Mental health is a big and sensitive topic for many people. There are people with mental illnesses like depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, personality disorder, PTSD, ADHD/ADD, and do not even know it. Those who do know it can’t always explain to people what is wrong with their brain. Since you can not really see a mental illness physically, a lot of people do not believe that these illnesses exist.
There are many signs or symptoms of a mental illness. For example, if someone is quiet, reserved, jumpy, and keeps to themselves, they could have an anxiety problem. Also, if someone can’t keep still or can’t really focus, they could have ADHD or ADD. There are also more obvious signs such as cutting or saying they want to harm themselves, they may have depression. The symptoms are different for every mental illness and sometimes people don’t show any signs at all.
There are many people who have Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from things such as war, storms like Harvey, or from other things like car accidents. Those with PTSD are easily triggered by loud noises, sudden bright lights, and explosions. So when holidays like the 4th of July come by, you might see signs asking people to not set off firecrackers and sparklers near their homes. PTSD is very common in war veterans, survivors of tragic accidents, and those affected by traumatic weather.
Hurricane Harvey was responsible for damage to community homes and property. Many in our community felt the impact and stress from this event As most individuals would say little things, like a storm, couldn’t possibly do anything but harm the surroundings. Yet, this is untrue, because similarities between storms and other things trigger the mental psyche to think about harmful events, due to the past. This can cause panic/anxiety attacks, anger issues, depression, and it can even trigger a health issue. We as a society should continue to learn and try to resolve little issues between each other to help ease the pain that people with mental illness experience.
Mental health is such a big and important topic yet it’s nowhere near talked about as much as it should be. It is an issue not many people know about or really care about when they should. Everyone’s very focused on the physical damage after Harvey and yes that’s important too, but no one realizes the full damage Harvey caused mentally. People lost loved ones, homes, pets, cars, and so much more. That stress and trauma can hurt people so much more than anyone knows. It’s about time people start recognizing the signs and symptoms of a mental issue. With knowing the right information, people’s lives could be saved and people could get the help they need.