Learn to Throw a Lifeline

What comes to mind when you think of the word “health”? If you’re like most people, you probably associate health with some aspect of your physical self – but mental health is equally important to our overall well-being, and we sometimes forget that.

If we have a physical symptom such as a sickness or a pain, it’s a sign to get medical attention.  But all too often, psychological pain goes unrecognized. It gets dismissed as a bad mood, blamed on external factors or begrudgingly accepted as “just the way life is.” Thanks to myths and stigmas, we are often reluctant to seek appropriate help for our mental pain.

More than just feeling sad

Psychological pain can be confusing.  Take the word “depression.”  We use it in every day conversation to express sadness. We do this with other conditions too – we say “I almost had a heart attack” when we are startled. Few would confuse a startle reaction with a real heart attack, but many people make the mistake of confusing depression with sadness.

Sadness is a real human emotion and an appropriate response to difficult life events. It is generally temporary. Depression in the clinical sense is a more serious illness that can’t be willed away. The CDC estimates that one in 10 U.S. adults suffers from depression. Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide.