"The Fragility of Mental Wellness!"

The demarcation line between insanity and sanity is oft razor thin. One nudge in either direction is the difference between mental wellness or illness. Success or failure. Thriving or stymied. Ultimately, life or death.

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It takes great mental focus, fortitude, resilience, and great commitment to persevere through life's landmines of adversities and adversaries. This journey can be exhausting, but the rewards are worth it.

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Sometimes our personal demons within are our most formidable enemies; our?insecurities, doubt, hopelessness, fear, loneliness, depression, distrust, stress, dysfunction, bad decisions,?and?anxiety, all conspire to exasperate and exploit our mental fragility.

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Post-COVID has revealed the fragility of mental health in America. One crisis, one traumatic experience, one major catastrophe can become that singular unforeseen nudge that spirals a person into mental chaos.

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During the COVID pandemic and post-pandemic, the results and long-term effects of "Social isolation, grief, loss of income, working from home, and school disruption, among other things, have triggered mental health conditions or exacerbated existing ones. Studies in the United States alone have shown depression and anxiety rates increasing to over 30%." -Forbes.

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For young people, mental wellness can be even more evasive and episodic because young people lack the mental maturity and sophistication of adult brain development to handle the complexities of everyday living, sadly, their naivete can become a liability. In a 2022 CNN national survey, more than half the 2,000 respondents said that mental health issues among U.S. children, teenagers, and adults are at a severe crisis level.

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"The data are clear: 57.8 million Americans are affected by mental illness – that’s roughly one in five adults. But new research is showing that mental illness is a crisis of young people. Indeed, 50% of all mental health problems appear by age 14 and 75% by age 24." -Forbes.

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As a pastor, college administrator, adjunct professor, community leader, husband, and father, I get overwhelmed at times. I want to throw in the towel and escape the heavy lift of responsibilities that demand my time, talents, and treasure. There are times when I find myself broken and contrite. But I press on. Bludgeoned and battered by life, I PRESS ON!

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What does?'pressing on'?look like?

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When I'm in distress, I may privately lament; I cry out and solicit prayer from close friends; I talk with mentors; I do things that relax and recharge me; I hang around folks that inspire me; I read God's Word; I spend time alone reflecting and collecting my thoughts; I exercise; and I make strategic plans to thrive. These are the things that help re-center and recalibrate me to re-emerge and re-engage with people with a sober-healthier mindset. When we allow ourselves to become drunk with negative emotions, mental turmoil, and stigmas - - our thinking, our planning and our approaches become compromised, reducing us to a lesser version of ourselves. Some people need more intensive help finding their North star to a healthy mindset, and there is no shame in that admission.

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In 1967, the writing duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, of the legendary rock band the Beatles, wrote a hugely popular song entitled,?"A Little Help from My Friends."?This song reminds us of how important and affirming it is to have concerned and supportive people in our life. Several verses of the song really underscore this point:

I get by with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody?

I need somebody to love.

Could it be anybody?

I want somebody to love.

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When in distress, your?"friends"?can be platonic acquaintances, family members, therapists, mentors, concerned co-workers, pastors, etc., folks that have your positive mental and physical well-being as a top priority. Some people lack the tools, resources, and emotional support they need to cope with life's adversities and adversaries. In such cases, a little help from?"friends"?becomes critically important.

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Life was never meant to be a solo adventure. Humans are social beings; we need healthy connections to thrive at being our best. It took two people to produce us, it took multiple medical staff to deliver us, it takes multiple resources to sustain us (e.g., retailers, employers, schools, doctors, etc.), and yet, some folks have convinced themselves that they don't need any help from anyone.

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People with fragile mental faculties cower from living audacious connected lives. Why? Because they fear being vulnerable, they fear making mistakes, they fear being ridiculed, they fear success, they fear asking for help, so they settle and wallow in anguish, pain, and dysfunction. A self-imposed hell.

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So, why don't people seek help when they are mentally and emotionally broken?

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There are many reasons why mentally fragile and distressed people shy away from help, an abridged list of such reasons include:?Stigma, Shame, Lack of Income to Access Help, Lack of Awareness of Resources, Cultural Factors, Personal Beliefs,?and?Fear of Judgment.

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Our personal success and thrive depends on a strong network of supportive folks that we can turn to for emotional and personal support. We cannot suffer in a solitude of silence, that's detrimental and anti-productive.

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Throwing in the towel only magnifies our source of problems. We must press on! Rise above the gloom and doom you're feeling and seek the help and support you need to thrive. Your life matters, your life has value, and most importantly, beyond the clouds and storms of life exist the sunshine you seek beyond the gloom. Connect with the positive people and resources you need to help you soar above the overcast of gloom. There will be turbulence getting there, but the pressing is worth basking in the sunshine of triumph. Choose to soar, rise up!

Poet laureate Maya Angelou is arguably one of the world's greatest poet, but she has a bitter past. She was raped by her mother's boyfriend at age eight. This scarred her mentally and emotionally. Ms. Angelou could have chose to wallow and stay stuck in dispair, but she chose to rise above this horror. She evolved into becoming a world renowned civil rights activist and poet. One of her greatest poems is entitled, "Still I Rise." Be encouraged, motivated, and affirmed by excerpts from Ms. Angelou's powerful poetic prose:

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries?

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise...

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Rise. Don't stay stuck in the mire of depression, defeat, anguish, and despair, plug into a positive network of people that will help you achieve mental wellness. You were meant to soar.

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NOTE: If you feel hopeless and in mental crisis, text?NAMI?to?741-741, you'll be able to connect with a trained crisis counselor to receive free, 24/7 crisis support via text message. Or, email?[email protected]

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Choose to be triumphant...RISE!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rev. Michael Robinson, M.S. is Senior Pastor/Christian Counselor-Greater Enon Missionary Baptist Church; Director of Community Outreach & Hiring-Temple University Lenfest North Philadelphia Workforce Initiative; Adjunct Professor, Fox School of Business-Temple University; mild mannered independent journalist.