Yesterday was a very important day, where we were all encouraged to ask a friend or loved one “RUOK?”
It’s a very powerful day of awareness, but what does that mean for today? People that may have found the courage to open up and tell someone yesterday that hey “Actually, I’m not ok” . . . are waking up today, a normal day of the week that isn’t surrounded by people telling you to open up or flashing support numbers over TV screens.
They’ve opened up, so who will help them today in the aftermath of opening up a wound or realising for the first time that they might be suffering with mental health issues? For some, it will feel like a giant wrecking ball has smashed through their mind and now they don’t know what to do and some could even feel worse for opening up.
This is why EVERY DAY needs to be a mental health day. I understand why a day of awareness is important and I support many initiatives in that space, but we need to stop and think about the aftermath of such a heightened day of emotions.
How to talk to people with anxiety. Post continues below.
Starting the conversation is one thing, but knowing what to do next is what will make the difference. I was a happy and healthy 30-year-old living my dream job, I didn’t have a history of mental health issues but in the space of 2.26 minutes, a work incident left me mentally fighting for my life. I was thrown into a dark space that I didn’t understand, I didn’t know who I was, and I felt completely numb 24/7.
Top Comments
I love how all these articles are assuming that everyone was asked "R U OK?". Where are the articles describing how absolutely BS this day is? I spent the entire day waiting for the answer - wanting to be brave and say "No, I'm not" but not one person looked at me. I watched my friends ask other people - and then came to two possible answers - either nobody asks because they think I'm too strong to need checking in on, or they think I'm too broken to be fixed.
Honestly I think RU OK day is kinda like High School. You get your tiers of popular people that get loads of messages saying "are you okay? Call me if you ever need me?" and genuinely mean it (even if it's not needed) then you get the visibly "at risk" people that get checked in on - not out of genuine care but out of guilt that if they off themselves, it'll be their fault - but also out of attention seeking of "Hey! I asked (kid likely to break down) if they're okay - I'm such a good person!" and then you get the people - like myself,who ask and ask - but not one person checks in on them and it makes you feel so isolated, and low like - you're garbage. Like you continue to be talked over, ignored and patronised that you may as well not fucking be here at all.