Mental Health Stigma
There is a fine line between making use comic relief to get through problems and blatantly saying an offensive joke whilst being unaware of your surroundings. A joke as simple as “someone forgot their meds this morning”, or simply stating that you will kill yourself if something doesn't go your way is not acceptable or appropriate to say. I admit, I’m being a hypocrite as I’m also guilty of this.
In this current day and era, we as a society have collectively adjusted in an attempt to accept and understand mental health to a powerful and supportive level. However, suicides levels aren’t dropping and satisfying enough rates. This is due to so many crucial reasons. One of the reasons is the fact that, coming from a girl living in London, where the LGBT society is celebrated and people are generally accepted into society no matter how they identify themselves, it is difficult to look outside of this close-gated community into places that still haven’t ‘conquered’ or made nearly enough progress into acceptance towards such topics. So when you hear that over 450 million people in the world suffer from mental health problems, it is surprising and unexpected. In 2008 Matthew Jones (17) committed suicide after he had been struggling for five years with a chronic illness. His mother had tried to seek help, however received little to no help from health services. Like a physical illness, if a mental illness is left untreated, it can be fatal.
We live in a society that is somewhat fake in its response to mental health. We celebrate how far we have come in research and acceptance towards such devastating disorders, but do little to gain understanding and continue to mock mental illness through suicide jokes and unfiltered speech. Statistically, one in every four people at some point in their lives will experience and struggle with mental health issues. It is unpredictable whether you could encounter a loved one struggling until it happens and speaking from experience, when we do eventually encounter it, most of us will not know how to react or what to do to aid or prevent drastic events taking place, or even how to seek help if necessary. This is because few people will admit to having little knowledge and experience with mental health. Unlike a common disease where medication can usually be taken the same way to cure it, mental health can’t just be cured with a course of antibiotics or a vaccine. Every single treatment must be specialised to suit those affected.
The general belief is that mental health comes about through nurture, although it is more biological than that. Mental health is still shunned, and it’s considered that the shunning could have an even worse effect than the illness itself. For example, sending someone who is severely mentally ill to prison for illegal actions without a proper psychiatric analysis. That person would be subject to improper treatment by unspecialised doctors and potentially be putting themselves or others in more danger. Punishing someone who is incapable of controlling their actions, instead of trying to find a solution to the problem, is destructive to society and irresponsible.
There are over two hundred forms of mental illness and causes range from person to person. There is an uncontrolled biological aspect where genes can give people a predisposition to certain conditions, so if a parent has a mental illness such as depression or bipolar disorder, the chances of their children having the condition are far higher. Traumas to the head can also alter the way in which someone perceives their lives and the way they act. For example, one common symptom of a brain tumour is changes in personality or memory loss. These causes to mental illness are more specific and easier to understand, however mental illness can be caused by traumatic experiences, such as serving time as an army recruit, experiencing neglect as a child, or shorter incidents such as violent events and car or plane crashes.
Although it is illegal to discriminate against such illnesses, prejudice still forces people to feel ashamed of themselves or uncomfortable with seeking help. So why is there prejudice? The truth is, mental health is so complicated that people don't completely understand it. This lack of understanding is frightening to people, and if someone doesn't feel comfortable, it results in them becoming defensive. The stigma surrounding mental health patients isn't due to the weakness of the patient, but the weakness of the person discriminating. It’s true that with a lot of mental illnesses, unpredictable and possibly dangerous behaviour can follow. For example in alcoholism of schizophrenia, it becomes difficult to control your actions and therefore may lead to irrational behavior. However, most people who suffer from these conditions are non-violent and the stereotyping of them as dangerous often leads to them being left alone as outcasts instead of receiving the appropriate help.
A common misconception is that some mental illnesses are self-inflicted. Many people believe that illnesses such as anorexia or substance abuse are the fault of the person struggling. It’s true that substance abuse can be self-inflicted in part, however it is often the fault of an addictive personality and traumatic experiences. Society’s views on eating disorders is gradually making improvements, however there are still so many faults in our understanding. People struggling from eating disorders can be all types of shapes, sizes, ages and genders. Eating disorders can be influenced by genetics as there are specific chromosomes linking to anorexia and bulimia. People who suffer from eating disorders are also often found to have abnormal biochemical levels of cortisone and serotonin in their bodies. High levels of these chemicals result in much higher stress levels.
A person struggling with a mental illness can feel ashamed, helpless, or segregated, as if they are in a dark room and nothing can be repaired. Life continues, but they may feel dead inside, emotionally numb. Talking about personal problems is hard, especially if you don't feel you have a strong enough support system, or if you feel as if your problem is your fault. It is vital that everyone is properly educated in mental health, and understands that mental health illnesses are not something to roll your eyes about, ignore, or blame sufferers for. Mental health needs to be discussed openly to support those suffering in silence. We need to create that strong support system that boosts the confidence of anyone struggling with mental health. This also means being patient. Some people need attention, others need distance. It is vital that we are accepting towards anybody coming forward with a mental health problems.