Start Where You Are With Your Mental Health
Remembering the night I first opened up to friends about how I felt inside.
Hi there!
I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the internet.
No, seriously, I have no medical training. Although, I've spent enough time with doctors, I should have an honorary degree. I know what it's like to feel that you're not doing enough for your mental health.
Maybe you've been struggling with anxiety or depression for years and haven't sought treatment. Maybe you decided to get help, but don't know where to start.
It can be paralyzing when it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.
But here's the thing: you have to start somewhere.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
- Arthur Ashe
Scott Ninneman also publishes the free All Things Bipolar Newsletter (off Substack). The Sunday email features the newest content about bipolar life.
Power of Now
I'm a big believer in the power of now.
Not tomorrow, not next week, but right now. If you need help, there is no shame in seeking it out. It doesn't matter if you don't know where to start or what kind of help you need. All that matters is that you start somewhere.
Many people in the United States start their journey by calling 988.
The free service offers personal and confidential referrals to help you find the right treatment. If nothing else, it will help just to tell someone you're suffering. The staff at the 988 centers receive training on how to support and comfort you.
When you can tell one person you need help, it will be easier to tell others. And you need to speak up. I’ll never forget the first time I spoke up.
My First Ask
My friends Margaret, Penelope, and I used to love grocery shopping in the middle of the night.
Margaret had two young children and Penelope four, so we would wait until everyone was in bed, and the three of us would jump in the car, crank up the music, and make the 30-mile trek to the nearest big-box store.
“I think I’m going crazy,” I told the girls one night right after Celine Dion finished belting out, “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”
“Going?” Penelope laughed. “Honey, you’re already there.”
We all laughed, but the atmosphere in the car changed and Margaret turned down the radio.
“What do you mean?” Margaret asked.
“I don’t know,” I started, not sure what to say. There was lots of chaos in my head and too many days where I felt like I was losing touch with reality. “I just feel like I’m crumbling. Inside, I mean.”
The brief conversation was the first step to finally addressing the pain I’d been fighting in my brain for years. I only made progress because I was willing to start where I was right then.
You Need Help
It's easy to convince yourself that you are strong enough to handle everything on your own.
I get it. My parents raised me to be independent and not ask for things.
“Don’t ask for anything,” my mom drilled in our heads as we drove to my grandma’s house. Of course, we knew we would get cookies once we got there, but we would never ask.
While it’s good to be self-sufficient for many things, mental health is usually one that requires help. You wouldn’t start working on your car engine if you knew nothing about engines, so don’t think you can manage your mental illness until you get some training.
The sooner you seek help, the sooner you can start feeling better. Today is the best day to start.
Nearly a dozen of my friends lost their fight because they refused to admit they needed help. I don't want you to be a statistic.
If you're struggling with a mental illness, please don't wait to get help.
Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can. It's never too late to start taking care of yourself.
Dive Deeper
Take a few minutes to consider an action plan and how it will help using these writing prompts.
Journal Prompt: What step can you take today to improve your mental health? Create a plan and put it in action.
Creative Writing Prompt: Write a story about a character who decides to start where they are to change their life. What do they do? How does it turn out?
Until next time, keep fighting.
Scott Ninneman
Additional Reading:
The book that started it all…
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