Have we still not come to understand mental health?

Mental health is extremely common, some say its increased massively in the last few years.
But honestly whether we choose to believe it or not, it has always been there, people have struggled with mental illness for decades. It is only now they we are starting to talk about it, that we are coming to understand it as a illness and not just someone who is a bit 'crazy'.

As the years go on we are becoming more knowledgable on mental health, but there are still people who just simply do not understand it.

In my personal experience suffering from Anxiety I have noticed a lot of things. Firstly, we grow up being taught to respect our elders, that they are wise. I find it hard to do so when a lot of our elder generation still don't understand mental health. On a regular basis I hear from grandparents, and family friends 'Oh shes fine' and 'There is nothing wrong with her'.
People choose to believe that there is nothing wrong with you unless it is visible, like a broken arm for example.

Back when our older generation were younger there was barely any help, my grandfather was in the second world war, and during his time he developed shell shock, and later was discovered he had schizophrenia. There was barely any medical help back then, with no where near as much medication to help sufferers control their illnesses. It is understandable that people didn't understand mental health issues back then, but it saddens me to see this way of thinking is being passed down through generations.

If your child, sibling, parent or friend felt lost and alone with no one to turn to, wouldn't you offer your help?
Most people who suffer, suffer alone. This can be caused by the feeling of embarrassment, feeling like they have failed in life, even the feeling of not wanting to be a burden.

I hope this post will help people to become more understanding to mental health, and to recognise it as an actual illness.

Thanks for reading, more coming from me soon! :)