The Signs of Mental and Emotional Distress

Mental and emotional distress is too often overlooked in ourselves and others. We brush it off or tell ourselves to just get over it. However, when left unmonitored this distress can severely affect our mental well-being, leading to struggles with mental health or even physical harm. Stephanie Grimes shares her experience with extreme distress which was made all the worse when no one took notice of it.
Even after first attempting suicide as a high school Sophomore, Stephanie Grimes failed to find the love, support, and care for her well-being that she so desperately needed from her family and friends.
Ms. Grimes bravely discusses the void she felt since childhood as an all-too-often misunderstood child in anguish. “Inside I was screaming out loud, but it took six suicide attempts before anyone ever noticed.” Her cries for help went ignored while she battled depression and suicide for seven years without the support she so desperately needed. “I thought today is the day I’m going to die. I don’t want to live.”
Why didn’t Stephanie’s family hear her cries for help, and how can we make sure that we’re not missing cries from our own loved ones? How did society contribute to Ms. Grimes’s self-hate and its impact on her mental well-being?
This episode raises critical questions that must be addressed in order to better protect ourselves and those around us from the anguish of mental and emotional distress.
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