To think that very few people really care about others mental health?

[Whitehorseinthehill]

I keep seeing things on social media about Mental Health awareness. Also people always say that you should talk to someone, speak out.

We get a lot of emails circulating at work about mental health.

My experience is that in reality it is not only extremely difficult to get any type of meaningful medical care, but people don't actually want to hear about it.

When most people ask how you are, they don't really want the truth if it's not good.

Totally. People pay lip service to mental health but in most cases they couldn't care less. Then someone takes their own life and people act all shocked /label the person selfish

A lot of this guff seems to be down to the idea that only one person in any family or workplace or social circle has mental health problems (at any one time) and therefore everyone else should be 'helping and supporting'. It all falls over quite fast, particularly in friendship groups, if more than one person develops MH issues that need lots of social/community support, because the rest of the friendship group can get into a state about which unwell person to prioritise. And, if one person was a self-obsessed twat before the MH issues (because, you know, bad things happen to horrible people too) and either wants to lay claim to all the available friend-support because they've always had access to it, or suddenly wants to have it all because their issues are 'worse' than the group member whose role has always been The One Who Needs Looking After, then it all gets even messier.
The lack of funding for professional MH support is a massive problem. It's also worth bearing in mind that what a lot of people with MH issues actually need is money themselves. If you don't know if you can make next month's rent, or feed your kids this week, any pre-existing MH issues are going to be magnified. It's not reasonable to expect your friends and family to give you money, of course, because they may not have it to spare, but it is very stupid indeed to fret about the 'HUge Mental Health Crisis' without acknowledging that economic inequality is a big contributing factor.

If you did say that you'd either make everyone feel really awkward, or you'd be told how you should go anyway and how you'll be fine once you're there

Some people with anxiety want to be reassured that once they go it will be ok, that does help some people.

How is a non professional supposed to know what the appropriate thing to do and/or say is that won't upset the person? What you find helpful from people could be very upsetting to the next.

People pay lip service to mental health but in most cases they couldn't care less. Then someone takes their own life and people act all shocked /label the person selfish

That's blaming the people around the person for the death when it's actually the illness and lack of professional help that's the cause.

I've been admitted to psychiatric hospital several times. After I've been discharged, nobody has ever asked me how it was for me being there. Including close friends and family.

I don't share any of that social media crap because quite frankly, I don't have an open door for every family member/friend/acquaintance suffering from mental (or indeed physical) health problems.

I am at capacity. I have a small group of family and friends I care about intensely, but it is a small group. In order to maintain my own health (again physical and mental) I have deeply drawn 'lines in the sand'.

Similarly at work, I rarely get involved with much talking/caring/support because I don't have anything else to give. I work very hard, I am surface friendly but do not particularly care about the people around me at work, because do so would take energy I don't have.

This 'selfishness' is learned, the hard way.

OP “ It would not be very socially acceptable to say "I'm sorry I can't go because I have crippling anxiety".

Oh, I do that. Anyone who doesn’t accept it can fuck off.

I've always struggled with mental health issues and I really really care about supporting others. I'll do what I can to help people and ensure that there mental health is fine because I know how hard it is to function when it's not.

I’ve found people to generally be very kind when I’ve been struggling but I do think you have to make it easy for people to help you.
I’m not on social media, except mn of course, but if I send a school mum a text saying “I’m feeling a bit low. Are you free for a coffee this week?” I always get a positive response. Equally, I can offer them a sympathetic ear when they need it.