Mental Health is Health

Hi! I’m Carrie Halladay, Licensed Professional Counselor. I’m writing this blog in hopes of raising your awareness about mental health.

Mental health is something every single one of us has, whether we talk about it or not. Some days, we feel good. All is ok in our world. Other days, we’re all over the place. Most of the time, it’s somewhere in between. That’s normal.

Most of us were raised to believe that if you struggle with “mental health” it means you’re weak, or that something is wrong with you. But the truth is, stress, anxiety, sadness, and overwhelm are part of being human. In fact, emotions are biological messages from our bodies letting us know something is not right in our world. When you’re irritable, exhausted, anxious, or just not feeling like yourself, it’s not a personal failure, it’s information. It’s your mind and body trying to get your attention.

We don’t question taking care of our physical health. If we’re sick, we rest. When we sneeze excessively in the Spring, we take allergy medication. If you break a bone, you go to the Doctor. Our mental health deserves that same kind of care.

Normalizing mental health means we stop acting like we’re supposed to have it all together all the time. It means we can say, “I’m struggling right now,” without feeling embarrassed or weak. It means asking for help - whether that’s talking to someone you trust, making changes in your routine, or going to therapy - is just another way of taking care of yourself.

You don’t have to be in crisis to deserve support. You don’t have to wait until things fall apart to start paying attention to your mental health. Life is hard sometimes. Relationships are complicated. Loss happens. Change is inevitable. Of course, it affects us. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being honest and learning how to take care of yourself along the way.

That’s just my 2¢, for what it’s worth.

~ Carrie