Mental illness has long been a taboo subject. People don’t like to talk about it and more than that, most people simply just don’t understand it. And that is generally due to the fact that if you do not suffer any form of mental illness, it is very difficult to empathise.

 Furthermore, there are many different types of mental illness, all of which have quite different and unique symptoms. This does not help with people getting a grasp of the topic. Anxiety, depression or dipolar disorder all present differently and then there are also the variations of neuro vs lifestyle factors. Research has also shown that long-term factors are more likely to cause issues rather than recent issues. So, being in a long term abusinve relationship or being long term unemployed will more likely trigger symptoms as opposed to the recent loss of a pet.

The scariest part about all this is that it can affect anyone, anywhere at any time.

Testament to the growing issue is the number of businesses and charities specialising in this area. Some of the more notable include beyondblue, Black Dog, Life Line and Reach Out. More recently, they have all come together to launch the R U OK? day. A simple initiative that encourages us all to ask those around us if they are ok. It gained the support of Hugh Jackman who became the face of the campaign.

The stats around this disease are scary.

·         More sick days are taken due to mental illness than any other disease.

·         About 10% of Australians will suffer from anxiety during their life.

·         About 20% of Australians will suffer some form of depression during their life.

When you really think about that, it gets quite confronting. Take a look around your friends and work out the stats. 10 people at the pub for lunch will mean 2 of them have some form of depression.

And it is not easily brought up in conversation. Which means 2 things. Firstly, there is an onus on us to make sure our friends are doing ok. And secondly, if we are feeling down or think that we may have an issue, we need to ask for help. For too long this has been going undiagnosed and there is no reason for that.

There is no shame in admitting you have a problem. As a problem shared is a problem halved.

About once a month I have an off day. One where I get annoyed or frustrated. I feel down and want to hit someone with my handbag. I think that is pretty good. Very infrequent.

I am at a stage where I am able to identify these emotions and manage it. It is very rare that I will have 2 off days in a row. I generally consider my lows to be not that low. On the flip side, my highs are not overly high. I spend a lot of time just oscillating near the mean.

I am aware that this is not the case for others. And the more I talk to people, I realise it is not the case for a lot of people. Some people have bad weeks, months and even years. I can imagine that this would get really difficult to deal with.

When I think of the amount of energy it much take to manage these big swings, I begin to empathise with the struggles.

Being in touch with your emotions and managing them is vitally important to a happy and balanced life. It is critical to mental health and stability. I work hard at staying positive and actively practice the idea of ‘Control only things which are within my control’. Further, ‘Everything happens for a reason’. Now at the time, this is difficult to do. But allowing things to take their course, and only stress what you can change makes for easier living.

I think that there is a valuable role for your slashie in here. Whether you pin your happiness against it, or something else. Having a trigger that helps you identify the pending gloom is important. You also need to have a routine to help you through it.

I know that everyone is different, but I feel that if we take the time to listen to our bodies, our minds, and just as importantly our spirits, we can all manage the bad days and ensure they don’t extend to bad weeks and beyond.