According to the World Health Organization, “One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives." As many of you know, I am one of those “one in four."
I also grew up in a family where mental illness tended to be the norm. However, that doesn’t mean it is as widely accepted as it is prevalent. People are not educated enough on any of these disorders; therefore, it creates a sense of unease when people are different from our understanding of “the norm." Every day, countless people face discrimination due to their mental illness. We must separate the person from the stigma. It is on us to be their voice, to speak up when they cannot, to educate ourselves and others to make the world a more habitable and enjoyable place for everyone.
First, as defined by the Mental Health Association, a mental illness is “A disease of the brain that causes disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines." There are over 200 forms of classified mental illnesses, but they can be separated into five categories: Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia or Psychotic Disorders, Dementias, and Eating Disorders. Each disorder has it’s own signs and symptoms, but there are resources you can contact for more information such as Mental Health Association or the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Many of you may remember Miss Dorothea Dix from your U.S. History class. She is credited with the creation of the American Insane Asylum, or “looney bin." This is where the mentally ill would get sent because they were not fit to live in society. There they would be tortured, supposedly to find a cure for whatever their ailment, but most only found death. This negative connotation and discrimination has been around for centuries before, where the ill would be described as “lunatics” and some would even be burned at the stake. There is an ancient process called “trepanation," where holes would be drilled into the skulls and brains of the ill to “release the evil spirits from the mind." Bloodletting was also common to cleanse the body. Even as recent as World War II, one of the target groups for the Nazis were the mentally ill, they slaughtered thousands.
A survey was conducted about a year ago in California with roughly 1,000 respondents, all dealing with mild to severe mental illnesses. 81 percent of the respondents felt as if people will mental illnesses experience high levels of prejudice and discrimination “most often in intimate social relationships," school, or the workplace. Some even answered that “health care providers and law enforcement have been discriminatory." If 810 people who were surveyed felt that they or someone they knew was being mistreated because of their mental state, think of how many people would respond the same way in the U.S. or even in the world. Mental illness does not just affect the person who has it, it is a Butterfly Effect. It affects their friends and families who then spread their knowledge and care to other friends and families and so on. You’d think that with 1.8 billion people affected worldwide, we would be more open to the probability of the “unusual," but we are creatures of habit. We like what we are used to and if something is different, avoid it. It takes us far too long to adapt.
The stigma behind mental illness forces many to live in shame rather than seek support. It is up to us to destroy the stigma. The thing about disorders of the mind is you cannot always tell whether or not someone has one. If you see someone nervous when ordering at Starbucks, do not get mad at them for taking too long to speak, they might be too overwhelmed to muster up their voice. If you see someone with their head down sitting across from you on a bus, smile at them, who knows you might save their life. If you see a someone counting how many calories they can eat, tell them they are beautiful. You don’t have to cure them, you just have to be friendly. Become an ally. Small gestures mean the most. We must separate the person from the stigma. No one should be judged on something they cannot control. Ignorance is not bliss. We are not a stigma.If you would like more information on the discrimination people with mental illnesses face, please refer to The Cost of Not Caring.
