We’ve come quite far in this month-long Blogchatter A2Z journey—pausing at each letter to reflect on key mental health topics that shape our everyday lives. And today, on the 22nd day, we’ve arrived at U—a letter that holds one of the most foundational, yet misunderstood, aspects of the entire conversation around mental health: Understanding Mental Illness.
This word understanding is gentle but powerful. And it’s where all meaningful change begins.
Why understanding matters more than awareness
Over the last few years, mental health awareness has grown. We see campaigns, hashtags, and conversations swirling across platforms—and that’s a wonderful start. But awareness is only the tip of the iceberg.
To truly support people living with mental illness, we need to go deeper.
We need understanding.
Understanding means moving past stereotypes and really listening to what it means to live with anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia—or any other condition. It means knowing that mental illness isn’t a weakness or a lack of willpower. It’s not a passing phase or something someone can “snap out of.”
Understanding means recognising the invisible battles someone might be fighting—even on days they look “okay.” It means being patient with people who cancel plans, who can’t always explain why they’re feeling what they’re feeling, who struggle with everyday tasks we may take for granted.
Understanding begins with unlearning
So much of what we assume about mental illness comes from misinformation—films that dramatise or vilify, families that hush up, schools that never taught us. As a psychologist, I’ve sat with people who felt broken simply because they had never heard someone say, “It’s okay to not be okay.”
Let’s unlearn the myth that mental illness is rare. It’s not. According to global estimates, 1 in 4 people experience mental health challenges in their lifetime. That’s someone in your home, your workplace, your friend group—maybe even you.
Let’s unlearn the idea that people with mental illness are other. They are not separate from society. They are us.
What does understanding look like?
It looks like asking how someone is feeling, not why they’re feeling that way.
It’s holding space when someone shares. Not fixing, not rushing—just being there.
It’s checking in even when they cancel again. Because connection matters more than presence.
It’s being willing to read, to ask, to admit when you don’t know something—and then learning.
It’s seeing that treatment isn’t just therapy or medication, but sometimes both, and more: structure, sleep, lifestyle changes, support.
It’s believing someone’s pain even when it doesn’t make sense to you.
And perhaps most importantly—it’s extending that same compassion to yourself. Because understanding mental illness includes understanding our own mental landscape too.
To the person living with mental illness…
If you’re reading this and you’re living with a condition—it’s not your fault. You’re not alone. You’re not a burden.
Your feelings are valid. Your experiences matter. You deserve care, not shame. And healing, even if slow or uneven, is possible.
You are not your diagnosis. You are so much more.
As we move forward…
I believe our mental health journey—just like this A2Z journey—is one step at a time. And today, that step is understanding. Not judging, not rushing to fix—just sitting with someone else’s story (or our own) and truly seeing it.
That’s where empathy begins. That’s where stigma begins to crumble.
Thank you for walking through this letter with me.
I’ll see you soon with the letter V. We’re almost at the finish line now—and every day, this journey feels more special because you’re here reading, reflecting, and opening your heart just a little more.
Take care of your mind today, and always.
