My sister and I were in having one of our nice long evening talks last night.
We started reflecting on our experiences in high school and how they affected us.
This brought us to the conversation about anxiety, body dysmorphia and insecurities.
Something that a lot of us have either experienced or heard of but never really truly acknowledged by society as a 'real problem'.
Someone breaks their arm, it is attended to, wrapped up and it is indisputable that they cant use that arm for a while.
However, if someone has anxiety for example, they are often told to 'snap out of it' or questioned about whether or not they are trying hard enough.
Why is it not treated like a a broken arm?
Why aren't they being attended to, treated and being taken seriously?
I was one of those people who didn't take the problem seriously, even when it was my sister crying out in pain.
What I think became a barrier for believing that my sisters struggle was real was that I didn't understand.
I just couldn't comprehend it.
It was happening in her head and all I could see was a small piece of a bigger internal battle through her words.
With a broken arm, you see it then and there.
You know what physical pain feels like so it's a lot easier to relate to.
Maybe be there is something I can do to help people empathise and understand mental disabilities/illnesses. PIXAR's Inside Out personified representations of emotions in the human body was a perfect start in feature animation films in getting people to talk.
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