How 'Dear Evan Hansen' helped me... || World Mental Health Day

This is a post I've been wanting to write since I first listened to the 'Dear Evan Hansen' soundtrack.

And now that it's World Mental Health Day, it seems only fitting.

If you've never heard of this award-winning musical, then I suggest you get listening, regardless of you being a musical theatre fanatic or not. Because this musical (written by the same guys who wrote the music for 'La La Land') challenges the social norms of mental health issues. It's about a teenage boy, called Evan Hansen, who suffers from social anxiety, and his neighbour, called Conor Murphy, who commits suicide. Wrapped up in the drama surrounding the events that follow this tragedy, Evan must also battle his own inner demons.
All of the issues that affect each character, from the parents to the teenagers, are so real and can be seen everywhere today. We also see how through the medium of social media, we can help someone, no matter how small the problem is.

As people who have read my blog know, I have a very strong view on mental health issues, particularly anxiety. I'm always anxious (excuse the use of the word) to find ways of combatting these issues and how they make people feel. I'm a firm believer in talking to someone about your problems, or in worse case scenarios, writing them down.

So when I clicked play on the 'Dear Evan Hansen' soundtrack for the first time, the opening song 'Anybody Have a Map?' came blaring through my speakers, and the first lyrics that hit my ears were:

"Have you been writing those letters to yourself? 'Dear Evan Hansen, today is gonna be a good day, and here's why!'"

I was immediately hooked on this musical, without even knowing the plot.

There was just something about the ease of these lyrics and the connection I had with them that gave me this eery feeling that I was meant to stumble across this musical.

I think the most important song for me that I want to highlight in this post is 'You Will Be Found.' This song comes at the end of Act One, and, for me, it begins to tie the theme of the musical into the plot.

The main message behind this song is that nobody is alone. Everyone always has something they have to deal with in their lives, whether you know it or not.

Through whatever darkness is in your life, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
I think that this is a statement that may sound easy, but is probably one of the toughest things someone who is suffering from a mental illness can achieve.
Every time I'm feeling down, I think of the lyrics in this song and the entire meaning behind it. I may be suffering, but out there, someone else is suffering. And we need to be strong for each other and for ourselves if we are going to overcome this.