Knowing where to start

When it comes to dealing with a mental health issue it’s often really hard to know where to start.

Lots of things get in the way. Fear, uncertainty and stigma all play a part.

We often second-guess ourselves and question whether our concerns are valid. Am I really feeling this way? Is it just me? Am I exaggerating what is going on here?

It’s strange isn’t it? If we had a lump on our leg we wouldn't I doubt ourselves. We would visit the GP without a second thought. But many of us don’t do that with a mental health concern. These concerns are often left to lapse.

Psychologist and author, Guy Winch, recently told a TEDx talk that it is time we close the gap between our physical and psychological health.

'What do we teach our children about emotional hygene? . . . Nothing. How is it we spend more time taking care of our teeth than we do our minds? Why is it our physical health is so much more important than our psychological health?'

'We sustain psychological injuries, more often than we do physical ones. Injuries like failure, or rejection, or loneliness. They can get worse if we ignore them and they can impact our lives in dramatic ways. Even though there are scientifically proven techniques we could use for these kinds of psychological injuries, we don't. It doesn't even occur to us we should.'

As with physical illness, the sooner you get appropriate treatment the better, so it is important that we continue to work on making it easier to reach out and seek information, treatment and support when people are affected by mental ill-health.

Three steps to getting the help you need:

1. Read one of SANE’s clear and concise factsheets about the symptoms of mental illness.
2. If you are worried about yourself or someone close to you, call the confidential SANE Support Line on 1800 18 SANE (1800 187 263) and talk it through with one of our experienced advisors.
3. Take the opportunity to ask your peers a question on SANE Forums.