Mental health is extremely important for every individual and for society as a whole. The biggest issue with mental health is the social stigma attached to mental illnesses that prevents people from talking openly about such issues. My family has a genetic predisposition for anxiety, depression, and OCD tendencies.
My father has been dealing with depression and OCD like tendencies (near extreme hoarding) my whole life, although my mother states that before me and my siblings he didn't struggle with either. My dads siblings have all struggled with depression and anxiety off and on throughout their lives, and some had suicidal tendencies for a while.
My mom struggles with anxiety off and on- apparent environmental events trigger the severity. Both of her siblings have struggled with depression and anxiety off and on for years.
Me and my siblings inherited a combination of these genetic predispositions and have struggled with depression, anxiety, and OCD tendencies at one point in our lives already (we are all in our 20's) and have probably not seen the last of them...
Me personally, I struggled with depression for two years in high school. At that time I was a devout Christian and the belief that I would go to Hell if I committed suicide kept me alive. Luckily, my mother noticed all the warning signs and helped me get the help I needed. After a lot of work I had a better understanding of my depression and medication helped keep me stable. College was the best time of my life (thus far) and I didn't have any symptoms of my depression even without medication.
Just last year, however, after a move across the country, a divorce, the death of both of my grandfathers, and during an extremely challenging position at work, my depression came back full force with a side of anxiety. I was getting anxiety attacks at work, using up too much sick time because I couldn't get out of bed some mornings, and overall wasn't able to function. I noticed quickly what was happening, went back on medication and used the techniques I learned in therapy the first time around to help me cope. I was able to make some major changes at work and have since been able to discontinue the medication.
Again- I think this is great. Mental health is important. We need to strip away the social stigma attached to mental illnesses so we can more effectively implement treatment.