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Why Mental Health is Important to Our Brand: Health=Health

with Guest Contributor Brittany Foster

June 27, 2017

Every so often, I get told, “It must be so hard to have InvisiYouth focus on physical and mental health. They are completely different.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth!

My response…health is health, regardless of it focusing on the mind, or the body. In fact, I have always been a firm believer that you should encourage youth to always take care of their health and talk openly about any struggles or illnesses they face. And that does not mean these should be different conversations. If s someone goes into a hospital for IV treatments, everyone around them would show empathy, understanding and feel somewhat of an ease asking questions. But oftentimes that same courtesy does not apply to an individual going to talk therapy for their mental health struggles.

What is not seen goes without support or conversation and THAT NEEDS to change! What I like to say is that this: the way we respond to illness, particularly the distinction between physical and mental health, is taught at a young age. When we are sick, our parents as us, “Where does it hurt? Show me where it hurts.” And we immediately point to the parts of our body with pain and symptoms. The notion of SEEING illness is engrained into us, and that resonates as an incorrect ‘common sense’ for life. People immediately associate illness with the physical, with being able to see it, to notice symptoms, but when it’s invisible, whether psychologically or physically invisible, it’s a concept we have a hard time grasping.

At InvisiYouth, I explain that we should have our teens and young adults explain their illness in a way that makes them comfortable, never feel forced to show their illness. If we explain symptoms and not show them, people will begin to give empathy because someone will explain their illness, and relate to the description. Don’t show your illness, talk about it!

For InvisiYouth it’s simple…health is health, and illness is illness. It does not matter whether it is a type of cancer or cystic fibrosis, PTSD or bipolar disorder, these are all different health struggles that young people need to adapt, improve and live with in their lives. And since we are a nonprofit that supports teens and young adults with ALL chronic illnesses to navigate life with illness, to gain the tools, knowledge and support to live fun, fulfilled youthful lives, InvisiYouth is always going to extend itself to teens and young adults with health struggles of all kinds (physical and mental, visible and invisible).

And I must say, it truly makes me beyond thrilled that mental health is being discussed more in a positive and accepting light. It’s slowly losing the taboo status, even in the two years since I launched InvisiYouth Charity.

It warms my heart to see so many teens and young adults in the community confidently talking about mental health and invisible illnesses, addressing the struggles they face, their different types of treatment plans, and advocating for awareness and improvements.

But as the conversation grows, as it begins to dissolve the stigmas, we are faced with another issue: the misconception that mental and physical health cannot be discussed or treated as one in the same. I know from InvisiYouth’s community that especially with the teen and young adult population, physical and mental health struggles coincide quite often.

With InvisiYouth Charity, we want to raise more awareness and understanding surrounding the idea that physical and mental health struggles can go hand-in-hand. That a lot of young people living with physical chronic illness also have to work through different mental health health illnesses and hardships. It should not be a shock that when young people are dealing with chronic illnesses that it takes a toll on them emotionally.

One of the young adults we’ve worked with from the very beginning knows this firsthand. Brittany Foster, one of our OG Spotlight Story Program writers, lives with conditions such as congenital heart defects like right aortic arch and large VSD, and pulmonary hypertension that has affected her physical in a variety of ways. But she also discusses openly that the emotional toll it took resulting in her also dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“The thing with trauma is, it doesn’t just leave,” Brittany says.  “You can’t just get over it and you can’t just move on that easily. There will be periods of your life when the trauma and emotion and and strong, and there will be periods of your life when it’s the farthest from your though.”

This is such a true factor that many people, both professionally and in our spoonie personal lives, do not comprehend.  That when you go through such traumatic events with your illness, and the procedures and diagnoses that you receive, it begins to build up and can affect your mental health if you do not get proper help or treatment.  Brittany talks about this duality stating:

“For me, PTSD also looks like a girl who is a pro at doctor appointments. The girl who has everything together and can explain her medical needs and diagnosis without hesitation. It looks like walking out of the doctor’s office completely fine and then going home, only to spend hours crying about what appears to be nothing but is actually every single emotion that you wanted to feel in that office flooding out all at once.”

When people can notice your physical illness, they can discredit your mental health struggles, making them seem to be of lesser value or importance to treat because it is not seen.  But in reality, without a strong mental health, your physical health can also take a toll.  Even worse and more confusing at times in when your physical illness is not even visible, like I had to live with for many years during my teens.  Often my friends could not see my illness, all I could was describe my RSD, but it wasn’t visible and that built up struggles I worked through.

Many teens and young adults with chronic illnesses, like Brittany, have to live in this duality of illness, that they need to be supported as a whole person with struggles affecting their physical and mental health.  Whether it’s talk therapy, writing, the arts, sport programs, or even integrative programs like meditation…finding a right fit is critical for success.  At InvisiYouth, I often will tell young people and their support networks that we will find the types of activities that will help improve one’s mental health while also accommodating the barriers that certain illnesses bring.  

“Finding ways to deal with my traumatic moments has been difficult,” she says. “I do a lot of work through writing, talking openly about it with people I trust, realizing that I am accepted for all those parts of me, and talking through it with people who understand what it is like to live with a chronic condition that can be life threatening.”

Brittany also found sharpened her voice through her experience with PTSD, finding a way to become a strong medical advocate not just for herself, but for so many that follow her journey. She is a prime example of motivating young people to be open about their illnesses and struggles, to learn from their experiences and shine this needed light on the way mental and physical health are perceived. Brittany and I must think alike because she said something that resonated with me, especially as I sat to write this month’s blog post about InvisiYouth’s dedication to mental health awareness and support for the young adult and teen community:

“What keeps you moving forward through all the trauma and the emotions, should be the fact that you are HAVING these emotions. These feelings mean you are actually LIVING.”

I could not agree more with this idea, that even with all the pain (both emotionally and physically) a young person may feel during their medical journey, it is important to know that having those feelings means you are moving forward, you are fighting for ownership and improvement in your life! I often say that you cannot treat the whole individual without looking at their physical and mental health, so it is vital to treat all of a person.

A person needs both their body and mind to succeed in life, to have fun and be fulfilled, so it’s time that charities, companies and society as a whole take notice of this and support health as a wide spectrum of illnesses, both physical and mental, invisible and visible.  What you cannot see is just as important as what you can see!

 

~Dominique