It is not cowardly to admit mental illness.
Despite the fact that mental illness is common throughout the world, there is very little acceptance about it. I don't think there is anyone who has never heard of these illnesses or never met someone who is going through them. Yet it is difficult for ourselves to discover it or about anyone else in our environment. Whether you or someone you know has these symptoms, it's important to recognize these signs and do something about it.
This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a lecture where Dr. Afzal Javed from Pakistan was going to give a speach about mental illness. When I got the information that he was coming, I didn't hesitate for a second and told my husband we had to go.
We also had a guest speaker who was a teacher and talked about children's learning disabilities and difficulties, such as Dyslexia, ADHD and Autism. Another important topic to talk about, as none of these illnesses are visible.
I have always been interested in reading about child development and psychology. I also try to read books as much as I can, but there is also alot of information online. So it was obvious that I wanted to attend this lecture.
The hardest thing in such a situation is acceptance. It is difficult to accept, for example, that you have fallen into depression, hit the wall as they say in Sweden. Or being told that one's child is not keeping up at school and may have a lerning dissability. For a parent, it is important to first of all be open and receive all the indications from the school and to be open to your own symptoms to.
Getting a diagnosis is always possible with a little help if you suspect something and there is a lot of help you can get. But what Dr. Afzal Jaed brings up something which is the most important piece of the puzzle in the whole thing is Stigmatization.
It is precisely this part that is the most difficult. To escape the stigma is to accept yourself that you yourself or even your children are different. But usually because of the norms of the society, we don't dare to say that we have a child who is different or that we ourselves are going through a difficult time. Because you are afraid of being ostracized from your surroundings.
What I liked the most is that he mentioned that. It does not have to be a learning disability that is difficult to accept. It could be a little thing like the child has Asthma. Understanding that the child has a problem and will need extra care and time from the parent can turn life upside down, especially if you have never had anyone in the family with a similar diagnosis.
This made me think of my time. When my second son Hamza was 6-8 months old, he often caught cold and was, as we call it in Sweden, an ear kid ( a kid who gets ear infections as soon they get flu). The doctors said that he has narrow ear canals, which means that the cold likes to settle there. At the same time, the doctors said that he has childhood asthma, which can be all gone within 2-3 years if we start treating it right now.
In the beginning, like all parents, I was scared and didn't know how to tell everyone around us in nursery, family, friends etc, and how to handle this. But after I talked to my mother-in-law who says that: either you go to the doctor and get a diagnosis and follow the recommendations. Or you don't go to the doctor at all and do what you want.
So in my case, I'm thankful to God that the doctor discovered this in early time. And we also got appoinment for specialist who teached us how to use the spray, medicines and etc. And by the grace of God he didn´t needed the medicines anymore after he turned 3 years old.
At that time we just had to accept it. It is you as a parent who must accept this first, in order to help your child or yourself. You have to be strong enough and confident in what you are going to do, and then be able to tell those around you about what you are going through. As Dr Afzal Javed told us that there are treatments for every disease, but we have to ask for it and only the we can get the help.
Reach out for help and help those who need it!