You don’t need to justify your mental illness

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You might have certain beliefs that invalidate your mental illness. They might be reasons why you shouldn’t be mentally ill or why your illness is not that serious. You may even feel guilty for seeking treatment. One of the biggest causes for these thoughts is comparison to others.

Everyone has their own idea of what mental illness looks like. This might be influenced by media portrayals, amount of education about mental health and interactions with mentally ill people. You end up comparing your symptoms and situation to that ideal that you have in your head. For instance, you might see obsessive-compulsive disorder as an illness centered around germophobia and strange rituals. Your version could be focused on your productivity and thus cause you to compulsively work. This looks different, and you might even try to justify your situation as adaptive. But it’s still a mental illness. You are dealing with obsessions and compulsions; they just don’t have the same content as the idea in your head.

The truth is, there is no definitive way in which mental illness manifests. Anything that causes distress or interferes with your life is worth looking at. In fact, you don’t even need to qualify as having a mental illness to seek treatment. You might just want support through a difficult situation or work on self-improvement. This is perfectly legitimate. You don’t have to be completely dysfunctional and crippled by your mental illness in order to have a right to get help. 

Another thought you might have is that your past does not justify your illness. This might, again, be about comparison. You might think mental illness is something that comes as a result of something else. This could be trauma, an extraordinarily difficult present situation, childhood abuse, bad relationships, or other circumstances you see as justifying having a mental illness. You might not see your past or your circumstances as “bad enough” and thus invalidate your own experience. You could have posttraumatic stress disorder from a car accident and say to yourself, “Well, it’s not like I went to war or was raped.” You still have PTSD. It doesn’t matter what caused it; it’s there. Looking at worst case scenarios is not going to change that. 

Besides, we don’t actually understand how mental illness develops. Sometimes it just happens. You might have a perfectly healthy life and still develop depression. You could have a nurturing upbringing and still have schizophrenia. You don’t have to have a reason to struggle with your mental health. If you are having difficulties, accept that as enough. 

A decent therapist is not going to look at you and say that you don’t have it bad enough to be worth her time. He’ll understand that it is an act of courage to seek help. Treatment is not easy. It’s not something you’re doing for fun. Your therapist will not think less of you for not having a textbook version of a severe condition. She is there to help you no matter what lead you to her office.

So don’t stress about why you have mental health issues. You might be able to point to some factors or you might not. Either way, what matters is that you are seeking treatment and that you are working on it. That says more about who you are than whatever symptoms you are or are not having.

This post is part of Mental Health Month Blog Day. For a list of other participants writing about mental illness, click here. 

Do you feel a need to justify your illness? Share what helps you accept your situation in the comments.