Jokes about mental illness aren't ok
Forgive me if a joke or a meme about mental illness makes me angry.
I was told I had Anxiety when I was 19 years old. At that time I was a freshman in medical school. I had an inflated expectation. I wanted to ace everything so I pushed myself beyond the limit. I studied for hours on end, I drank Red Bull-like water, and I even had nightmares and panic attacks.
I decided to withdraw and take a year off. I even thought about not coming back because I had scholarship opportunities. But I did come back.
I stopped follow-up once I was off meds because I didn’t think it was important. So had to navigate the following years on my own for the fear of not creating another chaotic moment.
I had depression for many years but no one noticed because I just put on a mask and soldiered on even though I had absentees and my grades suffered as a result. It was when I had a Brief Psychotic episode that I finally was taken to a hospital where I started follow-up in November 2018. I was supposed to graduate in a few months but had to wait another year and even though about quitting again.
I am still at war fighting the demons of depression and anxiety.
What helps?
Faith, Family, Therapy, Friends, Football
My mom had postpartum depression when she had me at a time when the illness wasn’t well known and there were very few professionals. It relapsed later in life and it affected her. She was misunderstood by many people around.
When I see people try to joke about or mock mental illness it hurts a little deeper.
I know it comes from a place of ignorance and fear ( defense mechanism) but it is also annoying.
Remember how the whole “ ብንሄድ ይሻላል” thing is ridiculous.
So forgive me if a joke or a meme about mental illness makes me angry.
When I withdrew as a freshman almost everyone around me didn't understand my illness. Some thought I was ok and didn't look sick at all, others questioned if I was doing that to change fields, and my parents didn't know how to handle it.
Perhaps the worst part of having anxiety or any mental illness for that matter was being judged and being used as a gossip topic by neighbors, 'friends', and church members/ pastors/elders.
Everyone who was showering you with praise was suddenly questioning your everything.
Being judged introduced me to something called depression. The first thought that came to my mind when I woke up in the morning was how I ruined my life by withdrawing. The last thought that also came to my mind was how my friends are learning but not me.
Here are some of the things people said to me when I got sick and withdrew:
"አቅብጣችሁ ነው ያሳደጋችሁት!"
"እንደዛ ስትዘምር እንዳልነበር?!"
"ስታካብዱለት withdraw አደረገ"
"በጣም odd ፀባይ ነው ያለህ"
"አላመመህም ባክህ እንደውም ተስማምቶሃል"
.
But things do get better... I took my therapy seriously.
I want to help people get from where I was to where I am.
Mental Illness doesn't always have a spiritual element or a purely medical basis. I believe having faith and wanting to get better makes the therapy so much easier. "
Today's message is the same as always- #MentalHealthMatters
Good Day.
Don't cross the red line!