I feel exactly the same way, this day causes me more stress and sadness than it does relief honestly. I am sure it has definitely done some good to spark conversations about feelings of anxiousness and depression, but I have found that a lot of mentally ill folk struggle to actually gain anything from it.
I agree that we should be looking out for our mental health and the wellbeing of our loved ones every day, but I guess in our society we still have a lot of stigma and shame surrounding mental health issues and illness. I suppose one good thing about struggling with our mental health is that we are typically very compassionate and in-tune with these feelings ahah 😅
(TRIGGER WARNING)
This year's theme 'Are they really okay', feels even more like a punch in the gut to be honest, because no one really wants to hear my reply "no, I am struggling with thoughts of su*cide". It makes them feel uncomfortable and makes me feel awful for dumping that on them. I am really fortunate that I have some support networks which can help me cope with these thoughts, but I definitely feel like 'R U OK?' day is tokenistic and doesn't really help those of us struggling with more complex and challenging thoughts or mental illnesses.
