the reality of living with mental illness or the damage they can cause by throwing around terms as if they’re interchangeable with ‘sad’, ‘stressed out’, or ‘tidy’.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

That’s why we need to keep hearing people’s stories, so the harsh, reality of mental illness* isn’t something people can skim over or downplay.



*That means the version that isn’t even a tiny bit glamorous, cool, or edgy. It’s bloody miserable.

We need to talk about mental illness so people know that it’s real and that it can happen to anyone.

The more stories shared, the more this message spreads.

We need celebrities and people of influence to open up, so that we’re reminded that talent, privilege, and the appearance of happiness doesn’t protect you from life-wrecking itch of feeling unsafe in your own mind.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

And we need non-famous, regular people to share their stories – stories of waiting months for therapy on the NHS, being prescribed pills that don’t work, struggling alone – to remind those in power that while breaking down the stigma is brilliant, they need to put their money where their empty promises are and give funding to those that need it.

But mental health awareness isn’t just a way to right wrongs and stop people stereotyping, judging, and ignoring.

It’s a hugely important part of helping all the people who feel like they’re suffering alone.

When I started struggling with mental health issues in my teens, the only stories I could find about mental illness were the case studies in my brother’s psychology books, Girl, Interrupted, and snippets of my mum’s experience with depression.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

The lack of openness around mental illness made me feel like there was no way I could tell anyone what was going on without being dismissed as crazy or an overdramatic teen. I didn’t want to go on drugs I was convinced would deaden my emotions and make me uncreative. I checked off multiple symptoms on multiple checklists, so had no idea which of the many illnesses I was reading about applied to me.


It wasn’t until I started reading people’s mental health stories in less formal contexts – in magazines, in autobiographies, on the internet – that I started to recognise that I wasn’t alone in feeling rubbish.

I read people’s experiences of depression and saw my own thoughts repeated back to me.

I read an article about one woman’s experiences of OCD, and realised that it wasn’t just about thinking that if a plate wasn’t lined up correctly God would kill my family, or obsessively cleaning the kitchen (the only representations I’d previously seen of OCD).

Reading about someone’s obsessive checking of doors and turning off switches labelled as OCD made me confront the idea that my checking wasn’t a fun quirk anymore – it was a serious issue that was starting to take over my life.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

It took a few months, but that story was a huge part of what pushed me to admit that I needed help.

That’s the power of talking about mental health: every person that does it will help someone else do the same.

Talking about mental health shows those struggling that we’re not the only ones having thoughts that scare us or doing things we don’t understand. We’re not crazy. We’re not going to get thrown into jail or shunned from society. There are other people like us, and if they can get better, so can we.

So yes, mental health awareness has improved massively over the last few years. Yes, maybe it’s having a ‘moment’. But that’s not something I’m bothered by one bit – because we’re nowhere near close to done.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

It’s important to keep talking about mental health as long as there’s limited funding, as long as waiting lists for therapy feel endless, and as long people keep spreading nonsense about people with depression just ‘being negative’ or the cure for all ailments being just going outside.


It’s important to keep talking about mental health because for every story shared and for every person admitting they’re not feeling 100%, there’s at least one other person who’ll hear it and know that they’re not alone. That might make them feel supported enough to ask for help. That might genuinely save lives.

We still need mental health awareness. We still need to talk about this stuff. And as long as spilling out the contents of my brain is helping someone, I plan to keep doing it.

I don’t give a f*** if that makes a part of generation ‘peak bonkers’ or similar. I’d rather be openly struggling and helping a few people in the process than going through this alone.

Oi, listen to our new mental health podcast: Oh, hey. If you like reading about mental health stuff, you’ll probably also like listening to it. So rejoice. We’ve launched a snazzy new podcast discussing all things mental health without getting too serious, science-y, or stuffy. It’s called Mentally Yours, it’s great, and you can subscribe here. Let us know what you think by commenting, tweeting us @MentallyYrs, or leaving a review. We are very keen for any and all feedback.* *Especially if it’s nice.

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MORE: How I finally realised I need to get help for my mental health issues

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