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[THREAD] I want to talk a little bit about how people who are struggling with their mental health may appear to the outside world and why some things contribute to stigma even when we are not aware of them. I often complaints from families or partners.
They would say this person no longer listens, is absent, always on their own and may take it personally. Let’s go through why that happens and what explanations we have for these shifts. First of all, social withdrawal is one of the main symptoms of many forms of psych issues.
Social situations (yes that includes family and loved ones) takes a lot of energy. We don’t notice that for the most part when we are doing well but when we start struggling, every word, listening to conversations, etc...takes so much energy and can be hard to maintain.
This is why they may get irritated and lash out. It is because the energy is gone and they can no longer keep up the mask of normalcy. It is important to respect their space and boundaries while they are going through this hard time. Don’t force them to do things they don’t want.
Also, if you talk to someone who is struggling with their mental health, they may seem absent or like they are not caring at all. Well, from the perspective of the person who is struggling, their concentration is on their thoughts, their bodies, checking for panic attacks.
There is no concentration left to give to our environment. This is why memory loss happens too (in part). Because they are not connected to their environment, they don’t remember much of what’s going on around them. Also, it may seem that they have no compassion.
This is further from the truth. Their emotional capacity is not working well right now, they are going through a lot. This is going to be one of the hardest periods in their life. It is important to lower expectations and give them the support they need to recover.
Someone who may be very compassionate may not have that ability anymore (temporarily). That doesn’t mean they are bad people, they are just focusing inwards because of what they are going through. It is important to remember these factors.
Again, these are not excuses. This is just how mental health issues operate. It is not something they can control. So please be patient if a friend or loved one is going through this. Don’t take it personally, they are going through a crisis and making them feel guilty is bad!
