Speaking out about mental illness
A biographical article written by an unknown Journalist about the pain of hiding a mental illness recently appeared in the Independent. It bought to light that despite 1 in 4 of us developing some form of mental illness during our life time there is still a huge stigma attached.
It is a sign of progression that celebrities for the most part feel comfortable and compelled to talk about mental illness. As a result of popular celebrities such as Alastair Campbell and Frank Bruno coming clean about their mental illness, thankfully depression is slowly but surely being dragged out from the shadows. Sadly however, out of the spotlight the general public still feel like outing their depression could have a detrimental effect on their life and career.
Depression and other mental health illnesses are illnesses like any other and people should be able to discuss it freely without feeling like they are taking a huge gamble. It takes an awful lot of courage to tell people profoundly personal stories but speaking out about your experiences can only help to encourage others to talk about and admit to theirs.
If you believe you are suffering depression and are feeling uncertain and anxious about discussing it then you might find that talking to a counsellor will help you to build up enough confidence to tell the important people in your life. You can contact a qualified counsellor using the homepage of this site.