Prior to becoming a psychology major, I did not know much about mental illness. Once I dove deeper into my field, I learned much more than its definition. I learned about the different types of mental illnesses and the stigma behind it.
After taking Abnormal Psychology last spring, I became afraid. I became afraid of misdiagnosing someone. If you are a psychology major, you understand just how much pressure comes with that. Sure, if you get it wrong on a test, then it typically will be OK, but getting it wrong in real life? There comes tremendous responsibility with that. I realized just how sensitive the topic is.
I learned to be more careful with the words I used. I'm sure you've had a friend go from sad to happy in three minutes and jokingly said, “Stop being so bipolar.” Just because someone may have a sudden change of mood does not make that person bipolar. Just because someone appears to be sad or is having an off day or week, does not necessarily mean they are depressed. Each mental illness has its own criteria to meet in order to give a diagnosis. If you are familiar with the DSM-5, you know these lists are not short and are very specific. We unconsciously throw words like this around like they mean nothing, when the person who sits behind you in lab could be suffering from bipolar disorder or depression.
As a society, we get so caught up in being socially accepted, that we constantly crave the status of "normal." Individuals with a mental illness may believe that it triggers embarrassment or humiliation if anyone were to find out, so we just do not talk about it. The stigma says that one with a mental illness is different along with crazy, sad and dangerous. These misconceptions are far from true. Individuals with mental illnesses are strong. They face not only the challenges that come with mental illness, but also the misconceptions of it, every single day.
Why must the stigma diminish? The stigma of mental illness needs to go away because we refuse to seek mental health care. The stigma is only making us sicker. When we are physically ill, we rush to the doctor. So how is this any different than when we are mentally ill? It is not. The brain is just like any other part of the body. We just are not as knowledgeable of it. Unfortunately, this stigma is the barrier that is holding us back from seeking help. Mental illness is not going to just go away on its own. In fact, if we do not end the stigma, numbers are going to increase and less individuals are going to seek help.
So how do we begin to stop this? I believe the first steps everyone should take in ending this, is to become knowledgeable and to not be afraid of talking about it. Mental illness affects more individuals than we realize. If you look at your circle of friends, it is possible that one of them is suffering from mental illness but refuses to talk about it because of how it is perceived. There is no shame in discussing it or seeking guidance.
If someone you loved were suffering from a mental illness, would you talk about it?
