ROCKFORD, Ill. (WREX) — As Mental Health Awareness Month shines a spotlight on emotional well-being, therapists say some of the biggest barriers to mental wellness are the myths people unknowingly carry with them every day.
Myth: The goal of mental health is to eliminate negative emotions.
Mental Health Therapist Ben Shabad, LCPC, says many people mistakenly believe good mental health means avoiding difficult emotions altogether. In reality, he says emotions like anxiety, sadness and frustration can serve an important purpose.
“Anxiety, frustration, sadness, discomfort, those are uncomfortable, but they oftentimes contain a lot of good, useful information for us, so we want to pay attention to it, because they can signal something in our life that needs attention, like a boundary that’s been crossed, or that we’ve been ignoring stress for too long,” Shabad said. “It can really signal a whole host of things that need our attention.”
Myth: If you ignore difficult emotions long enough, they’ll just go away.
Shabad says another common misconception is the idea that difficult emotions or “dark thoughts” will disappear if ignored long enough. Instead, he says unresolved stress often resurfaces in unhealthy ways.
“The problem is that what we ignore tends to come out in different ways, sometimes sideways,” he said. “It can show up as irritability, passive aggression, unhealthy habits, it can turn into conflicts in relationships, and so the healthiest people aren’t people without flaws. They just can manage it more.”
Mental health conversations have become more common in recent years, but stigma surrounding therapy and emotional vulnerability still prevents many people from seeking help. Shabad says part of reducing that stigma is helping people understand that emotional struggles are a normal part of being human, not a personal failure.
Myth: Rational thinking should always overpower emotions.
He also challenges the belief that logic should always overpower emotion, saying emotional wellness depends on balance rather than suppressing feelings entirely.
“Problems happen when we either ignore our emotions completely or let emotions make every decision for us,” Shabad said. “Mental wellness is really about balance. The goal isn’t to always choose logic over emotion. It’s really to learn how to use both.”
For people dealing with stress or emotional overwhelm, Shabad recommends simple, practical steps that can be incorporated into everyday life. Instead of immediately distracting yourself, he says it’s important to slow down and identify what you’re feeling.
“Instead of going immediately to a distraction, it’s good to pause and name the emotion,” he said. “Also, instead of immediately reacting to it, just giving it space to be there and to feel it, you become self-aware by asking yourself questions like what triggered this.”
As Mental Health Awareness Month continues, Shabad hopes conversations like these make mental health feel more approachable and less intimidating for anyone who may be struggling silently.
“Mental health is not about becoming a perfect person,” he said. “It’s about becoming more aware, more flexible, a more honest version of yourself.”
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