Talking to Others About My Mental Health

I've never been good at talking about my mental health with others, even those who I've known for years. In the past, I didn't have enough self-knowledge to be able to talk about it with anyone in an adequate way. That time has long since passed, and yet I still hesitate to bring it up with anyone outside of my immediate family. I want to use the rest of this post to try and figure out why I find it hard to talk about my mental health with others.

Why Mental Health Is Hard to Talk About

For me, the reasons why my mental health is generally off-limits is not, at least in my eyes, due to any stigma. I've been blessed with a wonderful network of friends, many of whom have been open with their own mental health struggles, so I know for certain that they wouldn't be the type to reject me because of my own issues.

This may sound silly, but when I am with my friends, I honestly don't want to bring any of my mental health problems with me. When I'm on my own, I spend so much time in my own head that it can be exhausting. Visiting my friends is, outside of any social obligations, a vacation from so many of the problems that plague me from day to day.

I understand that some won't understand this. After all, if you're friends with someone, you should be comfortable sharing anything and everything with them. I do get that. But that's never how I've seen things. I want my interactions with friends to be fun, and by its very nature, it's difficult to make any discussion concerning mental health "fun."

How to Make Mental Health Easier to Talk About

All of that being true, I still don't want to cut them off entirely from my inner life. I know they would trust me with their struggles, and I want to show the same respect to them.

But like I said before, I don't quite know how to do this just yet. Maybe doing any sort of mental health talk when I know a big group is going to be around is probably not a great idea for me right now. Maybe I can start with reaching out to one or two people one on one and see how that goes. Maybe that's all I need. Or maybe I'll want to go on from there.

I don't know where this is going to go. All I know is that my mental health situation is unique, and because of that, I need to find a unique solution that works for me. At the very least, I will give it a try.

See Also

• How to Talk About Mental Illness: What do I Say?
• How to Talk to People About Your Mental Illness
• Tips for Talking About Your Mental Health
• Two Ways to Begin Discussing Your Mental Health