All in Your Head: One Woman´s Journey from Skeptic to Believer about Mental Health
♥
Written by: Melody Lipford
Mental health is a complex subject experienced and understood in many different ways. Some people doubt the legitimacy of mental illness. They may not understand the difference between someone with normal anxious thoughts from someone who suffers from anxiety or other forms of mental illness. The two situations are actually quite different. In actuality, people who experience mental illness do so because of chemical imbalances in the brain that cause the symptoms of their mental illness. More importantly, it is not a choice and is not something to be treated any differently than other physical illnesses or ailments. Both mental and physical health are vital, inseparable components of our overall health.
I sat down with Autumn Lipford, a nursing student from the United States, to chat about her perception of mental illnesses during childhood to the unique evolution of her perception of the topic today. She shares her journey with mental health and how her professional pursuits have changed not only her perspective about mental health– but the way in which she speaks about mental health with others around her.
Pictured above: Autumn Lipford
Initial Thoughts on Mental Health
Q: What were your first thoughts about the subject of mental health in the past?
A: My first thoughts about mental health were very stereotypical. My belief was that mental health was something that could be controlled and that diagnoses like depression and anxiety were nothing to be taken seriously, because I had never really experienced them. I always thought a patient could overcome ‘feeling anxious’ or ‘feeling depressed’ rather easily, and that these feelings were personal challenges rather than medical problems.
Changing Perspectives
Q: Have any of these thoughts changed over time? If yes, how so?
A: My thoughts have changed tremendously over the past few years. It is rather embarrassing to admit how I felt about mental health before because now I can see how flawed my view was for so long. I believe mental health is incredibly important to a person’s well being, and a mental health impairment should be taken just as seriously as any other medical problem.
Q: Has your time as a nursing student influenced this shift in perspective?
A: I contribute part of my initial stereotypical view of mental health to lack of knowledge and understanding. My time in nursing school has helped to change my view of mental health tremendously. Throughout this time, I have learned there are specific parts of the human brain that react to things like stress and anxiety. When someone is having a mental health issue, there is indeed a medical reason for why this occurring.
Q: Beyond learning about mental health in nursing school, do you have any personal experiences about mental health you would like to share?
A: I think one of the reasons my view of mental health has changed so much is because I went through a significant period of depression and anxiety. Up until beginning nursing school, I always believed mental illnesses was an excuse rather than diagnoses. During the summer before nursing school started, concerns with depression and anxiety were impacting my everyday life. When I started nursing school in August, I learned about depression and anxiety and more about what I was experiencing.
The scariest indication that something was wrong was when I would create To-Do lists for the day. Typically a normal ‘To-Do’ list would not alarm me, but some of the first things on the list were: get out of bed, take a shower, brush your teeth, put on clean clothes, brush your hair – these were things that I never had to write down before and encourage myself to do. I felt so ashamed!
Q: What would you tell your past self who may not have known as much about mental health?
A: I would tell my past self to learn more about mental health before making inaccurate judgements. This would help me to make more accurate opinions about mental health. In addition, it would’ve helped me as I was experiencing some mental health symptoms myself.
Desire to Help Others in the Future
Q: Do you hope to learn/study more about mental health during your nursing program?
A: I definitely can’t wait to study more about mental health in my nursing program. It is such an interesting topic to me and being a nurse in the realm of mental health is something I am looking into!
All in Your Head: One Woman´s Journey from Skeptic to Believer about Mental Health
♥
Written by: Melody Lipford
Mental health is a complex subject experienced and understood in many different ways. Some people doubt the legitimacy of mental illness. They may not understand the difference between someone with normal anxious thoughts from someone who suffers from anxiety or other forms of mental illness. The two situations are actually quite different. In actuality, people who experience mental illness do so because of chemical imbalances in the brain that cause the symptoms of their mental illness. More importantly, it is not a choice and is not something to be treated any differently than other physical illnesses or ailments. Both mental and physical health are vital, inseparable components of our overall health.
