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Mental Health Is Invisible

Last week, when I headed over the centre for my appointment with my therapist, I saw, for the first time in my life a kid with Tourette Syndrome.

We were in a 7-11. The kid's tics were both motor and vocal. He would involuntarily sort of shake his body and then blurt out something random.

He would always apologize to the cashier whenever it happened.

And so, I was like, "That's the first time I saw this shit in my life" to my therapist.

Excuse my cavalier tone.

I then lamented, "Who am I to complain? I am healthy. I am able-bodied. I am so fucking privileged in life. I have food, shelter and money. Who am I to even have problems?"

And my therapist replied, "You can't help people like that. They don't need psychological help. It has to do with their brain. It's biology. They need a doctor."

This wasn't to say we were dismissing people like that altogether.

He continued, "Mental health is invisible. Guys like you and many others out there don't show it. The only visible symtom you see in mental health are scars from self-harm."

I found that to be really profound: Mental health is invisible.

We can put on a nice suit. We can throw money around like it's just paper. We can upload nice pictures of ourselves on social media. We can rise in our career. We can raise a family.

We can laugh and smile.

But dark shit may be brewing deep down. And many don't seem to have an outlet for that.

1) Don't disable yourself just because you covered the basics to be happy

Like food, shelter and money.

If you feel like you need help, just reach out then.

2) Try to make yourself more visible

Just try. 

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Who Am I To Write About Mental Health?
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