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Day 1:
An older me's note: I don't like the way I discussed mental health issues here and have bettered myself when it comes to understanding the topic much more now.
Welcome back! Voilà! [Insert some saying that's not awkward here]! Wow, it's almost been a year since I started this. I'm pretty sure that 3 people read this, which are my parents and that one kind friend of mine. Then again, this is more for me in the future to reflect on my past self and his thoughts. I already know that I'm going to use the word "cringe" to describe myself, and you know what, I'm probably right. I love doing this, it helps document my teenage years and whatnot (i.e. thoughts and passions). Anyway, I'm not trying to rant here (we already covered that last year), but I'm trying to get to today's topic about mental health and my thoughts surrounding the discussions about it.
In my opinion, mental health is an important subject that is often approached wrong. Taking care of our well-being is connected to our success and personal health. Being healthy isn't just about lifting at the gym, it's about taking care of our emotional and other needs as well. However, this shouldn't act as an excuse to deny accountability and to scapegoat an intangible necessity. People should not have to collect mental health issues like trading cards, but rather take appropriate measures to better themselves. On the other end of the spectrum, people shouldn't further kick people who are already down. I've seen my friends with problems of their own get taken advantage of because they weren't in the right headspace. Recently, I wrote a poem for school about mental health because I still believe that it is an incredibly important topic plaguing a majority of the population's minds. Here it is in raw form, without any visuals.
The Phoenix
The Phoenix
The Phoenix
Constant pressure,
Consistent expectations,
Competitive spirit burns out.
Profound pressure presses powerfully,
Cold flames run deep,
It ends up ruining your passion.
—
Gone
—
It was ‘All fight! All flight! Fire! No stopping!’,
Now it’s ‘No fight? No flight? Ashes? Dead?’.
‘Depressed?’,
De-Press,
Depressurized,
The opposite of pressing!
—
Nothing
—
One light,
One thought,
One Phoenix.
All it takes,
Takes flight,
Falls but regains,
Regains sight.
Flies high yet falls,
With Icarus and his faulty waxwings,
But now reaching new heights!
—
Persevere
—
Flies way further,
Flies much farther,
Flies with new feathers.
Then all preconceived notions,
Two wings wrap the body.
Hold tight, reach high, and promise me.
—
Balances
—
New heights within reach,
Enjoys the flight,
And soars.
While I haven't suffered from clinical depression or crippling anxiety, I still know the feeling of burnout. It is a special kind of torture to the brain, and if not treated, it can lead too much, much worse. I can make eye contact and small talk for hours on end, but I still need to recharge my social battery. I can work my butt off for a good grade, but I need to let my mind rest. Hell, if all I do is for the future, then I never get to enjoy my life, that's why I like to speak about mental health. I've also seen fake mental health episodes, and it is quite disgusting and insulting to those who actually have been and go through that.
In the end, my message is that society should encourage improving mental health by teaching about it and removing some awful competitive barriers. For example, I love medicine and science a lot, but to become a well-paying doctor, there is a massive lottery-style system in place that'd force me to devote too much time to a potential career.
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