‹ Back

When people hear “mental health,” many jump to the worst-case scenario.They assume danger. Instability. “Hearing voices.” They picture dramatic meltdowns, hospitalizations, or someone completely unable to function.But the truth?

Sometimes mental health struggles look like the quiet employee who holds it together all day and then cries in their car on lunch break. It looks like someone who never misses a deadline but hasn’t slept through the night in weeks.

It looks like someone who’s always smiling at work, even though their chest is tight with anxiety the second they walk through the door. Mental illness isn’t always loud. It doesn’t always mean you’re a risk. It doesn’t always mean you’re broken.

 

Sometimes, it just means you're human. Trying to cope. Trying to function.Trying to survive in a system that rarely gives people the space to be honest about what they're going through.

 

And when someone does speak up, when they do ask for help,  the workplace often doesn’t respond with compassion. They respond with distance. With fear. With punishment. That’s the stigma. And that’s what needs to change. We don’t need pity. We don’t need to be tiptoed around. We need support, understanding, and basic human decency.

Because struggling with mental health doesn’t mean we’re unfit to work , it just means we’re carrying an invisible weight no one sees. And honestly? Many of us are carrying it just fine, until the moment your workplace makes it heavier.

 

I’m still awaiting a decision on my discrimination case and will keep everyone posted as soon as I hear any updates.