🗿 The Mount Rushmore of Mental Health Misconceptions
If I could carve a Mount Rushmore of the four most damaging mental health misconceptions into a mountain somewhere, here’s what would be up there:
“You can do it alone.”
“You just need to be happy.”
“Addiction is a choice.”
“You can be cured.”
These four false beliefs wreck people every single day—and I’m not immune. I’ve believed every single one of them at different points in my life. Some still sneak in from time to time. But the truth is deeper. So here’s how I break these down:
1. “You can do it alone.”
This is always step one—and it’s always a lie.
Every time I’ve spiraled—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—it’s when I’ve started isolating. When I’ve told myself I just need to "figure it out" on my own. I pull away from community. I stop reaching out. I get stuck in my own head and start ruminating, looping negativity like a broken record.
That’s why we call it recovery. Because it’s not just about solving something. It’s about reconnecting—with others, with yourself, with something bigger.
One of my favorite quotes: “The opposite of addiction is connection.”
You can’t do this alone. Period. And no real healing ever happens in isolation.
2. “You just need to be happy.”
This one hurts. Because it’s always said with good intentions—and always lands the wrong way.
Is happiness a choice? Sure. But not always. Especially when you’re in the dark.
When you're battling addiction, depression, grief, or loss, telling someone to just be happy is like telling someone with a broken leg to just go for a run. It misses the point.
What you can do is force yourself into action. You can move toward happiness, even if it doesn’t show up right away.
You can work out.
You can serve.
You can journal.
You can show up.
Eventually, those actions will build something better.
But it takes time. It takes showing up when you don’t feel like it. And most of all, it takes grace for yourself in the meantime.
3. “Addiction is a choice.”
This one gets real philosophical, real fast.
At the beginning, yes, you might’ve made a choice. But the thing about addiction is—you lose the ability to choose very quickly. The substance takes over. And after a while, the thing that felt like freedom becomes a prison.
It takes interventions. Rehabs. Jails. External forces. People who love you.
Something bigger than you to shake you out of it.
It takes a psychic change. A shift in your entire operating system.
That’s why this isn’t just about “willpower.” It’s about surrender. It’s about rebuilding.
4. “You can be cured.”
There’s no cure. Let me repeat that: there is no cure.
And that’s not meant to discourage you—it’s meant to set you free.
There’s no day where you wake up and go, “Yep, I’m done growing. Got it all figured out.”
But what does happen is: you become stronger.
You learn to navigate problems, not eliminate them.
You develop tools. You build identity. You train your body. You get structure, discipline, and meaning.
“Mental health isn’t a finish line—it’s a practice.”
It’s a daily choice to stay connected, to live intentionally, and to do the work.
So yeah—these are my Mount Rushmore. I’ve believed all of them. I’ve had to unlearn all of them. And chances are, you’ve carried at least one too.
So here’s your challenge:
What’s on your Mount Rushmore of misconceptions?
What belief are you still holding that’s actually holding you back?
The truth will set you free—but only if you’re willing to face it.
