Mental illness is being talked about more and more openly in today’s society, which is great. But in British Asian culture, it’s still a big taboo.
1 in every 4 people suffers from some form of mental illness at some point in their lives. And in 2014, there were over 6,000 suicides in the UK alone.
Since Being Single is an Asian Dating site dedicated to supporting British Asians to find love and tackling the subjects that no one wants to talk about. We conducted a study to find out what people really think about mental illness when it comes to dating and relationships.
We asked our members, friends, and social media followers a series of questions about dating and mental illness. This is what we found:
With these first two questions, we were a bit disheartened to see people being more open to dating someone with a physical illness than a mental illness. When you think about it logically, what is the difference?
Difficulty with mental health is extremely common, so why is it not commonly understood?
“Dating with a mental illness is a chore in itself. In this era of casual dating and relationships moving slowly, the anxiety of a guy taking you for a ride is constantly there.” – Seema, SBS Member
Almost half of the people that took part in our survey would not be open to dating someone with a mental illness.
This means we definitely need to talk about it more.
Then we asked in a bit more detail, to find out what kinds of difficulties people go through in dating.
There were no real surprises with these results. We couldn’t list every possible issue or illness people may face while dating, so we went for the most common or the ones most people could easily relate to and understand.
Most people don’t consider stress or anxiety to be mental illnesses, but they’re definitely difficulties of the mind that can hinder even the simplest of situations.
We were quite sad to see that mental illness has affected almost 70% of people’s relationships. This suggests that if you don’t have a strong mind or if your partner can’t understand what you’re going through, your relationship is going to suffer.
“My biggest fear is not being able to find a man that will be able to understand what I deal with on a daily basis.” – Saira, SBS Member
Let’s talk about it more. Let’s help more people understand. And let’s make sure we all get the help and support we need from each other.
If you’re feeling stressed out with work, if you feel like you’re in some form of depression, or if you get anxious when you’re dating, don’t try to hide it. Talk about it. With your colleagues, your family, your friends, or your partner. You’re not alone. Tell someone about it. You’d be surprised how many other people you know are feeling or have felt the same.
SBS can provide you with the support you need to avoid feeling like this. We’re here to make sure you enjoy your journey to finding love.
And you can talk to anyone for free, 24 hours a day at the Samaritans on 116 123. There are lots of places you can just talk to someone, even if you don’t want to or can’t take action right now.
We’re all in this together.
With love,
Sabeen x
Since Being Single is a community of British Asian professionals looking for love. The Asian dating site is run by a real couple, Kamey and Sabeen. SBS is free to join, search, and message! SBS offers online dating, singles events, and dating advice for Sikh, Hindu and Muslim singles looking to meet their life partner.
Visit sincebeingsingle.com to join free today!
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