Encourage Mental Health

I felt physically ill after reading Donald Trump’s statements about building more mental institutions to combat gun violence. This is a complete misinterpretation of the “we need to talk about mental illness” movement. Encouraging people to have open conversations about mental illness is meant to decrease stigma, normalize treatment, and urge early intervention. While I’m an advocate for seeking inpatient treatment when necessary, de-institutionalization gave people back their dignity and freedom to live meaningful lives. The fear of being institutionalized will only lead people experiencing symptoms to stay silent until they reach a crisis point.  The circumstances of mass shootings are complex conversations, no matter what your views are on gun legislation. However, criminalizing the 25% of people with mental illness or the approximately 5% of people with serious mental illness who have caused no harm and pose no threat to society is a human rights issue. 

There is overwhelming evidence that one’s mental health is directly related to their quantity and quality of sleep. For me, sleep has been a factor in maintaining my mental health, especially my anxiety. Before I developed a mental illness, sleep was not too high of a priority. As a college student, I could stay up until 3:00 working on an assignment then wake up at 7:00 to get to class. Between drinking caffeine and driving with radio on loud, I could go through my day as if I had gotten a full 8 hours of sleep. Although I don’t attribute developing a mental illness to my poor sleep habits, not paying enough attention to my health or listening to my body definitely contributed to the severity of my mental breakdown. If I had taken better care of myself during the semester, I don’t think my symptoms would have begun so abruptly. Throughout my battle with mental illness and my recovery, paying attention to my sleep has been essential. Getting too much or too little sleep during the ni