{"id":18510,"date":"2022-03-01T15:42:28","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T23:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=18510"},"modified":"2022-03-01T15:42:38","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T23:42:38","slug":"opening-up-for-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/opening-up-for-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening up for mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;0px|||||&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><!-- divi:tadv\/classic-paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tips for talking about mental health disorders and disabilities<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Sarah Austin <\/strong>| <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lifestyle Editor<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the hardest things when struggling with mental illnesses or disabilities can be telling others about it. Disclosing one\u2019s mental health status is important to medical professionals and potential employers for a plethora of reasons and can even reduce stress levels, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Here are some tips to make others aware of an illness or disability while maintaining comfort.\u00a0<\/span><b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Who should be told. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Make a list of people who do not already know about the status of one\u2019s mental health. Ensure that they are trustworthy and free of judgment. Opening up to these people should feel like a breath of fresh air once done.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Determine the appropriate time and place.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If the disorder or disability hinders the ability to work for any reason, informing an employer is a must. On the other hand, telling a random person at the grocery store is not necessary \u23e4 unless assistance is needed. Add these people to the list, as they can help prevent anxiety-filled situations or episodes by knowing beforehand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>What to tell them. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Plan what one would like to be disclosed; for example, if I were disclosing my bipolar disorder to a friend I would let them know what moods to expect from me when I am having an episode and how long the episodes may last. Feel free to also share positive experiences that have happened as a result, such as something it helps with or experiences created by it. Planning what information to tell the person beforehand can reduce stress.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Suggest support options. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Depending on the relationship to the person being told, let them know what could be needed from them. Here are some examples of what this can look like for:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A significant other: \u201cWhen I am in an episode, it would help if you gave me physical space. I get triggered when I feel this way and am touched.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A friend at the bar: \u201cI\u2019m on medication and am not supposed to drink. Can you be there for me and encourage me so I feel like I still belong?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A parent: \u201cI know I need help but making appointments causes anxiety for me, can you help?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">An employer: \u201cSome days my mental illness affects me in strange ways. If I am doing something wrong or make you uncomfortable, can you let me know instead of reacting right away?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remember, disclosing personal information about a mental illness or disability is always the choice of the person affected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In times of crisis, reach out for help. The National Alliance on Mental Illness has a free hotline open 24 hours a day at 800-950-6264.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16738\" width=\"4220\" height=\"82\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line.png 4220w, https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line-300x6.png 300w, https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line-1024x20.png 1024w, https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line-768x15.png 768w, https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line-1536x30.png 1536w, https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line-2048x40.png 2048w, https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2020\/12\/lighter-gray-line-1080x21.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 4220px) 100vw, 4220px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/divi:tadv\/classic-paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tips for talking about mental health disorders and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}