The Stigma around Mental Health
HI!
The
reason there has been a sever lack of posts on my blog and videos on my YouTube
channel is that I've been quite ill. And not the physical kind. I've been
suffering mentally for a long time with my anxiety but it got a lot worse
recently. I'm not going to get into that at this stage as I'm still waiting on
a diagnosis and I'd like to keep it private for now. But once I've come to
terms with it and I'm hopefully recovering and managing to keep myself afloat
in day to day activities I will write a blog post explaining it all. I feel the
more people talk about it, and the more people come out saying they have a
mental illness will combat the stigma surrounding it. Lots of people don't
seek help because they're ashamed, and I'd like that to stop.
This
blog post consists of an essay I wrote for my English GCSE (for which I
received full marks on, GO ME!). I'd like to start by making people more
aware of the everyday criticism and stigma that comes with living with
a mental illness. I'm going to leave links to some organisations that can
help at the bottom of the post, if anyone knows of any others I might have
missed please comment them below. I'd also like to warn you this essay is quite
a rant, but you should be used to my fiery writing by now!
Would
you feel comfortable going through life being victimized for something you
cannot control? For some of us, that’s a reality. An astonishing 25% of the
population will experience some kind of mental health problem during the course
of a year; with anxiety and depression being the most commonly reported
disorders in Britain. That’s 25% of our population, exposed to the selfish hand
of bullying.
Mental
health disorders can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or race. You
cannot choose what disorder affects you, or when it rears its ugly head. So if
it does, the last thing you need is an uneducated ‘know-it all’ taking it upon
themselves to use your illness against you; to bully you into thinking you are
something that deserves daily emotional turmoil, on top of dealing with your
mental disorder. Believe it or not, hundreds of people up and down the British
Isles deal with this on a daily basis, myself included. And this needs to stop.
Personally,
I believe that the root of the discrimination comes from society. Society has
stereotyped views about mental illness and how it affects people. People with
mental ill health are thought to be violent and dangerous, when in fact they
are more at risk of being attacked or harming themselves than harming others.
Stigma can also worsen someone’s mental health problems, and impede them from
getting treatment, and consequently lengthen their recovery. Social isolation,
poor housing, unemployment and poverty are all linked to mental ill health.
They can be trapped cycle of illness.
In
some cases, people often do try to sympathise with you, exclaiming that:
"That’s
totally normal!"
"I
know EXACTLY what you mean!"
However
these people do not really understand the damage of invalidating the internal
experiences of a person with a mental health problem. If you have been brave
enough to confide in someone, you do no want him or her to behave as though
it’s an average thing. When someone breaks a leg, no one dare says ‘stop being
so pathetic, you’ve only broken a vital bone’. So why is it if someone cannot
leave the house because of their illness, its deemed ‘pitiful’ or ‘an excuse to
be lazy’?
The
Mail Online posted an article on the 6th January this year, explaining
how criminal activities could be the first sign of dementia, which is a prime
example of how the media views the mentally ill population. On the other hand,
before that article was released, they published an article stating, “Mental
illness does not drive people to commit crimes” therefore contradicting
themselves entirely; this proves that the media exacerbates the situation, and
has no factual understanding of the subject they are commenting on.
News
reports often link mental illness with violence, or portray people with mental
health problems as dangerous, criminal, or very disabled and unable to live
normal, fulfilled lives.
This
is far from the case.
According
to the Mental Health Foundation, people who develop mental illnesses are
generally people who are naturally quieter, and have a more reserved place in
society, making them incapable of being ‘violent’ towards others, or ‘out of
control’.
With
the appropriate treatment, you can in fact overcome the illness that supposedly
holds you back. Take Michael Ellsberg (a 37 year old journalist from America),
he suffers with Bipolar II, and could barley get out of bed in the morning.
“One morning, I simply could not get out of bed.” But following simple
research, the right doctor and the appropriate help, he managed to get over his
depressive stage and get a hold of his life. Ellsberg is now a successful
writer and is happily married, proving that mental illness does not stop anyone
from having a joyous life.
If
you believe you are suffering with a mental illness and need support, or you
are facing discrimination, there are several places you can go for advice on
how cope with this. The Mental Health Foundation is extremely helpful on all
topics, from discrimination to symptoms of a range of disorders. And your GP is
always a good starting point.
A
survey of more than 350 Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and 100 specialist CAB
mental health projects across the UK, found that people experiencing mental ill
health were treated unsympathetically by doctors assessing their claims for
incapacity benefit. The survey also noted that only 18% of those with mental
health problems are in work, this is the lowest employment rate of all disabled
groups. Again, strengthening the proof that discrimination is happening, and
has a daily impact on people’s lives.
If
the damage isn’t physical, why is it not acknowledged?
Ableism, is real, and is affecting a
substantial amount of the population. It’s time we started taking
discrimination against mental illness seriously.
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