Before I left my home country and started living abroad, I never heard of depression, burnout or other mental health disorders. In my family, anyone who would behave outside of the norms, would be called strange, weird or crazy. Mental health was never a topic and nobody taught me how to take care of myself. I’m noticing this pattern among my friends and clients as well. It seems like Millennials are the first ones to actually break generational patterns of repressing emotions. Asking for help is not a shame; it’s human, just, normal and a hidden superpower.
Of course, not everyone deals with mental health issues. Some people are born with a genetical predisposition for these conditions. Some develop these in time, due to past experiences or trauma. Before COVID-19 hit us 1 out of 6 EU citizens were diagnosed with a mental health condition. Now the numbers have increased. It’s not only because of the global pandemic. The pandemic ‘helped’ bring to surface all sorts of emotions we were suppressing the entire time.
Many however, choose to put on a mask, ignore their emotions and brave it out. Many feel guilty or ashamed when they end up in therapy. What they don’t realize, is that it’s this exact guilt and shame that stopped them from asking for help.
Should you ask for help?
If your car breaks down on the highway, what do you do? Do you stop and start crying? Do you feel ashamed that this happened to you? Do you paralyze and wait for someone to rescue you? Would you start walking by yourself because you must always do things alone? Or do you pick up the phone and call someone?
It’s the same when you break down. Why would you want to sit there and wait for a miracle to happen? You hold the key to all of your issues. You don’t have to go far to find someone. Either you talk to a friend or someone in your family, or you seek professional help. In the era of information, it only takes a quick Google search to find someone close to your home.
Why should you ask for help?
- For once, because it’s literally to save yourself. The longer you wait it out, the worse it becomes.
- Because your health matters. And I don’t mean just physical health.
- It helps build your courage to accept change.
- It helps you connect to your emotions; especially those emotions you got so good at keeping inside.
- Because you’re a social human being who, despite your beliefs, thrives when surrounded by others.
- Because you’re not alone. You can ask for help from those you trust most and if not, there’s always a specialist.
- Regardless to your education/culture/background, there’s nothing wrong in talking to someone.
- People spend a great deal of time and money to learn how to help others. Use that knowledge.
- Lastly, because body and mind are one. You can go to the gym 6 times/week. You can eat the healthiest meals you can think of. But if you don’t deal with the stuff that’s in your heart, it’s all for nothing.
Ultimately, asking for help allows you to also grow up. It can help you see things from a different angle. The more you train your mind to think flexibly, the easier it becomes to handle various situations. And if you think about it, the last time when you asked for help, how did it make you feel? Granted, sometimes you meet those people who don’t want to help you because of various reasons. But in most cases, if you ask for help, people will offer it. It’s in human nature after all.