Anyone who has ever struggled with mental health issues can understand how difficult it can be to open up about it sometimes. While the right prescription and counseling may often effectively manage and, in some circumstances, conquer mental health difficulties, many medicines, such as antidepressants, take weeks or even months to take effect. Even with the recommended additional support of psychotherapy, the long wait for symptom relief can be excruciating. Also, people with long-term, untreated mental health issues can experience physical health issues due to the long-ongoing, untreated mental health problems. If one is struggling with mental health issues, it is wise for them to open up about it, even though it can be hard, because the longer they go untreated, the more problems that can arise and the harder they can be to conquer.
What could happen if one doesn’t open up?
If you’ve struggled with mental health in the past, present, or future, you may have suffered from symptoms of unexplained back pain and muscle aches, as well as migraines. Long-term untreated mental health problems can and will express themselves in physical health problems. Even minor events, such as a stressful day, can cause someone to break out in hives. Could you imagine what untreated depression and anxiety over a lengthy period of time could do to a person? It has the potential to reduce one’s lifespan. You may even be at a higher risk of contracting infections or viruses as a result of long-term, untreated mental health problems.
Why one should open up about their mental health
It can be difficult at times, but no matter what you’re going through, it’s critical to talk about it. As previously stated, long-term, untreated mental health difficulties can lead to physical health problems; but on the other hand, long term untreated mental health problems become increasingly harder to treat the longer you go untreated. For example, everyone has experienced a time when they bottled up a normal emotion, like sadness or anger, until it became too much and they exploded, probably over one little “final straw”. Consider what that would be like if you had depression, anxiety, PTSD, or any other severe mental health disorder. The longer it goes untreated, the worse It will get and the more difficult it will be to treat and cope with.
What to do when opening up
It might be difficult to talk about your mental health; however, it is critical that you do so. When you decide to open up, it’s important that you speak with a professional rather than your friends or family. Your friends and or family may not be equipped or trained to cope with your difficulties and may not know what to say. You could even be putting them in a difficult situation, which could impact their mental health as well. It’s critical to be completely honest with specialists while speaking with them because things, such as MRI scans, cannot detect mental illnesses. As a result, the only way to get aid is to be completely honest. Just remember that you can only get better once you start treatments.
The Take-Away
Anybody that has ever experienced mental health issues definitely knows how hard it can be to open up about it. But it’s important that you do because, if you don’t, it can have long-term detrimental effects on your health and wellness. If you need help with Mental Health in Boca Raton. Contact Sun Health Center for more information.
This article has been medically reviewed by our staff at Sun Health Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, Florida.
