TeenHelp - View Single Post - Triggering: Why do you not tell others about your mental health?

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I don't tell people about my mental health because like you (OP) said, there is such a huge stigma against it. Those on my medical care team knows, and my best friend knows; and they're really the only ones that I feel are trustworthy enough for me to share things with. But I share more with my best friend than my medical care team for obvious reasons.

It seems that when I try to open up even about the simplest things, that I get criticized and gaslit. I'm making too much a big deal of things, or that it's all going on in my head, or that I'm not understanding what's being said/done correctly — that last one going along with me having Autism and that too has its own stigma against the diagnosis.

It's hard not to let my mental health issues show, especially my anxiety, and especially in a professional setting. People are so unwilling to open their eyes and understand that my anxiety is legitimate. All those posters advocating for anxiety awareness are not all made-up; they are very, very real!