Mental health has been a hot topic recently, and there are many ways that people view those who suffer from mental illness. The most common mental health problems are: depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Whether you know it or not, some of the things you say to people with these disorders can cause more harm than good. Here are the most common things that are said that don’t really help people who suffer from mental illness feel any better.

In response to learning someone has depression: “You should try yoga”, “Have you tried happy thoughts?”, “But you have nothing to be depressed about.”

The issue with suggesting physical activities like hiking or yoga is that depression, especially that which is caused by a chemical imbalance, isn’t that easy to get rid of. It’s not simply feeling sad or blue; it is feeling so hopeless or worthless that the simple tasks of everyday life become challenging, and even waking up can become hard. Depression is not always situational, which is caused by deeply stressful occurences in life, but sometimes is clinical, that which is caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain.

The best way to get rid of situational depression is getting rid of the stressor(s) in your life.

“You don’t look schizophrenic.”

This kind of goes for all mental illnesses.

Of course someone isn’t going to look like they have a mental illness, since mental illness is internal. You wouldn’t say to someone with heart disease that they don’t look like they have a heart disease.

Using “triggered” to describe someone who is upset.

Now, bear with me, because some of you may just think “You’re being too sensitive!”, but the word “triggered” is actually a word used in mental health rehabilitation circles. It’s used commonly in therapy for people who have experienced traumatic events including, but not limited to: sexual assault, abuse, and fighting in wars. Triggers can be certain words, smells, sights, or sounds. When people hear, see, or smell these certain things it will make the individual vividly remember their trauma. Triggers are common in people who suffer from PTSD.

In the case of sexual assault or abuse, triggers can be strange in the eyes of the person who is not afflicted, but that doesn’t make a trigger any less real for the afflicted person. There is no approved list for things that cause people to vividly remember traumatic experiences, since everyone’s brain makes connections differently.

“He can’t make up his mind! He’s so bipolar!” Or anything like that.

Bipolar episodes are not anything like common belief. Bipolar episodes can last up to months with one feeling manic and/or depressed. The switch between the two feelings is not within seconds like commonly believed. So, when you say this, you are trivializing, and minimalizing, a debilitating disorder to just being indecisive.

In response to anxiety: “Just stop being anxious!”

Wow, I’m cured. Do I even need to explain this? Anxiety can’t be controlled like this. No mental illness can be controlled. If it were, don’t you think people who suffer from it would just stop being mentally ill?

“I don’t believe in mental illness.”

Ok, good for you? That doesn’t change the fact that I’m definitely mentally ill. In fact that’s only proved to me that I can’t trust you enough to be able to talk about my mental illness.

“You’re just making it up for attention!”

When you say this to someone you are essentially telling them “I don’t value your feelings enough to believe that you’re actually going through a major problem that affects a majority of the populous, so I’m just going to assume you want attention.”

Trust me, in the case of depression, the last thing depressed people want is to feel like their depression is causing a burden on someone.

As someone who suffers from depression, the treatment of people with mental illness is a very important to me. All I’m asking for is a bit of empathy and understanding. How hard is it to be a decent person?

If you are experiencing any symptoms of mental illness, please contact a doctor, counselor, or adult you trust.

Transitioning from the summer and into the fall is pretty hard for a couple of reasons including: 1. work starts for many adults, 2. starting a new school year is hard for kids. But there are some ways to break out of bad old habitats, and start doing things the healthy way!

I know you’ve heard this a lot from doctors, teachers, friends, and even your parents: drink a lot of water. It’s good for you, when you’re sleeping you don’t drink any water and your body is in need of water. So, drinking a glass right when you wake up is good; it gives you energy to actually get up and get your day started.

Eat some breakfast before you leave the house; it doesn’t have to be a big meal just a smoothie or a granola bar would do.

OK, maybe you’re not a morning person. You can crank on some music, and that will stop your feelings of tiredness. Well, don’t just stand there, dance to the music! This isn’t only fun, but it could count as exercising too. Then go to school/work as happy, and energetic as possible.

It’s understandable that it’s hard for many people to start a healthy lifestyle, because most people are busy with life. But putting some effort into changing your lifestyle is all that you need. After coming back from school/work, try to exercise for at least 30 minutes; yes, that’s right, only 30 minutes.

If you really don’t feel like exercising, then try to eat a healthy meal, by a healthy meal we mean – watch out for the amount of calories it contains, and also how much carbs are in it. According to the Human Department of Health and Human Services “Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Combined with physical activity, your diet can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases.”

So, leading a healthy lifestyle is not only good for your physical features, and your self-esteem, but it also reduces the risk of chronic diseases. Examples of chronic diseases are: arthritis, heart failure, stroke, and kidney failure. We hope this information helps you start to lead a healthier lifestyle.

This year, October set the records for warmest and wettest, of the year, in the Upper Midwest region. October was unusually wet this year, and according to Southeast Regional Climate data, about 20 cities had set a new record of having the wettest October. Only 6 cities reported that October was the coldest month. Some of those cities included: Idaho Falls; Pocatello; and Laramie, Wyoming. Hurricane Nate, along the coast of the Gulf, also consider contributed to southern states having their wettest month as well. In Watertown, New York, because of the continuous rain, it is consider the wettest month.

November is the final month of hurricane season. Though hurricanes, tornadoes, and windstorms are still possible, many cities are now getting snow. Early November and late October have a long history of intense storms, especially in the Midwest region, according to Weather.com. The low pressure of the wind can cause strong winds which damage trees and create power outages. On October 24 of this year, the strong winds caused many power lines to go down in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

It also caused huge waves so there was some flooding near the coast up north. There is especially lots of flooding during this time around the Lake Superior shore. The storms caused a huge hazard for boats. In November 1975, one of the biggest storms going through Minnesota caused a boat to sink in Lake Superior.

One of things to watch out for in November is the severe thunderstorms which can leads to tornadoes or hail storm. Last November, there were about 3 dozen storms that hit the South. There is the lake-snow band to watch out for as well if you are near Lake Superior. According to the Weather Channel, the definition of lake-snow band is a weather phenomenon when cold air picks up moisture and heat while passing over a warmer lake. It causes the lake to freeze over until the moisture and heat is lost.