Lifestyle blogger Gillian Gibb from Lipstick & Loathing tells us how ELLE magazine has taken a sensitive subject and made it relatable...
Mental health is a subject that’s often mentioned as one we should be more open about. We, as a society, still struggle with this ‘invisible illness’ and the fact that it is affecting even those we consider ‘strong’.
In the March edition of ELLE, a growing issue is finally being highlighted. More and more young women are suffering from depression and anxiety. It doesn’t just happen to so-called ‘weak’ females. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. I should know, because I am one of them.
Sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s surgery trying to hide the tears falling down your face and feeling like all eyes are on you is one of the worst feelings in the world. It’s like the walls are closing in on you and you’ve got your own private audience to observe this. Even when you walk into the doctor’s office, it doesn’t improve. The probing questions, the fear that they will be too nice and then the dreaded diagnosis… depression and anxiety.
Reading the ELLE article ‘The Bright Side’, I was able to relate to so many things that these women shared; the feeling of weakness, being wound up and restless and hoping that the solution to the problem was just around the corner. The thing is, as these women testify, it doesn’t just disappear and a denial only aggravates an already awful experience.
Author Kenya Hunt is an optimist and someone that I look up to for her strength and ability to help her friends through something like this. Sadly as the world evolves, the pressure increases. For those of us who deal with mental health problems like anxiety and depression, it becomes a lonely place as we watch everyone else get on with things without worry. With that comes the feeling of not being good enough, strong enough, or feeling the need to pull ourselves together.
Everyone deals with things differently and just because someone isn’t crying in the stationery cupboard, doesn’t mean they aren’t struggling. ELLE has taken a sensitive subject and shown women that it is OK to talk about it without feeling ashamed. A 100% relatable article from my favourite magazine.
