Yep, that's what Beverly Callard said, and then Piers Morgan commented on it and then Sophie Turner smacked Piers back in his place....and then I retweeted a ''well done'' for Sophie Turner...so, to be honest, Bev's got a point.
I have been saying for a while that "mental health" has become pretty vogue, and it kiiiinda has. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it helps because people are talking about it, and on the flip, it hinders because it trivialises REAL mental illness. A lot of people seem to be jumping on the bandwagon and confusing mental illness as something that we "sort of all have" (no, no we don't) and suggesting stuff like a mindfulness or a meditation app will help (no, no don't do this), it won't. Let me tell you why:
If you are face down on the floor in a dark pit, thinking how you might kill yourself, you are not going to download an app and suddenly feel ok.
As someone who spent my late teenage years and twenties hiding my mental illness so I wouldn't lose friends, jobs or boyfriends. I find it amazing that suddenly it's ok to talk about. The idea that someone who is as successful and accomplished as Sophie Turner or any other upstanding public figure would give their time to defend the rights and opinions of people who I scaringly remember being called as "psychooooohhhhs", is both unnerving and uplifting.
Don't get me wrong, I welcome coming out of hiding, I really appreciate the support, but an unprecedented show of humanity; it's suspect. Maybe I just need time to adjust to public endorsements. Oh, and pipe down Piers, nobody ever wants to hear it.
Nicola (MY BLACK DOG)
Chelsea Ritschel's article here
