Mental illness is a widely known and discussed phenomenon. Millions of people have it; around 450 million people around the world are suffering from some sort of mental health issue. That is 1 in every 4 people in the world. If so many people have it, what are some things to do to help?

The main thing that has helped me is socialization. The act of talking to other people has considerably helped me for many reasons. For one, talking to others about your situation can help ease the pain and the other people can provide ways of helping the problem. Additionally, discussing with people can actually lower stress and make humans feel better because of the hormones released. Even giving someone a high five can release oxytocin, which lowers your stress level and increase your level of trust. In addition, if you interact with people, it releases dopamine which gives a small high and prevents pain. According to MentalHealthToday, “Studies have shown that those who enjoy close friendships over their teenage years aren’t just happy as adolescents; they also have a lower rate of depression or anxiety later in life.” In addition, according to Emma Seppala of the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, “People who feel more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression. Moreover, studies show they also have higher self-esteem, greater empathy for others, are more trusting and cooperative and, as a consequence, others are more open to trusting and cooperating with them.” Thus, allowing for a healthier and longer life through constant social interaction.

Socialization has helped me with my self-hatred tendencies. Friends and loved ones often give me compliments and helped me realize the beautiful person I am through time. This is because they prevented harmful thoughts by redirecting them into compliments. If I ever felt bad about myself and discussed with someone I trusted, they would tell me how I was wrong and soon enough, that implemented into my brain and I began to do the same thing. By doing this technique with others, the reparation of the view of yourself will take time, but with the help of others, it will be a piece of cake. In addition, social interaction helped me with my social anxiety. By forcing myself to talk to others I developed better strategies to interact and thus making better and longer conversations. This also helped me open up to people and be a more open and honest person.

In the end, socialization has helped me and millions of others to help their mental issues. It can help with self-hatred tendencies, anxiety, depression, and many more mental disorders. Just by talking to people can help open a new world for those who struggle with cutting people out of their life and conversing with others.