Mental health awareness grows every day, especially when celebrities speak out publicly. Last week, Lady Gaga and Prince William shared a conversation about mental health on YouTube. Lady Gaga shares her personal story about mental health personally affecting her life. In her open letter, Gaga describes the struggle of living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

She expressed feeling ashamed to open-up about struggling with mental health because she is wildly successful, has the love of her friends and family, and lives a life of luxury. It seemed as if she should have no excuse to complain about her life when other people struggle to find a place to sleep or their next meal.

As Prince William stated, Lady Gaga’s open letter is a good example of the attitude we need take towards mental health. No one should keep the pain to themselves and feel alone.

Everyone deals with mental health, as they do with physical health. When we break our bones, we seek treatment as fast as we can. We know that masking the pain with drugs works temporarily, but it doesn’t do anything to fix the problem at hand. The longer we go without treating that broken bone, the worse the break is going to be. Then everyday tasks that were not given a second thought eventually become a struggle to complete. At a certain point, the pain is so agonizing that we begin to lose motivation to do any of those everyday things like get out of bed.

The same goes for mental health; the longer we wait to open up to someone, the harder it becomes. No one, not even the rich and famous, is immune to the issues that challenge our well-being such as depression, anxiety, stress, etc. Do not be afraid to share with friends and family how you actually feel and seek the treatment you may need. Sometimes, the best medicine in the world is words of encouragement that help people who feel ashamed of an invisible illness to overcome their shame and feel free.

References

[Lady Gaga]. (2017, April 17). Lady Gaga + Prince William | Heads Together | #oktosay [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/73WmwtJM-50

Lady Gaga (2016, Dec 6). “Head Stuck in a Cycle I Look Off and I Stare” A personal letter from Gaga. Retrieved from
https://bornthisway.foundation/personal-letter-gaga/