Author: Aaliyah Summons
What comes to mind when you hear the words mental illness? Maybe you picture a person grappling with severe depression or melancholia, or you visualize a girl in school suffering from an eating disorder, a close friend or family member contemplating suicide, an alcoholic battling their addiction, a transgender person combatting their body dysmorphia, or those seeking help in mental institutions. Maybe you think of yourself and the struggles you've endured with your health mirrored in the real stories of these individuals.
As humans, we all feel. It is those emotions that allow us to experience life so completely. Even then, emotions can seem like a double-edged sword. Just as they instill us with contentment and serenity, they may leave us distraught and unhappy with ourselves or the world around us. This unique spectrum of emotions is not specific to anyone, as there are several ways a person may experience, confront, or even attain the ways they’re feeling. But it is this spectrum of emotion that we deny in everyday life, that hinders the progress of offered support when dealing with this wide range of issues.
(iStock|Irina Strelnikova)
In the U.S. alone, 1 in 5 (57.8 million) adults experience mental illness in their lifetime, with 1 in 20 (14.1 million) dealing with the more extreme side of it. Mental health affects more than 16% (7.7 million) of youth aged 6-17. The numbers are staggering. Even so, mental health is continually seen as forbidden, as many of the world's preconceived notions about what mental illness truly means threaten the sought support and wellness of millions of people. Much of contemporary society has worked to eradicate the stigma surrounding this, as there has been a significant increase in mental health disorders in the last few years. Showing persistent support through non-profit organizations (like this one), spreading awareness, and activism, yet like many things, gradual progress is not enough to eliminate all prejudices about mental illness. Most people's experience is invalidated by these negative beliefs and dispirit those affected from seeking help. Sometimes individuals suffer in silence, due to shame and are blamed for emotions beyond their control. The frequent notion of character deficiency cultivated through the lens of mental illness increases this stigma and affects all individuals living with this illness.
Almost 40 percent of individuals are discouraged from seeking help for their disorder or addiction due to the perceptual discrimination and mistreatment of those with mental illness. That's millions of people who will remain unable to obtain proper support or solutions when dealing with this plight. We have all experienced extreme sadness at one time or another, so why is it hard for us to resonate with those who constantly have to feel that sense of despondency throughout their everyday lives? These ideologies impact how others perceive suffering, even changing how the individual may view themselves, making their journey to find healing that much harder, as they’re scrutinized for concerns made to seem illegitimate or futile.
Mental illness is a real health issue and should be regarded as such. Like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, mental illness is a medical condition, and without the removal of this stigma, there won't be a way to successfully treat these important matters of the brain. Mental health conditions are treatable; offering support can inconceivably change the course of a person's life just by providing the tools they need.
Mental illness presents itself in many forms and can be caused by environmental factors in our lives, trauma or mistreatment, stress, and even biology. Regardless of this fact, acknowledging the validity of mental health is crucial to progressing society toward a brighter future. Everyone deserves to feel seen and heard; as we continue to evolve, considering the vast spectrum of our cognitive emotions can help us better understand the people around us and what they’re going through so that they may never feel alone.
Stigma:
Be open to discourse and discussions on mental health.
Use the power of knowledge to educate yourself and others on the crucial topics of mental illness.
Show compassion and kindness to everyone around you; you never know what that person could be going through. That benevolence could have the power to uphold that person and be a catalyst for positive change in their lives, just because you showed your support.
Be aware of the fallacies you may have. As with anything, preconceptions we hold can sometimes cloud our judgment and make us susceptible to bias. Acknowledging our prejudices (whether intentional or inadvertent) can create a world of change.
Be outspoken in the face of change, offering your experiences with mental health to empower others to share.
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Bibliography:
“Addressing Stigma.” CAMH, www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/addressing-stigma. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
Greenstein, Luna. “9 Ways to Fight Mental Health Stigma.” NAMI, 11 Oct. 2017, www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/October-2017/9-Ways-to-Fight-Mental-Health-Stigma.
“Mental Health by the Numbers.” NAMI, Apr. 2023, www.nami.org/mhstats.
Mental Health Matters. 20 Feb. 2022. iStock, Svetlana Shamshurina, https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/mental-health-matters-lettering-round-composition-with-linear-natural-elements-gm1371559757-440874846. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
“Reducing Stigma.” Tennessee State Government - TN.Gov, www.tn.gov/behavioral-health/stigma.html#:~:text=Easy Ways You Can Reduce Stigma,-The National Alliance&text=Talk openly about mental health,remind people that words matter. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
Strelnikova, Irina. Mental health treatment set stock illustration. 16 Nov. 2021.
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