I wrote this in response to a meme that triggered me. TLDR; if you have a support system which we all need, it is their responsibility to at least not make things worse for you- how? Seek education about your illness.

"You know why there is still stigma about mental health?

People are talking about it now, huge first step.

The next step? Educating yourself on it. If you yourself don't suffer from a mental illness- statistically 1 in 4 people you know do. Friends, family members, your kids, co workers your care about. Choosing to stay uneducated is hurting other people. Is making people feel alone. Is making people feel like they are less than or invalid. The most exhausting part of having a mental illness isn't even the illness. It's constantly having to ADVOCATE for yourself to people who don't BELIEVE let alone understand you. It's invalidating. It's demeaning. It's hurting people. It's making people stop talking about it and retreating and stopping them from asking for help. As a human in this world you have a responsibility to educate yourself on mental illness. To be a safe place for the people you love to come to. How do you be a safe place? Start learning. Your girlfriend has anxiety? Read up on it. Your brother has PTSD? Read up on it. Your friend is feeling really depressed? Read up on it. Noone can make you. But it's another way to show up for the people that you love.

someone has a broken leg. People immediately ask how they broke it, how long is the recovery, they ask how they are doing. This empathy needs to be expressed for mental illnesses too.

One of my projects this year is going to be to create a page full of resources for people who want to understand mental health more. And how they can help those they love with mental illnesses.

However, until then a quick Google can get you some pretty good information. Start learning."