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How are you feeling? Checking in with your emotions might feel strange, especially if you're not used to it. Can you name what you're feeling—happiness, stress, boredom, or something else entirely? Whether you're feeling happy, stressed, bored, or something else, all emotions—positive or negative—are a natural part of being human. However, many people question themselves when life feels overwhelming. The truth is that emotions are normal, and how we navigate them, especially during stressful times, defines our mental health. Despite this, there are myths around mental health that can stop people from seeking help. Let’s break them down.

Myth: Mental health issues are a sign of weakness.
Fact: Mental health struggles aren’t about weakness or character flaws. Environmental factors, genetics, and other stressors play a role.¹ Just as we don’t see someone with the flu as weak, mental health challenges don’t define a person. Seeking help when struggling is a sign of resilience and strength.

For many, there is immense cultural pressure from loved ones and role models emphasizing hard work, even at the cost of suppressing emotional struggles.² In general, pushing negative emotions aside only prolongs the amount of time that someone may deal with an undiagnosed mental illness. Seeking help and resources may instead be a powerful step toward healing.

Myth: Therapy is only for people with serious mental illness.
Fact: Therapy can be beneficial for anyone, not just those with mental illness. While therapy is an essential tool for treating conditions such as depression and anxiety, many people find that it is also useful for navigating the daily stressors of life, including work and relationships.³

Therapy can be compared in some ways to the gym – if you exercise and lift weights frequently, your muscles will strengthen. With mental health, therapy helps the brain remold and shape new pathways and ideas – a powerful phenomenon known as neuronal plasticity that explains our mind’s ability to evolve continuously and increases the brain’s capacity to adapt and grow.⁴

Myth: If I’ve managed my emotions alone before, I don’t need help now.
Fact: Many people often point to challenging times in their childhood when they have overcome incredible adversity without needing therapy or help from a doctor. However, evidence shows that experiencing numerous stressful situations early in life increases the likelihood that someone may experience mental health challenges.⁵

It is important to recognize that mental health, much like physical health, is not static. Instead, we should think of seeking mental health care in the same way that we see a doctor for a sprained ankle or painful back – the sooner we address the problem, the faster we will be able to return to action and, importantly, understand how to avoid injury in the future.

Myth: Seeking help means I’ll have to take medication.
Fact: Treatment for mental health is highly individualized. While medication can be effective for some, it is not the only option. Even when medications are used, they are not magical in improving mental health. Most patients experience the most benefit when medication is used along with other things such as therapy, lifestyle changes, and mindfulness practices.⁶ The key to finding what works best for you is an important part of the conversation that takes place between a psychiatrist and their patient.

Myth: Medications will change who I am or make me feel unlike myself.
Fact: Psychiatrists often hear from patients that they worry that medications will change who they are. The truth is that medications aim to reduce symptoms, not change who you are. Finding the right medication takes time and involves trial and error with your doctor to get the best results with minimal side effects.

Myth: Talking about mental health makes things worse.
Fact: Having an open conversation about mental health has multiple benefits – not just for the people who may struggle with mental health challenges but also for the community. Hearing others, such as parents or mentors, talking about mental health can serve to reduce stigma⁷. On the other hand, ignoring concerns seldom makes them disappear. Whether checking in with a friend or visiting a mental health clinician, verbalizing emotions is often the first step in the journey of healing.

Key Takeaways

Mental health can be difficult to define in a single word or sentence. It can be even more challenging to express one’s emotions if cultural or societal norms do not encourage open expression. For many, the myths underlying mental health and the treatment of mental illness can contribute to delay in getting treatment and building coping skills. On the other hand, challenging these myths by talking about feelings, whether positive or negative, can normalize mental health as an active practice—like lifting weights to strengthen muscles.

Remember, discovering the quality of your present mental health can be as simple as asking yourself: How are you feeling? Whatever the answer may be today, it is important to recognize the emotions as valid and that seeking help is an act that requires immense strength rather than a sign of weakness.