Get your meds checked.

I am not sure how many diabetics have a conversation with a significant other or loved one where they are told to get their meds checked.

I am not sure how many times a person with Hypertension is told by their spouse in an argument over something stupid that they need to check with their doctor.

I would like to know if there are any people out there with a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol or IBS or some other type of disease are told by their spouse they need to "get over it".

Depression, anxiety and other mental illness are illnesses and should not be dealt with any different than any other type of illness.

For better or worse. For Richer or poorer. In sickness and in health (unless the sickness is not really considered a sickness in the other persons eye and then they can mock or make fun of the other person until death do you part).

Yes I am being harsh.

Santa

I recently had a conversation with an old friend of mine. I do not mean to say that she is old, I mean more that our friendship is old. We have not seen each other in many years and through various social media we recently became reacquainted.

During our conversation I mentioned that I go to a therapist. She scoffed at the idea and said that she does not believe in therapy.

I countered her statement with "Therapy is not like Santa or the Easter Bunny. It does exist."

My friend did not want to offend me and backed off her original statement.

I told her in a somewhat joking way.  "It is people like you that make it difficult for people like me to seek a professionals help."

She asked what I meant.

I told her there is a stigma around certain mental conditions. That stigma makes it difficult to feel like it is okay to seek medical help.

She was not sure how to respond.

I did my best to explain it. I said something like this:

I go to a therapist to make sure that the decisions I make in my life are not clouded by my anxiety or depression. If I ask a friend, their advice is clouded by the friendship. If I ask family, their advice is clouded by the fact that they want whats best and usually easiest for me. If I was suffering from Hypertension I could have a friend or family member take my blood pressure and they would know whether it was high or not. I could adjust my medicine accordingly.  With Anxiety there is no simple tool to use. I need to check in with a person who is not biased in any way about my behavior and who can tell me if I am acting in a socially normal way. 

People go to their medical professionals all the time. A dermatologist wants to see you once a year unless there is a need for more. A Cardiologist wants to see you every 2 to 3 years depending on your situation. A therapist wants to see you every few weeks. Now a dermatologist looks at your skin with a black light. A Cardiologist will hook you up to monitors. The only real tool a therapist has is to talk with you. 

I don't think my friend completely got it.