Thank you, Sarah. This hit home for me in more than a few places...
Where you mention the language used to convey mental health, I often think it gets reduced down to a scale similar to that of weather, with the implication of "oh well, the sky might be blue tomorrow!" (which makes it much easier for other people to deal within converstion, with a cheery comment & a neat answer that "fixes the problem") - whereas it's actually much more akin to climate, or at the very least seasons - a longterm thing with no easy answers or turn-on-a-dime wins. Explaining how that feels, in a way that gets across to others, is hard work. Better language is needed. And more time spent really listening to people who are struggling...
(My backstory: my late Ma was a very strong personality, and from around 2010 onwards suffered from dementia. Dealing with that meant me mostly stepping back from writing for a while, mainly because I just couldn't summon up the enthusiasm for it, with a big cost to my own mental health. Now that chapter of my life is over, I've had the privilege to be able to return to writing, including starting my own Substack, and as in your case, it's really helped me get my hopefulness back on track. Writing is excellent self-therapy.)
Re. Nature's effect on our health, if you haven't read, I can thoroughly recommend "The Nature Fix" by Florence Williams - she really dives into it: http://www.florencewilliams.com/the-nature-fix
Thank you, Sarah. This hit home for me in more than a few places...
Where you mention the language used to convey mental health, I often think it gets reduced down to a scale similar to that of weather, with the implication of "oh well, the sky might be blue tomorrow!" (which makes it much easier for other people to deal within converstion, with a cheery comment & a neat answer that "fixes the problem") - whereas it's actually much more akin to climate, or at the very least seasons - a longterm thing with no easy answers or turn-on-a-dime wins. Explaining how that feels, in a way that gets across to others, is hard work. Better language is needed. And more time spent really listening to people who are struggling...
(My backstory: my late Ma was a very strong personality, and from around 2010 onwards suffered from dementia. Dealing with that meant me mostly stepping back from writing for a while, mainly because I just couldn't summon up the enthusiasm for it, with a big cost to my own mental health. Now that chapter of my life is over, I've had the privilege to be able to return to writing, including starting my own Substack, and as in your case, it's really helped me get my hopefulness back on track. Writing is excellent self-therapy.)
Re. Nature's effect on our health, if you haven't read, I can thoroughly recommend "The Nature Fix" by Florence Williams - she really dives into it: http://www.florencewilliams.com/the-nature-fix