The importance of mental health acceptance

Mental Health and Wellbeing 4 Minutes

Mental health awareness has become a popular topic over the last few years and there is also a whole week devoted to mental health awareness. However, I personally think that although mental health awareness is important, it’s not enough on it’s own when it comes to making progress as a society. Mental health acceptance is just as if not more important than mental health awareness. In this blog post I will talk about why I think mental health awareness is not enough on its own, as well as discuss the importance of mental health acceptance.

Firstly, I want to emphasise that mental health awareness is not the same as mental health acceptance, and there is quite a big difference between the two terms. Mental health awareness refers to people talking about their mental health and essentially bringing the topic of mental health out in the open. Because of mental health awareness, there is now more public knowledge about different mental health conditions. Mental health acceptance comes from a place of understanding, and having a genuine appreciation that all mental health struggles are valid. This is different from mental health awareness, as knowing that certain mental health struggles exist doesn’t necessary imply that you have an appreciation and understanding of it.

The main reason why I don’t think mental health awareness on its own is enough is because it puts too much emphasis on individuals struggling with their mental health to open up, and not enough emphasis on how other people can be a good listener when someone opens up to them. I also talk about this in another one of my blogs here. Essentially, there are still many people that come across as judgemental and not very empathetic when someone opens up about their mental health struggles to them. Partly this could be because they don’t know how to effectively approach a situation where someone opens up to them about their mental health struggles. However, I can say from experience that if you have the courage to open up about your mental health struggles to someone only to feel like you are being judged by the person you opened up to, then it can put you off opening up in the future. As I said in the second paragraph, mental health awareness focuses on bringing the topic of mental health out in the open, but it doesn’t focus enough on how individuals struggling with their mental health can be best supported.

As mentioned in the second paragraph, I think that mental health acceptance comes from a place of understanding, and having an appreciation that all mental health struggles are valid. Mental health acceptance has benefits both at an individual level and a society level. At an individual level, if we each work towards mental health acceptance, then we become more empathetic and understanding not only to others, but to ourselves as well. This means that we are more likely to deal with our own struggles in an effective manner, whether that is mental health struggles or any other struggles. I know from experience that understanding and appreciating that all mental health struggles are valid helped me when it came to dealing with my own struggles. Furthermore, at a society level, working towards mental health acceptance means that we are taking the time to understand the struggles other people face, even if we can’t relate to them ourselves. This mentality can help us address other problems we face as a society, such as sexual abuse and racism. In short, mental health acceptance at a society level can have benefits even outside of the topic of mental health.

When it comes to the relationship between mental health awareness and mental health acceptance, my opinion is that working towards mental health acceptance can really drive mental health awareness, and I don’t think you need to focus on mental health awareness first before focusing on mental health acceptance. As mentioned previously, I think that the main barrier when it comes to raising awareness of the topic of mental health is people being judgemental of others struggling with their mental health and not appreciating that all mental health problems are valid, as this can be off putting when it comes to individuals talking about their mental health. Therefore, I would like to see mental health acceptance as a key driver when it comes to raising awareness of mental health, rather than society thinking that you need to raise awareness of mental health first before thinking about mental health acceptance. 

When it comes to what you can do to ensure mental health acceptance at an individual level, my main tip would be to acknowledge that you don’t know everything when it comes to the topic of mental health, and therefore you need to have an open mind. One reason why certain mental health struggles get a bad reaction from others is that people aren’t open minded when it comes to mental health problems they barely know anything about. A good example is OCD. I feel that people that genuinely struggle with OCD are more likely to have their struggles invalidated (sadly), as a lot of people think OCD is just being a bit picky when it comes to cleaning rather than appreciating that OCD is a genuine mental health problem in it’s own right. It isn’t difficult to have an open mind, it’s just having that appreciation that an open mind is needed for mental health acceptance.

Do you have anything to add on this topic?

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Published by nirajshah2003

A lifestyle and mental health blogger that aims to help others by writing blogs :)

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67 thoughts on “The importance of mental health acceptance”

  2. Pingback: ReBlogging ‘The importance of mental health acceptance’ – Link Below | Relationship Insights by Yernasia Quorelios

  3. Great post, and I agree that awareness is not the same as acceptance. Also, sometimes people say they are open-minded regarding mental health, but then their actions say something totally different. I find it difficult to talk to just anyone about my mental health, as it just doesn’t feel good when you open up, and it turns out there is no understanding or acceptance, and they don’t really care to know more. I guess what I want to say is that when people ask to know more about mental health, to learn more about it, they should really mean it.

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    1. Yeah exactly, you hit the nail on the head there. It’s all well and good saying you care and are open minded regarding mental health but that doesn’t get converted into actions. For the topic of mental health, actions speak louder then words!

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  6. Great post Niraj, This such as valid point. It’s not enough to just be aware of mental illness and then turn around and be judgemental. It’s equally important that we are aware and understanding.

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  7. This is a great post, thank you for highlighting this issue. I do think there is a long way to go for people to become receptive to mental health issues and providing necessary support for the loved one that has confided in them

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  11. It’s also quite hard when people think I can fix my mental health problems instantly. I’ve been struggling for a long time, I can’t just magically change my brain. This is a really good post, it was on my discover page and I really relate to it.

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  13. This is a great take, gotta have good people on your side willing to listen and understand. Awareness is not enough, having empathy and understanding for the other person is key in acceptance. Thank you for sharing!

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  14. Agree Niraj, awareness, acceptance and treating it as something to be nurtured are completely different things. Unless they are actively worked on – it easily can get into a wreck. Awareness is only a starting point and demands further work

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  15. It’s a must read! Thanks for sharing. I perceive that Knowing… Understanding… & Accepting… Must be inseparable. Exercising one apart from others is injurious to mental health.

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  16. I have always been the caregiver to my children (One has autism, the other has BPD) but when I had a breakdown 5 years ago and dx with Complex PTSD it took me years to except it because my way of thinking was I’m defeated and weak. So I totally agree with your post.

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  20. I agree. People know about mental health issues but so many of us are afraid of it and don’t want to accept it. I’m finally learning that if I accept doesn’t mean I have to like it but it makes it easier to face. Thankful for my therapist and to you for writing this. Good job 👏👍

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  21. Yes, mental health acceptance can be a driver to mental awareness. This can help understand that mental health is a common problem and how we handle those inflicted can determines their journey to recovery

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  22. Yes. Another reason why acceptance is important for good mental health is that it can be a kind of gateway to compassion for oneself and for others. This can often be very important for healing and moving on. And when acceptance is unattainable it can be a barrier to self-compassion for oneself and for others.

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  33. For sharing such a delicate topic that needs uttermost attention, Thank you!

    I always try to deal with myself by distancing. I feel that should work, especially when you’re getting overwhelmed with various aspects of life.

    Just wonderful! Hello!

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