Non-linear Healing and Mental Health

Worldwide, we are facing a mental health crisis, it is devastating adults, children and more people than we might realize. Everyone deserves access to quality mental health care and help with the process of healing. Let’s start with some statistics; 52.9 million Adults in the United States and 14% of children and adolescents experience mental health illness. Only 1% of the world’s health budget is dedicated to children’s mental health, and 27 million adults worldwide do not receive treatment for their mental illness. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among people in the United States. There is a great need to redefine healing and ensure access to mental health resources for all.

A big part of mental health is understanding the healing process, going through the healing journey itself. Healing can actually be exhausting; many people want to rush through the experience because it can hurt and be difficult. Nevertheless, Healing isn’t a task, it’s a practice which we must face and turn into a healthy habit. Healing is not a linear process; it is ongoing and may occur through-out the entirety of a lifetime. This concept seems foreboding but understanding that this is a process to becoming whole again is valuable in the end. Many times, healing is a zigzag; it has ups and downs and maybe some loops here and there. Some days you may feel amazing, like you can conquer the world; another day you could be crying all day, triggered by some outer stimuli. That’s perfectly normal; you are not moving backwards but instead are just going through the normal process of healing. The brain will continue to bring up memories that are traumatic to heal so that you can process them fully, feel them, and then let them go in a healthy way.

There are many ways to cope and heal from mental health issues. You can meditate, sit in nature, do art, music, sports, or pull out a face mask you have been saving to pamper yourself. Whatever you feel is best to heal yourself, you should use it as a tool to cope with your reality. There are also other recovery tools and resources you can use, including therapy/counseling, medications, and support groups. There is never shame in getting the help we need and deserve; it’s time we end the stigma of mental health issues and redefine our own healing.