Mental illness is real.
Their pain is real.
Their illness is real.

You don't look sick!
Stop being so negative!
Just get over it!

It doesn't work that way and it never will. Someone with mental illness may not look sick, but they are; it is a different type of illness that attacks the mind and body instead of just the body. It kills you from the inside out, very slowly and torturously.

They can't just stop being negative either; it's not their fault that they're feeling that way. The voices in their heads curse their name every chance they get, and they're left feeling worse and worse about themselves as time goes on. They don't want to feel this way; they want to feel happy and bubbly, but they can't. They can't let go of what their voices have shouted at them.

They can't just get over it. Can you just get over a cold? No? Well, it's the same for them. Like you have no control over a cold, they have no control over their mental illness.

You can get medications for your cold just like they can get medications for their mental illness. Does the medication always work for your cold? No? Well, it doesn't always work for those suffering with a mental illness, either.

When you compare a mental illness to a common illness everyone has, you can see the differences and similarities (medication not working), which makes it clear just how severe and real mental illness is.

Why is their a stigma around mental illness? Why is it a crime to talk about it? What is the big deal?

Mentall illness or anything associated with it should not be joked about or romanticised. There is nothing good about mental illness and does not always require a love interest to make it legitimate. It is not funny! If you had any kind of illness like this, you wouldn't like to hear someone pulling jokes about it and laughing it off like it's not big deal.

We need to break the stigma of mental illnesses. We have the right to talk about it without being sent hate. We have the right to express our feelings about mental illness and how it affects us without being told we don't know how it truly feels and being ridiculed for bringing it up.

Mental illness is serious. If we can talk about other serious conditions like cancer and such, we can talk about mental illnesses. You have the right to tell others how you feel without judgment.

Break the stigma of mental illness.

P.S. If you have any kind of mental illness/disorder, please seek help. Tell someone you trust, find a therapist, go to a doctor; etc. Getting help is the first step to recovery. This is not meant to judge you in any way; this is meant to make you feel more comfortable expressing how this illness makes you feel. I wish anyone with any kind of illness (mental or otherwise) all of the best and I hope you can get back to a happy place!