I remember one of the first reactions I received to my mental health posts on social media.

“Why would you publicize that?”

It had never occurred to me to not talk about it. I’m a bit of an oversharer, and it felt natural to say this is what I feel right now. I’m also an overproducer, so it felt right to say that I was not going to overproduce right now.

Getting the negative reaction made me wonder if it wasn’t natural or right. Maybe it was something I needed to keep to myself. I shrunk away from what I posted and considered deleting it.

But then the messages came in behind that first negative one. “Me too.” “I know what this feels like.” “I’m going through this now as well.” “Thank you.”

So maybe this talking about my mental health thing was positive after all. I’ve been open about it ever since because I know others can’t be.

Mental health awareness

The most important aspect of talking about it is so people know what a mental health crisis looks like. For some reason, people equate it with loud ranting and bizarre behavior. In so many cases, it’s just so much more subtle than that. So many mental health crises start with a lack of speaking or participating. It often starts by disappearing.

Alerting people to what those moments where someone is lacking can mean is important. It can be the push for someone to get mental health support before it has become serious. A family member or friend can recognize an issue when their loved one just disappears. All around, it can get someone the help they need before we completely lose them.

The people we love are too important to lose. Giving all of us the signs to recognize what is happening is so very vital.

Community

Like I said before, people messaged me when I started posting about my own social media struggles. Eventually, I identified people who wanted to talk about it more but not openly. And it created a kind of community of people I can lean on when I recognize that I am experiencing a problem. These are people who have been there and know what actually works in these kinds of situations. It’s actually invaluable to know who I can contact when I’m going through something and to also know that I have people out there who are looking for my particular signs. That’s beyond powerful.

And it all started with just one post. So if this is something you personally need, don’t feel like you have to be as open as I am. One post will generally give you access to this possible community and give you the support you desperately need. And you can be as private or as public about it as you’d like. You never know what others are going through, and even in a smaller audience, there is someone who is going through something similar to you.

But if posting is scary to you, look at who is posting. This is a time to slide into the DMs. If someone is willing to post about their mental health struggles, they are usually willing to support those who are going through it.

Release

There is just something therapeutic about talking about your mental health struggles. I feel a sense of release after I have posted something. Considering I used AI to come up with this last section and this is one of the many subtopics listed, I am far from alone with this feeling.

It has nothing to do with what others think about you. For me, it’s about organizing my thoughts. I never quite know what I think about something until I spend some time writing about it. So that’s where it always starts with me: I’m trying to understand what I’m feeling.

Then why do I post it if I’m just trying to understand my mental health struggles? Giving air to what I’m going through gives me power over it. It’s kind of like in all of those fantasy novels that having their name gives you power over another person. And then sharing that name with others makes that name even more powerful.

I can’t explain quite why making a mental health struggle seem almost normal helps those of us who are struggling. It just does. Knowing it’s something others are going through and they have their own ups and downs makes it easier to travel down our own path. Because of course we’re not doing it alone anymore.

Does talking about your mental health struggles make you feel more powerful?