Can Students at Your School Talk Openly About Their Mental Health Issues?

     Students at my school are free and encouraged to talk about their mental health issues. It helps us better understand our peers how to create a comfortable academic environment, as well as learn effective ways of communicating to individuals facing different conditions. Even though this seems like a perfectly safe space to share, to most of us struggling with mental health issues opening up to others is a very stubborn process. There is so much stigma that surrounds mental health disorders such as OCD, which I personally struggle with. I'm just starting on my journey to embracing who I am and recognizing how much strength it takes to grapple with mental health issues, and I hope after reading this blog post you muster up a little more courage to share, too. 

    Imagine holding a knife in your hand. Maybe you were collecting plastic utensils for the school lunch, using it to cut a cardboard box open, slicing up vegetables or fruit. Now picture yourself stabbing the person closest to you for no reason, your brain not even processing if the person is a loved one or not. Wow you must be a crazy person. This is part of how OCD has impacted my life. In reality I know that I would never do something of that sort, but intrusive thoughts are increasingly difficult to overcome. If I told someone, I'm anxious that they will think I've gone delirious. Quite frankly, if I suddenly acquired this information having never studied OCD before I would be pretty freaked out. This is an example of why students won't feel comfortable talking about their mental health issues even in a seemingly safe and validating environment. There are always cases where people are taken aback and not everyone is willing to have an open mindset about some outrageous struggles their classmates are going through. It could project fear or bewilderment onto their peers who just want to be listened to. Every time I try to share this personal aspect of my life with someone else, the plea that rapidly circulates my brain is "please don't think I'm crazy". My school is trying to get rid of that nightmare but some students simply can't comprehend the extremes of having demons in your head all the time. And I know it's true because even I have a hard time distinguishing the real me. 

    Another reason why I don't frequently facilitate conversations about my mental health issues is because it could be seen as a joke. Many people don't take OCD seriously. They use it as an adjective: "you're so OCD", "I'm being OCD right now". This is insensitive and invalidates the people who actually have OCD. It's hurtful to joke about someone else having OCD just because they are a perfectionist or a clean freak. They are not the same thing. However, being a perfectionist or a germaphobe can be intertwined with some forms of OCD. I once saw my friend organizing a messy shelf of books in the classroom, and one of the students walked up to them and plainly asked, "do you have OCD?" "No," they replied. I managed to channel my bravery and inform this student of my diagnoses. "Wait, really?" they pondered. It wasn't the ideal response. A lot of OCD can be invisible to those around you. I worry that if I tell someone about my struggles with mental health, particularly OCD, they might take it as a joke to describe an incident in the moment because we're all a little crazy but is that really an uplifting statement or does it discredit those who are trying to be seen? Students at my school can talk openly about their health issues but there are still many things that hold us back, and that may never change depending on how society evolves.