Stop The Stigma

Now you're probably going to ask, so I will explain what I am talking about. I am talking about the stigma that is put on mental health. It needs to stop. Let me tell you why.

Mental health is too common.

I hear so many negative things about people that have mental illnesses, and it is so tiring. I hear things like "That person is crazy." or "She/He is only craving attention." In reality, these people don't want this mental illness anymore than you do. Want to know a secret though? 1 in 4 adults will have a mental illness in their life. That means if you and 3 other people are sitting in a room together, one of you has a mental illness. That one person could be your mom, your brother, your cousin, your niece, etc. In other words, it could be someone you love. Heck, it could be you!

It should not be hidden from the world.

So many people that have mental illnesses do not get the help that they need because of the stigma that people put on them for doing so. This often causes worse problems in the future for them or their loved ones. Now let me ask you a question. If I took a poll and ask 100 people two questions, one being "Would you call your boss and tell him/her that you were in the hospital because you had the flu?" and the next one being "Would you call your boss and tell him/her that you were in a facility getting help for your severe depression?" how many of the people would say yes to the second one? I would guess that close to none would admit the second one to their boss, which should never be the case. We should feel comfortable this day in time with out mental health. Especially since our mental health is just as important as our physical health. It's 2016, people, come on.

Another problem that needs fixed because of the mindset that people have on mental health is that there is not enough funding for the mental health field. People are being sent home from hospitals way too soon and not getting the chance to get the help they need because there is nowhere for them to go. There is way more funding for people that are physically ill or hurt. This is a huge problem because like I mentioned above, the people that have mental illnesses are going without the treatment that they need.

What you should do.

Everyone needs to act on this. We need to start teaching more about mental health in school, besides the generic definitions that we get in middle school health classes. The books and curriculum need to get more in depth with these topics. We also need to educate ourselves more on these topics so when it is time to vote on a bill or sign a petition concerning mental health, we are prepared. We also need to advocate for the people that have mental illnesses, because sometimes we are the only ones that can.

It's time to stop the stigma.