Do We Need More Mental Health Awareness?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Here’s my controversial opinion: we don’t need more mental health awareness. We need more tools to get well and stay well. We need practitioners willing to think outside the box, beyond the checklists and low-efficacy treatments. 

At 18, I met the criteria for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

When I was diagnosed, I experienced symptoms of hypomania and mania that impaired functioning for weeks at a time, such as:

racing thoughts

lack of sleep

grandiosity

heightened energy

impulsivity

increased risk-taking

I also experienced symptoms of depression that impaired functioning, for weeks at a time, such as:

low mood

inability to get out of bed

sleeping too much

no joy in previously joyful activities

no motivation

fatigue

hopelessness

BUT there were many other things going on in my physical body that were not addressed. Nobody blinked at chronic antibiotic use, chronic strep infections, or mononucleosis occurring at the same time. Nobody looked at trauma, hormones, or cortisol. Nobody looked at lab data at all. 

Getting a diagnosis to match my symptoms didn’t give me information about the cause of the disorder or a solution to manage it.

I had to figure that out on my own. 

I was very aware that my mental health wasn’t okay.

I didn’t need “mental health awareness.” I needed tools. I needed to process what a diagnosis would look like for my future. I got a label and meds that came with terrible side effects (and did little to tame my symptoms or treat the root).

And that is why I share what I share.

Want to hear my full story? Listen to Episode 218 of the Sparking Wholeness podcast. 

For those of us who have been diagnosed, every day is mental health awareness. We have a month designated to talking about the existence of mental health issues, but we also have a large group of people who are all too aware of their struggles. Many are receiving very little support in how to manage their symptoms beyond talk therapy and medication (tools that aren’t effective for everyone).

We need to dig deeper. We need to think outside the box of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

If that’s what you’re into, you’ve come to the right place. Grab my FREE Food is Mood guide or any other free resources to get started.

Check out Episode 218 of my podcast to learn more about my journey of overcoming three major diagnoses.

I’ll end with this quote from Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institutes of Mental Health:

“The DSM has 100% accuracy but 0% validity. It provides a perfect way to describe symptoms but has nothing to tell us about the underlying biology of what causes them.”