Do You Struggle With Mental Health?

#ComicBookHour Twitter Responses for July 17, 2016

July 17, 2016’s #ComicBookHour focused on Mental Health in Comics (and by extension, Comic Creators).

Of course, I didn’t realize this before I leapt into the discussion…

Note that I use the term “Mental Health” here. “Mental Illness” assumes there’s only the binary options of “Healthy” or “Sick”. “Mental Health” focuses on healthy and unhealthy habits we all keep. Hey, we don’t chastise people for needing a root canal for their “Dental Health”.

It’s worth pointing out here that I don’t discuss what I “have” for obvious reasons. For one thing, I still don’t know what to call it .

In this case? I don’t find that detail relevant.

One of the dirty little secrets of having “issues” of any type? They tend to beget secondary superficial issues like anxiety and depression. This is why lots of people with their own personal problems look and behave like each other.

It’s part of what makes diagnosis and treatment as hard as it is. Untreated, this stuff compounds and creates an absurd feedback loop. And it makes everything else worse.

Yes, it took me a while to figure this out too. Treating depression and anxiety is like treating the bleeding from a gunshot wound . It’s something you have to do if you want to solve the underlying problems.