I sat down with Autumn Lipford, a nursing student from the United States, to chat about her perception of mental illnesses during childhood to the unique evolution of her perception of the topic today. She shares her journey with mental health and how her professional pursuits have changed not only her perspective about mental health– but the way in which she speaks about mental health with others around her.
Pictured above: Autumn Lipford
Initial Thoughts on Mental Health
Q: What were your first thoughts about the subject of mental health in the past?
A: My first thoughts about mental health were very stereotypical. My belief was that mental health was something that could be controlled and that diagnoses like depression and anxiety were nothing to be taken seriously, because I had never really experienced them. I always thought a patient could overcome ‘feeling anxious’ or ‘feeling depressed’ rather easily, and that these feelings were personal challenges rather than medical problems.
Changing Perspectives
Q: Have any of these thoughts changed over time? If yes, how so?
A: My thoughts have changed tremendously over the past few years. It is rather embarrassing to admit how I felt about mental health before because now I can see how flawed my view was for so long. I believe mental health is incredibly important to a person’s well being, and a mental health impairment should be taken just as seriously as any other medical problem.
Q: Has your time as a nursing student influenced this shift in perspective?
A: I contribute part of my initial stereotypical view of mental health to lack of knowledge and understanding. My time in nursing school has helped to change my view of mental health tremendously. Throughout this time, I have learned there are specific parts of the human brain that react to things like stress and anxiety. When someone is having a mental health issue, there is indeed a medical reason for why this occurring.
Q: Beyond learning about mental health in nursing school, do you have any personal experiences about mental health you would like to share?
A: I think one of the reasons my view of mental health has changed so much is because I went through a significant period of depression and anxiety. Up until beginning nursing school, I always believed mental illnesses was an excuse rather than diagnoses. During the summer before nursing school started, concerns with depression and anxiety were impacting my everyday life. When I started nursing school in August, I learned about depression and anxiety and more about what I was experiencing.
The scariest indication that something was wrong was when I would create To-Do lists for the day. Typically a normal ‘To-Do’ list would not alarm me, but some of the first things on the list were: get out of bed, take a shower, brush your teeth, put on clean clothes, brush your hair – these were things that I never had to write down before and encourage myself to do. I felt so ashamed!
Q: What would you tell your past self who may not have known as much about mental health?
A: I would tell my past self to learn more about mental health before making inaccurate judgements. This would help me to make more accurate opinions about mental health. In addition, it would’ve helped me as I was experiencing some mental health symptoms myself.
Desire to Help Others in the Future
Q: Do you hope to learn/study more about mental health during your nursing program?
A: I definitely can’t wait to study more about mental health in my nursing program. It is such an interesting topic to me and being a nurse in the realm of mental health is something I am looking into!
About author: Melody Lipford
I grew up in the United States, specifically in the Appalachian Mountains. I grew up with humble beginnings and always strived to be the first one in my family to graduate college. As a recent college graduate of Emory & Henry College, it is safe to say I achieved that goal.
However, my adolescence and college years were not free of anxiety and depression that comes not only with that goal, but also were mental illnesses I had suffered from since childhood. Through it all, I have learned self-care and have strived to use my love of writing to break the stigmas that encompass such a common subject such as mental health.
I look forward to doing this at Home of Passion and invite readers to start this discussion in their own lives. Let’s end the stigma together.
About author: MELODY LIPFORD
I grew up in the United States, specifically in the Appalachian Mountains. I grew up with humble beginnings and always strived to be the first one in my family to graduate college. As a recent college graduate of Emory & Henry College, it is safe to say I achieved that goal.
However, my adolescence and college years were not free of anxiety and depression that comes not only with that goal, but also were mental illnesses I had suffered from since childhood. Through it all, I have learned self-care and have strived to use my love of writing to break the stigmas that encompass such a common subject such as mental health.
I look forward to doing this at Home of Passion and invite readers to start this discussion in their own lives. Let’s end the stigma together.
Find me on instagram @melodyrose9
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In case you have a minute, you can find it by searching for “royal cbd” on Google (would appreciate any feedback)
Keep up the good work– and take care of yourself during the coronavirus scare!
~Justin
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