I wrote about this a couple years ago on The Aulde Blogge, but here's another shout for anyone who needs to hear it: happy World Mental Health Day!
The world is: hard and complicated sometimes! And our brains, like our bodies, are imperfect machines that sometimes need upkeep and attention. Our culture is really stupid and bad about acknowledging this! And it's hard to remember that everybody is fighting their own fight, and hard to recognize the signs of depression as depression and not someone "being moody" or "bad at keeping plans" or whatever. And today's a good day to seek resources to take care of yourself and to keep broadening your awareness and sensitivity to what others might be going through. Hooray!
Therapy is extremely useful; also, seeking therapy is genuine work, and it is a project. It's a worthwhile project, and it will not be difficult forever, but it is a hurdle. Equip yourself - look for articles on how to interview a therapist, and think about what you are exploring and what your priorities are in finding someone to work with you. Take time, be patient, and give yourself rewards for doing the work (nobody says you can't have fun snack outings after therapy - even if the session is with someone who rubs you the wrong way, free snacks!!) (this approach may be more useful for me than the general population, but I stand by this essential point: snacks).
As someone who put off therapy for a good long while: the effort it takes to find the right fit and leap that initial hurdle is nothing compared to the effort it took to try to get on top of my stuff alone. Take the leap - you will be glad you did. (Speaking of: you're not alone! Find friends who are good active listeners, who may have their own therapy referrals or approaches to seeking help - it's super brave and almost outlandishly cool to ask yr pals for help with these things! And then someday you get to be that helper person! Wow! Too many exclamation points!)
As for the people in your life - while remembering that you can only control how you behave and not how people respond to you - do keep in mind that some people may be looking for someone to give them permission to ask for help, to have that fraught conversation about how to find support and resources. If you've got the mental bandwidth for it - and not everybody does at every moment of their lives - try practicing patience with them, and check in.
Basically, it's a good day to be kind to yourself, kind to others, and open to the low-key miracle that are mental health resources in whatever form and whatever path they may take. Let's be ongoing and perpetually self-forgiving projects forever! Hooray!
