A Message to Mental Health

A Message to Mental Health 

Jessica Sunday 

One thing I have learned over the past 3 years working in Behavioral Health is that mental illness is not prejudice, and it does not discriminate. It does not matter if you appear to  have it altogether or whether you feel as if your life is hanging on by a thread. It can affect anyone of us. I would venture to say that it has already reached our lives. This may mean reaching us directly or perhaps you have witnessed someone you love dearly battle with mental illness. 

Let us be honest. Let us be real. 

We all face mental illness in some form. We may have struggled with anxiety and depression to name two. What we need right now is to break the stigma of mental health. There is a strong negative pull when it comes to it, and having worked in it, gives me more of a purpose and a passion to break that magnetic force between the physical and the mental realm of nursing. 

When I say the name Kate Spade, what do you think of? Our thoughts may wander to handbags, high end fashion, classy, put together, lovely, expensive and the list goes on. The difference between what I listed is the person and the brand. Although Kate Spade is iconic for her handbags, she is not a handbag. She, herself, is not expensive. It seems silly to mention that, but my point is we can live our lives behind a label without anyone knowing the deep battles we face. I am not saying Kate Spade was hiding behind that label; however, what I am saying is that so many times people hide behind labels. For the sake of illustration I will name a few labels we hide behind. Often times we hide behind our plastered smiles, our exuberant laughs, and our notorious careers only to fool those around us of the deep issues we are facing. Issues nobody may be aware of except for ourselves. Issues that if we do not get open and honest about could cost us our careers, our families, our health, or our lives. 

So, there it was.  June 6, 2018,  came and gone, but it did not leave without a stamp on it. It did not leave without feeling the world's grief on that day. It left a mark - she left a mark. When you look at a handbag of hers or stand outside the store of Kate Spade, like I did yesterday, let that be a moment of silence, reflection, and awareness. What if we were honest and open about our deep struggles? What if the stigma against mental health was something we all looked back on and people accepted? What if we did not shame mental illness as a nation, a church, a society, or a company? I believe it would save many lives. It would give hope to the helpless, dreams to the downcast, answers to the anxious, and saving to the substance abuser. 

If you struggle with depression or any other forms of mental illness, please do not feel like you are not loved, wanted, or enough. If nobody tells you this today, allow me to speak life into your beautiful soul. You are loved. You are wanted. You are enough. You are beautiful. You are intelligent. You are never too much. You are always enough. You have purpose. You have life. 

Remember, the best is yet to come.  

If you or someone you love are having thoughts of suicide 

please dial 1-800-273-8255 

Let us remember to lift up the family of Kate Spade in prayer as they are facing immense grief right now as they mourn the loss of their friend, hero, mother, sister, and wife.  Pray for specific comfort that only God can bestow, and that, in time, their hearts would be healed.

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." 

Isaiah 41:10