Why images of Self-harm are not okay to publish.

TW: The content that you’re about to read could be disturbing. Self harm mention, blood and stitches. Please read if you feel safe enough to do so.

World Mental Health Day (TW: Self harm, suicide, overdose)

I apologise for not writing in a while, it’s been hectic with uni starting and getting through numerous breakdowns but I’m here for the most important day, World Mental Health Day.

Mental illness memes are not funny!

Mental illness memes are not funny!Mental illness memes are not funny!

Who creates these things? Oh.. that’s right, people who have never experienced mental illness before. I get that some people use humour to help deal with their illness. I am also one of those people, but I think there is a limit to how far you go. I have witnessed catastrophic incidents from people seeing posts like these, not ones I have posted of course, but posts that give people great anxiety and discomfort from triggering content that is being used as some kind of punchline. Mental illness is not funny. Slipping on a banana skin is funny, sneeze farting is funny, knocking items off a shelf is funny, but mental illness is not funny. It is serious. It is a ruiner of lives and destroyer of dreams. It is never funny.

 
Social media is powerful. It can share one single post around the world within just minutes. Imagine millions of young people seeing those so-called funny memes. Imagine those young people feeling like they cannot talk to anyone about their mental health without the fear of someone laughing at them because they think it’s hilarious that they want to die. Imagine how many people have contemplated their life because they don’t feel like society is taking them seriously. I can tell you now that if we all shared just one powerful and positive message about mental health and its ‘victims’ we can change an entire thought process of a future generation. Mental illness needs to be treated seriously, we as a generation need to treat it seriously. Share the positive posts about getting help for those struggling most, give support to those in need, be the shoulder to cry on. But don’t be the comedian using mental illness as your punch line.

Today anxiety visited me like the consistent friend it is

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, breathe Jasmin breathe, soon it will be over, soon everything will be fine. I cup my hands to stop my hands them from perspiring, I can feel my heart pounding out of me and my chest feeling tighter and tighter like I cannot breathe. I hate anxiety I say to myself, I hate being mental.

Today anxiety visited me like the consistent friend it is. Today was my interview for a new job. Today was the first step to having control of my life again and back to the normal routine of being a young adult. It was scary. Damn right it was scary! I stood shaking, nervously walking around, trying to look interested and busy while I waited for the dreaded hands on the clock to tick to 10:30. Tick tick tick it went, I could feel my heart beating faster and faster as each second went by. When will these meds kick in? when will they numb my beating heart? Finally! 10:30 arrived, I’m fine I’m fine. Hours passed, oxygen was inhaled, carbon dioxide was exhaled, and the interview went fine. Everything my stupid head told me was wrong. I was fine. Everything was fine. Anxiety was wrong, it made me believe that everyone would hate me, that everything would go wrong and that I would die a sudden death. I didn’t. I survived, I survived being an adult today and everything was okay.